Graphics card & PCIEXPRESS 1/2

[fabes]

Hi

hunting the tech forums, but hoping I get a quicker answer here.

Looking to upgrade the 17" to a 22" screen

However, the kids (and it must be said, me) like the odd gaming session and my current 7600GT is, I am afraid, not going to be upto the task (eg on Battlefield games) on the higher resolution.

Looking at a 9500GT or a 9600GT as a cost effective upgrade, but cannot decide between the two (they are about £20 apart - not much but..)

My mobo has PCI Express 16, and this is x1 (I understand)
As it isn't the PCIExpress x2 that I read is around, will the board enable the 9600GT to stretch its legs beyond the 9500, or will the PCIExpress slot limit it

A bit techie I know, but hoping someone can steer me correctly

Cheers

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Do you know exactly what manufacturer and model your mobo is?

 

[fabes]

yep (thanks for the quick reply btw)

ASUS - M2NPV-VM

More readling is revealing that the cards don't breach PCIE 1 so 2 is of no real advantage AND that the cards are backwards comptaible, so a 9600 should perform better

Do we agree with this?

And, would the cheaper 9500 be more than adequate at the 1600 resolution of a 22"

Views appreciated

 

[Frank O' Phile]

Inno 3D 9500GT.

I have just fitted one of these in my system (pci-e version 1), not tried any games yet, but pleased with results so far.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

A good PCI-Express card will be fine.

The fact your mobo has only one PCI-E slot only means you can't buy two identical cards and install them to work in tandem for double benefit.

Personally, if I were buying I would get ATI 4xxx but NVidia cards like the 9800GT will be fine.

IMHO, a 9600 or 9500 will struggle....

 

[fabes]

Cheers guys

So it looks like either will work fine, its just a question of I spend the £20 extra on the card, or on the screen (I am sticking with DVI for a 22" so the cheaper ones are out) Not looking to SLI
Might go for the 9600 over the 9500, but will I see the difference on BF2 and BF2142 (which are what I play when I get near the main PC with a beer these days)

Any recommendations on a cheap-ish 22" LCD whilst I am on ?

Off to give the leather in the merc a little tlc now....

 

[grober]

Samsung.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Any recommendations on a cheap-ish 22" LCD whilst I am on ?

I have a wonderful Sony but it wasn't cheap.. in hindsight i would have preferred one with a USB bus.. this may be a consideration for you?

btw take a look here - ebuyer does do some good deals (I've used them several times in the past)
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?page=1&store=73&cat=12&subcat=2362&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Monitors%20-%20Generic&utm_term=22%20lcd%20monitor&***id=CMLit83foJ0CFVZe4wodYBhZcQ

 

[Sorry Pete]

You might find this link helpful in making your decision as to what graphics card would be suitable. It details the relative performance of all the cards on the market. The 9600, is a much stronger performer than the 9500, and all the GT models seem to give better bang for your buck than not.

Whether this matters much for BF2 et al, I couldn't say. Prices for the 9500 range from £40-50, for the 9600, £60-80. I'd go for the 9600GT. On the video card benchmarks, the 9600GT out-performs the 9800GT, but there's nothing in it.

As far as monitors go, Samsung's a safe bet, but there are so many reviews, conflicting reviews, user opinions on what's out there that it's making my head hurt.

Dell gets consistently good feedback, as do the HP range. HP would seem to be superior for serious graphical work. Don't discount Iiyama as they also seem to be good value and good performers, I believe someone on this forum recently purchased one with good results.

I'm currently getting info on spec for a system I'm thinking of building, and I'm going for a 24inch with HDMI input, but I honestly can't decide what to plump for.

 

[fabes]

Cheers (sorry) Pete

Interesting site (in a graphically geeky way)

Shows my 7600GT (which is o/c anyway from box) is faster than the 9500GT, so its going to be a 9600GT then

As to the screen, my current 17" is 6 years old (cost a fortune at the time) is an iiyama and has been faultless

Its only 'cause we have a little cash to spare that if I don't upsize to a 22" now, the money will get wasted elsewhere - budget is around the £130 mark
I want to retain DVI as I know it will make an ever so small difference (esp on 22") so will plough the Ebuyer site and others an see what falls into the bracket with good contrast and ms rating

Cheers

Fabes