video card advice

[stovebolt1]

hi.
I wonder if I could get some feedback from u gurus out there..
I have a dell xps 410 2 yrs old with a geforce 7900gs....someone gave me a new 9500gt with a gig of memory...ive read this is actually slower than my current card??is that true?..i use my pc mainly for online gaming...warcraft..etc..
appreciate your input

[Midknyte]

The first number is the generation or series. the second number signifies if it's an entry level, middle or high end card. The 7900GS was a higher model card in its day. I wouldn't be surprised if it beat the 9500 (lower middle).

You'll have to find benchmarks of the games you play and compare them.

[Train]

Tomshardware does not even list the 9500GT
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q1-2008/3DMark06-v1.0.2-HDR-SM3.0-Score,Marque_fbrandx876,538.html

I take that as a hint.

[stovebolt1]

thanks for the replies.....i had a feeling it was too good to be true....so considering the anemic psu that dell uses..what upgrade options would I have in the mid hundred dollar range? or should I just leave well enough alone?

[Midknyte]

THG does a monthly roundup:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2296.html

Your CPU might also be a bottleneck for higher cards.

[Train]

And the model is?

[stovebolt1]

well after reading a lot..i settled on a Diamond radeon HD4770 512meg card i havent run benchmarks on it yet...but it looks like itll blow my old 7900gs away. was a totally painless install as well which isnt a bad thing.
Again thanks for all the feedback..
:)