When it comes to average FPS, the video card is only part of the equation. CPU, RAM, motherboard & OS all play a role. You may wanna play around with this interactive chart:
yea.... i read that chart like 500 times in my past... doesnt have all the vid cards available that are still good... i want source reccomendations... that graph means nothing to me..
What do you mean it means nothing? By looking at the chart you can tell which cards are good & which cards aren't so good. And there are other charts available too...from 2005 & 2006. You don't have to use CSS as a benchmark to be able to figure which cards suck & which ones don't. Besides, CSS is over 3 yrs old (release date 11/1/04) so just about any modern card should be able to play it...the system requirements are fairly weak by today's standards. Even IGPs like your 6150SE can handle it.
"Minimum: 1.2 GHz Processor, 256MB RAM, DirectX 7 level graphics card, Windows 2000/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection
Recommended: 2.4 GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, DirectX 9 level graphics card, Windows 2000/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection"
Your board has a PCI-e slot so you have dozens of different cards to choose from. If you wanna upgrade, just about anything currently available will be better than what you have, provided you know what to avoid. Turbocache, Hypermemory, & cards with 64-bit memory are a few things to stay away from.
This article *should* help you to choose a card in your price range:
steam games are upgraded as the years go by.... counter strike 1.6 went from 1.0 to 1.6 over 8 years.... source has went through changes as well over this 3 years... wrong recommendations... theyre the recommendations from 3 years ago.... bottom line my IGP 6150 sucks and i wanna game source with more than 15 fps.. obviously the recommendations arent the above because i have a 2.8 x2 mhz processor (= 5.6 mhz) directx 10, and 3gigs ram... i just wanna video card that isnt overly expensive... im looking at 8600gt's
Any high performance card you get will *probably* trigger a PSU upgrade. You still haven't posted the specs of the supposed kicka$$ PSU your friend has?
I realize that Steam pushes updates down the pipe but according to the Steam/CSS site, the specs I posted in response #3 are correct:
CSS is a DX9 game anyway & as with most games, it will run better with XP than with Vista. The chart from 2004 shows the 6600GT & up will run HL2 at high settings with acceptable framerates (35.6 FPS). With that in mind, look at the 2007 chart & find a card that scores better than the 6600GT. Then use the other article that lists the "Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money" & see if you can find something in your price range. If you want a DX10 card, you've already narrowed the field considerably.
I almost forgot to comment on that. You have an X2 5600+, correct? That is NOT the same as a 5.6GHz CPU. It's just by coincidence that the two 2.8GHz cores add up to 5.6GHz. The cores are separate, not combined. However, if there was such a thing as a P4 5.6GHz CPU, the X2 5600+ would be theoretically comparable.
ok... css requires more than that we know.... i have a power supply here with me its 420w nd 14v (or 15 its dark..) either way my 5600+ owns... im liking the 8600GT XXX edition....
You just don't seem to get it. Wattage is only one thing to consider when choosing a PSU. Having adequate amperage (properly distributed) is even more important.
The three primary rails are the +3.3v, +5v & +12v...of those, the +12v is the most important. The CPU gets ALL it's power from the +12v rail. HDDs, optical drives, cooling fans & video cards also pull power from the +12v. The +5v rail can get by with about 20A or so, but *some* PSU manufacturers load up on the +5v to falsely inflate the overall wattage rating of the PSU. Just in case you've forgotten the formula, wattage = volts x amps. The difference between 20A & 50A on the +5v is 150W (30A x 5v) & it's basically useless wattage because the +5v rail is under-used on today's PCs. But jacking up the amps on the +5v can turn a 300W rating into 450W & people will unknowingly buy it thinking their a$$ is covered.
Most video card manufacturer's will list a recommended minimum wattage for the PSU, plus the minimum amperage on the +12v rail. The 8600GT usually calls for a minimum of 350-400W with at least 20-24A on the +12v. If you get a PSU with 2 or more +12v rails, +12v1 is the dedicated power source for the CPU. The remaining hardware that requires +12v power gets it from +12v2, +12v3, etc...depending on how many +12v rails the PSU has. The ATX12V 2.xx standard limits the amps to 18 on any +12v rail. Not all manufacturers adhere to the standard though.
It's starting to become clear that the multiple +12v rail setup doesn't always work with higher end systems. Some manufacturers have gone back to the ATX12V 1.3 standard with a single +12v rail with high amperage. For example, Ultra Products has recently released the X-Pro series - their 600W unit has 36A on the +12v:
"Ultra once again addresses the needs of demanding, high end gaming systems, while maintaining 80% efficiency under typical loads. The X-Pro EE 600W can supply a continuous 432W on the 12V rail"
Troubled??? I have been playing CCS from the beginning...just had my new computer stolen that was custom and ran CCS great. Had a new computer built with Nvidia 8800GTS KO 640 card/ quad core processor and new Asus motherboard/ 600 watt power, but ccs keeps crashing during play. I have updated everything I can think of and still can not make ccs work...any help would be greatly appreciated...
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