laggy games , new video card??

[crow0021]

i have a radeon 9550 256mb now. i turn up resolution high and detail high in the games i play which is every demo i can download. but my fav is probably counter strike(hopefully cs source soon) most of the time in the games, it pretty good, but sometimes it get laggy (not internet connection). i'm assuming this is the video card causing it?? if so, i want to upgrade to something that will make it very smooth always... i've got a 385 watt power supply, i'll spend up to $400 (canadian).. any suggestions??

 

[Joeisalsocool]

It's not your graphics card. Try raising your Virtual Memory, your computer fills the VM when you play for a long time. It happens to me all the time.

 

[ohGrFreak]

I don't know about the virtual memory, why would his comp use it with 1gig of DDR? If you have that much to spend, I'd go all out and get a 6800GT. But I don't know about that PSU though, mabe get a 6600 and a new PSU, at least 420W.

Well, that's assuming you have 400 USD, I have no idea what the conversion is from Canadian to USD.

 

[Joeisalsocool]

Your computer will always use virtual memory weather you have 4GB or 4MB of ram, its just what windows does.
You also might want to try defragmenting your drive, and cleaning out all temp files, that will definatley smooth things out.
I really dont think it's the graphics card, those are still quite good.

 

[ohGrFreak]

i always thought that the 9550 was comparable to nvidia's 5200 which i have and it can't play a single game without having to be on low or sometimes medium settings. i would still say to upgrade the card, it's not to future proof if he wants to start playing the newer games out with even somewhat good settings.

what we really need is another opinion or two.

 

[zerozero]

I agree. Get a new card. You can get the ATI 9800 AIW with 256 MB of RAM for roughly 325$ Canadian on sale. It will work wonders for you. I wouldn't go with the X800 because it is too buggy. This excellent card will last you for quite a while. If you have the money, go for the NVIDIA 6800 which is better than the ATI X800.

 

[Joeisalsocool]

Sorry, I guess im just not as knowledgeable in the ATI area, as you can plainly see. Sorry.

In that case, up the graphics card

 

[ohGrFreak]

Don't be sorry, see, I have no idea about virtual memory, so maybe we're both right!

 

[GeckoEcho421]

For $300 you could get a 6800 256 which would rock any current game with moderate settings.

 

[lazerman]

If you are getting lag in CS then there is definately a problem... that game isn't very streesful on vid cards usuallly, since it is so old.