High end Video Card?

[mastronaut]

Based on this dxdiag report can anyone tell me the max video card I can have with my system without bogging down the piplines? I'm considering purchasing the best one I can get without upgrading my MB or Processor. Thanks in advance.

 

[JMMD]

This is from your diag file:
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1024MB RAM
AGP Motherboard

How's the power supply in your machine?

You could do something like a 6600GT, 6800GT and possibly a 7800GS.

 

[Mirob]

The best is a 7800gs. Other good choices are x850xt, x800gto, and 6800gs. At over 1280x1024 you may never max out your cpu because even these great video cards will be your bottleneck.

X800gto, $160, $130 after rebate
x1600pro, $115, $100 after rebate

 

[mastronaut]

I'm not sure about the power supply, is there a test link to find out?

 

[Mirob]

Open the case and read the sticker that's on it.

 

[mastronaut]

Looks to be 500w PSU. Good?

 

[Greenmachine]

What else does the sticker say (all the numbers 12v, 5v, etc.)? What is your budet for the upgrade?? The X800GTO that Mirob posted is a great buy if you want to save some cash.

 

[mastronaut]

I just looked at my paperwork for the PS info, I'm probably looking to spend 2-250.00 US. I'll check the inside of my case when I get back from my store run. Thanks all... :grinthumb

 

[mastronaut]

I'd like to upgrade from my current 9600XT 256, maybe a 512 or up?

 

[JMMD]

I would be more concerned about the speed of the GPU and the memory on the card rather than getting 512MB of ram on the card.

You have quite a few choices in the price range. Check out NewEgg and see what's in your price range.

 

[mastronaut]

Ati

I'm looking at these two choices, opinions please.....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102679

 

[akaivan]

Looks to be 500w PSU. Good?

i think that will be good enuff, But we need to know the manufacture also.. ITs really inportant

 

[mastronaut]

Looked at the PSU, not clear as to who manufactured it.
I have an Enermax case
system bus 800mhz
PSU Suitable for Intel and AMD
Triple Fan Design
20 Pin ATX Connector
Extra 12v 4pin Motherboard Supply (IS7-G)
4x Molex Connector
1x Floppy Connector
Master On/Off Switch (picture attached)
Hope this helps....

 

[Mirob]

The most important thing is the 12 volt rail, 25 amps or more total and your good to go with any single video card.

 

[mastronaut]

Sounds good, thanks for all the info and patience. :grinthumb

 

[CrossFire851]

What model is the PSU?

 

[mastronaut]

I can't seem to find the manufacturer, I'm leaning towards ATX. There are no logos to be found. This computer was built for me with my specifications in '03. I had a fixed budget, so I'm sure some components are generic.

 

[Greenmachine]

Don't buy your video card at the store...you will be raped by the high prices. I agree with JMMD about not just focusing on the memory being more than 256MB.
Click here for a comparison of cards that we discussed.
There are more important things to look at:
1). # of pixel pipelines
9600XT has 4 pixel pipelines, the X1600Pro has 12, the X800GTO has 12
2). The memory interface
9600XT is 128-bit, X1600Pro is 128-bit, X800GTO is 256-bit
3). Memory type
9600XT is DDR, X1600Pro is GDDR2, X800GTO is GDDR3

As you can see, more memory will get you higher resolutions, but who really needs resolutions that high anyway.

 

[mastronaut]

Good info, The X800GTO looks like the card. I want something obviously better visually, so it actually feels like a substantial upgrade.

 

[YellowC4S]

If all you're looking to spend is 200-$250 on a vid card, you don't want the best that's out there.

 

[Mirob]

As far as I know the 7800gs is the best agp you can get. It's $300.

I have a A Sapphire x800gto AGP. Works good. I use it at 1650x1050. Im going to upgrade it when I buy my Conroe because I need a PCI-e card and I want a faster one anyway.

With a 2.8GHz p4 with resolutions of 1280x1024 or more any video card will be the bottle neck, so spend as much as you want--you will see a difference. The PSU could be a problem but 500 watts should be enough.

 

[mastronaut]

Are you happy with the X800? or is it just a card to get you by for now?

 

[Mirob]

Are you happy with the X800? or is it just a card to get you by for now?

Yeah, I am happy with it. It was a big step up form my 9600 All In Wonder. No problems with it at all. It's just that my wide screen monitor use a faster GPU.

Funny, I could score 5500 in 3dMark05 on my Intel rig (card and CPU overclocked) and only 4500 on this AMD rig. Some say the DualSATA2 dosen't like that benchmark. But it will play games fine anyway.

 

[mastronaut]

I have the 9600XT 256, it's good enough to play F.E.A.R. although not all settings on high, what games do you play if any?

 

[Mirob]

Serious Sam 2 and Fable are all I have installed now, and some demos.