I just downloaded the new Tex Murphy Phoenix Rising demo and found out I can't play it. My GeForce has 6GB VRAM and I need at least 8. Is this the new normal for gaming? And what's a good brand? And it's been forever since I've messed with the internal workings of a computer. Is it just plug and play? Take out the old video card and put in a new one?

Draclvr should be able to give you some good advice on this topic, so let's wait for her to weigh in.

One thing that I will say is that sometimes putting a better video card in your computer also means that you need to upgrade your power supply as well, but this is not always the case.

My power supply is 650watt CORSAIR CX-M CX650M 650 W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Semi-Modular Power Supply.
I held on to all the communications with eCollegePC. They're great.

I just heard that a bigger video card might mean the screen flickering. True?

Just got this from eCollegePC: The best 8GB card for the money is the RTX 5060 Ti.  This one is $330 after the discount code. https://www.newegg.com/msi-rtx-5060...phics-card-double-fans/p/N82E16814137965

It is almost to the point now, where even 8gb of vram on a gpu is starting to struggle, however, the resolution of your monitor of choice (for example , 1080p aka full hd, or 1440p , aka quad hd), can/will also factor into a gpu choice , as well as psu . Corsair is a really good brand of psu ! I personally use the Corsair RM1000X . Melia, if you have a 1080p monitor, then a 5060 ti , or an AMD 9060 xt , would be more that adequate for advenrure gaming (if that is all you play) . Where 8gb of vram starts to struggle , is , if you play other styles, such as rpg or fps games with either steep system requirements , monitor resolution (1440p or 4k for example) , or poorly optimized video engines in gsmes . I would also add, that in game settings, ssuch as field of view and anti aliasing can also play a part in vram needs

Sorry, I've been buried under visitors from Germany and Virginia!

Melia, I can't remember and don't want to head over to Mystery Manor to find out, but what video card did you put in this one? Gaming computer components are hideously expensive right now. I just had ecollegepc build a computer for me. I put a 5060Ti in it and have no issues with new shooters or RPGs.

Should you decide to upgrade your video card, you will need to make sure your motherboard is compatible with the newer GDDR7 PCI Express interface of cards like the 5060 Ti. A GDDRR7 PCI will work on the older interface, but at a lower bandwidth.

I can't find any game called Tex Murphy Phoenix Rising... Do you mean Tex Murphy Killing Moon Rising?

Oh yes. Killing Moon Rising. I've been re-playing older games so this hadn't been a problem until now. And I usually only play adventure games.

The display resolution is 1920x1200.
My existing video card is 6GB GeForce RTX 3050 GDDR6 PCI-E DP/HDMI Major Brand (MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, Zotac).

I got it from eCollegePC. They built the computer I'm using so I asked them what to change the video card to in order to get 8GB. The specs for the motherboard are in the email I sent to them, too, so I'm hoping it'll be ok.

As far as anti aliasing, and anything else, it's all Greek to me. I can let you know what happens when I start the game.

Hope you had a good time with your family and friends.

Heck of a time to take a closer look at the computer requirements for the Tex game, but will the video card I listed above do the job?

Here is what they say I need: Minimum Hardware requirements: Nvidia 2060 Super \ AMD RX 6600 \ Intel Arc A580

Recommended Hardware: Desktop RTX 3080 \ RX 6800 XT

The game is built around hardware ray tracing as a core feature and requires an NVIDIA RTX GPU, or an AMD equivalent, with 8 GB of VRAM or more.

5060 ti , zero issues, more than capable as Drac has said ! . Even though Nvidia recommends a 600 watt psu, the ti draws about 200 watts of power nominally, not counting for other draws on your psu, such as fans, the cpu , & power spikes due to things like gaming . Unless you running a tower with a boatload of rgb fans or the like, a 650 watt should be ok . Personally , I'd invest in a 750 watt psu . Better to have too much power than not enough . I have an evga 3080 ftw3 ultra (10gb of vram) . That card can draw , sometimes, over 400 watts by itself, & needs 3 8-pin pci cables just to function . An rx 6800 xt draws less, but has 16gb of vram . Ray tracing while definitely nice, is not a basic requirement , more of a "want" than a "need". Ray tracing means , in simple terms, a game was optimized with Nvidia cards in mind . An AMD card with enough ram is adequate as well, but, their ray traving abilities are not really there . AMD does have a ray tracing equilavent of sorts, but doesnt function quite as well, at least not yet . AMD cards are , how to put it, more for raw performance , without the bells & whistles of an rtx Nvidia with ray tracing abilities . Nothing wrong with an AMD . Ok, long winded post over, lol .

Thanks for all the information, Creeping_Doom. Good to see you here.

Thanks ! I have been so busy with professional and familial commitments, I've had next to zero time to even game, let alone come here to the forum, or any other forum , lately . The aforementioned is starting to relax a bit, which I am very thankful for , so I should be able to poke my head in here more often , at least to browse the forums, to sit behind my keyboard , and to visit my local bowling center .

I guess it's all about the trade-off of being able to play games with higher and higher hardware specs or sticking to games that aren't so greedy! To be honest most of the newer games don't have such lofty requirements. The majority of new adventure games don't require more than your 3050. But now and then there will be one like the new Tex Murphy. Up until about 6 months ago, I was still playing games like the new Vampire Masquerade RPG on my old 2060Ti. There was a little lag, but it worked. You could always think about waiting until prices go down on hardware components. There are a lot of factors in play including tariffs, data centers etc.

I know this is a demo, but you can always check in the options to see if there are any video effects you can turn down.

Sounds good, Creeping_Doom.