I have a 19" LG Flatron monitor.

Really, the only game I play, and intend to play, is SHIII. I'd really been looking forward to SH5 but, well . . . :nope:

that's cryptic.
could have been a post of mine ..... :hmmm::up:

Sorry I forgot to add in my previous post what resolution are you running in?

1280 X 1024 being 4:3 or 1440 x 900 being 16:10 or something else?

But at this stage with having a 19" monitor 512MB of ram on a video card will be sufficient. Running in much higher resolutions requires more ram on your video card so as it does not affect performance. Buying a video card with 1GB of memory to run on lower resolution monitors is really a waste of money and you would be better off to put the money you save from not buying the 1GB version towards a faster 512MB video card. Unless of course there is very little price difference between the 512MB and the 1GB. At best you would only see a couple or few FPS difference between 512MB and 1GB video memory when using a 19" monitor.

The big difference comes in once you start using 22" and larger monitors running in higher resolutions.

BTW are you certain your motherboard has a PCI Express slot?

I decided to go ahead and take a chance, and bought the HD 4650. The only place around here that carries in-stock graphics cards is Best Buy, and they don't exactly have a great deal of 'variety' with those. I figured, at worst, it wouldn't work and, at best, I'd get to see what sort of difference I'd see.

As it turns out, running GWX Gold, with full harbor traffic and 16K atmosphere, with 100% particle density and high texture, I get approximately an average, consistent, 25 fps. It doesn't stutter at all, not even when docked and doing an initial 360 around the harbor.

I'd already knew, for sure, I had a PCI Express slot. Being able to install the card, well . . . ;) But thanks for checking up with me and wanting to verify that; it is, after all, quite an important point to check on.

Vis-a-vis resolution: it's currently set at 1280 x 1024.

I paid, pre-sales tax, US $95 for the card. If there's little difference in performance at my monitor size between 512MB and 1GB, if you can suggest a comparably-priced Radeon that's signifigantly faster than the 4650, I'll order it and just return the 4650 once I get the newer.

I'll be getting a newer power supply later today. My stock one is only 300W, and the 4650 recommends at least a 400W one. I calculated my power consumption and, even with the new card, I should only be pulling a max of 270W, but I figure better safe than sorry.

No trouble and atleast your FPS have improved with the newer card :).

When looking at power supplies if possible try to get something with an 80% efficiency. That way you will have a PSU that is more stable and constant. Also its a good idea to check the +12V rails and see what output they produce. As different PSU put out different levels. Of course the higher the output on the rail the better the power supply will be at powering devices such as video cards.

I wanted to double check and make sure you would get a card that suited your motherboard. As you wouldn't believe the amount of people who have made mistakes by buying a video card that doesn't suit the slot on their motherboard.

I have even seen some brand name computers have the same specs and exactly the same hardware inside them bar the video slot. I have seen some with the older AGP slot and others with the PCI Express slot. Bizarre I know! But all to true.

Anyway I hope it all works out for you and you are finally able to enjoy the game. If you any other queries just let me know and I will try to help you where I can.

PS: Here is a link in which you can compare video cards. You can select different benchmarks from the drop down box and compare different games with different settings etc.

http://tinyurl.com/ybju66e

Although it does not list the 4650 it lists the 4670 so it will give you a close guide as to how your card performs with others.