Computer Hope
Hardware => Hardware => Topic started by: luvsgavinnjamie on December 12, 2011, 10:16:22 PM
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First of all, let me say I am not getting a new card for any really heavy or graphics intensive games. The only things I play are different versions of The Sims (Medieval and Sims 3 including its most recent Pets expansion). The reason I am looking into this is primarily because I just got the Sims 3 Pets expansion and found that it is incompatible with my Intel G33/31 whatever card. (All the pets are majorly, frighteningly distorted.)
So here are my computer specs via dxdiag and then I will post the specs on some cards I am looking at. (Oh, I forgot to mention money is tight right now so I can't get anything very expensive. I just want to fix the incompatibility issue and if I come across a need for a better card later, I will look into it.)
Don't laugh at my computer specs. Or if you do, don't let me know:
System Information
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Time of this report: 12/12/2011, 22:36:21
Machine name: MEAGAN-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.100608-0458)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gateway
System Model: DX4710-05
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 6132MB RAM
Page File: 3299MB used, 9167MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 64bit Unicode
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DxDiag Notes
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Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
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DirectX Debug Levels
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Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)
---------------
Display Devices
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Card name: Intel(R) G33/G31 Express Chipset Family
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Intel(R) GMA 3100
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_29C2&SUBSYS_018D1025&REV_02
Display Memory: 286 MB
Dedicated Memory: 0 MB
Shared Memory: 286 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (59Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: igdumd64.dll
Driver Version: 7.15.0010.1637 (English)
DDI Version: 9Ex
BGRA Supported: Yes
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 1/16/2009 08:00:30, 5541376 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-6A82-11CF-F075-8721A2C2CA35}
Vendor ID: 0x8086
Device ID: 0x29C2
SubSys ID: 0x018D1025
Revision ID: 0x0002
Revision ID: 0x0002
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C
Deinterlace Caps: {AEDC1D5D-8546-440E-AAB2-B69FA725AF82}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_FieldAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{AEDC1D5D-8546-440E-AAB2-B69FA725AF82}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_FieldAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{AEDC1D5D-8546-440E-AAB2-B69FA725AF82}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_FieldAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{AEDC1D5D-8546-440E-AAB2-B69FA725AF82}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_FieldAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{AEDC1D5D-8546-440E-AAB2-B69FA725AF82}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_FieldAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{AEDC1D5D-8546-440E-AAB2-B69FA725AF82}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_FieldAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
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{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{AEDC1D5D-8546-440E-AAB2-B69FA725AF82}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_FieldAdaptive
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DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
I wasn't sure how to get motherboard info but someone suggested a program called FreshDiagnose and I got the info for mine.
My motherboard info is:
Model: G33M05G1
vendor: Gateway
Version: MP
I hope that is helpful.
Now for the video cards in consideration.
#1
EVGA Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT 512MB PCIe
Interface Type: PCI Express
Interface Speed: x16
Connector(s): DVI
TV/S-Video
VGA (15-Pin D-Sub)
GPU/VPU: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
Maximum Resolution: 2048 x 1536 x 32 bpp at 85Hz
2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Interface: 128-bit
Video Memory: 512MB
Core Clock: 350 MHz
Memory Clock: 532 MHz
Memory Bandwidth: 8.51GB/sec.
#2
Nvidia GeForce 8400GS
Mfr Part Number: 01G-P3-1302-LR
Chipset: GeForce 8400GS
Engine Clock: 520 MHz
Video Memory: 1GB DDR3
Memory Clock: 600 MHz
Memory Interface: 64-bit
Bus: PCI-Express 2.0 x16
Stream Processors: 8
Memory Bandwidth: 4.8 GB/s
RAMDAC: 400 MHz
Max. Resolution: 1920 x 1200
Connectors: VGA, DVI-I, HDMI
Thermal: Fansink
Support Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7
Support nVidia PureVideo HD Technology
Support nVidia PhysX Technology
Support nVidia CUDA Technology
Support nVidia SLI Technology
Support HDCP - High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection
Support Microsoft DirectX 10, Shader Model 4.0 and OpenGL 3.1
350W Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amps
Package: Retail
And I haven't looked into ATI cards or any other kind yet. I know that some computers in the Gateway DX series come with an nVidia card but I couldn't find a way to look up compatibility on Gateways site since my PC is about 3 years old and they obviously have come out with newer and better machines. (Again, money crunch, no new PC for me.)
The game in question, The Sims 3 Pets has the following recommended system requirements.
The Sims 3: Pets Recommended System Requirements
*OS: Windows XP/ Windows Vista/ Windows 7
*Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.5 GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
*Memory Ram: 2 Gb
*Hard Disk Space: 8 Gb free
*Video: 896 Mb @ nVidia GeForce GTX 260 / ATI Radeon HD 4850
*Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
*DirectX: 9
*Keyboard / Mouse
*Installation: DVD-Rom Drive
Minimum Video: 128 Mb @ nVidia GeForce FX 5900 / ATI Radeon 9500
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Hi and welcome to Computer Hope!
Seems you are using an integrated video card. Are you using a laptop computer or a desktop computer?
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That is definitely a desktop....
http://www.google.com/search?gcx=c&client=aff-cs-360chromium&ie=UTF-8&q=G33M05G1 (http://www.google.com/search?gcx=c&client=aff-cs-360chromium&ie=UTF-8&q=G33M05G1)
The Sims 3: Pets Recommended System Requirements
*OS: Windows XP/ Windows Vista/ Windows 7
*Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.5 GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
*Memory Ram: 2 Gb
*Hard Disk Space: 8 Gb free
*Video: 896 Mb @ nVidia GeForce GTX 260 / ATI Radeon HD 4850
*Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
*DirectX: 9
*Keyboard / Mouse
*Installation: DVD-Rom Drive
The GeForce 7300GT and 8400GS are terrible cards by today's standards... If you are on a budget you might want to look at the Radeon HD 5670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127600)
I do not think a GTX 260 is even close to being necessary for the Sims-it is not a graphics intensive game by all means.
You can use http://www.hwcompare.com (http://www.hwcompare.com) to compare the specs of any graphics card currently on the market.
Your computer motherboard has a PCI-E slot and it has a full-sized ATX case, so installing the card isn't an issue.
(http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/83-113-079-12.jpg)
(http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/83-113-079-09.jpg)
I do realize the above images are of a different model of your Gateway computer, but they should be reasonably alike.
A 300W power supply (which your system has) will power a HD 4670, which has a greater power draw but less performance than the HD 5670 (this is from personal experience) so I wouldn't think it necessary to upgrade the power supply. However, AMD recommends at least a 400W power supply for the HD 5670, which costs around $23 on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817822011
Better safe than sorry... while you are at it you may want to upgrade your power supply in case you plan to do any future upgrades to your computer, such as upgrade to a quad-core CPU...
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Better safe than sorry... while you are at it you may want to upgrade your power supply in case you plan to do any future upgrades to your computer, such as upgrade to a quad-core CPU...
Thank you very much. I did want to note that I DO have a Quad Core processor don't I?
From my specs: Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
No idea what my current power supply is, wattage wise. And your pic looks identical to the case I have down to the red stripe. My husband's computer is the same model only purchased about 4-6 months before mine and he has only a Core 2 Duo, so I understand the mistake if you were looking over the specs of this model online. I also have like 6 GB of RAM and a bigger harddrive than what came with his and for some reason they split his storage space over two drives, one which doesn't even work anymore (4 GB RAM and I don't know what hard drives).
Ok, to the point. I am so glad I asked about your opinions.
Would an ATI Radeon HD 4550 work well?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150582
My husband plays a lot of World of Warcraft (I play from time to time too) and he replaced/augmented his onboard video card with this one. I was gone for the weekend, and I have no idea what he used to verify it was going to be useful and compatible with his motherboard, etc. Like I said, mine was purchased like 4-6 months after his and they made several changes or upgrades to the system when it got to mine.
I ask because I have never even swapped components in a computer except for RAM chips in my old Toshiba Satellite laptop and a replacement hard drive a few months after I got this one, which was identical to the original. My husband knows how to change a video card, though, and I know there are walkthroughs out there. I just didn't want to end up with a crap card, install it, find it doesn't work and then be unable to return the opened merchandise (despite my best efforts to work out compatibility and usefulness myself).
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AMD's specs, since I didn't find what newegg had listed for that card useful or didn't know how to find the info I needed on it.
Can you tell if this card has Pixel Shader 2.0 support or better?
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-4000/hd-4550/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-4550-specifications.aspx
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I believe it has pixel shader 4.0, support. Which is more than you need.
For your information, I used the Can You Run It (http://www.canyourunit) site to see how well it would run The Sims 3: Pets, and as screenshot below shows, it met the minimum specs with flying colors.
My old (but still decent for a single core ) athlon64 3500+, with a Nvidia 9500GT card and plenty of ram (allthough it's the old DDR ram)
(http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/8379/12334509.jpg)
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Oh my bad.... Yes you have a quad-core CPU I was looking at the "Minimum Required Specs for Sims 3" section in your first post. If you choose to do a complete overhaul of your computer in the future and upgrade to one of the i3, i5, or i7 processors a more beefy power supply will come in handy. But I am digressing, am I not? OK back to the topic.
Do note that a 9500GT is 2 times as powerful as the Radeon HD 4550:
http://www.hwcompare.com/3328/geforce-9500-gt-512mb-gddr3-vs-radeon-hd-4550-512mb/ (http://www.hwcompare.com/3328/geforce-9500-gt-512mb-gddr3-vs-radeon-hd-4550-512mb/)
I would really suggest getting something slightly more powerful for the graphics card-the HD 4550 was released in 2008 and is at the very bottom of the line in terms of performance-you are probably going to want to upgrade to a better card later if, say, you choose to get a larger monitor. I bought myself a GeForce 210 when I first built my computer(same performance as a HD 4350) and a 14'' monitor and assumed I would be able to deal with playing games at low resolutions. ~4 months later I upgraded to a GT 430 for watching movies in 3D on my HDTV once I realized the potential of having a decent graphics card because the 210 just didn't cut it for my multimedia needs anymore.
If you are considering this passively cooled HD 4550, which has an attractive price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150582 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150582)
I wouldn't buy it because it uses outdated DDR2 RAM over a 64-bit bus.
You may want to consider this Radeon HD 5570, then...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131342 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131342)
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how much money was to be spent? I seem to recall OP saying money was tight, but how much is affordable for him at this time?
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how much money was to be spent? I seem to recall OP saying money was tight, but how much is affordable for him at this time?
*Her. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/the-sims-3/ (http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/the-sims-3/)
If 72% of female gamers were aware of EA's marketing push for The Sims 3 and 43% of females were "definitely or probably interested in buying the title" vs 28% of males and the OP stated that s/he has a husband
My husband's computer is the same model only purchased about 4-6 months before mine and he has only a Core 2 Duo
and 1.4% of people identify as being rather inclined to engage in a long-term relationship with the same gender(got this from USAToday.com) then the odds are still stacked in favor of the OP being female.
Yes OP did say money is tight.
So here are my computer specs via dxdiag and then I will post the specs on some cards I am looking at. (Oh, I forgot to mention money is tight right now so I can't get anything very expensive. I just want to fix the incompatibility issue and if I come across a need for a better card later, I will look into it.)
The problem is, you can get a decent mid-range graphics card for the money you shell out for two low-end graphics cards. It may be more logical to save and then spend on a mid-range graphics card that will future-proof you.
For the money I spend on, say, 2 HD 5450s ($39.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125314 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125314)
I can get a GTS 250. ($79.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100010261&isNodeId=1&Description=GTS+250&x=0&y=0 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100010261&isNodeId=1&Description=GTS+250&x=0&y=0)