video card over clock or get a new one

[danmac]

Just like the title says I have a nvidia 240 gt and I want to get more I have a I7 processor and I was told that won't be a weak point I tried to up the settings and had a 10 fps drop from 60 but would have freeze moments for about 2 seconds so dropped my settings back down. So I'm wondering would it be worth it to overclock or just buy a new one I've never overclocked anything but I have read up on it I just wana max or come close to maxing my settings

[Gman]

You need to be sure if your system can be upgraded first of all.  This means a couple of things, primarily if your case can fit a new video card.  Next, you need to know what type of power supply unit you have, and what it's rated for, and what connectors it has.  Almost all new cards will need to connect to your PSU, at least anything decent.

Your current card won't see much improvement overclocking, if that's what you were asking, at least IMO.

You can have an i7 cpu, but a crappy motherboard and PSU which will make it nearly impossible to upgrade your video card, so you need to check into that before any purchase.  I have a home theater PC that is an HP, and it's an i7 920, with a 5770 video card, and the only card I could get into it with the current MB and PSU was a 7770, which wasn't really worth the small increase in performance.  I suspect your box will be similar in terms of the situation.  Maybe take a look at your make and model and post it, and others here can help you out a bit more with that info.

[danmac]

How would I go about finding all that info I assume it's in some file in windows but I don't know im not computer savvy mechanical savvy I am but not so much on this type of deal

[Bizman]

DxDiag would help. The first third is usually enough. How-to by Skuzzy can be found here: http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,71591.msg3215282.html#msg3215282

240GT is a lower end card, so you won't lose much should you fry it by overclocking. OTOH overclocking bears always a risk of ruining your whole computer, so you'd be better off by upgrading and either saving the 240 for possible testing purposes or selling it cheaply. Be prepared, getting an entirely new computer might turn out to be the best solution in a lengthy run. You know, a better power supply, more RAM... Don't haste, though, before we have seen the specs of your current rig.

[Debrody]

240 GT ~ 9600 GT - thats an older card, mid-range for its era (2007 - 2008)
Overclocking can give you 10-15-20% performance gain, but does it really helps when its 10 or 12 fps?
The 1st generation i7s are decent CPUs, even today, so getting a newer card from the 150-200$ range would surely help you out.

[danmac]

Time of this report: 7/14/2013, 13:59:23
       Machine name: DANIELANDRUBI
   Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130318-1533)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: MSI
       System Model: MS-7636
               BIOS: Default System BIOS
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU         870  @ 2.93GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.9GHz
             Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 4056MB RAM
          Page File: 1564MB used, 6543MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
   User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
 System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
    DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
     DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

[danmac]

no idea what any of this means i use this comp for only aces high and some google and youtube

[guncrasher]

danmac did you build the pc or is it one off the shelf pc?  gateway, hp, etc...


semp

[danmac]

It was built but not by me is it bad if something need up grading then by all means let me know

[The Fugitive]

Over clocking a weak card is only going to give you very marginal improvements in frame rate. You would be much better off getting a new video card.  As suggested above, a $200 card would be a very good jump.

[danmac]

I want to spend a minimum of 300 I want to really crank up the setting

[guncrasher]

how about your ps?


semp

[danmac]

I have no idea I googled how to find it and everything said should be a sticker I have none so I'm guessing it's a small crappy ps

[The Fugitive]

You may have to take the screws out and look at the back side to find the tag.

[Gman]

You may be in luck by the looks of things.  If it was built and not bought, odds are in your favor you can do some upgrading, as your CPU and RAM aren't bad at all.  If 300 is your budget, there are tons of decent video card and psu upgrades that fall into the 300$ combination range that will give you WAY better performance than a 240 nvidia.  A 7870 or mid level nVidia card and a decent PSU to power it should come in around 300$ ish I believe, or certainly not much more.

As others said you probably need to remove your case, or least one side of it, to get a look at your PSU, it should have the information right on it someplace easy to see.  Try doing that and report back, heck, you may even not need to upgrade it depending on what it is, as a 7870 or 650 doesn't need as much power as other faster cards like a 670 680 780 or 7950 etc.