Any opinions on the NVIIDA GeForce 8300GS graphics card?

Tom Dunne

I'm thinking of buying the Dell Inspiron 531 with the above graphics card (256Mb on board memory). How is it for games? The PC will be a HTPC/games machine.

I can't seem to find much about it on the usual suspects like Toms Hardware.

AlmightyCushion

It's a budget card. It's probably only good for older games or playing games at low resolution.

Tom Dunne

Ok, what should I be looking for?

For games, that is. I don't want an absolute top of the range, but one that will play modern games reasonably well.

AlmightyCushion

http://www.dabs.ie/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4D6N&CategorySelectedId=11021&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11021&InMerch=1

This looks good for the money. I'd wait until anti or some of the other guys comment on it though as they are generally good at finding bargains.

TerrorFirmer

It's the same more or less as the previous gen 7600GS i.e pretty good for older stuff like Half Life 2 or what have you but really scraping the barrel for the latest games, often coming in as minimum requirements, which you really don't want to be doing on a new games machine. The X1950Pro linked to is definitely a good card for the money, cheap but does a great job. Get it here for cheaper with the same specs.

OR cheaper again for similar performance

Another good card on a small budget, handles current games reasonably well This one is especially ideal as it has fanless cooling, so zero noise for the HTPC side of things.

Also it depends on what exactly you look for in a games machine. Personally I get bothered if I can't run a new game at max settings at high resolution, but thats not everybody! The cards mentioned above are reasonably priced, and should run most current games at high-ish settings...

Grim.

is the Inspiron not a lappie? if so look for somthing with more grunt 8600 maybe

ah just done a bit of research there *Sigh*