Building/Upgrading a PC for TS2
jsalemi:
Why not just save money, get the nVidea with the new system, and then just pull your 1600 XT from your current system and use it in the new one? If you're keeping the current system for other use, just put the nVidea in it.
Karen:
My current card (the 9600XT) is more than 2 years old and only has 128 MB of RAM. I don't want to put a card like that in a brand new system. What I'm really trying to figure out is whether the ATI X1300 Pro will be sufficient to run the game.
KatEnigma:
The 9600XT won't work anyway, it's an AGP card, and the new XPS will take a PCI-Express card.
If you can run the Sims and expansions on the 9600XT, you can run it on the X1300 Pro. "and expansions" doesn't make any difference anyway. OFB actually makes the game run better than running TS2 by itself runs. Plus, TS2 is now 2 years old- it doesn't need a bleeding edge card. Thirdly, TS2 relies more on the processor and RAM than the video card. A newer card would make it look prettier, but it's not going to actually run any better.
So yes, the x1300 will be sufficient.
jsalemi:
Quote from: karen on 2006 December 04, 00:53:51
My current card (the 9600XT) is more than 2 years old and only has 128 MB of RAM. I don't want to put a card like that in a brand new system. What I'm really trying to figure out is whether the ATI X1300 Pro will be sufficient to run the game.
Ah, ok -- you edited the card model. :) Yea, as katenigma says, the 1300 would be fine. Any ATI card from an 850 up would be fine.
syberspunk:
Hi guys, Best Buy and Circuit City look like they have insane deals on PCI Express Graphics Cards... I eventually plan to get a new computer... probably by the end of this month, or sometime next month, depending on how things work out. I am wondering what the experts (you guys ;)) think about the following i.e. the specs, the cost (is the deal too good to pass up? or are these typical prices), etc.
BFG 3DFuzion GeForce 7300 GS 256MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card Reg. Price: $104.99 Sale: $79.99
Quote
Product Features
550MHz core clock speed; dual 400MHz RAMDACs
NVIDIA CineFX 4.0 engine delivers advanced visual effects at super-high speeds
2048 x 1536 maximum resolution for impressive-looking images
Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 support ensures compatibility and performance for all Microsoft DirectX 9.0 applications, including gaming titles using Shader Model 3.0; also supports and optimizes Microsoft OpenGL 2.0 applications
VGA, DVI-I and S-video outputs to connect to your compatible television or monitor; built-in HDTV output
Includes NVIDIA ForceWare Drivers and nvDVD 2.0 Multimedia software
Product Details
Type of Video Card Graphics
Video Memory 256MB
Interface Slot Type PCI Express
Type of Processor GeForce 7300 GS
Number of Processors 1
Clock Speed of Video Memory (RAMDAC) Dual RAMDACs (2 at 400MHz each)
Maximum 2D Resolution (at 32-bit color) 2048 x 1536
Maximum 3D Resolution (at 32-bit color) 2048 x 1536
Number of Polygons per Second 413 million
Supports MPEG-1, 2 Yes
TV-Out Yes
S-Video Output Yes
Software Included NVIDIA ForceWare Drivers, nvDVD 2.0 Multimedia
System Requirements 800MHz processor or higher; Windows XP; 128MB RAM; 35MB hard drive space; CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive; PCI 2.0 slot; 350W power supply
PNY Verto GeForce 7900 GS 256MB PCI Express Graphics Card Reg. Price: $199.99 Sale: $149.99
Quote
Product Features
NVIDIA SLI multi-GPU support allows you to combine 2 graphics cards in a single system to scale performance (each card must be purchased separately)
Dual 400MHz RAMDACs; 450MHz core clock
NVIDIA CineFX 4.0 engine delivers advanced visual effects at super-high speeds; 64-bit floating point texture filtering and blending improve image clarity and quality and provide high dynamic range (HDR) support
NVIDIA Digital Vibrance Control 3.0 technology allows users to adjust color controls digitally to compensate for the lighting conditions of their workspace in order to achieve accurate, bright colors in all conditions
NVIDIA PureVideo Technology2 high-definition video processing delivers unprecedented picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color and precise image scaling for all video content
Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 support ensures compatibility and performance for all Microsoft DirectX 9.0 applications, including gaming titles using Shader Model 3.0; also supports and optimizes Microsoft OpenGL 2.0 applications
Dual dual-link DVI support
Microsoft Windows Vista compatibility
Product Details
Warranty Terms - Parts 3 years (1 year standard warranty, plus additional 2 years after completion of registration form)
Warranty Terms - Labor 3 years (1 year standard warranty, plus additional 2 years after completion of registration form)
Type of Video Card Graphics
Video Memory 256MB GDDR3
Interface Slot Type PCI Express
Number of Processors 1
Clock Speed of Video Memory (RAMDAC) Dual RAMDACs at 400MHz
Maximum 2D Resolution (at 32-bit color) 2560 x 1600
Maximum 3D Resolution (at 32-bit color) 2560 x 1600
System Requirements Intel® Pentium® III, AMD Duron™ or Athlon™ processor or higher; Windows 2000 or XP; 256MB RAM; 50MB hard drive space; CD or DVD-ROM drive
Additional System Requirements 350W power supply with 12V rating of 20A or more; PCI Express-compliant motherboard; VGA or DVI-I compatible monitor
EVGA e-GeForce 7300GT 512MB PCI Video Card Price was: $179.99 Price after rebate: $119.99
Quote
• 350MHz GPU
• Integrated TV-encoder
• 512MB of DDR2 memory
• Dual DVI-I connectors
• 8.51GB/second bandwidth
• PCI-Express interface
EVGA e-GeForce™ 7600 GS Video Card with Passive Heatsink Price was: $149.99 Price after rebate: $99.99
Quote
• 400MHz GPU
• Integrated TV-encoder
• 256MB of DDR2 memory
• HDTV support
• 12.8 GB/second bandwidth
• PCI-E interface
PNY GeForce 7300 GT PCIe Graphics Card Price was: $229.99 Price after rebate: $129.99
Quote
• 256MB GDDR2 PCIe
• 350MHz GPU
• Integrated TV-encoder
• Shader Model 3.0 support
• HDR rendering support
• 10.66GB/sec. bandwidth
Also... which one would be the "best" card performance wise, and the "best" deal price wise? I'm quite partial to the EVGA e-GeForce 7300GT, since it has 512MB of memory, but... it clocks in only at 350Mhz, as opposed to the 400Mhz for the others, and I think the BFG one is OC at 550Mhz. Does that make a significant difference, performance wise? It seems the "higher" end GT models have lower GPU processor clock speeds.
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