I'm a gamer and I gave up on Xbox 360s about a year ago after two bouts with the red eye of death and attempts to correct it. I've turned to PC gaming and I have to say I like it MUCH more.
Only problem is, I have a Gateway desktop PC with Intel GMA x4500.
I'm pretty decent with software, but I have little to no experience with hardware.
It's got the job done for the most part, playing on the lowest settings as possible in games like Mass Effect 2. I've been playing TES IV: Oblivion here recently and the graphics don't compare to ME2's, but I still get a ton of lag when I get into a skirmish.
Needless to say, It's time for an upgrade. I would like a card that can run ME1, ME2, and ME3, as well as Diablo 3, smoothly on moderate settings.
Not sure how this works, (didn't read the sticky), but here are the specs:
Gateway SX2801-01e model
Windows 7 64 bit
Intel Pentium processor E5500
Intel GMA x4500 graphics
1 TB HD
6 GB DDR3 memory
Everything is stock, and I'm not sure what Power Supply I have.
I've been browsing Amazon for a reasonably priced one, and I keep getting drawn to the EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 2Gb ($139 after rebate?).
I also spotted this one - SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCIE Graphics Card
My price range is roughly up to $170.
Only problem is, this is the smallest tower I've ever owned or seen, and I've never opened it up before to see the innards. The AMD Radeon card is supposedly gigantic, according to reviewers on Amazon, and based on the pictures I saw of the GTX 550, it looks quite large as well.
I have little experience with hardware, so any help would be much appreciated!
(When I told the guys at GameStop that I was playing ME2 on a GMA x4500 they laughed in my face lol, that was the turning point for me)
Only problem is, I have a Gateway desktop PC with Intel GMA x4500.
I'm pretty decent with software, but I have little to no experience with hardware.
It's got the job done for the most part, playing on the lowest settings as possible in games like Mass Effect 2. I've been playing TES IV: Oblivion here recently and the graphics don't compare to ME2's, but I still get a ton of lag when I get into a skirmish.
Needless to say, It's time for an upgrade. I would like a card that can run ME1, ME2, and ME3, as well as Diablo 3, smoothly on moderate settings.
Not sure how this works, (didn't read the sticky), but here are the specs:
Gateway SX2801-01e model
Windows 7 64 bit
Intel Pentium processor E5500
Intel GMA x4500 graphics
1 TB HD
6 GB DDR3 memory
Everything is stock, and I'm not sure what Power Supply I have.
I've been browsing Amazon for a reasonably priced one, and I keep getting drawn to the EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 2Gb ($139 after rebate?).
I also spotted this one - SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCIE Graphics Card
My price range is roughly up to $170.
Only problem is, this is the smallest tower I've ever owned or seen, and I've never opened it up before to see the innards. The AMD Radeon card is supposedly gigantic, according to reviewers on Amazon, and based on the pictures I saw of the GTX 550, it looks quite large as well.
I have little experience with hardware, so any help would be much appreciated!
(When I told the guys at GameStop that I was playing ME2 on a GMA x4500 they laughed in my face lol, that was the turning point for me)