Is my graphics card worth upgrading?
I've been trying to figure out if my graphics card is worth upgrading since I think I only have a pci express x16 1.0 port on my mboard (its a proprietary stuck together thing from hp.)
the hp compy number is e9160f
here is the page on the mboard: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01746799&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3986809#N414
and I have an nvidia geforce gt 230
all I can seem to find online for this thing points me to the 230M, mine is an actual card with a fan and stuff though since it's a desktop.
It has run games on the unreal engine 3 extremely well (mass effect 1/2, dragon age 1, war for cybertron) but has had some major slow downs with witcher 2 and rage. They are playable but not at highest settings. The original crysis runs fairly well too at 1024x768 on high.
I'm just curious if upgrading the graphics card on a fairly limited mboard like this would help me at all.
Thanks for any help
the hp compy number is e9160f
here is the page on the mboard: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01746799&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3986809#N414
and I have an nvidia geforce gt 230
all I can seem to find online for this thing points me to the 230M, mine is an actual card with a fan and stuff though since it's a desktop.
It has run games on the unreal engine 3 extremely well (mass effect 1/2, dragon age 1, war for cybertron) but has had some major slow downs with witcher 2 and rage. They are playable but not at highest settings. The original crysis runs fairly well too at 1024x768 on high.
I'm just curious if upgrading the graphics card on a fairly limited mboard like this would help me at all.
Thanks for any help
Replies
That said, not sure if PCIe 1.0 is that bad so it could be worth the try.
Almost all console games will run at the resolution of 1280x720 or less even, most pc's come with 1280x1024 minimum, with many even sporting 1920x1200 monitors, this requires a bit more of screen-area to render since the users will not often want to drop the resolution, not only that, you have to take into account people increasing effects and texturesizes to account for a much more crisp screen to play on.
Witcher 2 is quite the pc game though, using a bit more hardware than the regular 360 game, it's hard to make the unreal engine 3 comparison, as it's just an engine and not a specific look or performance-requirement for a game, as one UE3 game might require vast amounts more than another.
And then we have most games being designed and optimized especially for the consoles so most of the performance can be squeezed out of them.
As for rage, there might be some driver issues or specifics around megatexture that makes it slow down, as rage should not require a monster of a computer, but if the megatexture stuff can't work as it should it might slow down.
here's a video I found on youtube of a 230m (mobile geforce) running rage:
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Still, your mobo has pci-e, so you should be able to put it any modern gpu in there as long as you have the psu to support it (which you most likely have) and as long as your other parts won't bottleneck it.
True, which is why it comes with a low-power variant of a geforce I guess, since it doesn't pull as much as a regular card.
A 450-500watt replacement and a modern mid range gpu should blast that computer to the heavens though.
Maybe you should save for a new custom built pc. 560 Ti would still be a good option now but if you need some months to put together the money, then you should probably wait for the new nVidia cards. They are supposed to be released in Q1 2012.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883107988
it says it is HP Pavilion Elite E9160F and according to HP site the motherboard does support PC x16 2.0 and 2.1
also check this link:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c01746799
mobo details:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c01761434&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=115&contentType=SupportFAQ&prodSeriesId=3942792&prodTypeId=12454
http://www.findlaptopdriver.com/ipiel-la3-eureka3-motherboard-specs/
[EDIT]:
also here are the three Intel motherboards with the same G43 chipset and all of them seems to have one PCI x16 2.x slot.
http://ark.intel.com/compare/41036,35360,43604
so make sure you have the above system because it looks like you already have the 2.x slot and can buy newer cards.
like mentioned above, you will most likely need a new power supply if you get a semi-new card.
most of them use 150W max power while your old one use 75W.
also, i wouldn't not change the casing just yet without checking if your new card fits, since ripping all the components off of the HP case could be a hassle knowing how bad HP craftsmanship is usually.
sound good?
You can find cheap power supplies. I have found plenty of cheap ones.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817822013
It's not wise to look for a supply that is merely cheap. You want to find a PSU that is of a reliable build quality, efficient, and has sufficient power on the 12v rail(s). I wouldn't buy the Diablotek simply because the price is low. $30 power supplies of significant wattage aren't typically well made (low grade capacitors and heat sinks) and when they fail, they can do a lot of damage. Read the reviews, especially the negative reviews. They can inform you of a fatal flaw a PSU has if it's an issue being repeated in the customer reviews, possibly saving you from a bad purchase.
I will say again, I recommend that if you're going to upgrade you GPU that you look into getting a bigger case. A higher performing card will generate more heat in your already tight-spaced enclosure. Getting a larger unit will increase the amount of air to displace the heat in and allow better, larger fans to push more air around. You don't have to spend much, as a $50 limit will get you what you need and you can use it over and over compared to that HP case which is throw away once you need more than mere token upgrades.
If I were you I would save up for building a better PC, prices usually drop after christmas because of newer tech releases.
HP's are very custom to their own needs, so I would most likely agree to what has been said about getting a new one, and yes to getting a slightly more expensive 500watt, just to be sure it is of good quality.
Haha, lucky bastard, people with more powerful rigs are getting less performance :P
It's always good to see what games one would upgrade a computer for, as games are still tightly tied to the console-generation of hardware, which isn't getting any faster.
And so when there is a game you really want to play that will struggle on your computer, that's when you upgrade. (but first make sure it's actually due to performance and not drivers or bugs)