will a new video card improve my dual core FX60 PC's performace?

[zoldos]

I am thinking about getting a new video card, probably an Nvidia GTX 285 with 1 gig ram or something similar. My question is will this increase the performance of games on my PC? Here is my current specs:

AMD Athlon 64 FX60 dual core CPU
2 gigs low latency RAM
Western Digital SATA hard drive
Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT with 512 megs graphics
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

I plan on also getting a better PSU. I don't have the cash for a full upgrade, but do want increased gaming performance.

Thanks for any replies!

 

[BadBigBen]

simple answer: YES...

a GTX285 outperforms a GF9800GT any day...

e.g. Source: Tom's Hardware.

Fallout 3 @ 1680x1050, 4AA, 8AF, Very High Quality

GTX 285 1024 MB FPS 90.10
Geforce 9800 GTX+ FPS 66.70
9800 GT 512 MB FPS 55.70

that is almost twice the framerate...

and to the PSU, stay with a name brand such as Enermax, BeQuiet, Targan, etc. with enough OOOMMMPPPHHHH (600watts), they are more expensive but the power output is stable...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[zoldos]

Thank you! The main reason I asked is someone said I don't want to bottleneck my system by getting a really nice video card without upgrading the rest of my PC. But the FX60 I think is still pretty fast for its age. I might get 2 more gigs of RAM as well. I have my eye on a nice Antec PSU as I've never had a problem with my current one....

 

[paparazi]

There is some truth to what your friend has said, the GTX285 won't be performing to it's full potential being slightly hampered by the older chipset and CPU. Nevertheless you will experience a significant boost to graphics performance with the promise of even more with a future platform upgrade. In other words, still worth it!
Martin

On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[zoldos]

Nice. Thank you for the information. I have the card picked out and I'm also getting an 850 watt Antec Truepower PSU and 2 more gigs of Corsair XMS RAM for a total of 4 gigs. I'm looking forward to the increased gaming performance!

 

[kjv1611]

The RAM you're getting - I'm assuming it's matched brand/model, or at least specs? If not, you may run into issues where you can't use all the RAM at the same time. You may not, it just depends upon the differences, and how the board handles the differences.

 

[zoldos]

I'm pretty sure it is the same type of ram, DDR400 Corsair XMS 2x1024 kb. The only difference is it doesn't say "TwinX" on the site, but it sure looks exactly the same as what is in my case and the specs seem to be the same...