Maximizing graphics in GW??

Alright, So currently, I have a Radeon 9220 Pro (128mb I believe), and 2Gb of normal RAM.

To cut to the chase: Will upgrading to a 1Gb video card make a dramatic difference in GW graphics?

Since hardware has come down so much, I figured an upgrade wouldn't be a bad idea.

Thanks in advance!

It should make a pretty good difference, you should be able to run at maximum settings quite easily.

yes. Graphical settings are almost totally reliant on your graphics card, and Guild Wars has very low system requirements. If I remember correctly, I could run it at max @ 1900x1200 (barely, no AA) with a 6600 GT, which only had 128 megabytes of RAM. (Which shows how little amount of RAM actually matters on most graphics cards..)

At a lower res you'll probably need about half that much power.. which basically means you can pick up something for $30-50.

You need to find out if you have an AGP or a PCI-Express slot first.

1 gigabyte card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102844

keep in mind that vRAM does not necessarily determine the graphic card's performance. you can strap 2gb of vRAM onto a geforce 9500, but my HD4850 with 512mb of vRAM will still kick the crap out of it.

QFT

to the OP: Remember that upgrading your video card could quite likely cause a need for an upgrade to your Power Supply as well. If your current GPU is a Radeon 9200, then chances are that your PSU is outdated as well. Also be sure to check out if you have an AGP or PCIEx16 mobo.... as stated a couple of posts above.

He has a 9220, which means he's AGP, but ATI still releases their cards for AGP, so I think that is what he is refering to.

I just looked at the most recent post, and I believe it's PCI express
at least that's what my dad told me

Erm, there is no such thing as a Radeon 9220 Pro, and any card that old can only be AGP. PCI-E wasn't available until the X800 Pro which came out years and years after the 9x00 series cards.

he probably meant Radeon 9250, which does exist.

also, keep in mind that the Radeon 9250 also comes in PCI versions. pray that yours isn't it.

CORRECTION!
Sorry, I was mistaken.
On the front of my computer, it says "Available PCI-Express slot"
So, I'm guessing the current card might be in an AGP.

I'll have to open it up and check eventually.

if you indeed have a pci express slot chances are slim that you have AGP.
I recommend a radeon 4650 or 4670 made by Gigabyte
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125253
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125244

if you end up having AGP, do not despair - AGP version of 4650 is available

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125281

there's also the question of what kind of PCI-E slot you have: 1x, 4x, 8x, or 16x.

personally, i wouldn't bother upgrading such a system. the X1300 is capable enough for GW, and you should save up money to build an entirely new system. you can pretty easily build a system that can max out GW (as well as other games) for $300 these days.