Graphics cards. <- noob! *point and laugh!*

[NeptuneUK]

I need somewhere i can read up some information about graphics cards rather than bug the hell out of you lot. I want to buy a new one but I cant decide which because the specifications make no sense to me
I only have about £70 ($122.50) to spare on a card. if i take my card out and shove in the new one it will it work? will it fit?

 

[Asus]

Do you have an AGP slot in your machine? Or do you just have the PCI slots? AGP is above the PCI slots, just below your CPU, and is usually colored brown.

If you have an AGP slot then I'd probably look for a 9600Pro or 9600XT 128MB cards. If you can find a 9800 (not SE) for that low then go for it!
If you only have PCI then look for an FX5500 or FX5700 for PCI.

Benchmarks

Of course if you can spend the extra money then one of these would be better.
Here a couple 9800Pro's.

 

[sinkoman]

Spend time looking up how parts work and what to find in good parts. I gave my self as much time as possible (a year actually) looking at parts, researching what makes parts good, different parts manufacturers and their history of failures/Aces, and stuff like that.

I would say looking at hardware reviews is a good place to start. They usually try to make the review as easy to understand as possible from a layman point of view, so you end up learning allot from them.

Anandtech.com is an awesome website, I picked out my ram from one of their reviews.

Sharkyextreme.com is sortof slow going on updates, but they have pretty interesting guides for buying extreme, high end, and entry level gaming pc's.

Tomshardware.com is insanely hard to navigate, but when you find a review, it's from a real persons point of view and not some corporate sponsored bullshit.

Hardocp.com is sorta, erm, interesting. I like just skimming through their cooling articles, as their hardware reviews can seem biased.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

I need somewhere i can read up some information about graphics cards rather than bug the hell out of you lot. I want to buy a new one but I cant decide which because the specifications make no sense to me
I only have about £70 ($122.50) to spare on a card. if i take my card out and shove in the new one it will it work? will it fit?

This might be right up your alley, bearing in mind its mail-order
http://www2.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=2724&category_id=126&manufacturer_id=0

 

[NeptuneUK]

^ thats fantastic! im assuming it doesnt suck too much.

as long as its better than an MX im not fussy!

then radeons look tasty tho.... hmmm

right right right. i need to know about the slots. if i get a card how can i check whether it will work? i hate being dumb
i assume i need one that uses an AGP slot???

Im considering getting a 128mb Radeon 9800 pro

rather than a 256mb Radeon 9550. what do you think?

 

[Asus]

The 9800Pro is an awesome card. Runs HL2 and other games very well.
Do you have an AGP slot? If so then you would need an AGP card (9800Pro is an AGP card).

 

[duffers20]

the 9800pro is probably the best agp card you can buy thats under £100, if you can wait and save, then a 6600gt would be a better choice, but the 9800pro is fine.

 

[NeptuneUK]

is there an easy way to find out whether its an AGP slot?

 

[NeptuneUK]

graphics card... location : PCI bus 1

its a PCI slot! what are my options?
whats the best i can get for under £90?

 

[Kyorisu]

Usually the AGP slot is a different colour than your PCI slots and is the highest one. That's the easiest way to tell.

You may be using a PCI card, but check you may still have an AGP slot. Anywhoo PCI video cards a vastly more expensive than AGP/PCI-E video cards. If this is the case a motherboard upgrade would be instore.

Stay away from Nvidia apart from good Linux support I hate those devils to the core.

/me runs two systems now
1. Radeon 9600 pro - General use rig/file server
2. Radeon x850 XT PE - Gaming rig

 

[Asus]

Don't pay attention to what the system says. AGP is technically a form of PCI. Just the connector on the board is different and it runs at 66mhz instead of 33mhz...theres a few other things but ya.

Just open up your case and look to see if you have an AGP slot.
Link
Link

 

[NeptuneUK]

looked up motherboard.

"features 1 AGP 2x/4x/8x"

booyah. Radeon 9800 it is or XFX GeForce FX5500? i think the Gefroce one is slower actually, but has 256.

1)which would you go with?

2) radeon 9800 whats the difference between the 'sapphire' and 'pro'?

3)will it only make a small difference to my gaming seeing as my processor is relactively slow.

4)is it even worth me upgrading the Video card and memory?

thx!

 

[Gothax?]

1. I'd go with 9800 Pro because it features newer technology/better reviews/benchmarks.
2. Go pro
3.Again, go 9800 and you'll see better.
4.yes

 

[NeptuneUK]

cant trust you, you're an official idiot.

j/k k then. i suppose as long as im not wasting my money.

 

[Adabiviak]

Look out - ATI vs. nVidia flame war to begin here shortly. Have you purchased or used either of these cards before? Price may ultimately be your determining factor, but if not, and you don't have a preference of your own, it probably doesn't matter. If you buy a high-end card from either manufacturer you won't be disappointed. Both manufacturers have lemons come out on occasion and unfortunately some people base the entire product line on that one experience. I've had and used both and the differences are so very slight. If I were you, I wouldn't sweat the manufacturer and would get the best one for the money (and because you won't get a definitive answer from ATI or nVidia fanboys in an online forum either).

 

[spidster]

ide go with nvidia, there better for games in general and are more user freindly than radeon cards, also they look nicer lol

 

[Adabiviak]

On a related note, the manufacturers of these cards, not nVidia or ATI, but MSI, BFG, PNY, Chaintech, etc., are actually what you should be focused on. I've heard (not experienced) bad things about MSI, whereas BFG has a lifetime warranty on their cards (own one myself!). You may also consider the kind of ports available on the back. If you want to drive an Apple 30" HD plasma, you'll need a card with dual DVI out ports, as this monitor will need both barrels. Looking for VIVO? That has been spotty to find in the past (I sure use it, I don't know about anyone else). Some don't come with built in VGA ports, but surely come with an adapter. Food for thought.

 

[NeptuneUK]

My mobo is MSI. its awful. but its outdated. it was damn good like 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[sinkoman]

Look out - ATI vs. nVidia flame war to begin here shortly.

OMFG DUn'T GUH GAY-T-I GET NUH VIDIA!!!1@!!!@!1!!@!

Jee_FORcE > GaYDeOn!!1!!@12!


Lol.

If you were going for a low end card, i'd suggest the 9800pro all the way, but if you were to buy more high end (like say, in the x800 xl area) i'd say go for a 6600.

I had a 9800pro, and it didn't do me wrong. But I love my 6800gt.