Graphics cards?

ok im a big gamer. i play half life 2, battlefield 2, fear (doesnt run well at all), and other high quality graphic games. All those games are awsome when u can put them on high graphics which is what i want to do. Sooo i was researching about geforce and radeon graphic cards and i was just wondering which is better????? some say its just about opinion. some say radeon some say geforce. to be honest i have no clue. im looking for a really good one but nothing over 300. any1 have any suggestions on a graphics card that would be good for me.

Tell us a bit more about your system ... specifically your video card interface. Is it AGP or PCI-e ???

As Abhoth said, we need to know if you are using a PCI-Express or AGP based motherboard. And its not always vga cards that need upgrading, see that you have atleast 1GB of RAM (optimum amount IMO) in that computer to play the newest games.

With a budget of 300$, you can get a really, really good card.

For 230$, you can have this (a very good card)
ASUS EAX850PRO/HTVD/256 Radeon X850PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

At the higher end, you can get one of the BEST cards they make right now:
eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card [299$]

We are going to have to penalize TechZ 500 VDr Points for causing Excessive Drooling on the forum with the above suggestions....

lol, nice one bistro, btw my new PC (building it in a few months, saving atm) is gonna have 1 7800GTX ;) (among some other lovely bits, and I'm hoping the Antec P180 is available here as well)

Drool on that :P

my mother board is AGP. its a foxconn 650/651 series.not sure if that would be concidered under the GOOD MOTHERBOARDS category. Also i JUST installed 1GB of Ram in my computer.

my comp specs:

Intel
Pentium 4 CPU 2.26GHz
2.27 GHz
992 MB of Ram

This may be an option then: ATI All-In-Wonder X800XT @ $299 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102492 as you have AGP.


Liam

is pci-e better then agp? if it is then should i just buy a new motherboard?

It hasn't proven itself quite yet, but it will be the next big thing and AGP will eventually die off, but at the moment there is not much between them, you could get a new board and go for a PCI-E version of the card so that the card could give you some future proofing, but as AGP boards are still being made i don't think there's much point as newer boards will support other new ever changing hardware like 64bit CPU's and DDR2, which will then mean you'll need to upgrade more components, or if you get a board that will go nicely with your P4 and DDR RAM, you may want to shell out again when you decide to jump on the 64bit bandwagon.


Liam

Unless the computer industry changes radically in the next year or two, I'd think that because there are so many recently-purchased boards out there--socket 939, 775, 478 and even socket A, holding CPUs that were cutting edge just last month--the AGP format for video is going to be around four or five years more, at least. Few people (extreme gamers not included) will shell out the $$ they've spent already, only to throw it over and start again because of a video card.

well lol in 4-5 years i will hopefully not be a big gamer. For the time being i guess there isnt much of a point buying a PCI-E. So ill stick with the AGP. so what are some good graphic cards for a AGP motherboard? most im looking to pay is $300 i guess. im looking for a good graphic card really good for games and such.

The one i mentioned above is awesome, X800XT, and comes in at $299 before shipping, and i'm told that Newegg are good on shipping charges and speed.


Liam

1 more thing though. I have a AGP 4x <--- is that make a difference with anything? if i does will the Radeon X800XT support AGP 4x. if not can you throw some other motherboards my way :)

That's quite surprising, are you sure it is AGP 4x? where did you find this info? you might want to download Everest from my sig and post a log to find complete mobo specs.


Liam

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 133 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Bandwidth 4265 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type SiS MuTIOL
Bus Width 16-bit

Motherboard Physical Info:
CPU Sockets/Slots 1 Socket 478
Expansion Slots 3 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 CNR
RAM Slots 2 DDR DIMM
Integrated Devices Audio, Video, LAN
Form Factor Micro ATX
Motherboard Size 240 mm x 240 mm
Motherboard Chipset SiS651

Motherboard Manufacturer:
Company Name Foxconn Electronics, Inc.
Product Information http://www.foxconnchannel.com/produc...ket=&pChipset=
BIOS Download http://www.foxconnchannel.com/produc...otherboard.cfm

D'oh, looks like you're limited then, as the two slots run at different voltages it could get messy if you risk using a 8x card.

Best bet maybe to get a new motherboard as you've mentined, the question is though, do you have a budget of $300 for just the video card or in general?

Couple of examples: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131460 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128285

Liam

300 on the graphics card. buying the motherboard isnt a problem. but if im gonna get a motherboard should i just buy the PCI-E if im getting a new one?

either way now im gonna have to buy a new motherboard so should i keep with AGP or go to PCI-E?

and when i get my motherboard it will be able to support 8x. which then i will be able to get the graphics card. but first i will have to choose AGP or PCI-E

I don't think you'll get a board that has PCI-E and supports your CPU as socket 478 boards are dying out, you should find one with AGP 8x no problem, and it will support all soundcards as they will either be PCI or external USB soundcards, most boards have decent onboard sound now anyway, which would eliminate the need of a card in a PCI slot.


Liam

why wouldnt a PCI-E support my CPU?

Socket 478 boards are not being made with PCI-E support, so as your CPU is a socket 478 P4, the board that it will have to be paired with will not have a PCI-E slot as they have been wiped out by socket 775 boards and better CPU's being based on that architecture.


Liam

would i be able to take my CPU out of my 478 board and put it into 775 board?

Nope, afraid not, the number reffers to the number of pins on the CPU, so to get a board that has PCI-E and probably some newer revisions, you'd need to upgrade your CPU....that's the vicious circle of upgrades, as soon as you buy something that is brand new technology, something bigger and better arrives, and lack of features are found when you want to upgrade one link in the chain.


Liam

i know its a pain. when you try getting one new thing you have to upgrade everything else that can support it. so to save myself 10000000000000000 of dollars i guess i will just buy a AGP 8x motherboard and then buy myself a graphics card. can u send links for good motherboard and graphics card. Im looking for a graphics card that can support BF2 on max graphics and fear too.

If you don't mind splashing out for a board, i'd go for the Asus board linked above, and the X800XT for $299 @ Newegg, should be just under $400 with shipping for the combo.:)

GFX Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102492

Liam

recommend the $100 or $50 motherboard? what the difference?

I actually prefer Asus, so that is why i suggested that, but looking at them there isn't that much difference, so you could go for the $50 Gigabyte board, one last question, do you have a full size ATX case? because one of the boards in Micro-ATX and one is standard ATX, in other words are different sizes, 9.6" and 12", so if your old board is a micro the full ATX board may not fit your current case.


Liam

yeah i have a full size ATX case


will the screws of the micro fit the ATX the same?

You shouldn't have to mess around too much, some extra standoffs should be included, so if the holes don't quite line up you can add some more standoffs to screw the board into,and the manual included should show you how.:)

Standoffs: http://www.electronicsoutfitter.com/.../screwnutm.jpg

Liam

oh, well thats good then :) I was looking at some other ASUS motherboards and i came across this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131527R it has almost everything the same as the other ASUS board u sent but the onboard video (which i dont need cause im getting a graphics card) AND the chipset. is there a difference with the chipset?

Easy way to explain it: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...Achipset&meta=

If you have no problem with purchasing a refurbished board, then i'd say it looks fine.:)


Liam

well the graphics card that you showed me, will it run perfectly fine with all of that stuff on the motherboard. like the chipset and all. because if so im set :)

Yep It should be fine, and i'm officially jealous of the graphics power you're gonna have. :) Good luck with the upgrade.


Liam

ok THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much lol. thanks for helping me through all of that. you probably got fustrated trying to explain every single thing. well i ordered them and its gonna take a couple of days to ship. ill let ya know how everything runs. and if i have any problems i know who to go to lol. thanks again

No problemo, that's what i'm here for. :)


Liam

I Googled that series, if i read it right it's 4x/8x--it will accept either, and set itself automatically to the card type.

where did u read up on that? i installed everest and all it said was that it supported 1x,2x,4x

Was a site with reviews; I clicked on a Foxconn model name that looked like alphabet soup but it mentioned 650/651 chipset I think. Probably picked the wrong one. Go with what Everest or the manufacturer say. By the way, I couldn't find a Foxconn mobo site! All there was was one with optical cables, or something like that.

Hey liam....I have the card but NO power cable................I started a new thread explaing the problem.

I guess saving $50.00 is not going to be as smooooth as I thought :(

I've replied.:)


Liam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by j0lly r0ger

Hey liam....I have the card but NO power cable................I started a new thread explaing the problem.

I guess saving $50.00 is not going to be as smooooth as I thought :(

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Could you link to it for those of us following this thread and intrested in your other with out having to search for it.