Firefighterdan
343 NEVER FORGET
Hello, I have a Nvidia Gforce GTX 460 video card now but would like to upgrade. Is a Nvidia Geforce GT 630 much better, and if so would I notice much of a difference? Thanks everyone... :wave:
Video card question
- Thread starter Firefighterdan
- Start date
ryanstrains
Moderator
A Nvidia 460 is still a good card, Would have to look at the 630 but it may be a step down actually.
Check it on here http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html you will note the GT 630 is a very long way below the GTX 460. Newer is often not better unless it's the top of the range, as a rule of thumb you need the same last two digits of the card number or higher to better it and forget anything below x50.
William0d0
Active member
I would hang onto the 460 (it's plenty good enough for now) and save up for a 570 or 660.
cascaderailroad
New member
Right on delivery Diamonds have a 600%-1000% retail price markup, in store ... Shop wisely !
Big Box Stores 200% markup prices, vs Online bargains
My Desktop has a 300W power supply so I can only by a video card that has that maximum requirement (or put in a higher wattage power supply, and I have 2 left thumbs, and my only tools are a right handed "Jersey Screwdriver" : http://mcdn.toolking.com/catalog/product/m/7/m7020b_1.jpg).
In a Big Box store you can actually see the item, pick it up, and read the specs, (smell that brand new video card smell) and ask a newly hired sales associate (who has 5 days retail sales experience) what is the best video card, or best PC.
He'll tell you your Laptop is "Wiffee" capable, an has Turdo Boost Graphics
I bought a Galaxy GT 430 video card for @ $119 USD (+PA sales tax), where I could have bought it onlne for @ $49 USD http://hardocp.com/article/2010/10/11/galaxy_geforce_gt_430_video_card_review/
Big Box Stores 200% markup prices, vs Online bargains
My Desktop has a 300W power supply so I can only by a video card that has that maximum requirement (or put in a higher wattage power supply, and I have 2 left thumbs, and my only tools are a right handed "Jersey Screwdriver" : http://mcdn.toolking.com/catalog/product/m/7/m7020b_1.jpg).
In a Big Box store you can actually see the item, pick it up, and read the specs, (smell that brand new video card smell) and ask a newly hired sales associate (who has 5 days retail sales experience) what is the best video card, or best PC.
He'll tell you your Laptop is "Wiffee" capable, an has Turdo Boost Graphics
I bought a Galaxy GT 430 video card for @ $119 USD (+PA sales tax), where I could have bought it onlne for @ $49 USD http://hardocp.com/article/2010/10/11/galaxy_geforce_gt_430_video_card_review/
Last edited:
You need a decent power supply! My first PC bought in 2003 had 400 Watts and it was an antique by modern standards. Get yourself something about 700 watts and it will last you for several years. And stay away from the cheaper brands - read reviews in computer magazines.
Firefighterdan
343 NEVER FORGET
Some great info here everyone. Thank you for taking the time to give your input. I ran across this today....any good?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/XFX-AMD-Rad...141?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2a271a3425
http://www.ebay.com/itm/XFX-AMD-Rad...141?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2a271a3425
Hi Firefighterdan,
I don't know about AMD cards but be mindful that this card has been seller refurbished. I would not purchase this card myself as the seller has not tolld why it has been refurbished. What warranty is offerd?
Do not expect any manufacturer warranty on this item.
Just my thoughts, Andrew.
I don't know about AMD cards but be mindful that this card has been seller refurbished. I would not purchase this card myself as the seller has not tolld why it has been refurbished. What warranty is offerd?
Do not expect any manufacturer warranty on this item.
Just my thoughts, Andrew.
Firefighterdan
343 NEVER FORGET
Good point Andrew. Is this type of card good? 
Hi Firefighterdan,
As I mentioned I am no expert on radeon cards. Best have a look around. I find Toms Hardware to be useful as they list the Graphics Card Hierarchy chart and that will show you where the card you are interested in sits. You will find it here in this link: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
Have a look around the site and see what cards may interest you.
According to the hierarchy chart your card is the rough equivalent of the nvidia GTX460. Other people have reported that that card is OK in TS12. However a bit of homework looking around and a trustworthy computer person should help you sort out what is needed.
Hopefully some AMD card users will drop in and give you a heads up on good, reasonably priced cards.
Good luck in your quest, Andrew.
As I mentioned I am no expert on radeon cards. Best have a look around. I find Toms Hardware to be useful as they list the Graphics Card Hierarchy chart and that will show you where the card you are interested in sits. You will find it here in this link: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
Have a look around the site and see what cards may interest you.
According to the hierarchy chart your card is the rough equivalent of the nvidia GTX460. Other people have reported that that card is OK in TS12. However a bit of homework looking around and a trustworthy computer person should help you sort out what is needed.
Hopefully some AMD card users will drop in and give you a heads up on good, reasonably priced cards.
Good luck in your quest, Andrew.
Personally I would say A) Message the seller and ask what the nature of the refurbishment. B) I have bought a number of items, including a motherboard, from a UK firm called Novatech who have an offshoot called Novatechltd on ebay where they sell "refurbished" items. All the items arrived in perfect working order but with the boxes turned inside out!
Here is another Radeon 6850 for auction used currently at $55 with one day to go. http://www.ebay.com/itm/XFX-AMD-Rad...998?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2a26df786e
Last edited:
Not really as it's virtually the same as the GTX460 you have got, slightly lower performance actually. There really shouldn't be a problem with a GTX460, with a decent processor you will get as good performance in Trainz as with many of the newer cards. You may be looking at the wrong upgrade? If you are getting poor performance from a GTX460 you may need to look at where the bottleneck is occuring in your system? or possibly you won't see much if any performance increase with a better card.
Use this chart http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html and go upwards from the GTX460, you might take note that the 460 is fairly near the top of the list as it is and better than some newer models.
Firefighterdan
343 NEVER FORGET
I only have 3.00 GB of RAM, could that be why my frame rates are low?
To enable us to know that, you need to post basic specs of your PC namely which CPU, Motherboard, Hard Drive and type of RAM - DDR 1, 2 or 3? What OS have you, Windows? Which version and is it 32 or 64 bit? On my second PC - a Packard Bell 6810 SLI bought in 2006 - I only had 2GB of RAM but I got great frame rates in Trainz Classics 3.
BTW I used to have a Palit GTX 460 a year and when I replaced it with a Radeon 6950 the improvement in performance was noticeable.
I am suspicious of the Passmark results. For one thing the prices quoted appear to assume you are buying it new from a high street shop. Secondly it has the GTX 690 ranked lower than some other cards which is nonsense.
BTW I used to have a Palit GTX 460 a year and when I replaced it with a Radeon 6950 the improvement in performance was noticeable.
I am suspicious of the Passmark results. For one thing the prices quoted appear to assume you are buying it new from a high street shop. Secondly it has the GTX 690 ranked lower than some other cards which is nonsense.
Last edited:
Firefighterdan
343 NEVER FORGET
I have an AMD Athlon 64x2 duel core processor 3800+
Asus motherboard
Maxtor 6L200PL hard drive
3 different sticks of ram all 1 gig each. The first one just says DDR the second and third say DDR2.
Windows XP Home 32 bit
Asus motherboard
Maxtor 6L200PL hard drive
3 different sticks of ram all 1 gig each. The first one just says DDR the second and third say DDR2.
Windows XP Home 32 bit
That suggests that maybe the RAM sticks are all DDR2 but mismatched in some way (from different makers), since they couldn't be some DDR and some DDR2. Windows XP is OK but you cannot run more than 3GB RAM unless you get 64 bit. It sounds like you would be better off buying a modern low cost but reasonable spec PC with Windows 7 but without a graphics card and installing your GTX 460 in it. Then you would get good FPS.
I have an AMD Athlon 64x2 duel core processor 3800+
Asus motherboard
Maxtor 6L200PL hard drive
3 different sticks of ram all 1 gig each. The first one just says DDR the second and third say DDR2.
Windows XP Home 32 bit
Afraid the bottleneck is the processor it's only 2GHz and bottom of the range I think as well. Being an AM2 socket there's not a lot you can upgrade to that's still available if the motherboard can even support it. AM2 processors are getting very rare.
I'm using a GTX 460 with an i7 setup and the Frame rates are phenomenal they were pretty good with the same card in a Phenom 1090T PC as well.
Probably looking at a system upgrade more than a graphics upgrade I'm afraid.
ryanstrains
Moderator
The reason is sometimes games have issues with graphics processors put together resulting in a lower benchmark than a single card.
I also noticed that, probably due to a low number of submitted tests compared to others, seen that often on newly released cards, give it a few more weeks and it should probably move up, however remember that the table is a combination of value for money and performance not just performance.
Pricing, fair comment but you need to remember that all cards are similarly cheaper from most on-line suppliers so if a card is 20% cheaper than the recommended retail price then most of them from the same source will also be 20% cheaper, so whatever criteria they use for pricing, that would probably balance out.