which video card 4 WoW?

[marik666]

i need to know what video card i should get that would play WoW good and not cost me a bunch...

also..is there a big difference in playing the game with 512 mb RAM and 1 gb?

 

[DonNagual]

It a tough question to answer and depends on a couple of things.

What are the specs of the rest of your system?

What is your budget?

Also, are you shopping for an AGP or a PCIex16 card?

 

[marik666]

i know nothing about computers really..so i dont know which of those im shopping for.im more of a console gamer..

specs are here:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-detailsInactive.asp?EdpNo=1829947

 

[DonNagual]

Link doesn't work.

 

[marik666]

i think i fixed it

 

[DonNagual]

Well, some good news and some bad news.

Good news: Your system does appear to have an empty AGP slot for upgrading your graphics. Are you currently using the onboard, or have you already upgraded once?

The bad news is your CPU and your ram (I assume you already know this). They are not really game-friendly.

An upgrade to 1Gb of ram and a new graphics card would greatly improve your performance, but in some games you are still going to be CPU limited. But I personally would not upgrade your CPU though. I believe it is a socket 754 board, so if you upgrade your CPU you are spending money on a processor that is two generations behind.

If you are tight for cash (i.e., don't want to buy a new computer yet), and don't play too many graphic intensive games, you could probably extend the life of your system by going to a gig of ram and getting a stronger AGP card. What we need is a budget.

Just had a quick look at newegg, here is a nice deal :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161172R

But be forewarned, your Power supply may not be able to handle the stess of a more powerful graphics card. Open up your case and have a look at the sticker on the PSU. How many watts is it rated at?

 

[marik666]

k 1rst of all i dont really have budget..
2nd of all the ONLY game im going to play is WoW..no exceptions

k ill go check sticker now

 

[marik666]

300w max....that sound about right?

 

[DonNagual]

Yah, you are right at the minimum requirements for a newer graphics card. It will probably be OK. On that same sticker there will be a chart. Have a look and tell me how many amps are listed on the +12v box.

 

[marik666]

the only place on there that ever said +12V had 288W max next to it..so i guess thats it

 

[DonNagual]

No, that is not what I was looking for actually. Regardless, 300w SHOULD be enough to power a newer graphics card for you.

 

[marik666]

so that card from earlier and a gig of ram is all i need?

 

[DonNagual]

That should greatly improve your WoW gaming. Get a gig of 184-pin DIMM, DDR PC3200 ram and a more powerful graphics card. The one I linked above looks like a good deal, however I only spent about 2-3 minutes looking around.

 

[marik666]

ok thank you very much for all the help and being nice and not flipping out on me because i dont know much about computers