Mr. S Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 So I buy guitar hero 3 for the PC. I usually play games on my desktop. Of course my desktop being almost 3 years old now, it does not meet the minimum system requirements. The error pops up that my video card is not up to the minimum, which makes me wonder if I could slide by with my CPU still. I have an Athlon 64 Socket 939 3000+, and the game wants a 3500+ cpu. My video card is an ATI Radeon 9250 256 mb AGP card, and the game wants a radeon x800 or geforce 7600. I guess if I want to pursue this, I'd have to replace the cpu and video card. Here are my questions: I have seen some pretty cheap ATI cards, an x1300 PRO notably. I was just wondering if that is higher than an x800 as the info online was confusing me making it sound like an x800 was higher (and it tends to be more expensive too). Would an HD 2400 also be higher? As for replacing the CPU, is it just as simple as take out old, drop, and go? I did build this computer, so I'm farily confident I can replace both things. Any help would be great, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfitzo53 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 You should be able to drop in a CPU, but you'll want to check your motherboard manufacturer's website to make sure it will be recognized properly. Unfortunately being on Socket 939 doesn't give you the best upgrade choices. How much money are you willing to spend on the upgrade, and would it do anything for you other than let you play GH3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Guy. Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 get an 8600gt... it should be plenty fast and the cpu shouldnt bottleneck it. http://fxvideocards.com/Zotac-GeForce-8600GT-256MB-PCI-Express-Video-Card-ZT-86TEQ3P-FSR-Retail-Box-p-16382.html the card is $54 shipped AR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. S Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 yeh, the main reason is just to play Guitar Hero. I'm not much of a gamer, and my machine has handled Rome/Medieval 2 Total War just fine, as well as Madden. Those are all I pretty much play. I thought as long as I buy a regular AMD Athlon 64, not even an X2, that should be compatible, right? Something that is at least 3500+, the one I saw on newegg was fora 4000+ for about $40. Guy, unfortunately I was stupid in buying an AGP board three years ago. I don't really want to invest much money into this, and obviously don't want to buy a new computer. If I can get away with this for under $100, that would be great. On a side note, does anyone know what the rankings are for ATI or Nvidia? Here are the game requirements: (never mind, it shows supported cards on the site, guess I gotta go with the 2400) http://www.aspyr.com/product/game_specs/85 Here is the link for my motherboard: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=1839 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCSaints_fan Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Why the heck would Guitar Hero require that much processing power. It is simply a more complex version of that old 'Simon' game back in the 80s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 get an 8600gt... it should be plenty fast and the cpu shouldnt bottleneck it.http://fxvideocards.com/Zotac-GeForce-8600GT-256MB-PCI-Express-Video-Card-ZT-86TEQ3P-FSR-Retail-Box-p-16382.html the card is $54 shipped AR Thats a PCI-E video card. If he has a Socket 939 motherboard odds are pretty good that he can only use an AGP video card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net/about/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofer Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I've been down the upgrade alley many times. Its a dead end. You spend hundreds of dollars to upgrade this, upgrade that, and then before you know it, you could have just bought a new PC, better then your upgraded box, for not much more than you spent on the upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I've been down the upgrade alley many times. Its a dead end. You spend hundreds of dollars to upgrade this, upgrade that, and then before you know it, you could have just bought a new PC, better then your upgraded box, for not much more than you spent on the upgrades. i know exactly what you're talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfitzo53 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-cards,1942-6.html According to this article, the 2600Pro is the best AGP card under $100. The lowest I found it for on Newegg was around $75. (There are probably cheaper cards that would suffice for what you're doing, but I don't know the ins and outs of ATI's older offerings.) If you're willing to buy used, there's a guy selling his 7600GS over at Anandtech for $40. He's also selling a 6800GT for $60, and either should be fine for your uses. I'm not sure whether or not we're supposed to link that kind of stuff, so PM me if you want the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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