New graphics card - Would Appreciate help

[korrupt]

Hi everyone,

One of my mates is buying a new graphics card and he asked me to post a thread on this site. He is after something that has a pci and video output and wants to spend around $150USD. He wants value for money obviously and will use it mainly for gaming, anyone have any suggestions? Would a VC NVIDIA GEFORCE 6800GS SONIC 128MB/TV/DVI be reasonable quality? He can get it for $147USD. It will go on a Gigabyte 8VM800PMD-775 mobo as an expansion because his games are pixelated since he uses his onboard graphics.

I would appreciate any help and look forward to your reply,

Here are some specs of his PC:
2.8ghz celeron
1gb ddr ram
a60gb hdd

Regards,

Korrupt

 

[wolfram]

Does he have an AGP slot, or PCI-E?

Also, he can get a cutting edge video card, but his CPU (celeron) would be a big bottleneck on that system.

For a CPU like that, I recommend a geforce 6600GT, 6600 or Radeon 9600XT.

 

[Vigilante]

It's hard to say "$150" and "gaming" in the same sentence. First he needs to realize that. Most people buying late-great cards spend in the $300s or $400s. But as mentioned, your other parts would be far to limiting next to a performance card.

My take is, the cards mentioned are fine, just be SURE it has DirectX 9 support and "Hardware T&L" or "Transform and Lighting" support. If it supports those, it can play most games of today, albeit slower for some games.

Lastly, ANY card whatsoever is going to be a vast improvement over onboard graphics. So buy a card and have fun!

 

[korrupt]

Thanks for your reply,

QUOTEoes he have an AGP slot, or PCI-E?

I am not sure, the motherboard website says
1 x AGP 8X/4X slot
3 x PCI slots (PCI 2.2 compliant)

But am not sure what that means. Would a Nvidia GeForce fx 5200 be any good? He can get that for $50USD and is looking like a pretty good card. I have that card and has treated me well,

regards,

Korrupt

 

[Vigilante]

That card is pretty old and isn't going to do much good when he looks at Doom3 and Half Life 2 or Battlefield 2. Online Pogo games? Well that's another story.

By the description you gave, you have an AGP slot, so be sure to buy an AGP card. You need at LEAST the ATI 9600 Pro series or better. Or at LEAST the Nvidia 6600 series or better. If he plans on playing a big commercial game and still have fun

But again, ANY card is better then onboard, but a 5200 is aging fast. Try to get a card that is a least ON this list:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/05/vga_charts_vii/page4.html

Good luck

 

[wolfram]

A 9600XT would be the minimum today:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814153012

Just make sure his power supply can do the job correctly. He needs at least a quality 300-350W PSU, with 20 Amps or more on the 12V rail.

 

[korrupt]

Thanks for your reply,

I have a fx5200 and can honestly say I havnt had any problems with it at all. I play Soldier of Fortune 1 & 2 with high frame rate... Is that just because SOF is an old game? What is better? An ATI or Nvidia chipset? and AGP 8x or PCI express? This website: http://www.stormcomputers.com.au/catalog/index.php?cPath=47&osCsid=e75f097694bce6f0ffc19a7730c69ee2 shows some graphics cards that are available to him, what is a descent quality card for him under $200AUD?

I appreciate any help,

Regards,

Korrupt

 

[Vigilante]

The 5200 is simply aging. Even though you haven't had problems with yours, I'm sure you would notice a difference if you got a faster one yourself

ATI or Nvidia? Surely you jest? It is just a matter of preference, both sides make great cards at any price.

AGP or PCI-E? PCI-E is newer, AGP is getting phased out. PCI-E is supposed to be faster, but the choice is not yours to make. The choice is based on what slot his motherboard has. You have to buy a card that will work with his mobo.

Refer to this chart for AGP choices:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/05/vga_charts_vii/page4.html

Get as high up on the list as budget allows.

And this chart for PCI-E:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/02/vga_charts_viii/page18.html

Happy hunting

 

[korrupt]

His motherboard is a Gigabyte 8VM800PMD-775. What would be the best option for that mobo? AGP or PCI? If needed I can provide more system specs if this helps. Here is a list of some of the graphics cards available to him and their prices... Which is the best option?

VC ATI RADEON X700 256MB TV/DVI $95USD
VC NVIDIA GEFORCE 6600GT 128MB/TV/DVI $150USD
VC NVIDIA GEFORCE 6800GS SONIC 128MB/TV/DVI $150USD
VC ATI RADEON X700 SUPER PCIE/512MB/TV/DVI# $125USD
VC ATI RADEON X1600 PRO GOLD PCIE/128MB/TV $110USD
VC NVIDIA GEFORCE 6600GT PCIe/128MB/TV/DVI $140USD
VC NVIDIA GEFORCE 7300GS PCIe/256MB/TV/DVI $110USD
VC NVIDIA GEFORCE 7600GS PCIe/256MB/TV/DVI $125USD
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9550 256MB Video Card $95USD
GIGABYTE 7300GS-128MB DDR3 PCI-E $110

As said previously it will be used to play juist regular games, nothing flash.

I appreciate all replies,

Regards,

Korrupt

 

[Vigilante]

That mobo takes AGP 8x cards. So you can rule out all your PCI-E options.

Do NOT attempt to get a "PCI" card! Note this is NOT "PCI-E" but just "PCI". They are vastly different. AGP is 10x faster or more then PCI. AGP 8x card is your option.

That being said, the 6800GT and GS are the choice on that list. Though I don't know what little difference there is betwixt the GT and GS version. But since they are the same price, get whichever has better specs. I'm guessing the GT is the better choice.
The ATI equivalent on AGP to match or beat the 6800GT looks to be the X800 Pro. So price out one of those as well to see which is better price. The X800 Pro looks to be a slightly better performer then the 6800GT. The choice is yours.

 

[korrupt]

Thanks for your reply,

He will go with the 6800GT.

I appreciate all help.

This thread may now be closed.

Regards,

Korrupt