Old Graphics Card able to handle BF3/Diablo 3?

[scott_11260]

Hello,

Currently, I'm using an EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR 8800GTS 320MB. I don't know much about graphics cards and was wondering whether I should/need to upgrade for Battlefield 3 or Diablo 3. I'm planning to upgrade my processor and mother board so I'm going to be a little tight on funds.

For a processor, I'm looking at: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

For a mother board, I like: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

[Deemo13]

The 8800GT is the lowest recommended settings for BF3, you would have to play it on low, with none of the eye candy. The graphics would be the bottleneck of your system, yet the 8800/9800's still put out quite a bit of power and can somewhat keep up with today's demanding games. I would recommend getting a graphics upgrade soon.

What resolution do you play at?

 

[pro-gamer]

best walk with 2500k...

 

[Deemo13]

Diablo 3 would be quite easy fo your card to run BTW. It is a Blizzard game, so the graphics are not too detailed (save for SC2). The minimum reqs require a 7900GT, which is really old tech.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

I don't see where an Asrock Extrem4 Gen3 is any advantage over an Extreme3 Gen 3
and the Extreme 4 is $60 more.

 

[pro-gamer]

how much extreme 4 is better than 3.can you list the features

 

[vitornob]

His VGA isn't the 8800GT. It's the older 8800GTS 320mb. Comparable to the 9600GT only. (8800GT might be 20~30% faster than his 8800GTS 320mb)

 

[Deemo13]

His VGA isn't the 8800GT. It's the older 8800GTS 320mb. Comparable to the 9600GT only. (8800GT might be 20~30% faster than his 8800GTS 320mb)

You are correct there, I must have read wrong. Either way it will still have a hard time playing BF3, yet it will be alright for Diablo 3.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

Go to Newegg.com or Asrock.com and compare them yourself. Looks like the Ex 4 can handle 1866 Ram and has some more PCI slots but you can SLI 8X8 on both of them
Don't you research anything before making a choice on your actual requirements? Just because someone says you need this MoBo or that video card or PSU or whatever, you really need to know what YOU need and a budget.

 

[ch3rok33jo3]

IMO i3 2100 overclocked + 6870 or 6950 2GB (unlock to 6970) are where it's at. Sometimes I kinda wish I would have gotten an i3 instead, and saved my cash to upgrade to a super fast i7 later.

Anyway the i3 is $100 less but will run circles around some i5/i7 models (in gaming) and hangs tough with hyper threading in 2-4 core apps.

6950 unlocked and overclocked will have you nipping at GTX 580 scores for $249. Great single card solution, hard to beat that value...! But the 6870 is nothing to sneeze at, either - pretty good card, just not quite the value IMO

 

[DelroyMonjo]

What planet are you from. ch3rok? An I3 can't be OC'ed. It's a 2.93 GHz 2 core. Show me the numbers !

 

[pro-gamer]

What planet are you from. ch3rok? An I3 can't be OC'ed. It's a 2.93 GHz 2 core. Show me the numbers !

he's from MARS

 

[computadoro]

i use an extreme 3 gen 3 with a 2500k, its a great board and im overclocked to 4ghz never saw a bsod.

 

[scott_11260]

Thanks, guys!

I took another look at the extreme 4 -- I'm gonna save some dough and go with the extreme 3. Aside from more power phases, it seems like the only real extras that the extreme 4 boasts are interface slots.

 

[scott_11260]

Best answer selected by scott_11260.