Is this video card any good?

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

Benan

Posts: 127   +0
Hi,

I need to know if this Video card is good for gaming.. Like playing games like Battlefield 2 and COunter Strike Source etc

name: Gecube ATI Radeon X1300(PRO) 512Mb (PCIE)
 
Certainly not the worst card you could but it's at the low end of PCI-e cards. What's your budget for a new card and what's the rest of your system like?
 
For BF2, this card is an absolute STEAL - $119 ($99 after rebate):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102688

X850XT, 16-full pipes, 256-bit memory interface, perfect card for BF2 with all settings maxed.

Another really great card for BF2, Leadtek 7900GS, but a bit more $199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122010


EDIT- I should also mention, you should inspect your Power Supply and case cooling to ensure you have proper power draw and case ventilation for a beefy 3d card. Newer, high-performance 3d cards draw more power and generate more heat.
 
also, since I have an intergrated one, where would I make the space to put a new video card in and disable my current one.
Click to expand...
Integrated means it is part of your motherboard and takes up no particular space. To disable an integrated graphics "card" you do so in the BIOS.

However, be sure that you have a graphics card slot either AGP or PCI-E so you know which type to buy. If you have neither type (and that is common on "budget" PCs), you will have to buy a PCI graphics card. A PCI card will have limited performance but unless you commit to buying a new motherboard (and possibly new RAM and new power supply) or whole new PC, you're stuck with it. Depending on your current system makeup, you might have to get a new power supply anyway to power your new card.

Do you know what kind of graphics card slot (if any) you have?
 
How do I find out which Power supply I have and how would i know if it would support the gfx card i want..

I think I have graphics card slots..are they like.. RAM slots but white and a little bit bigger?

Dont buy 512mb unles your willing to spend over 400$, 256mb is good.
Click to expand...

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog...=9c96e17b679195bba3761299220d03ad&cPath=93_26

has more than 2 512 MB ATI Radeosn for under $400 the one I was loooking at is.. $181..

Integrated means it is part of your motherboard and takes up no particular space. To disable an integrated graphics "card" you do so in the BIOS.

However, be sure that you have a graphics card slot either AGP or PCI-E so you know which type to buy. If you have neither type (and that is common on "budget" PCs), you will have to buy a PCI graphics card. A PCI card will have limited performance but unless you commit to buying a new motherboard (and possibly new RAM and new power supply) or whole new PC, you're stuck with it. Depending on your current system makeup, you might have to get a new power supply anyway to power your new card.

Do you know what kind of graphics card slot (if any) you have?
Click to expand...

No I dont know nothing about that how could I find out all about it? also my computer is an Acer Aspire T135

Edit: Heres an image of inside of my computer, if it is any help.. (Sorry for the bad quality. used my Web CAm :p)

Picture4-1.jpg


See down the btotom the white slots are they where the card goes?
 
A video card can go in the White Slots"aka PCI slots".But i do believe that slot above the White slots happens to be an AGP slot.Sorry if i am wrong,so therefore i don't think you could purchase the Graphics card that Sharkfood mentioned if they aren't made for AGP interface.But there are still cards made for AGP that will have good performance for less than $250.And they will play the games full detail as long as the rest of PC meets requirements.You might need a greater PSU than 300W.You'd be good with getting a card With 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP and i've heard 512MB cards don't necessarily run games better than 256MB,and there aren't many 512MB AGP cards around.If so they will be 128-bit GDDR2.
 
Well, i just wana know can I get a new graphics card or not :p and I need to know if it will work with NO problems.
 
Does your computer have a brand name with a model number on it? If we knew this, we could figure out which one your system will support.
 
Umm my motherboard model??

I used CPU-Z to get some info and found out i need an AGP Video Card I think.. soo if this any good? BFGTech Geforce 7600GS OC 512Mb (AGP) for $260 also i was told most 512 mB video cards have to use your ram, is this true?

heres an image of CPU-Z:
Motherboard.jpg
 
I hope not.. will AGP video cards still play battle field 2, and Call of duty 2 and.. Counter Strike and the Sims 2? and america army? I hope so
 
Hi Benan,
AGP cards play Battlefield2 perfectly well! Unfortunately, it just means they can cost a bit more and the super, super high-end 3d cards are not available for AGP. Luckily, BF2 doesn't have all the latest fancy DirectX stuff like Shader Model 3.0 or HDR, so it really doesn't require those more expensive PCI-Express videocards.

I play BF2 at 1280x1024, all settings MAXED with great performance on an X800GTO, 256MB AGP. You can get these fairly cheap at $124.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102042

If you prefer NVidia cards, this NVidia offerring will also fit the bill, 6800GS 256MB AGP - $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143045

Of course, you should first power-off your PC, open the case and inspect the power supply. It's a squarish device, usually near the top of the case inside, where the back side has the 3-prong hole that plugs to a cable to your house/wall power. It usually has a sticker on the inside/side that will display it's wattage. We're hoping for a 250W or 300W for any chance of pushing one of the above cards.. of course the higher, the better. It should also have a few boxes with amperage rating.. like "+12V, 19A" etc.etc. We're also interested in how many "A" it lists for the 12V (12 volt) line.

Lastly, if you're an avid Battlefield2 player.. you should also ensure you have adequate memory. BF2 is a major memory hog, I'm afraid.. and really needs over a gig to play online smoothly. 1.5 gig plays smooth, 2 gig plays ideal. As memory is cheap, this is usually not a big financial problem.. but it will again depend on how much power (power supply) your system has.
 
Sharkfood said:
Hi Benan,
AGP cards play Battlefield2 perfectly well! Unfortunately, it just means they can cost a bit more and the super, super high-end 3d cards are not available for AGP. Luckily, BF2 doesn't have all the latest fancy DirectX stuff like Shader Model 3.0 or HDR, so it really doesn't require those more expensive PCI-Express videocards.

I play BF2 at 1280x1024, all settings MAXED with great performance on an X800GTO, 256MB AGP. You can get these fairly cheap at $124.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102042

If you prefer NVidia cards, this NVidia offerring will also fit the bill, 6800GS 256MB AGP - $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143045

Of course, you should first power-off your PC, open the case and inspect the power supply. It's a squarish device, usually near the top of the case inside, where the back side has the 3-prong hole that plugs to a cable to your house/wall power. It usually has a sticker on the inside/side that will display it's wattage. We're hoping for a 250W or 300W for any chance of pushing one of the above cards.. of course the higher, the better. It should also have a few boxes with amperage rating.. like "+12V, 19A" etc.etc. We're also interested in how many "A" it lists for the 12V (12 volt) line.

Lastly, if you're an avid Battlefield2 player.. you should also ensure you have adequate memory. BF2 is a major memory hog, I'm afraid.. and really needs over a gig to play online smoothly. 1.5 gig plays smooth, 2 gig plays ideal. As memory is cheap, this is usually not a big financial problem.. but it will again depend on how much power (power supply) your system has.
Click to expand...

I have 704 MB of ram and an AMD Processor AMD are quite good.. my 1.8 ghz AMD Runs faster than my brothers 2.8 Ghz Intel Pentium. Also does New egg post to australia? and is the videoc ard you just posted thatr is on new eggs, better than this: http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_26&products_id=20306

I am about to check out my power pack.. okay I have written exactly what it says and even put it in a table like it has done.. i think it is only a 100 W one :'(

Image:
powerpack.png


Please give me some good news, one other question, why are you choosing 256 MB over 512 MB? is there a difference'??
 
Hi Benan!

Uhmm, bad news for you :( Your power supply isn´t enough for those cards. It's a 200W power supply (PSU), and has only 13 A on the +12V rail.

You'll need a new PSU, at least a quality 300W one, with more than 20A for those cards.

The 7600GS is a little lower-end card. I think that a X800GTO, or a 6800GS should perform better.

You don't need a 512MB card, you'll be fine with a 256MB one. There isn't too much difference, unless you play games at ultra-high resolutions, with a lot of high-res textures.
Only ultra high end cards can really take advantage of it.

I noticed that you're a little low on RAM. If you want to play BF2, you'll need at least 1GB, in order to play it smoothly.

Regards :)
 
Ouch.. well.. im close too 1 GB so hopefully it goes good, or if i have some money left i can buy anohter 512 mB stick,,

Question: is this Power pack good? and will it last? and will it play my games? "Power Supply 550W Hairong $30.80" but better yet will it fit my computer?

Battlefield is the only game i want to play.. but i under stand the RAM ammount should be ATLEAST good enoguh to run good..

and are you saying if i got a256 mb card i'd be better of than having 512?
 
Hi Benan,
On the memory issue- it doesn't matter how fast your CPU is if a game far exceeds in memory usage what your PC has in physical memory. BF2 is one of those games. It can use >1 to 1.5 gig of memory on a bigger map with higher game settings. What your system lacks in memory it's going to have to swap to/from disk, which causes really bad stutters, pauses and freezes during gameplay. 1.5 gig reduces these to periodic events of this, whereas 2 gigs almost totally eliminates them entirely. Even at 1 gig, at higher game settings with a 64 player map, your game will have many, many long pauses and interrupts in framerates while you are playing. The only resort is to increase memory.. or reduce game settings (lower resolution/smaller textures, lesser models, etc.etc).

On you power supply- I'd look at how many amps it provides (total) on the 12v rail. Some power supplies have multiple rails (like 12V1, 12V2,etc.etc.). You want to be sure it at LEAST has 20-22A (more is better) collectively on the 12v rail(s). Preferrably 25-30A. I've never heard of the brand you've quoted but chances are it's a more common brand with some different Australian naming (I've noticed this with 3d cards too- which get a different brand name for Australia).

Last answer to your questions about videomemory. A 512mb vram card will be overkill for your current needs. Only a rare couple games will even touch >256mb vram card as video ram usage is more a factor of if you use antialiasing, super high resolutions or "ultra" texture modes. BF2 has none of these requirements and uses a lot of shaders. You'll be really well set with even a 128mb card for BF2 if you play at 1280x1024, all settings maxed to get some idea that it really doesnt consume much vram. In your case, it would be money better spent on system ram for the best result. :)

Take care!
 
^^ Thats what i said, a 512mb card is a complete overkill, its just a selling number for inexperienced people, unless your buying high-vey high end card, 512mb card, would be a waste of money.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Shawn Knight
Overclocker achieves 1,000 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 using liquid nitrogen
Replies
1
Views
250
RudyBob
RudyBob
Daniel Sims
Valve and AMD begin fixing Counter-Strike 2 driver bans
Replies
3
Views
299
Puiu
Puiu
TheGodlyGecko
Monitor suggestions
Replies
3
Views
452
Nelson28
N

Latest posts

Back