I'm a new sim player with a graphics question

[AaronEdmondson84]

Hi I have a new dell computer running windows 7, its a quad core processor , my graphics card was stock, it is ATI Radeon HD 4200.

My question is : Is this graphics card gonna give me max graphics on this game (IL-2 sturmovik: 1946), or should I upgrade my card to get better graphics.
I dont know if with my card it is as good as the game can look and upgrading will just be wasteing money, or if I bought a better card will it be worth the money spent.
thanks for any help with this.

I truely love great graphics

[flyingbullseye]

The graphics card you have won't do full settings at practically any res setting. What resolution do you plan to play at and what's your budget? I'd say at the very least go with a 9800GT or look at a HD 4850. Both cards can max the sim out at least at 1680x1050 and 2xAA and not break the bank, either can be had for $90-120. Any higher of a card you can up the AA but you're going to pay for it.

Flyingbullseye

[AaronEdmondson84]

I was looking at the cards you suggested and I was wondering how to tell if they are compatible with my computer, so many options.

I noticed that my card specs says that it is a PCI Express 2.0 x16 bus interface

Does that meen that ANY graphics card with that spec will work in my comp or does the whole DDR3 or DDR4 thing meen something too. I know I want a 1GB card. and if I gotta spend alil over 100 bucks thats cool with me.

You asked about what resolution I plan to play. I really dont know what that meens. sorry I do have a 23 inch monitor so I want full screen and want the game to look real good. is $150 - 200 more of what I am looking at? or is the HD4850 1GB at a $115 gonna be sweet?
THanks for the reply!

[flyingbullseye]

Originally Posted by AaronEdmondson84

I noticed that my card specs says that it is a PCI Express 2.0 x16 bus interface

Does that meen that ANY graphics card with that spec will work in my comp or does the whole DDR3 or DDR4 thing meen something too.

Yes any PCI-e card will work in that slot. As for DDR3 or DDR4 its just the type of ram the manufacturer used. The difference between the two is so small it won't make a difference.

Originally Posted by AaronEdmondson84

You asked about what resolution I plan to play. I really dont know what that meens. sorry I do have a 23 inch monitor so I want full screen and want the game to look real good.

Resolution is the height and width of your monitor. Right click on the desk top and click on properties and settings. That will tell you what your resolution for your monitor is, or just check the box it should say. At a 23 inch monitor I'm guessing you're probably at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200. At that resolution I'd probably say either go for a 1 gig HD 4850/4870 or GTS 250. The GTS 250 and 4850 will both be less that $150 while the more powerful 4870 will run you between $150-200 depending where you live and who is selling it. Just make sure your power supply can handle the cards.

Flyingbullseye

[AaronEdmondson84]

Just checked, I am running at 1920x1080 , windows (recommended).

How do I know if my "power supply" can handle something?

[AaronEdmondson84]

I just read up on the diamond 4870 and it says it takes 2 PCI-express slots and 2 power supplys.

How do I tell how many slots I have on my mother board and power supplys? ,mabee there is a spot you can direct me in windows ..... before I have to open up my computer to have a Look around

[flyingbullseye]

Technically the 4870 doesn't actually take two PCI-e slots. Some motherboards have two PCI-e slots close together and some graphics cards cooler (4870) are large enough to cover the second slot. That is what is referred to taking two PCI-e slots.

As for the power supply that is also talking about using two 6 pin connectors from the one power supply in your PC. Some have two connectors, some like mine just have one. Can't miss it, is the only connector with 6 pins, mine also had a PCI-e tag on it, made that easy. Unless you have something that gives you the specs on your PC, you're going to have to open up the thing and have a look for yourself. Its not hard you should have a side panel you can slip off once you take out the back screws. If anything the owners manual should show you what to do.

If you find you only have one 6 pin PCI-e connector I'd suggest the GTS 250. Fairly cheap and is more than enough for the sim in all its glory.

Flyingbullseye

[AaronEdmondson84]

Wow I may have just answered my own questions here. I been doin alot of research and it looks like my inspiron 570 has 1 slot for a pci-express x16 graphics card. the system also comes with a 300 watt power supply.

the 4870 wont fit cause it needs 2 open x16 slots.

...But the HD 4850 will fit cause it only needs one!

lil problem is I would need to get a bigger power supply, exactly a 450watt or higher with a pci-express x16 hookup on it. runs close to a hundred bucks for that and a lil over a hundred for the 4850 card.
Lol I guess getting some more graphics isnt so easy. I wonder how hard it is to change a power supply....

So you said that the 4850 will max out the sim at 1640x 1050.
Thats excellent news.
You mentioned something about AAx2 and I dont know what that meens. would you mind elaborating on that.
I think through research and your suggestions (thanks) I am able to make my choice on the 4850.

[AKA_Tenn]

no the HD4870 only needs 1 PCI-E 16x slot, the card has a super big heat sink, so its thick enough that blocks the slot directly underneath it, be it a PCI-E slot or an ISA slot, or a nintendo cartridge slot... anyway, u'll want at least a 600w power supply to not have to worry about frying it all, even with a 4850.

here's a 4870

and a 4850

notice the 4850 is a lot thinner, so it only takes the space of one card, it being slow enough that it doesn't need the bulky heatsink. where as the thicker 4870 is so big cause of the extra cooling it needs, that it takes the space of two, even though they both only plug into one slot.

[flyingbullseye]

Originally Posted by AaronEdmondson84

I wonder how hard it is to change a power supply....

Depending on the configuration of your tower it can either be easy or a royal pain in the rear. My power supply I found out was about 1mm too large for the slot in my tower. That was a lot of fun trying to squeeze a solid object into another solid object neither of which has any give. Its in but has a sweet scrap mark on the top of it.

As long as everything is connected when your done you should be good to go. With the exception of the graphics card everything else uses the same type 4 pin connector so you can't mess it up. Good luck!

Flyingbullseye