Question on Graphics Cards?

[Crewman47]

I've got a GeForce GT220 graphics card and one of the games I've got that I'm asking about is Star Wars The Force Unleashed PC version and even though I can play it reasonably okay, with a little bit stuttering every now and then, and this is what the website Can You Run it says is recommended:

Now I've looked up the GT9800 and it was released a year earlier to the GT 220 so the question I'm asking really is why they would recommend an earlier type when I already have a card that meets the recommended specs?

So if were to upgrade what should I go for that's not too pricey and would work for all the games I currently have, Alien V Predator 2010, CoD 4-7, Brothers in Arms: HH, Wolfenstein 2009 game, GTA 4, the one mentioned above and a few older games.

 

[Switch]

Nvidia GTX 460 or AMD Radeon 6850 is about the price/perf. sweet spot at the moment. Either will handle anything you can throw at them for the conceivable future and are a good match for the rest of your system assuming your PSU is up to the task. If in doubt, the Radeon draws less power.

 

[Jadzia]

Now I've looked up the GT9800 and it was released a year earlier to the GT 220 so the question I'm asking really is why they would recommend an earlier type when I already have a card that meets the recommended specs?

The suggested card is a high performance graphics card, albeit from 2008. High performance means it costs more, burns more electricity, and will work with almost all games for several years from production date.

Your card is an entry level card, but is a year newer. Entry level performance means the cost is minimal, it burns very little electricity, but won't be powerful enough to work with all new games.


The older card actually has better performance in some respects.

If we look at wikipedia for some crucial figures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_200_Series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_9_Series

GT220 : 625MHz core / 10 billion texels per second / 192 gigaflop shader

GT9800 : 675MHz core / 43.2 billion texels per second / 648 gigaflop shader

 

[KJbushway]

You want a great graphics card that will run smoothly with any game and won't become old after just 2 years. Get a HIS graphic card. you won't have any problems. I looked at the same game. My 2006 HIS graphics card would play it, it was my ram and GHz speed that wouldn't allow me to play it.

 

[sojourner]

^HIS is just the brand. what model of HIS card are you recommending? (they use Radeon technology, so being HIS is not important)

 

[Jadzia]

Different manufacturers will arrange components differently on the circuit board. Different cooling systems and different reactance of the conductors, can affect stability and life expectancy of the card.

But even so, there isn't any value choosing a card by manufacturer, because components are not arranged with any consistency.

 

[Amaris]

I have a Sapphire ATI Radeon HD4670. I paid $65 at the time of purchase, and it has served me very well. It's about midrange, so $65 was practically a steal. I was able to play Star Trek Online at 1600x900, high settings with 4x Anti-Aliasing without any skipping, even in heavy battle. World of Warcraft can be played at max settings without any performance trouble. Microsoft Flight Simulator X can be played at high settings (but not max settings) without performance issues, and of course HD video looks fantastic and plays without so much as a hiccup. So overall, it's a really good card for the price. I do know that Amazon.com has them for about $60 right now, which is a great deal for what you're getting. Here's a link to Amazon's selection (link).

 

[KJbushway]

I am advertising the 6800 series. I have a lesser one, but they are better than any graphic cards I have used. thats including Nvidia. It has its one 512MB memory, it stays cool, and they don't become out of style just after two years. I am playing GTA liberty city(2008) with the 2006 series I have(3800 I think, I didn't get in the original box)

 

[KJbushway]

I just found out that, the 5 year old graphics card easily plays
STO. the demo atleast.