nVidia GeForce 8400GS 512mb PCI Card

I own a Dell Dimension 3000, I know, nowhere near top of the line in computers even when I bought brand new about 4 years ago. But it was a huge improvement over my previous computer.

I recently upgraded the ram from 256mb to 2gb ram and tried the game to see if it would run. Much to my surprise, not only did it run the game, it looked better than it ever did on my nephew's computer (the one I started playing COH with).

Currently, I am playing with my integrated graphics on the motherboard. I am considering upgrading to a real GPU and when I check Dell to see what is recommended, the largest one (mb wise) the recommend is the nVidia GeForce 8400GS 512 mg PCI Card.

Will this be sufficient to run the game? I can get it from Dell for $60, but I found it at Newegg for EVGA brand for $54.99. These are prices that are very tempting and I would like some advice before spring for a GPU.

Edit: How do I check to see what watts my PSU has? This requires minimum 350 watts.

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The second digit is really important.. an 8800 or even 8600 at 256mb is going to perform much better than an 8400 512 mb.

The number system can be confusing. Basically. the first number is what series chronologically, so 7 series, 8 series, etc. The next number tells you how it compares to cards within the series
1,2 = very low end
3,4 = low end
5,6,7 = midrange
8,9 = high-end

Then the last two numbers are either 00 or 50. The 50 usually just means there was a small revision that did not warrant an entire new number. Now since the second digit only compares within a series, you will find that the high-end of a series will compare to the midrange of the next. So for instance 6800=7600, 7600>7300 therefore even though "6,800" is a smaller number than "7,300", a 6800 card is better.

Lastly, the suffixes go (roughly) GTX > GTS> Ultra > GT >GS > (nothing) > LE
I hope that helps!

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seeing you have a dell 3000, which we have these at my work, that 8400 pci card is as good as you are going to get since you don't have the proper card slots for a better card. your performance will increase with it, but just keep the settings low. start off as low as they can go and increase a little as you get into groups and what not and see what will be playable

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im guessing the limiting factor is power supply and / or motherboard slot (agp pci-e? ) how about a 7000 series?
like a 7800 7900, either of those would perform better than an 8400, im just not sure on power consumption

We had a 7900GS fail on a computer here and we replaced it with a 8600GT, the 7900 performed better! (though it was cheap and painless )

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I guess what I am really asking is would it work better on COH than my Intel 865G Integrated Graphics. That is what I have right now and that is at the minimum specs according to my AE box. Recommended is GeForce 6200. So the 8400 would be better than the 8400 and it should work to make things look even better.

I am hoping since it is a recommended upgrade for my computer by Dell, that it should work.

Thanks for your help guys!

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It would be much better than the Intel graphics. You may want to think about spending a few more dollars and pick up one of the GeForce 9400 GTs

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His real problem is a small PS (250 watts, 16 Amps @+12v), most video cards (including the one you linked to) have higher PS requirements than what his Dell is packing.

Edit: I realized I should elaborate. Kryhavoc, the video card that Dell itself recommends has a higher PS requirement than your Dell Dimension 3000 has. If I were you I'd check again with Dell about your upgrade, mentioning the small PS you have and the minimum requirements of the video card.

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[ QUOTE ]
His real problem is a small PS (250 watts, 16 Amps @+12v), most video cards (including the one you linked to) have higher PS requirements than what his Dell is packing.

Edit: I realized I should elaborate. Kryhavoc, the video card that Dell itself recommends has a higher PS requirement than your Dell Dimension 3000 has. If I were you I'd check again with Dell about your upgrade, mentioning the small PS you have and the minimum requirements of the video card.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thank you, I was wondering about that.

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