Graphics card upgrade

[Shuzbut]

Hi everyone,

I just got Test Drive: Unlimited for my PC and everything meets the requirements except my video card, currently I have an nVidia GeForce 6150 LE with 256 MB Video Ram,Windows XP Home SP2, 1 GB Ram, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3600+ and a Dell computer and I was planning to buy this card: http://www.stonebridgecomputing.com.au/catalog/-p-12290.html, will it work with my PC and will it let me play the game properly?  If not, which graphics card do you recommend?

Thanks for the help

[Kurtiskain]

your GeForce...Sadly, is integrated into your motherboard

GeForce 6150 LE

    * Manufacturing process: .09micron (90nm)
    * Core Clock: 475 MHz
    * Vertex Processors: 1
    * Pixel Pipelines: 2
    * Shader Model: 3
    * DirectX support: v9
    * Video playback acceleration: HD video acceleration
        * Memory: Shared DDR2 (socket 939/AM2) system memory (selectable through BIOS - usually 32/64/128/256 MB)


Your new card, is a PCI-e card...which means your motherboard will have to have this type of slot on it to fit into to work...

So before we even get close to a yay/nay we need to know your motherboard model.

If you dont know how to find this out or dont know yourself, get Sandra from http://downloads.guru3d.com/SiSoftware-Sandra-XII-2008-SP2-(14.24)-download-1391.html and once installed, select hardware tab, and double click motherboard to get a big list of components and specs, then click the disk at the bottom to save a report, and post it here

Kurtis

[Shuzbut]

Thanks for the reply Kurtis, I ran the scan and here are the results:

SiSoftware Sandra

System
Manufacturer : Dell Inc
Model : Dimension E521
ID : FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF

System Chassis
Manufacturer : Dell Inc
Type : Desktop
Can be locked : No
Thermal State : Safe

Mainboard
Platform Compliance : AMD LIVE!
Manufacturer : Dell Inc
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
MPS Version : 1.40
Model : (BIOS Revision 1.1.6)
System BIOS : 04/07/2007-C51MCP51-6A61HM39C-00
Chipset : nVidia nForce 61x0 MCP

On-board Devices
nVidia Integrated Video : Video Adapter (Enabled)
Broadcom 5754 : Ethernet Adapter (Enabled)
Sigmatel 9220 Audio : Sound Adapter (Enabled)

System Memory Controller
Location : Mainboard
Error Correction Capability : None
Number of Memory Slots : 4
Maximum Installable Memory : 4GB
Bank 1 - DIMM_4 : Empty
Bank 2 - DIMM_3 : Empty
Bank 3 - DIMM_2 : Quimoda 64T64000HU3SB 081C7315 Not Specified DIMM Synchronous DDR2 512MB/64 @ 667MHz
Bank 4 - DIMM_1 : Quimoda 64T64000HU3SB 081C0212 Not Specified DIMM Synchronous DDR2 512MB/64 @ 667MHz

Chipset
Model : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Revision : A1
Bus : HyperTransport
Version : 1.02
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1GHz (2GHz)
Maximum FSB Speed : 2x 1GHz (2GHz)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
I/O Queue Depth : 4 request(s)
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 7.81GB/s

Chipset 1 Hub Interface
Type : HyperTransport
Version : 1.02
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Speed : 2x 1GHz (2GHz)

Logical/Chipset Memory Banks
Bank 2 : 1GB DDR2 5-5-5-15 3-21-5-3 1T
Supported Memory Types :  ECC Registered DDR2
Channels : 2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 317MHz (634MHz)
Maximum Memory Speed : 2x 400MHz (800MHz)
Multiplier : 1/6x
Width : 64-bit
Memory Controller in Processor : Yes
Cores per Memory Controller : 2 Unit(s)
Refresh Rate : 7.80µs
Power Save Mode : Yes
Fixed Hole Present : No
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 9.91GB/s

Memory Module 1
Manufacturer : Quimoda
Model : 64T64000HU3SB
Extended Information : 0
Serial Number : 081C7315
Type : 512MB DIMM DDR2
Technology : 8x(64Mx8)
Speed : PC2-5300U DDR2-333
Standard Timings : 5.0-5-5-15 3-20-5-3
Version : 1.2
Date of Manufacture : Monday, 23 April 2007
Memory DC Line : 1.80V
Set Timing @ 333MHz : 5.0-5-5-15 3-20-5-3
Set Timing @ 267MHz : 4.0-4-4-12 2-16-4-2
Set Timing @ 200MHz : 3.0-3-3-9 2-12-3-2

Memory Module 2
Manufacturer : Quimoda
Model : 64T64000HU3SB
Extended Information : 0
Serial Number : 081C0212
Type : 512MB DIMM DDR2
Technology : 8x(64Mx8)
Speed : PC2-5300U DDR2-333
Standard Timings : 5.0-5-5-15 3-20-5-3
Version : 1.2
Date of Manufacture : Monday, 23 April 2007
Memory DC Line : 1.80V
Set Timing @ 333MHz : 5.0-5-5-15 3-20-5-3
Set Timing @ 267MHz : 4.0-4-4-12 2-16-4-2
Set Timing @ 200MHz : 3.0-3-3-9 2-12-3-2

Environment Monitor 1
Model : AMD K8 CPU [P0, C2, SC3, SN0]
Version : 107.01
Mainboard Specific Support : No

System Bus(es) on Hub 1
Version : 2.30
System Bus 0 : PCI
System Bus 1 : PCIe 1.00 x1 2.5Gbps
System Bus 2 : PCIe 1.00 x1 2.5Gbps
System Bus 3 : PCIe 1.00 x16 2.5Gbps
System Bus 4 : PCI

LPC Hub Controller 1
Model : Dell MCP51 LPC Bridge
Revision : K4

LPC Hub Controller 2
Model : Dell MCP51 SMBus
Revision : K4

LPC Legacy Controller 1
Type : SMSC LPC v1
Version : 83.0F
Number of Enabled Devices : 1

Audio Device
Model : Dell MCP51 High Definition Audio
Revision : K3
Type : HD (High-Definition) Audio
Version : 1.00
Number of In / Out / Bi-Directional Streams : 4 / 4 / 0
Number of Serial Data Streams : 1

Audio Codec
Model : Sigmatel High Definition Audio Codec
Revision : A2
Version : 1.00
Audio Channels : 10

USB Controller 1
Model : Dell MCP51 USB Controller
Revision : K4
Version : 1.00
Interface : OHCI
Channels : 8
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps)
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

USB Controller 2
Model : Dell MCP51 USB Controller
Revision : K4
Version : 2.00
Specification : 1.00
Interface : EHCI
Channels : 8
Companion Controllers : 1
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps) High (480Mbps)
Addressing Support : 32-bit
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

System SMBus Controller 1
Model : nVidia MCP5+ SMBus 1
Version : A.03
Advanced TCO Mode Enabled : No
Slave Device Enabled : No
PEC Support : No

System SMBus Controller 2
Model : nVidia MCP5+ SMBus 2
Version : A.03
Advanced TCO Mode Enabled : No
Slave Device Enabled : No
PEC Support : No

Expansion Slot(s)
SLOT1 (1h) : Other 2-bit +3.3V PME Available
SLOT2 (2h) : Other 2-bit +3.3V PME Available
SLOT3 (3h) : PCI 32-bit +5V PME Full-Length Available
SLOT4 (4h) : PCI 32-bit +5V PME Full-Length Used

Port Connector(s)
IDE1 : ATA
FLOPPY1 : 8251 FIFO / Floppy Disk
USB1 : USB / USB
USB2 : USB / USB
USB3 : USB / USB
USB4 : USB / USB
USB5 : USB / USB
USB6 : USB / USB
VIDEO : Video / DB-15 pin female
AUDIO : Audio
Line Out : Audio / Mini-jack
Mic In : Audio / Mini-jack
Line In : Audio / Mini-jack
ETHERNET : Network / RJ-45

Performance Tips
Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Tip 2511 : Some memory slots are free so the memory can be easily upgraded.
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

[Kurtiskain]

hmm thats wierd DELL have removed the mainboard info and relaced it with meaningless info...not to despair!

we have this:
System Bus(es) on Hub 1
Version : 2.30
System Bus 0 : PCI
System Bus 1 : PCIe 1.00 x1 2.5Gbps
System Bus 2 : PCIe 1.00 x1 2.5Gbps
System Bus 3 : PCIe 1.00 x16 2.5Gbps <<
System Bus 4 : PCI
 that is a PCI-e 16x slot which is exactly what we need

now...TD: U's specs are...

System Specs:
Operating System: Windows® 2000/XP and above
Processor: Intel P4 @ 2.4Ghz or AMD Athlon 2800+
Memory: 512 MB RAM (1 GB RAM recommended)
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB free
DVD-ROM Drive: 8x Speed
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 256MB VRAM or Nvidia 6600 GT
with 256MB of VRAM (Video Cards with vertex/pixel shaders 2.x and
above are recommended)
Sound: DirectX® 9.0 compatible sound card
DirectX®: DirectX® 9.0c included

now a 6600GT is a rather old card now...along with the Radeon 9800 as radeons are noe in the 10000's, eg X600 (x as in the roman numeral )

so yes the 8500GT will do just fine for this game

8500GT: http://www.stonebridgecomputing.com.au/catalog/-p-12290.html
8600GT: http://www.stonebridgecomputing.com.au/catalog/-p-12291.html
Although a good card, for a little more ($60.59 for the 8500GT and $93.13 for the 8600GT) you could get a 8600GT 256MB, and although only has half the memory, the memory runs 2x faster (700Mhz compared to 1400Mhz) and the core clock is also faster (500mhz 8500GT compared to 600MHz8600GT) giving you more performance from your games, also allowing you to run  more "high end" games than the 8500gt would allow you to also...once you go over 128MB of graphics memory the amount isn't too substantial, especially once you reach 256MB

so the choice is yours!

final answer: either card mentioned in this post will be just fine!

Kurtis

[Kurtiskain]

Very welcome

I am not too familiar with the ATi range at the moment but the next nVidia card up is the 8800gt really...and that's still in the 200's
still...you may like to look at this one...slightly cheaper but most people in other forums claim this one outperforms the 8600gt in most games except for the newest ones like S.T.A.L.K.E.R and Bioshock and such. The only thing is with this card I'm about to tell you about, is it lacks Direct X 10 support which is needed for the newest games, but as you game you want to play isn't so new, it will be great

Please note!:These cards are dual DVI, which means if you do not have a DVI monitor you will need a DVI to VGA adapter. $5-$15 including shipping here in New Zealand...so wont be alot...the cards used to come with them, but I haven't bought a card in a long time so I don't know if they still do. In fact here is one on your website you chose to look at cards on...

http://www.stonebridgecomputing.com.au/catalog/-p-3901.html

so this will definitely still run your game and way outperforms the 8500GT...though the 7600GT vs 8600GT battle is yet undecided...different computers produce different results and both cards will satisfy your game to the highest settings
http://www.stonebridgecomputing.com.au/catalog/-p-15624.html

Goodluck and remember any decision you make doesn't affect you test drive game...but others, especially newer ones, it will

Kurtis

oh and your original 8500GT?still would need the adapter mentioned in this post

[Shuzbut]

Lol sorry I deleted the post above to edit this in, but...  I just came across this: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NVIDIA-8800GTX-768Meg-PCI-E-Video-Card_W0QQitemZ160236806030QQihZ006QQcategoryZ40156QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting just then, if I can get a good deal on that would it be the best solution out of the three?

Thanks again 

[Kurtiskain]

It is all very good I was editing it myself...you might want to re read it I already mentioned the 8800GT

tell us what you think of the new post

Kurtis

Edit: oh i see your post not mine

[Shuzbut]

Must have skipped the part about the 8800, BTW, is this the DVI cable needed?

[Kurtiskain]

appears to be  if thats the one you are already using for your monitor..no worries there with an adapter then

if the pins look like this...then yes its a DVI cable and it will work fine



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[Shuzbut]

Mine looks like this:  

[Kurtiskain]

okay...lifes complicated isnt it?

i have done a quick research and found it will not matter!
I posted a picture of what is called a DVI-D cable...You have a DVI-A cable...here is a quote from www.national-tech.com/specs/10v4-05315.htm...

"DVI-A cables are designed to carry only an analog signal. This cable is perfect if you have a newer graphics card with a DVI output but have a monitor that only supports VGA. DVI cables are used with newer video cards and monitors for higher resolution. DVI-D (Digital) can not convert to VGA (Analog). Only DVI-A (Analog) can be converted into VGA (Analog)."

which means it wont support the highest resolutions the graphics card can output, but i find 1280x1024 is all that is needed at the most and your cable will support up to 1600x1200

by the way..the only thing you should be worried about is if the end looked like this   ... if that didnt work i attached it anyways

Kurtis




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[Shuzbut]

Kurtis, I appreciate you taking time to help me and research these things for me, you have helped me a lot!

[Kurtiskain]

You are very welcome and come back anytime 

Kurtis