Video Card Question

[A8cole]

So I have the 32bit Vista and it came with an Nvidia 8400GS. I want to upgrade because this is the only game i play on my PC. I wanted to get a 8600GT? Would i see any improvement in graphics with that small of a jump? PC Specs below:

3.00 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
4096 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. Berkeley 1.xx
Bus Clock: 333 megahertz

Just wanted to see if I could get any advice.
Salute,
A8Cole

[Skuzzy]

This is a tough one.  In its default configuration, Vista has so much running in the background that seeing a gain in video card performance may be difficult or minimal.

[outbreak]

buy XP Pro hehe

[Mace2004]

Originally posted by A8cole
So I have the 32bit Vista and it came with an Nvidia 8400GS. I want to upgrade because this is the only game i play on my PC. I wanted to get a 8600GT? Would i see any improvement in graphics with that small of a jump? PC Specs below:

3.00 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
4096 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. Berkeley 1.xx
Bus Clock: 333 megahertz

Just wanted to see if I could get any advice.
Salute,
A8Cole

Don't know about Vista but you may want to reconsider the 8600GT.  For about $20-$30 more you can get the new nVidia 9600GT with 512MB of RAM vice the 256MB seen in most 8600.  An 8600GT with 512MB costs a bit more.  The 9600GT is much faster than the 8600GT and is only a little bit slower than the 8800GT at about $50 less.

[Caz1]

My two cents:

While anything is likely to be an upgrade to an 8400GS  , the 8600GT isn't much of a performer.  I'd agree with Mace - the new 9600GT is a much better value, but from what I've seen the 8600GT is roughly half to two-thirds the cost of a 9600GT.  So if you do go the 9600GT route, it won't be as cheep as you'd probably like.  The real killer for the 8600GT is it's diminutive 128-bit memory interface.  Because of that, and the fact that the different flavors of the card don't scale their RAM speeds all that much, getting the 512 MB version of the 8600GT still isn't likely to help you very much.

The 9600GT has double the memory interface width, at least as much ram as any 8600GT you can get your hands on (and double that of most of them), faster ram speeds, and a newer, faster GPU.  All in all, it's the best budget gamer's video card in the Nvidia camp right now and the direction I'd go in if I decided to go the Nvidia route.  If you really can't afford anything more than an 8600GT right now, I'd say sock away that money, add to it over time, and get yourself something nicer in another month or two.

Again, just my two cents; 

-Caz1

[A8cole]

Well thank you all for your two cents . I just decided to get the 8600GT and it has worked fine for me. I didn't want to change the power supply and all that so 8600 sounded ok. It bumped up my Vista rating from 3.5 to 5.8 with just adding that video card, which i really don't care about the Vista rating but I did notice that. Once again thank you all for you responses. I am pleased with the performance I am getting, but like Caz1 said, I would have probably been a lot happier with the 9600GT.

Salute
A8Cole