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Best mid range card
Since I only really play MMO's I decided that a mid range graphics card is best suited for my needs. But before I go out and buy one, what would you recomend for games such as AoC, Vangaurd or the upcomming Star Wars (I'm pretty sure that a mid range will be enough for both feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Many thanks
Comments
This should help http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2296.html
It depends what you mean by mid range, it means different things to different gamers. Better you give a budget on what you are willing to spend, for me midrange = 9800/4850.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
I wanted to avoid giving out a price because I don't use U.S. Dollars and prices vary from country to country due to VAT rates etc. but i think the maximum I would buy was a 9800 GT.
Which card you get depends on how much you are going to spend. Alot of cards have actually fallen in price to whats considered midrange.
The 8800gt 512mb card is a very solid gamming card and is also very affordable,you will have no problems running any of the games you have listed on high settings,I would advise posting your other pc specs as it isnt always as easy as popping in new card and you are all set,you have to make sure you have the power to run it (psu) aswell as other things...just to be safe.
If someone had came up to me in 1980 when I was on my Atari 2600 and said we will be playing games with thousands of people at the same time.I guess my response would have been,"but I only have 2 joysticks"
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235780/page/8
If you r going for 9800 better get the GTS 250 it uses the same nvidia chip as the 9800 and has better cooling....also almost the same price.
I have a 4gb Intel core 2 duo 2.4ghz., I already know I have to upgrade my PSU for anything but the cheapest gfx card. But I don't think that will be a problem and the motherboard has a PCI-E slot. So I think everything is ok except the PSU.
Your system is almost the same as mine and I have the 8800gt card,I run all the games I have on high setting including the like's of CoD 4 and crysis,I have played both Vanguard and AoC,VG is a bit different but I still run that at high with some slider changes,this is more down to the games coding than my set-up,AoC I run at the highest settings with nps.
If you are on a budget then the 8800gt could be the way to go,it will for sure run mmo's on high and like I said earlier is a solid mid range card and a good price.
If someone had came up to me in 1980 when I was on my Atari 2600 and said we will be playing games with thousands of people at the same time.I guess my response would have been,"but I only have 2 joysticks"
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235780/page/8
Thanks a lot, you gave me pretty much what I needed to know. Having problems tracking down a store that stocks the 8800 GT though. I'm sure I will find it on Amazon.
Newegg has a 9800GT TODAY ONLY for $59.00 after rebate, $79.00 before rebate which is still a good deal.
That is a good deal and would be well worth a look.
If someone had came up to me in 1980 when I was on my Atari 2600 and said we will be playing games with thousands of people at the same time.I guess my response would have been,"but I only have 2 joysticks"
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235780/page/8
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
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Strange,I have the latest driver's and recently re-tried LoTRo I had nps with the game,in Febuary I went back to have a look at VG and again nps(except for the usual changing of a couple of sliders),I have just recently stopped my sub on AoC were I have played for a few months and again it all went smooth.
The only game I have had any problems with in recent months has been fallout 3,though after chatting with some guys from my online guild and checking the forums it seems that the problems are all game related.
If someone had came up to me in 1980 when I was on my Atari 2600 and said we will be playing games with thousands of people at the same time.I guess my response would have been,"but I only have 2 joysticks"
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235780/page/8
I owbn a 8800GT and the current drivers for it are ppretty much crap.It differes from game to game but Nvidia is saying the drivers work for all cards listed, well , I can say that is not always the case. In lotrO I have had to roll back drivers , with Vanguard I really had to roll back drivers, almost all the Funcom games Iv'e rolled back drivers on my card. Also find that 8800GT is just an old card now and I'm personlly going to swamp it out for a ATI4870 1GB which is under $200 USD
Sounds like something is fuged up or a major Short between the chair and keyboard. You might want to have it checked out....and fast!
I think I will go with the 9800 GT, believe it or not I found them to be cheaper than the other model, I'm slightly perplexed to why this is. I'm also a bit curious to why nobody has recomended an ATI card. Thanks to everybody for all their help.
It's because you are on the right track... However ..I would NOT get anything below a 9800 GTX+ and would push more twords the GTS 250... Very compairable when Overclocked, but the GTS 250 edges it with better cooling and lower power draw! and is shorter!
EDIT_ Also they have models with 1 six pin power conection
I could be wrong but I think the reason the 9800 is cheaper now than the 8800 is the fact the 8800 is a solid gaming card but is no longer in mass production(if they are even still being made).
The reason I say this is I remember a mate of mine wanted the same card as me a few years ago,then I had the 7600gt card,that card cost me around 70 euro's when I bought it but sometime later my mate was having to pay double that,he ended up getting the 79xx card instead,it is all a bit strange,maybe someone has a better reason as to why old cards go up in price sometime's but that is all I can think of
If someone had came up to me in 1980 when I was on my Atari 2600 and said we will be playing games with thousands of people at the same time.I guess my response would have been,"but I only have 2 joysticks"
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235780/page/8
i think 8800 GT is not a mid range card, it more like a low range card as today. czu i bought this like exactly 1yr ago($150) while when i was start playing AOC.
I think go for GTS 250 is more for a midrange card.
If the 8800 card is now low range then I take it the 8400,8600,9600 and ofc 7 series cards are totally useless,even though they can run the latest games anywhere between medium and high settings?
Also if the 250 card is mid range what sort of a high range do we have,maybe 1 or 2 cards?
Seems you are bracketing everything from the 9800 card and lower as low range,even though there isnt a single game out there that I cant run on the highest settings with the 8800 card,or are you basically going by the age of the card and if it is a year old then is basically obselete?
If someone had came up to me in 1980 when I was on my Atari 2600 and said we will be playing games with thousands of people at the same time.I guess my response would have been,"but I only have 2 joysticks"
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235780/page/8
ati 4800 series. accept no substitutes.
The 7000 series are out of question, even if you were to SLI them, the Performance is lacking and would say that they are obselete. The 8000 series....more so with the 8800GT /GTS / GTX are the best out of that series, and would not lable them as obselete. With the games that will be coming out you will see min. system requirments in the 8000 series cards and recumended system requirments in the 9000 series cards. And with the Unreal engine being used for up and coming MMO's, you will see more people needing to upgrade.
Now.....If you purchased a 8800 GT a year ago (closer to a 2 year old card) and the games are taxing it out.....get the second one (before they quit selling them) and slap it in (SLI) and you are good to go for a while. However if you need to replace old hardware...get the 9800 GTX+ or better to keep up with the demand of the new games.
The thing to focus on is this...being able to run your games at Maxed settings with 60 FPS min. or better! Also being able to play the newer games the same way.
Low end:
8600 to lower 9600 series
Midrange:
9800GT OC to GTS 250
high end:
gts250 and up.
SLI config
Midrange:
2 x 8600GT's to 9600 GT OC in SLI
high end:
2 x 9800GTX+ thru 2 x GTX260 216
Over the top:
2x 275's and up to Quad 295's
Maybe I am mis-reading if I am then I am sorry.
You do know that the 8800gt card is a better gaming card than the 9600 and other lower 9000 series cards?
The higher the number does not make it a better card.
Like I said if I am mis-reading your post then I am sorry.It is just the way you have them listed and the part about games in the future saying min specs of a 8000 series card with recommended specs of a 9000 series card....as that wouldnt make any sense.
If someone had came up to me in 1980 when I was on my Atari 2600 and said we will be playing games with thousands of people at the same time.I guess my response would have been,"but I only have 2 joysticks"
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235780/page/8
I have 2 8800GT 512 in sli and can run any game out at high settings. The 8800 are still a solid card, especially when sli'ed.
No signature, I don't have a pen
You have to remember that vid card is only one piece of the performance puzzel, albet a important one; system memory, processor speed, IP connection all have an impact on your systems overall performance. I too am primaraly a MMO player and I run a 9800 GT 1Gig Ram slightly OC'd and don't have any problem running any of the current MMO's on very high/ultra high settings with screen full of action.
Unless you already have a mobo that supports Sli or crossfire and the way vid card prices drop i would suggest buying a card that meets your needs now and into the immediate future and when you need more power you'll find those higher end cards now will be within you budget.
Edit: I forgot to add that because you play MMO's you may want to make sure that they support SLi or crossfire configs. I play with a bunch of guys running either of these and they have made the clients unstable... just some more food for thought.
That list above is a rough guideline. With the single card list...I wouldnt run anything over 1680X1050 (22") display. With the SLI setups, everything above 1680x1050.
I like the 8800 GT's, I own 2 of them, 1 in my Kids computer. When overclocking one ,you would be knipping at the heels of 1 8800GTX at a 1680x1050 or lower resolution. And with 2 of them OC'ed @ 1680x1050 is more than enough for some (if not most) of todays FPS.
The thing im trying to say here is....The 8000 series will become obsolete like the 7000 series. All it's going to take is a little time..However if you own one, and you can run 2 of them in SLI, you will prolong hardware replacement. If you are in the hardware replacemet stage....I wouldnt get anything below the 9800GTX+/ GTS250.