What Video Card would be best for my Intel D946GZIS motherboard?
I've been looking for a nice upgrade for my Radion 1600 series video card, but have no idea how to go about finding out what card is compatible with my Intel D946GZIS motherboard. I'm attempting to make my computer more game friendly, but am unsure as to what video card to buy / which cards are compatible. The price of the new card doesn't matter, as long as it works. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance
As the others said, according to intel you have a PCI-Express 16X slot, which will allow you to use any new graphics card.
http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/d946gzis/index.htm
Now one dude recommended the 8800GT, which is a great card and an excellent value, especially considering it's down to $140 with MIR. It is quite fast and will max every game but Crysis and Flight Simulator X (which just sucks no matter what you play it on, so I hear). The 8800GT will pull high in Crysis. There is only one problem with the 8800GT, that being that it draws a fair amount of power, and if you don't have a good supply, it might overdraw and be useless.
Two less expensive options are the 9600GT for $125-130, which is about 10% slower than the 8800GT, and draws far less power, and the Radeon HD 3850 which also draws much less power, costs $100, and is about 20-30% slower than the 8800GT. I personally have a 3850 and am very happy with the performance, as it maxes every game I have including Bioshock and Frontlines.
Links to Specific Cards I recommend from good brands:
Gigabyte 8800GT 512mb with Nice Quiet Cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125088
MSI 9600GT 512mb with Sweet Cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127355
Powercolor HD 3850 512mb with decent cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131096
You can calculate how much power you will need vs how much power you have using this power supply calculator:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
Just set capacitor aging to 20% and load to 100%, add a few usb devices and fans, and you should get a nice conservative power estimate. That board is a regular desktop board by the way.
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