Can't run games

[Dreeb]

Hey, guys.
I really need some help.
You see, I got a new computer, but i found out it's graphics card is too bad to run games in a good enough quality, i can only run them in the lowest settings and it still lags. Games like Battle field 2, darkfall, garry's mod, half life 2, left 4 dead 2, oblivion,
etc.

My computers specs:

Windows Vista
AMD Phenom 9750 Quad-Core Processor
450 GB free on hard drive.
NVIDIA Geforce 9100


I really only know shit about computers, besides the fact that i am learning c.
I guess i need a better graphics card....
If so, can anybody recommend one to me, I am very low on money, so i would say it cant be over 100$, at the most.
I would really like the cheapest card that is decent, though, cuz 100 is alot for me.
Also, how would i install this graphics card?

[Sanshin77]

Hmm, I dunno about the rest of the world but to me ( in Norway ) 100 dollars for a decent graphics card seems way low. You are right about the 9100 though, with each series of the nvidia cards the X100-400 are the low-cost cards, and X600-800 are for gaming etc. (Example: The 8600 is more powerful than 9100, I think.)

I guess you could look at 8800gt cards at amazon.com , but you'll have to make sure that they'll work with your motherboard. This one's for 150 dollars:
http://www.amazon.com/PNY-GeForce-SLI-R ... 753&sr=8-1

I'm not really an expert on hardware either, probably a lot of people around the forums who could help you more than I can. Atleast be 100% certain that you won't have any compatibility issues before buying pc parts.

Hope that was somewhat helpful :D

[andrew]

One like this should fit your needs and budget.

How to install a video card.

[aamesxdavid]

Really isn't hard to find your problem:

Windows Vista

Really, you should have no problem running those games at least at a medium setting. I'm sure Vista is at least part of the problem - the other part being when you buy a new computer, it comes with a bunch of shit you don't need that will just bog down the system. The best thing to do would be to format it and install either Windows 7 or XP. This will take care of both of those issues.

Short of a total format, I'd at least go through your Add/Remove Program list, and take out unnecessary things. Then tweak your settings (in the Control Panel) for performance. Vista has a lot of eye candy, and if you tone that down, you should be getting better performance out of it overall.

Bottom line - buying a new video card should be your last resort. If you buy a new card, and you still have Vista with all that pre-loaded junk on it, you'll still be wasting tons of processing power.

As a final note, you'll probably get better performance out of XP as far as games are concerned - and you're only sacrificing a newer DirectX, which only a few games actually use anyway.

[TheFinalFanatic]

Well, a GeForce 9100 should run those games fine. Hell, I ran Half-Life 2 on a GeForce 7600. What about your machine's RAM or it's Graphics Memory? Since your running Vista that could quite easily be an issue.

[dandymcgee]

Use http://cyri.systemrequirementslab.com/srtest/ to see why your computer can't handle a game.

[JaxDragon]

Get a GT 220. 1GB GFX card. DDR3. Runs MW2 maxed. Under $100. Only requires a 300 watt PSU.