I have a GeForce 8600GTS and would like to upgrade to next best Nvidia card. I have read some articles on video cards, but still do not know what the next step up card would be. I would appreciate any help.

Hi Kazzmo. I also have a NVIDIA video card. I believe that the best way to try and get a higher version is to go to NVIDIA.COM and see if your computer is compatible with a higher version of NVIDIA, and, if so, download it. There may be a cost involved, but that would be up to you to make that choice. Happy Gaming!
Sandy

kazzmo, we need to know a lot more about your computer first. How much wattage does your power supply have? Is this a brand name computer? If so, the model number would help... Also, what operating system does it have?

Draclvr, I have Windows Vista, 1 Kilowatt power supply. If you order a computer and have it designed for nothing but gaming, do you still have a model number? I have never been able to find one on this tower, I have even looked inside tower and nothing. Windows verification sticker is all I have seen. My monitor does not receive signal from computer and I am hoping I just need a new video card. I would like to purchase one a step or two above what I have now. Taking computer to Best Buy in a few days and I am just trying to do some homework before I go.

Are you sure your monitor isn't the problem? Or the cable to the monitor? Do you have another monitor you can test it with?

Did you have this computer built for you? That's why I asked if it was a brand name such as HP or Dell or whatever. An older computer like this having a 1,000 watt power supply is pretty doubtful. A power supply that huge is not even put on high end gaming computers unless someone is running multiple video cards.

What kind of video card you can get depends on whether you have enough wattage in your power supply plus a couple of other things.

I tested the monitor on my AlienwareXP and it worked perfectly. I do not have another monitor with the correct cables for this tower. I had this computer built for me, strictly for gaming. A few years ago I took this computer to Best Buy and had to return home and get my power cord because they did not have one that would fit my tower. I have 1 kilowatt power supply, Intel Core 2 Q6600 (2,4 GHz 1066FSB w/Quad Core 8MB cache 9236GD1. 4GB DDR2RAM at 667MHz. Dual 258MB GeForce 8600GTS. Where my video card goes, there appears to be two cards. I have four sticks of what I think is all ram. Does any of this help?

Why anyone would put a 1,000 watt power supply in such a mid-range computer is beyond me! But if that's what you have then get the best card you can afford. Since your motherboard is an older one, I'm going to assume it has a PCI-E slot for the card. You also have older slower RAM, but I don't think that should have anything to do with a new card.

You say you have dual 8600 GTS cards - could just one of them be bad? Maybe the guys at Best Buy can help you out there.

Hopefully InlandAZ will have some suggestions for you. If you want to stay with Nvidia, there are some good ones out there. Somewhere in Glitches I posted a link to a video card hierarchy from Tom's Hardware, but I can't remember where it is.

All this will also depend on what kind of gaming you do. Casual and adventure gaming won't require as much as dark side gaming.

would this be it Drac

Graphics Card Performance

Graphics Card Hierarchy

That's it, Winfrey! I couldn't remember where I put it and I'm working on a computer right now and didn't want to take the time to search. An all-time high of 1979 pieces of malware removed from this one! Holy cow!

I played Skyrim, Metro Last Light and Witcher games on this computer, so it is capable. I really want to make sure my next video card will play these games(I replay games) and new games that may come. Will a GTX 660 do this or should I aim higher. Do the cards get better with the higher numbers? I read about the different cards, but I get confused with all the tech terms and get lost.

There's nothing wrong with the GTX 660 at all, if you go with a more powerful card you're going to pay more than double the price. A GTX 680 will run you somewhere in the 5 to 6 hundred dollar range, the 660's are in the $200 range.

It all depends on what you're willing to pay.

To be honest, with the older components on the motherboard, I wouldn't spend top dollar on a video card. I have a 660 Ti and it's played every FPS I've thrown at it so far including Metro Last Light at all the highest settings. It's an overclocked EVGA and I paid right at $300 for it.

Check out the link Winfrey posted to that video card hierarchy - it give you an idea of how they all rank against each other as far as performance/cost.

InlandAZ and Draclvr, Thank you for the information. I believe I will go with the 660.