Video Cards

[nosedive]

i just got G6 and a new Gateway computer. the discription of the card just says its a HD Video card. the sim seems to work great but i get the feeling that it could use a high quality card. if i upgrade the Card do i have to upgrade the power supply. any suggestions on both ? :confused:

[jeffpn]

Video card documentation will recommend a wattage for your power supply. Will you need a new one? I don't know. If yours is currently a million watts, I'd say no.

Your specifics are lacking. What if I asked you if I bought a different car, would I pick up more chicks? (Notice I didn't tell you what kind of car I have now, but it does have 4 wheels.)

[nosedive]

good points Jeff . ty
hell i cant even figure out how to edit my profile picture. :(

[jeffpn]

Did you buy a stock computer, no options? Can you supply a model number? There are a couple forum members who might look into it for you.

[nosedive]

X4860-UB32P

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium - 3.3GHz Intel® Core™ i3 - 6GB memory, max 16GB - 1TB storage - Intel® HD Graphics 2000 - 300W - Wi-Fi - USB 3.0 - HDMI®

[Krusher]

I'll make a quick reply on this while my other computer is backing up.

On-board graphics (such as your motherboard) are notorious for being under-powered for anything other than web surfing.

Now, this simulator doesn't need the highest powered video cards; that would be a waste of money. If you plan on playing other games on this PC, the sweet spot right now for video cards are right around $250. If not, then you can still get an improvement starting around $100 or so.

Tom's hardware has a good article that comes out every month and gives ratings based on your budget. This is the Feb 2012 article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html
While they aren't the "guru" on video cards (see guru3d.com!), the articles are a great starting point to find your price. The last page of the article lists all graphics cards and you can compare yours. Remember--these are for gaming. Just like Tom's says, don't spend $500 if you are not a gamer lol.

Your question on the power supply is also very valid--300W is not a lot of extra power to work with. Check the manufacturer's web site to determine what they need as a minimum after you pick a card. Then add a little bit. If you decide to upgrade the power supply, I'd probably look for something 600W+ from Antec, Corsair, XFX, OCZ, etc. The reason for going that high is so you don't have to take your computer apart in the future if/when you upgrade again. Don't skimp on the power supply in other words because that can cause more problems. jonnyguru.com is where I go (excellent reviews) but might be overkill for many.

Others may have different opinions here and can tell you more specific info based on your monitor resolution and desired graphics settings (low, medium, or forced Anti-Aliasing for example).

Hope that helps!