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Spec me a Nvidia Graphics Card Please

Magpie2121

Magpie2121

Magpie2121

Associate
Joined
13 Aug 2011
Posts
210
I'm having all sorts of problems with my current graphics card which occur at any time whilst doing anything from general web browsing to playing games. My current card is an AMD Radeon HD6570 2GB DDR3. Problems include:

- BSOD
- PC randomly freezing
- Display going blank for 20 seconds and then coming back on with message stating "display driver stopped responding and has recovered"

The BSOD message relates to something called "atikmpag.sys". Upon Googling this message, there seems to be thousands of people suffering with a very similar issue.

I've done a lot of troubleshooting to no avail including completely removing and re-installing drivers / latest drivers, running memory test (which came up with no errors), updating BIOS etc etc. This has been going on for a good few weeks now and I'm now totally fed up.

I'm wanting to move to Nvidia and would appreciate if somebody can spec me a nice graphics card for around £100 please. My motherboard is an Asus M5A97. I would like to be able to play games like Far Cry 3 and the forthcoming Titanfall on the highest settings. Will this budget suffice?

Many thanks
 
sand_dune said:
Try manually setting your DDR memory to its lowest clock (800mhz?) in bios, remove overclock from your CPU if any. See if it helps.
Click to expand...

I have no idea how to overclock or remove an overclock. I purchased the PC and the previous owner may have overclocked it but I don't know.

Here is a snapshot of my BIOS. Do the settings look as though there is an overclock in place? Thanks

hvyko3.jpg
 
Magpie2121 said:
I have no idea how to overclock or remove an overclock. I purchased the PC and the previous owner may have overclocked it but I don't know.

Here is a snapshot of my BIOS. Do the settings look as though there is an overclock in place? Thanks
Click to expand...

It's really difficult to pinpoint a reason for your problem. It can be anything, including defective graphics card, incompatible memory(ram), damaged windows install or driver. What I suggested was just something you could have given a chance. I cannot say much about your settings from the screenshot, although your CPU seems not to be overclocked.

What you can try is borrowing a different graphics card from anywhere and see if it works better. In theory if your graphics card has a problem you can replace it with either Nvidia or AMD. And make sure that your card isn't overheating (like having a faulty fan that doesn't work).
 
What resolution are you playing at?

If you want new, the GTX 750ti would suit your budget and is very low power / quiet.

You might be better off buying a used GTX 660 for a bit more performance and would likely get a used one for around £100.
 
I've been playing Borderlands 2 at high settings. But the problems still appear even when I'm just web browsing or playing online poker.

Will a GTX 660 allow me to play games on a high setting? I thought games normally auto-detect your graphics card and adjust the game settings accordingly?

I've tried a complete re-install of Windows and the memory test I ran came out with no errors.

I don't know anyone that I can borrow a graphics card from but I'll try removing my current one and give it a bit of a clean to see how it performs.
 
The 750TI is a pretty cut down GPU, it has half the texture units of similar Nvidia GPU's.

It doesn't do so well with high GFX games, your better off with a GTX 660 or an R7 265, or better yet an R9 270. for some proper meat.



I have FC3. Minimum 36 FPS is not very playable.

R9 270

GTX 660

R7 265 (Cheapest) best option but not in stock yet.
 
Last edited:
humbug said:
The 750TI is a pretty cut down GPU, it has half the texture units of similar Nvidia GPU's.

It doesn't do so well with high GFX games, your better off with a GTX 660 or an R7 265, or better yet an R9 270. for some proper meat.



I have FC3. Minimum 36 FPS is not very playable.

R9 270

GTX 660

R7 265 (Cheapest) best option but not in stock yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks for a fabulous reply, this is very useful indeed.

PS - I tried removing the card and gave it a good clean but I'm still getting the same problems. I'll look into your suggestions for a new card.
 
Magpie2121 said:
Thanks for a fabulous reply, this is very useful indeed.

PS - I tried removing the card and gave it a good clean but I'm still getting the same problems. I'll look into your suggestions for a new card.
Click to expand...

Your welcome, its really worth spending that bit more on the GTX 660 or something like that, your getting a lot more GPU. certainly a lot more than the similar prices 750TI.
 
humbug said:
Your welcome, its really worth spending that bit more on the GTX 660 or something like that, your getting a lot more GPU. certainly a lot more than the similar prices 750TI.
Click to expand...

I might even look at something even more powerful. Is there a limit to what my motherboard can handle in terms of graphics cards?

Also, do you have a link for the frame rate chart you provided so I can compare some cards for myself? I can't seem to find the link on that website.
Cheers
 
Before spending cash on a new card..

Check its dimensions to see if it will fit into your case.

What PSU do you have? Its no good trying to run a decent gfx card on what's known as a "gutless wonder" no name, weak ass power supply.
 
stulid said:
Before spending cash on a new card..

Check its dimensions to see if it will fit into your case.

What PSU do you have? Its no good trying to run a decent gfx card on what's known as a "gutless wonder" no name, weak ass power supply.
Click to expand...

I have a Corsair CX600 power supply.

My case is a Zalman HD503
 
PSU is fine for the cards mentioned.

As for the case you need to visit the manufacture homepage where hopefully the space available for a gfx card is shown, then check the homepage for whichever gfx card you are looking to buy to check its dimensions.
 
I would not be so quick to point the finger at the graphics card. If you have any friends that could lend you there card to try out that's what i would do. I had similar problems way back when i had a 1900xtx. I thought it was the card but i upgraded my whole pc and the card worked fine for a good time after. I never got to the bottom of the problem but i feel sometimes people just think it's Gpu related due to errors referring to Gpu. Sometimes it can be another part of the system leading to these kind of errors. Don't get me wrong it could well be a failing gpu but its not always the case.
 
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