Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Video Card

[Grid Iron]

Well, I got Oblivion today and it runs like crap on my old video card, which was awesome long ago.

Any suggestions on a $99-$150 video card that it runs well on, or is that a pipe dream?

[Deattribution]

What are you using right now?

Will give kind of an idea if just upgrading your video card is even a possibility to fix your problem.

[stevew]

I bet for 150ish you could find something solid. Some of the other threads had good ideas IIRC.

[Grid Iron]

What are you using right now?

Will give kind of an idea if just upgrading your video card is even a possibility to fix your problem.

I have a 2.8Ghz Pentium, 1GB RAM, and a GeForce FX 5700LE video card (256GB RAM).

Thanks for any help!

[stevew]

run this

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

And then see what it says, you'll to meet recommended fail, but then it will have a link to possible upgrades you can buy from Newegg. A good place to start, anyways.

[ISiddiqui]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150130

A NVidia 6800 will probably play the game fairly decently on mid level settings.

[ISiddiqui]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283

Here is a 7600GT, which with the mail in rebate comes in juust under $150 (though shipping will make it a bit higher). You'll be able to play with high (though NOT ultra high) settings with that card.

[stevew]

You'll probably also want to make sure your power supply can produce enough juice for one of the better cards.

[ISiddiqui]

You'll probably also want to make sure your power supply can produce enough juice for one of the better cards.

Good point!! Some of the big box manufacturers (like Dell, Gateway) only give you a crappy 350W power supply. I'd recommend at least a 500W one, myself.

[Grid Iron]

I think I'll just upgrade to a 6800 with medium settings. I don't have PCI Express capability and I don't want to kick down even more money for a power supply upgrade.

I guess I'll have to live with medium settings. :)

[stevew]

Good point!! Some of the big box manufacturers (like Dell, Gateway) only give you a crappy 350W power supply. I'd recommend at least a 500W one, myself.

Yeah, mine broke, and when i looked at it, it was like 320W. I only had the cash for a 450W one at the time, buying retail sucks cause it was like 3 times more than it would be online. But no computer=no way for me to go online and buy one :)

[ISiddiqui]

I think I'll just upgrade to a 6800 with medium settings. I don't have PCI Express capability and I don't want to kick down even more money for a power supply upgrade.

I guess I'll have to live with medium settings. :)

AGP motherboard?

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, mine broke, and when i looked at it, it was like 320W. I only had the cash for a 450W one at the time, buying retail sucks cause it was like 3 times more than it would be online. But no computer=no way for me to go online and buy one :)

Yikes! Sorry dude! I only recently realized the value of a good power supply myself when I was shopping around for a new PC. While reading up on things, I realized some of these cards I was looking at require some major power!

[FBPro]

run this

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

And then see what it says, you'll to meet recommended fail, but then it will have a link to possible upgrades you can buy from Newegg. A good place to start, anyways.

This is sweet, new bookmark. Thanks

[stevew]

This is sweet, new bookmark. Thanks

Im not sure who posted it first, but I thank whomever posted it in the original morrowind thread. It's a great site.

[chinaski]

oldblivion.com will get you by in the meantime. its a really good program.

[gstelmack]

For AGP in that price range, get an nVidia 6600GT. Runs Oblivion well on both my home machines.

[Deattribution]

I've always personally preferred ATI cards over Nvidia, they also use to be less power hogs. Been a while since I've checked the difference now but the 6800's compared to the x850's needed nearly double the wattage for similiar cards like 450w for the x850 vs 680w for the 6800's.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102679

The x1600pro seems like a solid deal, along with doubling your memory but if you have a dell some people are complaining of incompatiabilities with the motherboard for x1300s and x1600s.

From what I can tell though, just about anything made within the last century will be an upgrade from your old video card though :p

[gstelmack]

I've always personally preferred ATI cards over Nvidia, they also use to be less power hogs. Been a while since I've checked the difference now but the 6800's compared to the x850's needed nearly double the wattage for similiar cards like 450w for the x850 vs 680w for the 6800's.

The x800 series were shader model 2 cards, while the 6000 series were shader model 3 cards. Need to compare apples to apples.