It finally happened...

d_20

So I bought The Division and the game told me my computer doesn't meet the specs. The game plays alright with all settings on low quality. But it's obviously time to upgrade. Any suggestions?

System Information
------------------

   Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.150722-0600)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: MSI
       System Model: MS-7673
               BIOS: BIOS Date: 07/22/11 10:58:58 Ver: 04.06.04
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.4GHz
             Memory: 12288MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 12260MB RAM
          Page File: 3816MB used, 20702MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
   User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
 System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
    DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
     DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
      Display Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 3: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 4: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 5: No problems found.
          Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D:    0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw:  0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay:  0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow:  0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
          Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560
       Manufacturer: NVIDIA
          Chip type: GeForce GTX 560
           DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1201&SUBSYS_166519DA&REV_A1
     Display Memory: 4051 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 979 MB
      Shared Memory: 3071 MB
       Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (30Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: VX2240w
         Monitor Id: VSC6B20
        Native Mode: 1680 x 1050(p) (59.954Hz)
        Output Type: DVI
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: SAMSUNG

frostymug

If you want to go even cheaper than that, 760s can be found in the 100-150 range and are a decent jump over a 560. I grabbed one for 120 for my second box not too long ago and figure I'm good for a few more generations before I need to look too hard at spending more

Grimula

750 TI is a good cheap graphics card

can play all games on good settings

Vrika

Buy a new video card. I'd recommend GTX 970 or Radeon 390.

Radeon 390 is a bit faster than GTX 970, but it's also usually a bit more expensive. The choice between them usually comes to what the price difference is today. If you can get Radeon 390 at roughly the same price as GTX 970, then buy Radon 390, but if it's more than 20$ more expensive then just go for GTX 970.

Or if you want to do a cheaper upgrade, then just buy a GTX 960 graphic card. It's not as good as GTX 970/Radeon 390 would be, but it's cheaper.

If you've got money for it, and don't already have SSD in that computer, then also try to buy SSD hard disk while upgrading. Their prices have gone down and it's a good upgrade.


PS. GTX 960 should use less power than your current graphic card so it's guaranteed to work with your current power supply no matter what you have, GTX 970 uses about the same power and should work with your current power supply, but Radeon 390 uses more power so if you buy it check your power supply first. You didn't post your power supply information so we can't check it for you

EDIT: Also, if you have some exceptionally small computer case, check first that it has space for a normal sized graphic card. This is only if you have some really small form computer case, if you've got a normal computer case those have always room.

d_20

Thanks for the responses. I don't mind dropping a little more cash on a video card so that it will last a bit longer.

GladDog

The only thing your system is lacking is a more modern video card.  i7 quad, even 2nd gen is still plenty fast.  12 gigs of RAM is plenty.  Get a GTX960 or a GTX970 or a R9-380X or a R9-390X if you want good longevity.  You can find all of these cards for well under $400.  Personally, I never spend more than $300 on a video card.  The difference in performance between what you can get for $300 and what you can get for $600 is often not that much, and you can save that $300 to buy a new card in 2-3 years that will put the $600 card to shame.

Also, upgrade the BIOS on your motherboard.  You may find that will fix a lot of things.

Aethaeryn

Yeah I agree I played beta on a i5-2500k (not overclocked. . yet).  I have a 7870.  It ran great.  8 meg ram.

Quizzical

From the system requirements, it looks like the game really requires 2 GB of video memory, and you only have 1 GB.  You've got a plenty fast enough CPU and plenty of system memory, so you're a good candidate for a video card replacement.

My general rule is that you need to at least double your GPU performance to justify an upgrade.  That puts you in Radeon R9 380 or GeForce GTX 960 territory.  There's no rule against getting a larger upgrade than that, though.  If you've still got a GTX 560, then you're presumably not the sort who feels the need to upgrade constantly.

Based on the times you're posting and your profile, I take it you're not in the US, so giving you New Egg links doesn't do you any good.  I don't know what prices look like in South Korea, though if you give me a link to a store that you'd buy from, I can search for good deals there.  Anyway, the modern list of video cards in increasing performance looks like:

GeForce GTX 960
Radeon R9 380
Radeon R9 380X
GeForce GTX 970
Radeon R9 390
Radeon R9 390X
GeForce GTX 980
Radeon R9 Fury
GeForce GTX 980 Ti

On a purely performance per dollar basis, the Radeon R9 380 is probably the best value, but if you want higher end performance, you pay what it costs.  Doubling your performance over an R9 380 might triple the price tag, for example.  So there's nothing wrong with getting a Fury or a GTX 980 Ti and planning to keep it for five years or so.

Gdemami

Vrika said:

PS. GTX 960 should use less power than your current graphic card so it's guaranteed to work with your current power supply no matter what you have, GTX 970 uses about the same power and should work with your current power supply, but Radeon 390 uses more power so if you buy it check your power supply first. You didn't post your power supply information so we can't check it for you

Very much this. AMD cards aren't the best pick to put into older machines.

Quizzical

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

I'm going to join everyone else and say get yourself a new graphic card.
Just be careful with the power load that new card is going to need, you may need to also upgrade your power supply.

While the power supply is an issue, we don't have to guess.  For the original poster, what power supply do you have?  Give the exact brand name and model.

d_20

Quizzical said:

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

I'm going to join everyone else and say get yourself a new graphic card.
Just be careful with the power load that new card is going to need, you may need to also upgrade your power supply.

While the power supply is an issue, we don't have to guess.  For the original poster, what power supply do you have?  Give the exact brand name and model.

I don't know much about hardware. Is this the right power info?

---------------
EVR Power Information
---------------
Current Setting: {5C67A112-A4C9-483F-B4A7-1D473BECAFDC} (Quality)
  Quality Flags: 2576
    Enabled:
    Force throttling
    Allow half deinterlace
    Allow scaling
    Decode Power Usage: 100
  Balanced Flags: 1424
    Enabled:
    Force throttling
    Allow batching
    Force half deinterlace
    Force scaling
    Decode Power Usage: 50
  PowerFlags: 1424
    Enabled:
    Force throttling
    Allow batching
    Force half deinterlace
    Force scaling
    Decode Power Usage: 0


Thanks again for all the replies!

Quizzical

d_20 said:

Quizzical said:

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

I'm going to join everyone else and say get yourself a new graphic card.
Just be careful with the power load that new card is going to need, you may need to also upgrade your power supply.

While the power supply is an issue, we don't have to guess.  For the original poster, what power supply do you have?  Give the exact brand name and model.

I don't know much about hardware. Is this the right power info?

---------------
EVR Power Information
---------------
Current Setting: {5C67A112-A4C9-483F-B4A7-1D473BECAFDC} (Quality)
  Quality Flags: 2576
    Enabled:
    Force throttling
    Allow half deinterlace
    Allow scaling
    Decode Power Usage: 100
  Balanced Flags: 1424
    Enabled:
    Force throttling
    Allow batching
    Force half deinterlace
    Force scaling
    Decode Power Usage: 50
  PowerFlags: 1424
    Enabled:
    Force throttling
    Allow batching
    Force half deinterlace
    Force scaling
    Decode Power Usage: 0


Thanks again for all the replies!

A DxDiag file can't get any information about your power supply. If you don't know what you have, then open up the case and read the label.

Bloodaxes

Just want to say that if you go for an AMD card be sure to check what the new gpu has options as sockets. You can also check if your monitor supports hdmi or dvi-d and be fine. I'm saying this because I bought an R9 290 and that card only took dvi-d or hdmi cables.

My older monitor (1680x1050) only took vga and there's no good adaptor for vga to dvi-d or hdmi so I had to buy a new monitor. 

http://en.community.dell.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/3514/1588.DVI.JPG

Stuka1000

frostymug said:

If you want to go even cheaper than that, 760s can be found in the 100-150 range and are a decent jump over a 560. I grabbed one for 120 for my second box not too long ago and figure I'm good for a few more generations before I need to look too hard at spending more

Not that much of a jump tbh.  Nvidia cards use the second number to designate gpu series, in this case a 6 series.  A 670 is better than a 760 for instance.  I am still using a GTX 680 and it handles everything that I throw at it.

Quizzical

Bloodaxes said:

My older monitor (1680x1050) only took vga and there's no good adaptor for vga to dvi-d or hdmi so I had to buy a new monitor. 

Sure there are adapters for VGA to DVI.  I'm literally holding one in my hand as I type this.  I used it to plug a VGA monitor into a DVI monitor port on a Radeon HD 5850 for nearly six years before I finally replaced the computer.  The adapters generally cost a few dollars, and a lot of video cards will include one for free in the box.

And for what it's worth, that has nothing to do with AMD versus Nvidia.

Bloodaxes

Quizzical said:

Bloodaxes said:

My older monitor (1680x1050) only took vga and there's no good adaptor for vga to dvi-d or hdmi so I had to buy a new monitor. 

Sure there are adapters for VGA to DVI.  I'm literally holding one in my hand as I type this.  I used it to plug a VGA monitor into a DVI monitor port on a Radeon HD 5850 for nearly six years before I finally replaced the computer.  The adapters generally cost a few dollars, and a lot of video cards will include one for free in the box.

And for what it's worth, that has nothing to do with AMD versus Nvidia.

I went and bought 2 adapters but both didn't want to work. I kept getting no signal on the screen. I'm talking specifically vga to dvi-d not dvi-i.

A friend told me I could find a vga to hdmi adapter but I was kinda bummed and didn't feel like buying a 3rd adapter just for the sake of prolonging life to a 7+ years old monitor.

I mentioned amd specifically because from what I could gather, most nvidia cards still have the older sockets available. I didn't mean to say one is better than the other.

I mentioned this because most people leave the monitor for granted when they switch to newer gpus and if the newer card doesn't support the socket of the monitor you'd need an adapter which in my case wasn't in the box of the r9 290.

Hrimnir

I haven't bothered to read the thread response, but all you need is a new video card and you'll be golden.

If your current power supply is powering a GTX 560 it should have no trouble powering a modern Maxwell 2 card such as a 970.

The GTX 560 is a 150w card, a GTX 970 is a 145w card.

Hrimnir

Quizzical said:

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

I'm going to join everyone else and say get yourself a new graphic card.
Just be careful with the power load that new card is going to need, you may need to also upgrade your power supply.

While the power supply is an issue, we don't have to guess.  For the original poster, what power supply do you have?  Give the exact brand name and model.

I really think in his case it would be stupid for him to spend any money on a new PSU when his current PSU will support a fast modern card like a 970.

Why have him buy an AMD card AND have to buy a new PSU, when he could just spend that same amount on a faster card that his PSU will already support no problem.

Edit: All the rest of his components are great, he has a good proc, 12gb of system memory, etc.  All he really needs is a new GPU.

Malabooga

Hrimnir said:

I haven't bothered to read the thread response, but all you need is a new video card and you'll be golden.

If your current power supply is powering a GTX 560 it should have no trouble powering a modern Maxwell 2 card such as a 970.

The GTX 560 is a 150w card, a GTX 970 is a 145w card.

PR is trong in this one.

ONLY if its on reference stock speeds, which almost none are.

Youre looking at 200+ W for 1200+ MHz.

In fact, most of GTX970 uses marginally less power than 390. Unless you lower performance to match reference speeds in which case they are substantially slower than 390. And you can undervolt any 390 to use ~200W

If you recommend ANY GTX970 other than reference speed one it can use R9 390 too without any difference.

1228Mhz (1380 boost) GTX970 power consumption:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/zotac_geforce_gtx_970_amp_extreme_core_review,7.html

VorpalChicken28

I just upgraded my Alienware Aurora as my Nvidia 295 finally died, system is:

x58 mother board (Revision 1 Aurora)
i7 960 3.2ghz
6gb RAM

Plugged in an EVGA Nvidia GTX970 FTW and boom 80 FPS on games, computer running like it did 6 years ago when I originally bought it, such a simple upgrade and it's running like a champ again, super happy!!!

Bloodaxes

vorpal28 said:

I just upgraded my Alienware Aurora as my Nvidia 295 finally died, system is:

x58 mother board (Revision 1 Aurora)
i7 960 3.2ghz
6gb RAM

Plugged in an EVGA Nvidia GTX970 FTW and boom 80 FPS on games, computer running like it did 6 years ago when I originally bought it, such a simple upgrade and it's running like a champ again, super happy!!!

Next (Tiny) upgrade you should do is make it to 8gb ram and you'll be fine for a long while

frostymug

Stuka1000 said:

frostymug said:

If you want to go even cheaper than that, 760s can be found in the 100-150 range and are a decent jump over a 560. I grabbed one for 120 for my second box not too long ago and figure I'm good for a few more generations before I need to look too hard at spending more

Not that much of a jump tbh.  Nvidia cards use the second number to designate gpu series, in this case a 6 series.  A 670 is better than a 760 for instance.  I am still using a GTX 680 and it handles everything that I throw at it.

I know how the numbering system works with Nvidia. Been in this game for a long, long time. Actually, the 560 to 760 jump is pretty huge. Along the lines of 50-60% stock for stock with much more overclocking overhead. Mostly memory bandwidth related, but generally just more of everything, especially DX11 related. The 760 to 960, on the other hand, is only about a 10-15% jump. Roughly the same as the 760 to 670 or 680. 

At the time the OP hadn't stated anything regarding the amount of money they were willing to part with. I was just throwing the 760 out as a 100-150ish dollar option because it is still a sleeper for relatively chump change and would be a pretty drastic jump from the 560. 670s and 680s are nearly impossible to find and not as cheap. Since they are willing to throw 300ish bucks at a graphics card it doesn't matter much in the end anyways

d_20

I'm willing to spend up to 300 for a new graphics card. Of course,  I want the most bang for the buck. I don't need to spend 300 just to spend it.

Malabooga

If you want longevity R9 390 is pretty much only option.

1. NVidia is very shaky in DX12, 390 reaches 980/980ti performance in DX12

2. GTX970 has only 3,5 GB VRAM opposed to 8GB of 390 which will not be issue on your current monitor but if you decide to uppgrade to 1440p, for instance, GTX970 will have issues.

3. AMD has Freesync which is....free, while NVidias G-sync adds substantial amount of money over basic monitor and they do same thing. Its not something that is pivotal, but, why not if its free.

OTOH, while its understandable you want ot play the division now, new stepping stone for GPUs is just around the corner, biggest jump in last 4-5 years so you might want to wait for a few weeks until specs/release dates are finally revealed on Polaris/Pascal to make informed decision on whether to buy/wait, 380/390/970 arent going anywhere.

Quizzical

Hrimnir said:

Quizzical said:

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

I'm going to join everyone else and say get yourself a new graphic card.
Just be careful with the power load that new card is going to need, you may need to also upgrade your power supply.

While the power supply is an issue, we don't have to guess.  For the original poster, what power supply do you have?  Give the exact brand name and model.

I really think in his case it would be stupid for him to spend any money on a new PSU when his current PSU will support a fast modern card like a 970.

Why have him buy an AMD card AND have to buy a new PSU, when he could just spend that same amount on a faster card that his PSU will already support no problem.

Edit: All the rest of his components are great, he has a good proc, 12gb of system memory, etc.  All he really needs is a new GPU.

I'm not saying that he definitely should buy a new power supply.  I'm saying, let's find out.  If he's got a perfectly good 650 W power supply, he can get whatever video card he wants.  If he's got a fire hazard and is lucky it hasn't exploded yet, it should be replaced whether he upgrades anything else or not.  If he's got something borderline like a good 450 W power supply, then Nvidia's better energy efficiency becomes a lot more important and getting an AMD card would require a power supply replacement while Nvidia wouldn't.

Quizzical

Bloodaxes said:

vorpal28 said:

I just upgraded my Alienware Aurora as my Nvidia 295 finally died, system is:

x58 mother board (Revision 1 Aurora)
i7 960 3.2ghz
6gb RAM

Plugged in an EVGA Nvidia GTX970 FTW and boom 80 FPS on games, computer running like it did 6 years ago when I originally bought it, such a simple upgrade and it's running like a champ again, super happy!!!

Next (Tiny) upgrade you should do is make it to 8gb ram and you'll be fine for a long while

Bloomfield has 3 memory channels.  6 GB is probably fine, but if you upgrade it, the next reasonable step would be 12 GB.