phungus's Full Review: eVGA GeForce GTS 250,, (512 MB) PCI Express Video ...
I bought this EVGA NVidia GeForce GTS 250 video card to replace the GeForce 8600GT card in my aging computer. I have an HP brand desktop that is close to two years old, and some newer games weren't running too smoothly on it. My PC has an AMD x2/5000+ processor and 3 gigs of RAM. What I noticed was that graphically intense 3D type games would not work very well, and I finally drew the line when Ghostbusters: The Video Game was so choppy that I could barely play it.
Installation
Before you rush out and buy one, you should know that this video card requires a minimum 400 watt power supply to run. I had to buy a new power supply (500 watt) for my HP desktop because the factory one was less than 250 watts and there's no way it could have run this video card without risking a bunch of power and stability issues. A new power supply will run you anywhere from 40-100 bucks, depending on make and model. They are really easy to replace, so long as you get one with the right kind of cables for your system.
Installation of this card took a little work inside my midsize tower PC. The card is friggin' massive and I had to push some other cables out of the way just to make it fit. It's so big because there is such a large cooling system built onto it. Because of the size, this video card won't fit in just any PC, so check inside yours to make sure you have room opposite your PCI Express x16 slot before you invest. I also recommend that you go to NVidia.com and download the latest GeForce drivers because they are updated regularly.
Heating/Cooling
I am a little concerned about airflow inside my case now because this giant heat maker is in the middle of everything, but so far I haven't had any major issues. The manufacturer, EVGA, includes some software for controlling the fan speed, but I don't recommend messing with it unless you know what you're doing. While in operation, I noticed that the fan doesn't get loud unless I am in the middle of a game. After I close out of the game, the fans will usually run full speed for several minutes before eventually winding down. Sometimes they run full blast and never stop.
Performance
This card has full DirectX 10 support, meaning it can handle the latest and greatest when it comes to computer video gaming. I decided to skip the 9000 series GeForce cards and go right to this GTS because the price difference wasn't big and the performance was worth it to me. Sure, I could have spared twenty bucks and got a lesser card, but I'd be kicking myself for it later.
After installing the card and drivers, I re-ran my Windows Vista Experience numbers and my total amount only went up by .1, which kind of worried me. I guess my Vista is as good as it is going to get. Once I got into some of my games, it was like playing something completely new because the performance had improved so much. Crysis Warhead went from being a little sluggish to very smooth, and Ghostbusters went from being nearly unplayable to like watching a cartoon on my screen.
Games like Call of Duty: World at War and Left 4 Dead didn't seem to improve much at all, other than a few subtle little details. I was able to max out all their video settings, but those are somewhat older games and this is to be expected. Other than gaming, I don't do any hardcore graphics processing on my PC, so I have no idea if this card would improve graphic or video editing, but the 512 megabytes of onboard memory certainly wouldn't hurt.
Overall
I am very impressed with the performance I am getting out of my EVGA NVidia GeForce GTS 250 video card. It's a huge improvement over my 8600GT and should let me squeeze more life out of my PC. When you do a lot of gaming on the computer, you'll find that machines tend to age more quickly thanks to steep system requirements of the latest PC games. The noticeable improvement I got from upgrading to this video card shows just how much more you can get out of an older PC with a minimal investment. I bought this card from Newegg.com for $124.99 after a $10 mail-in rebate.
Technical Specifications
PCI Express 2.0 x16 Core Clock 756MHz Stream Processors 128 Memory Clock 2200MHz Memory Size 512MB Memory Interface 256-bit Memory Type GDDR3 DirectX 10 OpenGL 2.1 2 DVI Ports HDTV Out RAMDAC 400 MHz Max Resolution 2560 x 1600 SLI Supported Yes Cooler With Fan Dual-Link DVI Support HDCP Ready
Manufacturer Warranty Parts - 2 years limited Labor - 2 years limited
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