Video Card Help!

I am looking to purchase a video card for SC2. I am currerntly using a PC with a Intel Dual Core Processor @ 2.2 Ghz. 4 GB of Ram. And Some crappy Integrated Video Card. (Not the Best PC for Gaming I Know) I want a descent card that would allow me to play on Medium to High settings but also want it to be around $80. If that is possible or If you have any ideas for some Cards let me know. Much Appreciated

 

Maybe this one.... its $82 , but should matter too much!

Click Me

 

The HD5670 is faster and could be had for just a little bit more ($85~90). Less if you take into account rebates. The 9800GT is also another option you'll often see on sale for $80. Alas, it has higher power consumption compared to the HD5670.

 

Don't get the 9800 GT if you want to play starcraft 2. I've seen way too many posts here regarding artifacts and crashes with the 9800 GT and starcraft 2.

 

i am also looking to purchase new speakers so the cheaper the price of the card the better.. but not too cheap if u know wat i mean.

i forgot to note that i have a slim case. will that make it harder to find a video card that will fit? if so what are some cards that will fit my slim PC case?

 

Most slim cases will only take low profile cards so that eliminates a number of options. I think the best you can go for with your budget is the Radeon HD 5570. I think there are a few manufacturers making low-profile versions of higher end cards such as the HD 5750 but I think it'll probably be out of your budget.

 

im new to PC gaming and hardware. but doesn't the card have to be compatible with the motherboard and have enough power from the power supply? i can't jus go out and buy any card right? i mean i know about PCI and PCI Express but is there more to it than that?

would this card work? and if so on what settings?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103115


or this guy:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...30522&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-14-130-522-_-Homepage

 

The HD5450, probably the lowest settings. It's roughly equivalent to a 6600GT which is the minimum requirement. The GT220 is a full height card. You already mentioned you have a slim case so make sure it fits first. As for performance, I think it'll be able to do medium at lower resolutions. Assuming your case can fit full height cards, this HD4670 should be faster, albeit it does block the expansion slot beside it.

As for the necessary connections, you mentioned you have a Pentium Dual Core @ 2.2GHz. I'm guessing you either have a Celeron E1500, Pentium E2200 or Core 2 Duo E4500. Of the three, the Pentium is the most likely one you have. Regardless, those processors are new enough and chances are high you've got at least a PCI Express x16 slot on your motherboard. Better double-check that you do. If you don't, it's time to think about getting a new mobo.

The power supply, at the budget you're looking at, you won't be needing PCIe power connectors and the max power draw for the card is 75W. It's pretty safe to assume that meager though your power supply maybe (a lot of off-shelf ones I've seen have 200~300W), it should still have no problem powering your PC.

 

Yes i have a PCI Express x 16. But i was wondering how i figure out if it will fit w/o at first buying it?

 

i just cant see any card fitting.. i mean the case is only 4 inches thick and the card slot is probably 3. im thinking my only option is to switch to a bigger case. but my power supply is small as hell so i would need to get a new power supply also.

 

There are half-height cards that fit in slim cases, usually lower power models that are more suitable for HTPC use. However, some of them are fine for low-end gaming. Since StarCraft doesn't really require too much graphics muscle to get reasonable framerates, one of the budget options should work fine.

One of the following is probably your best option:
ATI Radeon HD 5570

If you'll notice, the actual PCB is roughly half the height of the metal bracket. The video cards come with low-profile brackets. You just need to unscrew the longer bracket and replace it with the shorter ones.

 

so from what i can tell the VGA port can be detached. and then replace the high profile bracket with the low end. and also there, are multiple Radeon HD 5570 on Newegg. which one would you recommend. or are they all pretty much the same.

 

I reckon they're pretty much the same. If you go by reviews, though, the Sapphire cards seem decent. Now that I think of it, all my ATI cards are actually made by Sapphire (HD 3450, 2x HD 4550, HD 5670). So far, all of the cards work just fine. Mind you, I don't really have a brand preference. It just so happened they're the ones with the lowest price at the time of purchase.

 

Thanks rui-no-onna. You've been a great help.. I definitely have a better idea of what I need now. thanks. This probably won't be the last time I'll talk to you because you definitely seem to know ur stuff. If I have any more questions I'll give you a shout.

 

Graphics card

I read the "Can you PC handle SC:2, the stickied post or whatever.

I saw this: Geforce 8800, 9800, and GTS250 are the same card. they should be capable of high to ultra, depending on resolution.

I looked at my graphics card and it says GeForce GT 220.

Am i able to run this game on that graphics card? I looked at everything else, and besides having to delete a couple of games on my computer, i am good to go. I have 4 CPU processor, so that's a bonus for me.

Windows 7 64 bit

Any help would be grealty appreacited..thanks!

 

Not on Ultra but Medium would probably be doable. That's a pretty entry level card but it's probably equivalent to the HD 5550 or 5570.

 

So i should be good to go, right?

I just dont want a game that makes it unbearable to play.


Sorry, i am not that great at computers lol

 

Graphics Card & StarCraft 2

Will I be able to play StarCraft 2 on PC with the following graphics card?

 

It is simple to see if you can run starcrfat 2. Go check this site: http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri . Search for Starcraft 2 Beta and make the test.


PS; It asks you do download something. Download it once and it won't ask for it again.


Here are my Specs and they work on the beta:

Windows 7
i7 Processor
2.66GHZ
Nvidia GeForce GT220(1080 mb of graphics)
9 GB of RAM
1 TO of Hard Drive space

 

Graphics Card Question

Yes I read the stickied post about "can you run SC2" And I'm fairly confident that I can I'm just wondering how high of settings I could run it on with an ATI Radeon X1300 card.