thinking of my graphics upgrade

[mikey186]

I was thinking that, i might need of a graphics card upgrade because usually it sometimes flicks and freezes and goes on again. Reason i'm saying is because, i was working on a shadow mesh for my first traincar i'm working on, and the shadow mesh flicks from grey to light grey. one user put that it might be the graphics card issue. but i think it's impossible. but i just want to make sure if u think i should have my upgrade of my graphics card?

here are my specs:

ASUS Essentio CM6730
Intel Core i3 2120 (3.30 GHz)
nVidia GeForce 8400 GS (512 MB DDR2)
4GB Ram (on base computer)

 

[RRSignal]

Try updating the driver first. The 8400GS is extremely low-end - in fact, about the lowest-end modern card available - but even then, mine served me decently with TS2010. If that doesn't help, a GT 640 or an HD 6570 is about the best you're going to be able to get without a power supply upgrade. Neither card is really an ideal match for that CPU, which is pretty good, but the ATI card will be a lot easier and cheaper to find - $50 at Tigerdirect. Just make sure you clean out your existing drivers thoroughly if you change GPU brands.

 

[mikey186]

Well I have updated my graphics card to the latest standards. What about the GeForce gt 610. Is that any good? Or just get any of the Ati's.

 

[RRSignal]

It is also one of the lowest-end cards on the market. Generally, the second digit determines the relative ranking of a card (with modern, 3-digir nVidia and 4-digit ATI cards). But with a limited power supply which you have of 300 Watts, you need a card with a maximum power dissipation of about 60-ish watts. Generally, the GT430 has been a good card that is known to work safely with a 300W supply; the two I recommended are more powerful, more recent and consume roughly the same amount of power.

 

[tomurban]

I have been using an MSI GT430 for over a year and a half with no problems with frame rates in the 30-50fps range. My CPU is the Intel i5 @ 3.2 Ghz all nudged along by a 275W PS.

 

[mikey186]

well, unfortunately, i cant seem to find any of them that work for me. because of the budget (i have limited from 30-$50 i think) it's hopless. all i can find is the same one i have except it has MORE ram than mine. I have 512MB, that has 1GB ram. do u think trainz will run good with that (even if it is low end)? or how can i tell what part is important (like GPU clock, Bandwidth, etc) for to run trainz better (especially i mostly use TS10-12). a link to more info of my driver can be found here http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/v74zr/

 

[tomurban]

Problem solved! Get this one: It has 2Gb of ram and 128 bit bandwith. All for $52.99 (with rebate). Your Trainz will think that you have a super computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134141