VC upgrade.

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

looken at upgrading to the 9 series, and get away from the 7 series.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4035111&CatId=1826


 watcha think? 

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130380


 same card, better price. + free Cod/WW 

 any1 know of any issues with the 9 series? 7 series had heating issues,that were never resolved.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

It really depends on the budget Wild and also what kind of system you're dropping it into.  The 9 series is a generation to a generation and a half old already depending on how you look at it, but should get you by on medium settings with some high settings in current games.

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

well i aint got 200 or 300 bucks to throw around. gotta go with what i can afford for now. just really really wanna get away from this 7950GT headache. i got a $150 budget to stay under. 

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

AMD Athlon 64 x2 dual core
processor 5200+
2.61GHZ 2 GB Ram (p6400 i believe)
XP Home SP2


 also, this card requires DX 10. any issues with that? 

[NighEve*{MEOW}*]

I play on the same basic specs as you..I have a 7800GTX that works fairly well.  What headaches are you having? (If I may ask)

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Eve, that 7800gtx is a solid card - Like Smooth stated- these are last gen cards - The GTX xxx cards are out and a little spendy.   

The Direct x 10 has no known issues I am aware of. If you do not have DX10, 9xx is fine.  10 uses a much better shader and detailed textures that bring things a bit more to life than the predecessor.

I run the 9600GSO that has never gave me any issue.  Picked it up at Frys for $99 about 3 months back. 

this one seems very nice http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4209965&CatId=3670 watch the vid, if you have  comparable 88xx you can still SLI this

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

running a 7950 GT OC currently. fan speed will not adjust, therefore i have to use rivatuner,to adjust fan speed's. but it kik's of altogether in allot of games.

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

Eve, that 7800gtx is a solid card - Like Smooth stated- these are last gen cards - The GTX xxx cards are out and a little spendy.  

 ya, i'd get a better 1 , but i gotta buy blackkat a new 1 aswell. he's running the same card i am. same issue's.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

Actually Wild, I think a 9800 would probably be a good fit for that system.  I think anything more and you wouldn't be taking full advantage of it as it would be CPU bottlenecked.  As far as DirectX, it's not a requirement in the context you're seeing it, it's a capability of the card.  Currently, people are gaming on DX9 (what most of you are running including you Wild on the 7 series), DX10, and DX10.1 (ATI only right now as far as I know).  10 and 10.1 require Vista.  Cards are backwards compatable with earlier DX versions.  Meaning if you get a card that is DX10 ready, you will be able to run games in DX10 or DX9.  The catch comes with the games.  Some games are DX9 only,  which a DX10 ready card will detect and run in DX9.  Other games support DX10 but can be run in DX10 or DX9, as set by the user.

I can tell you when I built my curent machine, having a DX10 capable system was one of my goals.  Your jaw would hit the floor if you saw some of this stuff.  I'm very picky when it comes to some graphics.  If a game has poor shaders and textures it ruins the experience for me.  I will post some screenshots for you comparing DX10 and DX9.  But the short answer, if you're not running Vista you can get a DX10 ready card, but will only be able to run DX9 on it.  From what I've found DX10 offers more eye candy but less FPS, while DX9 offers more FPS with less eye candy.

Also something to note, as you mentioned heat problems.  I'm not sure if the 9 series has this. But on my GTX-260-C216 the drivers automatically cycle down the clocks the card by about half in 2d mode, like sitting at the desktop, saving power and producing less heat.  I get about 65C load 45C idle with this card, which is pretty normal nowadays.  Upper 70C's would probably give some artifacting, though I haven't oc'ed it yet.  I think most of these cards have a 115C or so core shutdown temp.  So basically, unless you're seeing artifacting you should be fine.

Yeah TK, it's kind of funny the way they did it this time. 9 series, then GTX 2x0, then 55nm GTX 2x0, now GTX 295 and GTX 285.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

OK here you go.  First screenshot of each is DX9, second of each is DX10.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

It's a little hard to see the differences from those shots now that I look at them.  Check out these.

http://www.incrysis.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=511

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7lLwJbhPzA&feature=related
	Small | Large

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KvURb4-Hdg&feature=related
	Small | Large

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bKUgCpi4k0&feature=related (Embedding disabled, limit reached)

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

thanx smooth.  i went ahead with the 9800. possibly will upgrade to vista in a couple of month's ,& try out that dx10 at that time.

 then i could get another 2GiG'S of ram. 

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

Make sure it's the 64 bit version if you're looking above 3gb total ram.

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

dont know if its the new VC or what, but ive had lock up issues ever since i installed it. it only happens when tryen to join a game. now this morning i woke up too the black screen of death. popped the MB battery out and reset. booted up fine. tried to join GW's and the system crashed and rebooted on it's own. uninstalled /reinstalled VC driver's  system locked up at reboot.  any clues?