About to buy G card, and new fan, could use advice

Hi there,

So lately my computer has been overheating, which has been VERY annoying, and I'm getting the fan replaced soon,plus I plan to upgrade my graphics card as well. The Nvidia 8800 GT is what I plan on getting, and I was wondering if it would put a larger amount of stress on cooling my comp. The G card I have right now is a puny little ATI x1550 SAPPHIRE, and seeing as how it pretty much sucks, I have to make sure I don't ever make a mistake about PC parts ever again (see above G card for proof)

Would be nice to know the rest of your system specs.
Is this comp just for gaming???
How much is your buget going to be???
Maybe you would like to Fold For Dev
Its a great way to help Cancer research for one
If your one of those people that leaves the Comp on 24/7 why not fold.
As for Gaming the 8800GT is quite a nice card right now approx $149 and up....But if you want something a little more expensive you can go the route of the 9800GTX approx $200.
As for ATI you can go for the 3700/4800 series.
Im gaming the above mentioned cards are pretty equil to each other ....but if you do decide to Fold for Dev go 8800GT (4000 PPD) /9800GTX (5000 PPD)
Right now ATI cards 3700/4800 series are folding about 17000 PPD

i personally have a hd 3870, and have a VF700 cu on it, and it is running at minimum, is inaudible and still cooler than the stock fan that came with it.

consider a 3870 or 4850 if you want a new video card. they have an audio chip to pass audio over hdmi and consume less power than their equivalents in nvidia.

the nvidia cards are not bad cards either, but i personally much prefer the multimedia aspects provided by the ati cards. and i doubt you would be gaming 24/7

An important aspect that you need to mention is what your system specifications. i cant imagine your system being a powerful system given you have a 1550. also mention brand and what power supply you have, (wattage and brand)

Get a dual slot graphics card if possible that blows air out the back. I'd also make sure the power supply can handle the additional power needed for the video card

I run an EVGA 8800GT 512meg Akimbo dual slot in a (SFF/small form factor) Apevia XQ-Pack2 case and the videocard temperatures run 45C Idle/67C load

I just have an Enermax 500watt PSU also, so if ya have at least 500watts minimum, your probably OK!

I don't know what cooling system I have, or where to find out what it is, but I do know my system speccs:

OP: Windows XP media center edition service pack 2

processor: 3.40 gigahertz Intel Pentium D

Memory: 1022 mb

Graphics card: SAPPHIRE Radeon X1550 series

Moniter: GVT F9AH (ANA) 19" screen

hope this helps. Sorry for the late reply too. This is my only computer so I use it for doing work, browsing the net, and gaming, though with such a dinky card I usually play older games. I never leave it on all night, and I don't think I ever have it on for more than a few hours a day.

in that case i'd suggest a 3870 and more ram. of course, you will have to open up your computer to verify what power supply you have, since generic power supplies are not usually good enough to run powerful video cards.

reason why i suggest a 3870 over a 4850 is because getting a 4850 might be slightly overkill for your system. of course, if it is not much more expensive than a 3870, go for it.