What graphics card is best for me?

[Mr_Putter]

Well, in a few months, I'm going to be upgrading my graphics card.

 

 

 

I currently have an ATI RADEON x300SE. I've downloaded and run "EVEREST" as per Militaris suggestion, but there's gotta be 5000 lines of info that I obviously am getting lost in.

 

 

 

What I need to know is where to check what type of graphics card I have, and then with that, I want to know what it is possible to upgrade to with my current system.

 

 

 

Just incase, here's my specs.

 

 

 

Dell Dimension 4700

 

Intel Pentium 4 520, 2800 MHz

 

1.5gb of RAM

 

ATI Radeon x300SE (128mb)

 

 

 

Thanks.

[Anesthesia]

If your system is dell then I would say its almost certain you only have AGP and not PCI-E - in which case you have two options:

 

 

 

Get the best AGP card you can find - the 7800GS to my knowledge

 

 

 

or...

 

 

 

Put money towards getting a system which will last you longer and allow you to get a better graphics card. Go for a motherboard with PCI-E.

 

 

 

Obviously the former is the best short term solution so if you're desperate, go that way. My brother has a 6800GS which is also pretty good and probably a bit cheaper, though obviously not as fast.

[Militaris]

Yeah everest can be a bit complicated.

 

 

 

Here is a quick way which should allow you to find it.

 

 

 

Load everest. In the side menu click on 'display', it should expand into 7 or so options. One of them should be labled "PCI/AGP video", select that one, and it should show the name of your video card and included in the name should be eitheir AGP or PCI-E.

 

 

 

A alternative way would be to do a 'system summary report' and pasting the motherboard/Display info here. (Both should be able to tell you the kind of slot it has)

 

 

 

>Report

 

> Report wizard> Next

 

> Select "System Summary Only"

 

> Plain Text

 

> Copy/paste

[Doomster]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1779127,00.asp

 

 

 

That review has it as being PCI-E, but with an Intel GMA900 (onboard graphics)

 

 

 

 

 

If the PSU lacks the power and connection for a PCI-E power connector, then you are limited to midrange graphics cards that do not use a power connector, unless you also upgrade the power supply.

[Mr_Putter]

Yeah everest can be a bit complicated.

 

 

 

Here is a quick way which should allow you to find it.

 

 

 

Load everest. In the side menu click on 'display', it should expand into 7 or so options. One of them should be labled "PCI/AGP video", select that one, and it should show the name of your video card and included in the name should be eitheir AGP or PCI-E.

 

 

 

A alternative way would be to do a 'system summary report' and pasting the motherboard/Display info here. (Both should be able to tell you the kind of slot it has)

 

 

 

>Report

 

> Report wizard> Next

 

> Select "System Summary Only"

 

> Plain Text

 

> Copy/paste

 

 

 

Motherboard:

 

CPU Type Intel Pentium 4 520, 2800 MHz (14 x 200)

 

Motherboard Name Dell Dimension 4700

 

Motherboard Chipset Intel Grantsdale-G i915G

 

System Memory 1536 MB (DDR2-400 DDR2 SDRAM)

 

BIOS Type Phoenix (08/23/04)

 

Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)

 

Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

 

 

 

Display:

 

Video Adapter RADEON X300/X550 Series Secondary (128 MB)

 

Video Adapter RADEON X300/X550 Series (128 MB)

 

3D Accelerator ATI Radeon X300 (RV370)

 

Monitor Dell M993s [19" CRT] (X37584A4BG6U)

 

 

 

Now, I might not know anything about computers, but based on reading through the rest of the thing, I think, it's PCI-e (assuming PCI-E means PCI-Express)

[indy500fan]

pci express can be either 1 or 16 if i remember correctly (PCIx1, PCIx16). so even if it was pci express, you still need to know which one. its almost guranteed to be pciexpress 16 though, on new egg they have hundreds of pci 16 video cards, tons of agp cards, and one pci express 1 card :D

 

 

 

what you could do to check for sure is open up your computer and see what your video card is fitted into. if its a tanish white slot, is PCI. if its a very small tanish white slot, its PCIx1. if its a brown slot, its either AGP or AGP pro. if its a black slot, its PCIx16.

 

 

 

 

 

and might want to confirm all that with someone who knows what they are talking about, its entirely possible i just made all that up and thought it was true :lol: (crazy brain...)

[Stuart_G]

If this is the exact same model as your computer, your's should also have a PCI-e x16 slot.

 

 

 

So hopefully that answers the question about it being PCI-e or AGP.

 

 

 

One thing though, how much do you have to spend on a new graphics card?

[Mr_Putter]

If this is the exact same model as your computer, your's should also have a PCI-e x16 slot.

 

 

 

So hopefully that answers the question about it being PCI-e or AGP.

 

 

 

One thing though, how much do you have to spend on a new graphics card?

Well, none until I have a job ;). But in a few months...200-300 hopefully, perhaps slightly more if it will give me a big bonus...I'm not looking for like, the best card out there, just one that will run current stuff fairly well...Anywhere under 400 is best if it's really good...Oh yeah, and I can't buy off of newegg (don't ship to Canada)

[Militaris]

My apologies, Everests readout was not as plain as I thought. But I am very certain that it is a PCI-E card.

 

 

 

Now back to the original question.

 

 

 

Two cards spring to mind, there might be slightly better deals if you put the research in, but you would not go wrong with either of these cards.

 

 

 

NVIDIA 7600GT $189.00 (Price from Newegg)

 

NVIDIA 7900GT $305.00

 

 

 

Based on your CPU, I would suggest the cheaper option. It should be a good match with your current hardware and give a massive speed increase.

[Mr_Putter]

Is there any problems with switching from ATI to nVidia? Such as it not fitting 8|? Or is there any way it might, I dunno...Just, is there any downfalls from switching graphics card makes?

 

 

 

And those are amazing deals...Too bad they're in American dollars, and they won't ship here. Is ATI or nVidia normally more cost effective? Just in general.

[Stuart_G]

PCI-e slots are universal, they work with both nVidia and ATi cards.

 

 

 

Also, i dont see the point in asking about this now if its going to take you a few months to save up because in that few months, things will change, prices will drop and new models will come out. I suggest you come back and ask this question again when you have the money to buy a new graphics card.

[Mr_Putter]

How much do prices change in a few months? And they just came out with new models didnt' they?...And militaris, why do you suggest the cheaper? (other than obviously the price?) Will a real good one not run right on my computer?

[runesmithie]

How much do prices change in a few months? And they just came out with new models didnt' they?...And militaris, why do you suggest the cheaper? (other than obviously the price?) Will a real good one not run right on my computer?

 

 

 

He probably wanted you to get the best bang for your buck. If you're going to get a bleeding edge video card, wait at least 2-3 months for the price to drop significantly before buying :P

[Stuart_G]

That and theres no point in buying a top of the range card that the rest of your computer wont be able to keep up with.

 

 

 

In choosing a slightly less powerful card your getting something that keeps a balance with all your current hardware. That and your saving a bit of money.

[Nadril]

How much do prices change in a few months? And they just came out with new models didnt' they?...And militaris, why do you suggest the cheaper? (other than obviously the price?) Will a real good one not run right on my computer?

 

 

 

he just doesn't want you to use too much more money on a model that isn't *that* much better then the previous one.

 

 

 

I would probaly suggest the same as him.

 

 

 

ATI X1600 128Mb $289.00

 

 

 

That one doesn't look that bad either for it's price, although not sure 'how' much better than a 7600GT it is. Although, just to warn you (even though it may not be a problem in a future) but some people who had 7600GT/7800GT's were having some problems with Oblivion. (which, I asume is one of the reasons for the upgrade right?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:)

[Mr_Putter]

How much do prices change in a few months? And they just came out with new models didnt' they?...And militaris, why do you suggest the cheaper? (other than obviously the price?) Will a real good one not run right on my computer?

 

 

 

he just doesn't want you to use too much more money on a model that isn't *that* much better then the previous one.

 

 

 

I would probaly suggest the same as him.

 

 

 

ATI X1600 128Mb $289.00

 

 

 

That one doesn't look that bad either for it's price, although not sure 'how' much better than a 7600GT it is. Although, just to warn you (even though it may not be a problem in a future) but some people who had 7600GT/7800GT's were having some problems with Oblivion. (which, I asume is one of the reasons for the upgrade right?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:)

 

 

 

One of them. I can already play Oblivion on good frame rates (low settings). It might be nice to see what it looks like that good...But really, I'm getting kind of bored with it, and I'd like to have my computer optimized, since I probably won't be able to get a new one for a LONG time...

 

 

 

And thanks for the input guys. I already vaugely considered an X1600 (I sorta looked at it and said "That's as good as I need or better..."

[Militaris]

The preformance of a x1600 is comparable to that of a 6600GT, which is a $100 card. It stands little chance against a 7600GT.

 

 

 

 

 

Just so you know, I suggested the 7600GT because its preformance is simalar to that of what your other hardware is capable of. There is little point of having a powerful video card if your CPU struggles to keep up with it. Although, you would still gain benefit from a 7900GT but i do not feel it is worth while. Although it is hard to go wrong with either card, they are both good value for money.

[Mr_Putter]

The preformance of a x1600 is comparable to that of a 6600GT, which is a $100 card. It stands little chance against a 7600GT.

 

 

Bleh, I thought it was better than that.

 

 

Just so you know, I suggested the 7600GT because its preformance is simalar to that of what your other hardware is capable of. There is little point of having a powerful video card if your CPU struggles to keep up with it. Although, you would still gain benefit from a 7900GT but i do not feel it is worth while. Although it is hard to go wrong with either card, they are both good value for money.

Sounds about right. What is a 7600 comparable to from ATI? (for the price comparison). And do you feel nVidia has advantages on ATI (you seem to suggest nVidia). I know some games prefer it, and some prefer ATI...

[Militaris]

I just checked and the 1600 series were competitve with the 6600GT

 

 

 

With regards to a competitor, maybe the Radeon X1800GTO or the Radeon X850XT depending on price could be worth a look.

 

 

 

I did a bit of reading.

 

 

 

SAPPHIRE Radeon X850XT $163.00

 

SAPPHIRE Radeon X1800GTO $234.00

 

eVGA Geforce 7600GT $179.00

 

 

 

By looking at the prices, the 1800GTO is bad value for money when you consider that its preformance is simalar to the other 2.

 

 

 

The x850xt and the 7600GT have simalar preformance, but the 7600GT is a newer card with newer features. If you want ATI buy a x850XT otherwise spend the extra few dollars and get the 7600GT

[Mr_Putter]

Hmmmm. It's just come to my attention that Vista will only run on DX10 ready cards. Does this mean I should hold out on buying one, or is my comp not good enough anyway? Is it advisable to get one soon, or wait til they have DX10 cards (I know the price will be double or triple...Let's just talk as though money were no object)