• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Small Upgrade...

C

Coucher

n00b
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
46
Ok, so let me begin by saying I'm in no way a gamer. I may download and mess around with a demo every now and then but I'm far from a hardcore pc gamer. Simply looking to bump up the lowest part of the system.

As it is right now, I'm using a VisionTek Radeon X1300 Series 256mb PCI-e card.

I'm looking to upgrade a bit. Since I'm not looking to build a super smoking gaming rig, I'd like to stay around the $50 mark.

I've found both a GeForce 9500 GT 1024MB and GeForce 9400 GT 1024MB that I can get for $49.99.

Would either of those give me a noticeable improvement over the current card? Is there anything that makes either the 9400 or 9500 better?

I'd prefer to go with an nVidia chipset.

Thanks in advance for taking the time..
 
the 9500 will offer slightly more performance, but if you aren't using it for gaming, the only thing you'll likely gain is DXVA, which both are adept at

if price is no different, grab the 9500, although I see no real call for this (aside from DXVA, and casual usage, although IQ wise and similar, there will be no difference between nVidia boards and the X1300)

you might look at something like this:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=320-P2-N811-RX-PB-R&cat=VCD

its the old GTS, I know, but it would be more performance, and DXVA, about the same price
should handle most modern games with some ability as well, don't expect Crysis at max settings, but it'd probably run ok if you toyed with it a bit
 
A low end current gen card will be better than a 3 gen old low end card. For someone who is just a sometimes gamer it should let you run newer things a bit better while not spending much in the process.
 
Coucher said:
These are the two I mentioned in the original posting..

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0307789

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0308043

If I found a smoking deal on something somewhere else, I'm not opposed to it, but Microcenter is on my way home from work and it would be nice to just pick something up on the way home.

Again, thanks to everyone for taking the time...
Click to expand...
you dont need a 1024mb card. at that level of gpu even 256mb wont be utilized in 99% of cases and more than 512mb never will. those cards cant run games at settings that would need that much vram. also those cards will actually be SLOWER than having 512mb gddr3 since that is really slow ddr2. putting a lot of ram on a low end card is just a marketing gimmick for uninformed consumers. you really need to look at 512mb gddr3 for this range.

out of curiosity what does the rest of your system look like???
 
rcf1987 said:
check out fs/ft prolly get a 9600gt for 50$ if you really want new

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121320 30$ after mail in rebate better than the cards mentioned so far
Click to expand...

That's a 9600 GSO which has a different architecture and is a different card from the 9600GT. An overclocked 9600 GSO will outperform a stock 9600GT though, so it's not a bad choice if you want a little oomph in your value card selection. With bing cashback you could probably get the 9600 GSO for even lower price.
 
Last edited:
I think the main thing people want to know is your PSU power rating.
That's important when matching video cards.
If you have a generic 300W PSU then you're pretty much stuck with a 9400/9500GT.
Are you doing dual monitor display or single?
If single, just get the 9500GT for $49 if it's the same price as the 9400.
If dual monitor pay $10 extra for the PNY version of the 9500GT so you'll have 2xdvi to connect to both monitors.
 
Whatever the OE PSU is in the E521.

Just a single display. Nothing crazy. Picked up the 9500 GT at lunch today. Had an open box clearance one for $39.
 
Coucher said:
Whatever the OE PSU is in the E521.

Just a single display. Nothing crazy. Picked up the 9500 GT at lunch today. Had an open box clearance one for $39.
Click to expand...
so you cant even look? lol. I guess you bought one of the slow ddr2 9500gt cards? well for 39 bucks its not too bad but I would have spent 10 bucks more for a brand new one with ddr3.
 
Coucher said:
The pc is at home, I'm at work.

Since it seems to be that critical to you, a quick Google search netted that the standard PSU in the E521 is a 305w.
Click to expand...
I was just joking with you thats why I put the lol in there. also the same pc model can sometimes have a different psu depending on the exact parts it has. for example one model may go to a 350watt psu if a quad is selected. anyway the 305w unit would certainly be the lowest Dell would use in the E52 and it will be just fine with a 9500gt and your current setup. :cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top