Budget graphics card

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Soldato
Joined
10 May 2004
Posts
5,281
Location
Middlesex
Hey guys.

My Dads just bought a new PC which my bro wants to play sims 2 on.

Its got a celeron 430 processor 1gb RAM and some rubbish onboard graphics card (its also running vista). Could you guys recommend a PCIE card? Obviously it doesn't need to be amazing as the PC spec isn't up to much but I want one that will push what there is. Also I'm thinking of getting a core 2 duo to replace the celeron so if you could bare that in mind too.

Thanks a lot!
 
OcUK GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail OcUK GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £41.99
(£49.34) £41.99
(£49.34)
Sub Total : £41.99
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.00
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £8.75
Total : £58.74

thats more than u need for sims but i think its the best you can get for under £60
 
Well, the Asus 8500 Silent MAGIC edition, Runs Sims 2 well, from experience, and i guess your dad won't want a lot of noise, and this thing runs at 0dB so just shop around for one because unfortunately Overclockers don't stock it.
 
id go for the ati, the lower end geforces are pretty gutless

in regards to the cpu i would get a e2180 which is £45, has some overclocking potential, but if your dads not into that it is still a great chip,
and he will need more ram, most 2 gig kits are around £30 such as ocz and the corsair stuff, although in vista if he has the 64bit version 4gb kits are really cheap atm.
 
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sorry if already been recommended, but how about an ATI 3650. Also very good at taking the pressure of the CPU if your watching DVDs etc, and should be able to find one lower than your budget
 
if i was you id get the 8600, its a fairly decent card.

and i would pout the extra money towards another gig of ram, becuase 1gb ram isnt really enough for vista
 
8600GT in most games generally out performs the HD3650 but only by a nats hair. It’s also worth noting that many old/picky boards will refuse to post with the new gen HD3XXX cards, myself and my dad found this out the hard way. After having no luck with the ATI card we opted for a £40 inno3d 8600gt in the end and he hasn’t looked back.
IMO the GT is a safer bet, but if you know 100% the new 3XXX series is supported by your mb then its certainly worth thinking about :)
 
Wiggins said:
If its Sims 2 you want to play then I would deffo reccommend that you get a GFX that has at least 512mb RAM.

The missus is an addict to it and with all the add-ons, downloads, mesh's, textures and so on, you will need it for a more smoother gameplay.

Maybe have a look into getting something along these lines.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-097-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=708
Click to expand...

utter tosh, even if he got a decent 256 card it would have more to do with the system memory.
 
aproctor said:
utter tosh, even if he got a decent 256 card it would have more to do with the system memory.
Click to expand...

Not always dear boy.

She has 2Gb of memory and a 3.4Ghz Single Core.

I upgraded from a 7600GS - 256mb to a 7600GS 512mb and it was faster on gameplay.

Edit: More memory on the GFX means less system memory needs to be dedicated. Plus add 5k+ Sims 2 downloads and things start to change rapidly.
 
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