Upgrade graphics, but limit on size and watts

[stevenrunner]

Dont worry, i can run crysis on high at like 15 fps
crysis on medium at 30fps

And look

!!

Pros: Runs all my games at great resolution and framerates on high settings (COD 4, Bioshock, Left 4 Dead etc...). Performance in every application is fantastic. You can't beat the price to performance ratio with this chipset!
Cons: HOT HOT HOT in my Acer X1700! Idle @ 55-60C and full load gaming around 80C! Fan is quite loud but is to be expected running at near 100 percent. I need to find a better way to cool my little HTPC with this thing in it
Other Thoughts: When not gaming the card is quiet enough to not bother me. When gaming I have sound up loud enough to not notice. It's how hot it runs that bothers me, but what can you expect cramming this much GPU in a tiny case? Overall i love the little thing even if I might have to do some mods to bring temps down....



9600gt low profile. the guy has the exact same pc as me, how the hell did he get it to work?????????????
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814187060

 

[stevenrunner]

also look
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814140107

 

[RazberyBandit]

I know... I believe I mentioned looking into the Apollo card specifically at some point. But, I don't think that card is available on the Canadian Newegg site...

 

[stevenrunner]

Thats the low profile version? Ill get it in a few months then

 

[stevenrunner]

I mean, low power and low profile taht you were talking about earlier?

 

[RazberyBandit]

No, Galaxy makes the low power low profile 9600GT that we discussed a bit in that other guy's thread.

Apollo makes a 4650 w/ GDDR3, and even makes one with GDDR4. It was the GDDR4 model I specifically mentioned looking into more closely when you asked how certain I was that a 4650 would work in your system. I did, and soon discovered it wasn't available low-profile.

I really don't know what else to say at this point... Are you truly and totally dissatisfied with the card you purchased?

 

[stevenrunner]

You know what? I am getting 15fps+ over my old 9400gt, i couldnt play cod4 maxed out before, i had like 15fps, and now, the lowest i get at 1400 by 900 max settings anti aliasing all the way up is 30fps, and thats in an intense gunfight with grenadse and everytrhing exploding. When im just shootnig its like 36 fps and when im walking its 45 fps. and, it was 30 bucks cheaper than the 9400gt, so yes, i am happy. It was just stupid of me to look at that chart since it was ddr3 oc, but the card i have right now is doing great

 

[RazberyBandit]

Whew! That's a relief...

Crysis is a beast. Some of the better systems out there have trouble with it at some point. You could probably play it on a CRT monitor at 1024x768 with reduced settings, though.

Anyways, I'm just glad it's working and you're able to play some games.

 

[raphael1782]

hey steven i have the same computer as you aswell and have the geforce 7100 and it's so lame to play cod4 cause of the laggy graphics... what video card can u recommend me with high settings and that could fit into my system?? im really noob when it comes to computers... i actually bought a nvidia geforce 9800GT today and i was so excited but i found out it didnt fit in my computer because it was to big... so got any idea what i can buy? and will work for my computer? and how to set it up?

 

[RazberyBandit]

Raphael, for a slim design case, what you need is a low-profile video card. If you actually have an identical system as Steven, including the same 220W power supply, your best-performance option due to power restrictions would be an HD4650.

Steven purchased a 4650 with GDDR2, but there are GDDR3 models available, and they would give a very slight performance increase over the GDDR2 models.

The best-performing option from the NVIDIA camp is the 9500GT, but there is one particular 9600GT from Galaxy available in a special "Low-Power, Low-Profile" configuration. Unfortunately, no one has been able to find it available for sale anywhere.

I hope this helps.

 

[raphael1782]

do you think this is a good one? and will it work with call of duty with high settings? http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10119602&catid=25617#
and will it fit in my computer?

 

[RazberyBandit]

Gaming ability depends on your monitor's resolution, really. And I mentioned the 4650 w/ DDR3, not the 4550. The 4550 doesn't perform too well in any recently released games, as it's really a mainstream GPU. That is, unless we're talking about a 1024x768 monitor. What resolution is your monitor? Also, no, that one will not fit in your PC, as it's not low-profile.

Take a look at these 4650's available from Newegg US: LINK
The Apollo card isn't listed on Newegg Canada, and is the only GDDR3 in the group. You may have better luck finding a GDDR3 option elsewhere, such as TigerDirect, DirectCanada, or CanadaComputers. Futureshop doesn't seem to have much selection, and there don't appear to be any low profile cards offered at all.

 

[raphael1782]

Well I found this one D: hopefully this will fit? and work?

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10113667&catid=25617

 

[raphael1782]

help? D:

 

[RazberyBandit]

No, it will not. It is not a Low-Profile design. Do you understand what that is? It's a slimmer designed card to fit inside slim design cases. Take a look at the photos of standard cards and the low profile cards at Newegg. I'll link them for you:

Standard
Low-Profile

After viewing them, do you understand what you need better?

 

[stevenrunner]

Listen, i am running cod4 60 fps on everything high, at 1280 by 720,
if i go 1440x900 then i get like 45 fps and then in an intense gunfight it will go down but not less than 35.
Keep in mind I overclocked
By the way Raz sometimes i get a bsod when i OC it to much or when i play too much....

 

[RazberyBandit]

The BSOD is not good. Try a slightly milder OC setting, and don't OC the memory at all. Memory on graphics cards is quite often near it's frequency limit from the factory. If you're using CCC to "Overdrive" your card, stop. Download RivaTuner from Guru3D.com and use it instead. It can also increase your fan speed to help cool the card better.

 

[stevenrunner]

I use RivaTuner Dont worry. Ya I OCed my memory clock alot. Its so fun, big deal bsod so i just restart, whats the worst that can happen

 

[raphael1782]

ok since i have the same computer as steven i just ordered a http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/199317/96GFF6VIFCXX/Galaxy%20Techology/
hopefully this will work.

 

[RazberyBandit]

It might work. When we discussed what would for Steven's system, the 9600GT was questionable. Basically, it was just over the limit of the peak power output of the power supply. If I were going to try a 9600GT, I would have purchased that card at Newegg.ca instead... it's cheaper there, and has an additional $25 rebate. Look: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162016

Oh well... Probably too late now.

And Steven... The worst that can happen is permanent damage to your system, and it could already be damaging the VRAM on the card.

 

[raphael1782]

I don't have a credit card =/ to buy from newegg.ca and even with paypal debit card i can't. sigh...

so bestdirect was last choice.

 

[RazberyBandit]

Well here's hoping that PSU has enough juice to power that card. If your system consistently reboots or locks up while gaming after installing it, you could try underclocking it a little to see if that reduces the card's power draw. Maybe set the core to 600MHz instead of 650. Sure, ya take a performance hit over stock, but working underclocked is better than not working at all.

 

[stevenrunner]

Razbery, what happens is sometimes during a middle of a game
I see a big greyscreen thats fullscreen and my game sound freezes and then i get bsod and it says beggining dump of physical memory, now what can i do to avoid this?
Is it a big deal?

 

[RazberyBandit]

That sounds as though it's referring to the system RAM (physical memory)... Have you ever run Memtest86+ on that system? It will test your RAM from top to bottom, but you'll need to download the program in .iso format and burn it to CD/DVD, then boot from it to run the tests. You could also try seeing if the system can run Prime95 overnight without error.

Of course, none of that is necessary if in fact that error is referring to VRAM (memory on the vid card), in which case your OC settings are too aggressive and need to be stepped down. Have you tried any "burn-in" software/benchmarks on that card yet? Something like FurMark? It'll beat the hell outta your vid card in a hurry, so if you do run it, watch the temps and stop the program if it's temp exceeds 85C. Also, you could try reproducing the error with the card at stock settings... If it doesn't happen with the card set at stock, then we know for certain your OC'ing was too aggressive.

 

[raphael1782]

hey raz um about your comment. how do you do that? make it 600 mhz