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video card DILEMMA!

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by global893, Oct 9, 2007.

  1. global893

    global893 Member

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    hey guys. i have decided to play games on my computer. now i need a new graphics card! the one i currently have is the ATI RADEON 9200. now anyone who knows something about cards knows that this is old technology. i played World in conflict on this card and trust me its not good! its like PS1 graphics! anyways i wanna get a new graphic card, i know its gonna be either ATI or nVIDIA but there r other things to consider.
    1) my computer specs: Pentium 4, 2.6 GHZ, 1 GB RAM(i am prolly gonna have to add 1 more GB of ram) i can't think of anything else u need to know about my comp to buy a card.
    2) budget <$200 (less than $200), but if its really good then i can go around $220.

    now considering the above in mind what r my options? i want to know the best card i can get in my situation. plz give me the model name and price, thanks!
     
  2. OmriSama

    OmriSama Regular member

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    1.Since you have ATi Radeon, i ain't sure if you can upgrade to a geforce card. So i won't be able to help you since i don't know much about ATi cards.
    2.The processor is OK, but you'd want something that is atleast 3.00 GHz Pentium 4. Or an Intel core 2 Duo!
    3.Get 1 more Gig of RAM. NOW.
     
  3. global893

    global893 Member

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    ok now i don't know how to upgrade the processor. if i buy it seperately do i just remove the old one and just simply physically put in the new one? also if its core 2 duo isn't it different thickness? so then i can't "simply" put that in? how do u do that?
     
  4. global893

    global893 Member

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    ok i think the budget will be a problem! i am in canada so CDN dollars will effect.
    now looking at the future shop website i find:

    VisionTek Radeon HD 2600 PRO 512MB AGP Video Card - $219
    BFG GeForce 7800GS Overclocked 256MB AGP Graphics Card - $209
    BFG NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 512MB Video Card - $149
    EVGA 8600GT Superclocked 256MB PCI-Express Video Card - $209
    EVGA e-GeForce 7600GT AGP8X Superclocked 512MB Video Card - $199
    ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 512MB PCI-Express Video Card - $189
    ATI Radeon X1600 Pro PCI-Express 512MB Video Card (100-437514) - $179
    ATI X1650 Pro AGP 512MB Video Card (100-437809) - $169

    now there r some AGP cards in there but i am sure they have PCI versions of them. i also want to know wats the difference between PCI and PCI express? do i need to look out for something in the motherboard? so which one is the best above?
     
  5. Waymon3X6

    Waymon3X6 Regular member

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    Well if he's running a 9200, then his board is AGP. And he cant upgrade his processor to a C2D if he doesnt have a socket 775 mobo, which he most likely doesnt.

    Best card for AGP is the Gecube x1950xt. I have it, runs great. It does however have heat issues with the stock cooler, so you will have to go with aftermarket cooling. If you dont want to do that, then a 7800 will work fine.

    Or, you can save up your money and upgrade to a PCI-e platform, with a C2D, new mobo, and a faster (and cheaper) graphics card. PCI-e cards are way faster than AGP, and the equialent PCI-e card costs about half of the AGP card.

    @Global893, you cant use the 2600Pro, the 8500, the 8600, and x1600pro as they are PCI-e, not AGP.

    Besides, if you could, your CPU would bottleneck the 8600, even though it is not that good of a card, and neither is the 2600s.

    The difference between PCI and PCI-e is that PCI-express is way fast of a port, and way more popular. The PCI slot is mostly used for sound cards, network cards, etc. NOT VIDEO cards.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2007
  6. global893

    global893 Member

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    ya i just checked it is AGP. now can't i just plug in the new card in the existing PCI slot? also how much will the whole upgrading from AGP>PCI-e, C2D, 1 GB RAM (and how exactly do i go from AGP>PCI-e)cost? so if the upgrading is too expensive, i will get an AGP card and upgrade 1 GB RAM and to C2D. will this still work?
     
  7. Waymon3X6

    Waymon3X6 Regular member

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    No, AGP cards will only fit in AGP slots, PCI-e cards will only fit in PCI-e slots, and PCI cards (which are real old, I dont see why you would bother to use one) only fit in PCI slots.

    As for the upgrade, it depends on what you want. I think it'll probably be around $500 for a fairly good setup. (One that can play Crysis real well)

    You need a new motherboard, new graphics card, new cpu and possibly new ram.

    No, you will not be able to get a Core 2 Duo with your motherboard, since yours is most likely a socket 478, which the Pentium 4s run on. The newer socket 775 are what the C2Ds and Quad Cores run on, as well as some faster P4s, and Pentium Duel Cores.

    The fastest cpu you can buy for your system would probably be a P4 @ 3.2Ghz, like mine.

    Seriously dude, if you plan on doing some real gaming, like Crysis, Mercenaries 2, or any other graphic intesive games, I suggest you upgrade to a newer system.
     
  8. global893

    global893 Member

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    ok how about i upgrade to P4 3.2 GHz, add 1 more GB ram and get an AGP card. cuz a whole new motherboard is too much. i won't even know where to plug all the wires(in the motherboard not the hardrive and stuff, i know that).
     
  9. Waymon3X6

    Waymon3X6 Regular member

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    Ok, that sounds good I guess, but remember that you wont be able to play the newer games with an outdated system...
     
  10. global893

    global893 Member

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    its ok man. i just want an ok card. if i was a hardcore gamer i'd get the nVIDIA 8800 i have more than nuff money. i just want it for playing games here and there. ok i got some AGP cards from a shop near my home:
    so i am looking at
    VisionTek Radeon HD 2600 PRO 512MB AGP Video Card - $219
    EVGA e-GeForce 7600GT AGP8X Superclocked 512MB Video Card - $199
    ATI X1650 Pro AGP 512MB Video Card (100-437809) - $169
    wats the difference in these? they r all 512mb then y the different prices?
     
  11. Waymon3X6

    Waymon3X6 Regular member

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    The 7600 is the best out of all those. The 2600 is a mid card, and it has a slower core and memory clock speed than the 7600, and the same with the x1650. Also, ATi has been known to have driver issues with their cards, so the nVidia is probably the best one to go for.
     
  12. global893

    global893 Member

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    hey man if u don't mind can u check the specs for the nVIDIA 7600 at this site futureshop.ca just make sure it meets my requirements. and thanks for all ur help. it really helped!
     
  13. Waymon3X6

    Waymon3X6 Regular member

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    Last edited: Oct 11, 2007
  14. global893

    global893 Member

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    i don't like to do online shopping and i have never seen a newegg.com shop anywhere.lol. and i live in canada so there not many comp shops. btw if u look at features at that site it says "High-Speed GDDR3 Memory Interface" is this it?
     
  15. global893

    global893 Member

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    as for the power supply i don't really know. the sticker on it doesn't say the watts but its got. turbolink switching power supply model lc-a350atx 12V and some other frequency, voltage and current numbers.
     
  16. global893

    global893 Member

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    ok after putting the model number in google.com i find that its is 350W.
     
  17. global893

    global893 Member

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    hey man i just found an AMD sempron 300 w/motherboard for $89. would this be helpful?
     
  18. Waymon3X6

    Waymon3X6 Regular member

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    Well newegg has the best reviews, and probably the best customer service and satisfaction, but I dont think they ship to canada. If you shop online, you will have a bigger variety of things to choose from. Do they have best buy in Canada? They sell some ok computer stuff too.

    GDDR3 is the newer faster memory, that has higher bandwith and can process things faster than DDR2 memory. There is even GDDR4, but that just came out and is only available on the newer expensive cards.

    Hmm, 350 watts... Well, I think thats cutting it short, but then again if you went out and bought a new PSU, it could be pretty complicated to attach all the wires back to the mobo, the hard drives,etc. I guess 350watts will be enough since the 7600 is a mainstream card.

    Btw, the AMD sempron 3000 w/ mobo isnt that good, the processor I dont think is faster than 3.2Ghz. If you want something good, like a mobo/cpu bundle, I would look at at least $150.
     
  19. global893

    global893 Member

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    ya we got best buy here. do u know any special offers they got? also wats the advantage of getting a power supply with greater watts? but i think i could hook up the new supply if i get it, i just need the right connectors and just plug everything in the same place. if its not right and greater watts go in, its BOOM!
     
  20. morguex

    morguex Guest

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