Which One to Get

[mharolde]

Hello,

Been a couple of years since I have posted here. To tell you how long, my Geforce 3 Ti was an excellent video card. Now it is time to upgrade and my head is spinning, my oh my have things changed in the last few years!

I have around $100 to spend on graphics and my son wants to play the latest games. It looks like a Geforce 9600 GT will be the best bang for my buck, but suggestions are always welcome. I am shopping on Newegg and I don't even recognize some of the manufacturers, so I am turning to you guys for help. I found cards by PNY, Chaintech, Sparkle and Zotac in my price range but haven't a clue as to which one to get. Please help me choose as I have been out of the game for quite a while.

I am upgrading my power supply as well and have decided on a Corsair, I feel pretty good about that choice, but again, any suggestions are welcome. I am guessing the 400 watt model will meet my needs, good amperage on the 12V rail.

Also need a new mobo and cpu, I remember ASUS being a good name so I am thinking in that direction with an AMD processor. I want to spend around $150 for the combo. Is ASUS still a good board? Please, I welcome suggestions on this front as well. Should I stay with a 45w processor with the above power supply or can I run one of the newer 95w processors?

Thanks in advance, this site has always been good to me.

[Train]

9600 GT - 61 Watts
A fair card and I have not heard anything bad about the brands you list. PNY, Chaintec, and Sparkle have been around for a few years now.

Might be a good time to take a good look at the game requirements and see if your computer can even handle it.

ASUS has fallen in my book.
Whatever you do and wherever you buy - avoid:
Jetway
PC Chips
ECS
These aren't the bottom of the barrel; they'd have to improve greatly to achieve that status. Their failure rates are obscene.

[mharolde]

Just a follow up on what components I bought.
Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3P mobo
AMD Athlon X2 5600+ processor
MSI N9600 GT OC graphics
Corsair 450watt psu
Corsair XMS2 twin 1gb memory sticks DDR2 800

Very happy with my new rig so far.

[Train]

Thanks for posting and letting us know.

[RockNRoll]

I'm guessing you got the MSI from newegg that was like 65 bucks after rebate? The one with the big red fan-majigger on it. I had my friend pick one up for his new rig cause it's a nice card and heck it was an awesome deal. It's working great. MSI is one of my favorite.

[mharolde]

I'm guessing you got the MSI from newegg that was like 65 bucks after rebate? The one with the big red fan-majigger on it. I had my friend pick one up for his new rig cause it's a nice card and heck it was an awesome deal. It's working great. MSI is one of my favorite.


You are guessing correct. Got all but the psu at newegg. The only problem I have is that the cpu, psu and graphics card fans are so quiet it made me realize how darn noisy my case fans are. If I unplug my three case fans you can barely hear my system at all...very impressed. Time for some new QUIET case fans.