Graphics card upgrade.

[steve61]

Hi.

Quick run down of my machine:

Asrock 970 Extreme 4 Motherboard

Phenom 2 x4 965 CPU

8 Gig Kingston 1600 memory.

Gigabyte 750watt PSU.

2x 1Tb Samsung HD103SJ HDD.

1x WD2500KS HDD.

1xBlueray writer.

1xOptiarc DVD writer

2x Nvidia 9800 GTX+ Graphics cards SLI.

 

I have been perfectly happy with my setup until I tried to run Wolfenstein the new order, the frame rate was so low it made the game unplayable, I didn't even get into the main game.

Now, I have not purchased a graphics card since I got the 9800s a while ago, and I am a bit confused as to what would be a decent upgrade, without spending a fortune.

I have compared several cards to the 9800s and they all seem to have lower clock speeds than what I have, and of course the SLI setup also confuses matters.

I prefer Nvidia cards, I always have had Nvidia since my first TNT card, the only time I tried an ATI card, I could not get on with it.

Anybody can give me some sort of clue as to which model upwards I need to be looking at? And how about the difference between the GT and the GTX cards?

Thanks

Steve

[KenB]

Hi Steve and welcome to ExTS

 

I must state that I am definitely not a gamer and that there may be others here who can offer better advice.

 

The system specs for Wolfenstein the new order are here:

click here

 

You have more than enough RAM.

Your CPU is good enough for Medium settings

You have Nvidia 9800s in SLI - this should be more than ample.

 

I can't see why you cannot play the game on "Medium" settings.

 

See what "Can You Run It" has to say

click here

[DSTM]

Hi. I am not a gamer, however reading up even Gamers using very expensive Graphics cards are having issues.

I did read "there is a 60FPS cap built into the game Wolfenstein does not support Crossfire or SLI, it is suggested that you disable that mode for the best experience."

HTH.

[steve61]

So I took everything on board.

I tried running at the lowest graphics settings in the game.

I tried disabling SLI.

I tried enabling SLI.

I tried setting the PhysX processor to the CPU.

And the frame rate is still at a guess 3fps.

:-(

So I did the "Can You Run It" scan, and it passed on all except the pixel shader version and vertex shader version, which to run the game should be version 5, but the 9800gtx+ only supports version 4.

The strange thing is that the GTS250 only supports version 4 as well.

Maybe the fact is the cards will run the game, so are the lowest spec, but they wont run the game in any way that is playable.

So, that throws another requirement into the mix, whatever card I choose must also support DX11.

I`m not crawling up the walls to play this game, its just that I want to get the machine back up to the spec that it will play any new games that I want to try.

I`m also not particularly bothered about running a game at the highest setting possible, as long as it looks pretty good then I am happy.

[KenB]

Do other games play OK - is it only this particular one that is causing problems ?

[steve61]

Yes, other games play fine.

Probably my newest game is Rage, that plays ok.

Bioshock Infinite is ok, as does the Burial at Sea DLC`s 1&2.

[KenB]

Without looking at the system specs for the other games - It looks like the problem lies with Wolfenstein alone.

If it was a Video Card problem this would be evident with the other games.

 

DSTM suggested that

even Gamers using very expensive Graphics cards are having issues.

 

It may make more sense to ask your question on a gaming forum where people who play this game can give specific, relevant advice.

We would only be guessing from here :)

[steve61]

The original question was about which new card would be an upgrade for my two 9800GTX+ cards.

The fact that the game wont play on my system is a side subject, and seems to have taken over the thread.

I still want to know from which model of card upwards would be an upgrade for the SLI setup, and if the choice was between a GTX card of one type and a GT of the next type up which would be the best one to go for.

[KenB]

Hi Steve

 

I have been perfectly happy with my setup until I tried to run Wolfenstein the new order

It was this comment that sent us off on a tangent - I thought that you were trying to solve this problem by upgrading your Video Cards.

 

I have asked one of our moderators to advise you if he can - he has far more knowledge than I do regarding your specific question.

Hopefully he will respond soon.

[steve61]

Fate intervened on this one, when one of the 9800`s died.

I searched for a replacement, and because finances were low (Parts for the car come first) it had to be used.

I found a 470GTX for sale for £40, and realised, using man maths, that I could afford two, if the other one was the same price.

Found one a little more expensive, but got the two (both Zotac 470GTX) and this is what I am running now.

I had to re-commission the liquid cooling that I had on the old cards, because they were getting toasty (90c+ after playing for half an hour), but now they rarely get over 50c.

BTW Wolfenstein plays well now.

[KenB]

Good to hear that your problem is solved Steve - I did write to a moderator here asking for assistance for you but got nothing back ....sorry.

[Ben_Murray]

Hi.

Quick run down of my machine:

Asrock 970 Extreme 4 Motherboard

Phenom 2 x4 965 CPU

8 Gig Kingston 1600 memory.

Gigabyte 750watt PSU.

2x 1Tb Samsung HD103SJ HDD.

1x WD2500KS HDD.

1xBlueray writer.

1xOptiarc DVD writer

2x Nvidia 9800 GTX+ Graphics cards SLI.

 

I have been perfectly happy with my setup until I tried to run Wolfenstein the new order, the frame rate was so low it made the game unplayable, I didn't even get into the main game.

Now, I have not purchased a graphics card since I got the 9800s a while ago, and I am a bit confused as to what would be a decent upgrade, without spending a fortune.

I have compared several cards to the 9800s and they all seem to have lower clock speeds than what I have, and of course the SLI setup also confuses matters.

I prefer Nvidia cards, I always have had Nvidia since my first TNT card, the only time I tried an ATI card, I could not get on with it.

Anybody can give me some sort of clue as to which model upwards I need to be looking at? And how about the difference between the GT and the GTX cards?

Thanks

Steve

 

For improved performance I would suggest upgrading the RAM from 8GB to 16GB to increase performance in Games.