Shopping 4 a new vid card, need advice

[nails00]

Hey everyone

I just got a chance to play Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion last night and realized my GeForce FX 5700LE won't be able to run this game at any setting above 2-4 FPS.

The last time i shopped for a card, Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb was the best bang for your buck. what seems to be the "best bang" these days? I tried googling for some video card benchmarks for Oblivion but found nothing.

Radeon X800XT 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X, caught my eye, but its pretty old by todays standards if i'm not mistaken.

My System Specs:

Intel P4 Prescott 3.0Ghz 800FSB w/ Zalman copper/aluminum FHS
Asus P4P800 SE MoBo w/ 380W Antec PSU
1Gig OCZ DDR RAM in Dual Channel (PC 3200... i think)
MSI Nvidia GeForce FX 5700LE 4x/8x AGP 256MB DDR
Seagate Barracuda 160GB SATA 7200RPM HDD

My main concern in regards to getting a new card is my power supply. I'm not sure it'll have enough juice to run everything. i got a cd-rom drive and a dvdrw drive, onboard sound, 56k pci modem, ethernet card, intake and outtake fans, and what i mentioned above.

Thanks :)

[Deagle]

From what you've listed I can safely assumed that your only option is AGP cards. Also I'm sure you don't want to shell out loads of $ just to play Oblivion.http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif (although some people bought xbox360 just to play ithttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/eek.gif)
The most powerful card AGP card currently is Nvidia 7800GS but it requires a PSU with 400w minimum.http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif In your case I would say a 6800GT or 6800GS is sufficed and will run Oblivion at medium specs which still looks gorgous IMO.http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/wink.gif

[hockey man]

What are you psu ratings for the various rails? That will determine what to recommend. I like Degals recommendations, but even a 6600GT needs some power. Around 300+ watts with decient ratings on the 12 volt rail would be the minimum for a 6600GT.

[saphalline]

Take a look at my recent hardware thread (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=45427) (second post) for vid card info. I put in an AGP list this time around. The 6600 GT is a still a good investment for AGP, but if you can afford the more expensive X800 GTO, I would recommend that. Oblivion will suck up all the power you can give it! So give it a lot!

[i an not a nerd]

although some people bought xbox360 just to play it

For the record, some review sites recommended buying the 360 just for this game lol.

If you are getting a lower end card I would recommend an Nvidiacard because of the SM3 support. (For the crazy effects in oblivion)

[nails00]

hi

I just picked up a BFG GeForce 6800 GS OC GDDR3 256MB AGP card for $220 CAD. The PSU requirement on the box says 350W minimum which i exceed. Oblivion detected my new card and automatically set it's settings to high quality with AA turned off. The game runs very smooth from what i've seen so far. Idle temperature on the card is 52*C and runs around 65*C when playing Oblivion.

No problems what so ever, although the stock fan on the card is rather noisey sitting 2 feet from my right ear... i can live with that :p

Thanks again

[Deagle]

Congrats!!! Enjoy Oblivion you lucky you. I have to wait another 4-5 days before my card gets here.http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/frown.gif BTW 52 idle - 65C load for a vid card is not abnormal at all.