Hi, so my cousin went out and bought me a Zotac GeForce GT 520 today. We were replacing a Geforce 9600 GSO, but the new graphics card seems to get less FPS and actually seems to be worse, even on Diablo 3 on lowest everything it's skipping and lagging. When I put the older card in it doesn't lag or skip at lowest settings. Please help!

 Simply because it's a MUCH worse card. It wasn't an upgrade, it was a downgrade.

Originally posted by bacchuz

 Simply because it's a MUCH worse card. It wasn't an upgrade, it was a downgrade.

Wow really?

Information was taken from here: http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=563&card2=650

Originally posted by poly229

Hi, so my cousin went out and bought me a Zotac GeForce GT 520 today. We were replacing a Geforce 9600 GSO, but the new graphics card seems to get less FPS and actually seems to be worse, even on Diablo 3 on lowest everything it's skipping and lagging. When I put the older card in it doesn't lag or skip at lowest settings. Please help!

The gt 520 has half the cores as the 9600 gso but its cores are a bit faster, either way A 520 is a horrible gaming card and since your seeing no improvement you should try to return it for a full refund before you run out of time. If you want help with upgrades ect. i suggest you first tell us what kind of computer you have in detail if possible. IE, model numbers brand names of the computer components you have. If its a prebuild brand computer the model number of the computer would help and most likely will mean you dont have much choice in what you can upgrade to without doing more than just a video card upgrade.

I dont know much about Geforce as I use Nvidea. 

However your GT 520 is cheaper than the card you had, and is a low end card.  A 9600 card is a fantastic card anyways.  The number means something.  The first number (5) means the series.  The second number (2) represents the quality of the card or its power.   So you have a brand new, very low end graphics card.  Your 9600 was fine.  In fact thats a pretty decent card.  The 6 in the 9600 means its a mid ranged.  If the number was 8 such as a 9800 for example or a 9900 (which might not exist I dunno) thats a high end card.  So you want?  a 9800 card.  Or something with an 8 as the second number and having a 9 as the first number is a more modern card that is also high end. 

This explains in more detail...  Important stuff in red.....

The first number indicates the series of the card. Certain letters are also indicative of series.
Nvidia 8600M GT or AMD/ATI HD 2600
The series tells you how recently the card was released. More recent series do not always have better performance than previous series.

Nvidias newest series needs some special explanation. Older Nvidia series were released as follows:
9000M series: 2008
8000M series: 2007
7000 series: 2006
6000 series: 2005
5000 series: 2004 and earlier

AMD/ATIs latest series are the HD 4xxx series. These cards were released in 2009. Older AMD/ATI series were released as follows:
HD 3000 series: 2008
HD 2000 series: 2007
X1000 series: 2006
X000 series: 2005
9000 series: 2004 and earlier

Please note that because ATIs 9000 series was released earlier, their newer series titles/numbers may seem smaller, despite being more recent.

The second number indicates how powerful the card is within its series.
Nvidia 8600M GT or AMD/ATI HD 2600
This is the most important number to look at when comparing graphics cards. It represents the relative performance of the card within the series. The higher the number in the second digit, the better the performance of the card will be.

0-2 indicates a graphics card using shared system memory. These graphics cards, along with any graphics card made by Intel, have the lowest performance. You can only expect to be able to play older games with these cards. These cards can be found in any notebook.

3-5 indicates a lower powered graphics card. These will be able to play more recent games, but generally on lower settings. These cards can be found in all but the smallest notebooks.

6-7 indicates a midrange or performance graphics card. These will be able to play the latest games, but will not always be able to play them at high settings. These cards can be found on notebooks with a 14 screen and bigger.

8-9 indicates a high-end graphics card. These are designed to play the latest games at high settings. While there are a few notebooks with a 15 screen that have these, most notebooks with a high-end graphics card have 17 or larger screens.

While the performance number (second digit) is the most important one for graphics cards, the series number (first digit) also has an effect, since in general, newer series have better performance.

In general, for every 2 series, graphics cards gain one performance level. For example, an ATI 9800 (high-end, 4 series ago) will have approximately the same graphics power as an ATI x1600 (midrange performance, 2 series ago) and an Nvidia 6800 (high-end, 3 series ago) will have approximately the same graphics power as an Nvidia 8600M GT (midrange performance, 1 series ago)

The third digit in a graphics card number represents a revision and is generally unimportant. The fourth digit is always zero.

Originally posted by Corehaven

I dont know much about Geforce as I use Nvidea. 

 

However your GT 520 is cheaper than the card you had, and is a low end card.  A 9600 card is a fantastic card anyways.  The number means something.  The first number (9) means the series.  The second number (2) represents the quality of the card or its power.   So you have a brand new, very low end graphics card.  Your 9600 was fine.  In fact thats a pretty decent card.  The 6 in the 9600 means its a mid ranged.  If the number was 8 such as a 9800 for example or a 9900 (which might not exist I dunno) thats a high end card.  So you want?  a 9800 card.  Or something with an 8 as the second number and having a 9 as the first number is a more modern card that is also high end. 

 

This explains in more detail...

 Thanks! I should've checked here first.

What kind of card should I buy that isn`t too expensive that I can play most games on high end graphics? I have the GeForce 9600 GSO right now.

Originally posted by poly229

What kind of card should I buy that isn`t too expensive that I can play most games on high end graphics? I have the GeForce 9600 GSO right now.

Well if you didnt say too expensive I would have told you this.  The GeForce 9800 GTX+

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=Good+cheap+Geforce+9800+GTX%2B&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1920&bih=934&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13836018211641065939&sa=X&ei=loLAT9e5PIHM9QTjkv28Cw&ved=0CJgBEPMCMAc

But...you said you were on a budget so?  This which shouldnt make too terribly a difference anyways.  The GeForce 9800 GT (without the plus +) 

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=Good+cheap+Geforce+9800&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1920&bih=934&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9677242101220897206&sa=X&ei=8YHAT_TlN4mE8ATo49icCw&ved=0CJMBEPMCMAU

Personally I would go with a Radeon card which I use, buuuut....well.....people dont like to switch out.  You sound like a Nvidia user which is fine and dandy. 

Now then.....DO NOT TAKE MY ADVICE ALONE, because as Ive said I dont use Nvidia.   Google is my info source and can be yours too!  So google the crap out of it bud.  And good luck. 

Oh.....and your 9600 is dandy as Ive said.   Upgrade?  You MUST buy a 9800.   That is an upgrade.  Period.  Whatever the second number is, needs to be higher than a 6.  You have a 9600.  You need something higher.  The second number is most important.  To me anyways.   There's a few versions of those I guess.  But my second link is probably your best bet.  But again....USE A DA GOOGLE!  

I really think you'd be fine with what you have.  But, some folks just get an itch to make those minor upgrades and I cant blame you for swapping out your mid ranged card (which is fine) for a high range one.  And thats what a 9800 would be as the (8) and not the (6) is telling you.

And good luck.  

Thanks! I'm not a fan of any company, I just want a good decent priced video card.

If you let us know what kind of power supply you have and what your max price is ( with tax or without just say which ) we can help you pick something a little easier than just guessing. Most newer cards may take more power than what you used to have.

I don't know my exact specs, I'm almost certain the power supply I have is a 400w, budget is about $130

can you open up the case and find the model number and manufacture of the power supply? Do you have like a brand name computer with a model number or is it a custom built pc?

I opened the computer up today and tried getting to the power supply but it's blocked by cords and stuff, it's actually just a Emachine with a new power supply, video card and new ram (DDR3 4 gigs) the CPU (motherboard I think) is a DualCore Intel Pentium E5400, 2700 MHz (13.5 x 200)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540

HD 6770 + you get a free dirt 3 coupon for 119.9$.  A great alternative is a gtx 550 ti(NVIDIA recommends a minimum of a 400 Watt or greater power supply with a minimum +12 Volt continuous current rating of 24 Amps or greater and with at least one 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector.)

But you can ge the HD 6790 for the same price at newegg. But I dont know if 400w is enough so you'll have to w8 for Quizzical to reply;)

without knowing the model number of the psu its really hard to recommend a card. Also thats a pretty slow cpu so once you get a better card youll most likely be bottlenecked by your cpu as to how well your framerates in game can putout. But given your budget ill say these cards are the best i can find for right on your price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500193   this will be 99 dollars after the mail in rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161377  119 after rebate.

Now im not saying these 2 cards are the best out there for your moneys worth but they are 2 good cards for your price range, im sure if you did alot of digging you could find the best price for preformance. And if you want your card sooner you can easily sign up for 2day shipping with shoprunner for free i dont even think you need to give them cc info and get the card in 2days. Which would be a plus for the ati card as it has a shipping fee if not done that way.

best of luck to you

Originally posted by Corehaven

I dont know much about Geforce as I use Nvidea. 

Is that sarcasm? Nvidia Geforce 520GT are both.

But yeah, the 520 is a laptop card really, only some workdesktops not meant for gaming have it.

OP: 400W is not good at all.Most modern cards from NVidia and ATI needs a 450-600W PSU. Particularly if it is some kind of crappy no name PSU, a Corsair 400W could probably be pushed a bit more.

A underpowered PSU can probably run say a Nvidia 550 card for a short time but it will damage the card and probably kill it soon.

Sorry mate, but you need a new PSU to upgrade your card much beyond the 9600.

There is only one good upgrade you can get for your computer as long as you keep your PSU: A 9800 GT. You can probably find a used one really cheap.

Originally posted by Loke666

Originally posted by Corehaven

I dont know much about Geforce as I use Nvidea. 

Is that sarcasm? Nvidia Geforce 520GT are both.

Actually, he's correct.  He doesn't know much about GeForce.  Which is why he seems to think it's still 2008.

Anyway, ignore Corehaven's video card recommendations, as he doesn't seem to be aware of any cards that are actually still sold new.

There were two entirely different cards that were both sold as a GeForce 9600 GSO, with one about twice as fast as the other.  Nvidia likes to do stuff like that, and they'll send the faster card to review sites to get good reviews, and mostly have the slower card available at retail.

While the slower 9600 GSO has the same number of shaders as a GeForce GT 520, the trend has been toward each shader being weaker than before, but having a lot more of them, so the 9600 GSO probably has more shader power.  Even the slower 9600 GSO has three times the TMUs, four times the ROPs, and four times the memory channels of a GT 520, so it's a much faster card.

If you want a new card on a $130 budget, try this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161402

I'd also recommend finding out exactly which power supply you have, so that you know if you need to replace it.  If you can't or won't do so, then just replace it.  This will work.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

A Radeon HD 7770 will barely use more power than a GeForce 9600 GSO, in spite of being a much faster card.  The 9600 GSO officially has a TDP of 90 W, and hails from an era when Nvidia was honest about their TDPs, or if anything, overestimated them.  For comparison, the Radeon HD 7770 has a PowerTune cap of 100 W.

As for the cards that others have linked, don't buy an ancient GeForce 9000 series card.  Besides, they were rebranded into the GeForce 100 series, and later, the GeForce 200 series, and in some cases, the GeForce 300 series.  (Most of the 200 series cards were new, rather than rebranded 9000 series cards, but the 100 and 300 series were all old GPUs, even if the 300 series was mostly rebrands of 200 series cards.)  So even if you did want a really old 9000 series card, you'd want to look for the newer names.  But you don't, because it's not 2007 anymore.

A Radeon HD 6770 and GeForce GTX 550 Ti will tend to give about the same performance.  A Radeon HD 7750 is the modern card that gives that level of performance, and tends to be the cheapest of the three before rebates.  A 7750 will also use the least power of the three, and by far.

The Radeon HD 7770 that I linked is faster than a 6790, cheaper than the 6790 linked above, and will use a lot less power.