Gaming Noob question

[rockstar99]

My computer has a good processor and everything...Cant play some games because of some shit like pixel shader 3.0.All I need is to upgrade my gfx card and I'm good to go?

 

[Originality]

Upgrade the graphics card whilst double checking the wattage rating of the power supply. E.g. you don't want to put a GTX 570 in a system with only a 300W power supply.

 

[ZAFDeltaForce]

^ Hit it right in the bud.

A 550W should be a minimum for a HD6970 (If you're an ATi guy) or a GTX570 (If you're an nVIDIA guy)

You'll need a bigger one if you plan to use CrossFire or SLi.

But yeah apart from that, just change the graphics card.

 

[marcus134]

Technically, yes as the other posted, however I would question your definition of good processor.

The thing is that igp with shader 4.0 started being common in 2007 (because of vista), unless you took a gpu from an older computer when building yours ( explaining how you can get shader 3.0 + good cpu) , I'm afraid your cpu may be barely capable enough to play some games from this year.

If you look at the thread "bf3 input lag" (http://gbatemp.net/topic/312732-battlefield-3-input-lag/), the guy has a cpu that seems to be about that old and he can't get decent performances in bf3

 

[Originality]

When it comes to games, the CPU isn't as important as the graphics cars. That's not to say it's not important, just that it's less important. If the OP "thinks" he has a good CPU, I won't question it when he hasn't even said what games he wants to play. I just give the minimum information he needs.

But if gaming, don't use CrossFire/SLI. Just, no.

 

[Rydian]

Can we get some actual specs and the games you want to play?

 

[rockstar99]

Some games:
MW3
RE5
FIFA 12
TF2

 

[Deleted User]

Also if your system is pre-built, then you should provide the make/model number so people can look into it. Many a time these systems have lower PSU's and space (size of the graphics card) can sometimes be an issue.

 

[Rydian]

Yup, as stated you'll most likely need a PSU as well, and the better graphics cards are most often physically larger (assuming we're talking about power ranges within a modern series), so we'll need to know what computer model.