theres so many video cards and its confusing....plz help

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ExTincTioN 38

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I have a 915gav intel mobo, 3.0 Ghz intel pentium 4 processor, and then a 120 gb hard drive, 2 512 ddr400 ram sticks, and a cd burner from a dell, and a floppy drive from a dell. But now i want to get a video card and i have no clue where to start. any insight? its much appreciated thx.
 
It looks to me (from THIS link) that you have one PCI-e slot open which gives you a WIDE selection of cards to chose from.

Your only limit as to how much video power you want is your budget.

If you are looking to play some games, the "entry level" card these days is the 6600GT. If you want some serious bang for your buck, check out the 6800GT, and if you want insane speeds, check out the 7800 series.

I'd also recommend you tell us about your power supply before you go upgrading to a newer card. You may need to also upgrade it in order to handle it.
 
im looking to spend no more than $400. oh and i dunno what power supply i have but it has like a million unused wires so im sure it can handle some more stuff....if that means anything? (its late and i don't feel like waking my parents just to get a screwdriver lol)
 
Oh, and by the way, the number of empty wires is no indication as to whether or not your power supply will be enough to power a new video card.

We need to know how many watts it is rated at (and what maker it is as well would also be useful).
 
ac input 115/220-240V-,7/3.5A,60/50hz
max dc output:300W (+3.3V + 5V = 120 watt max)
dc output: 3.3V == 20.0a (org) +5V == 20.0A (red) +12V1 == 8.0A(yel)
+12V2 == 14.0A (yel/black) +5Vsb == 2.0A (purp) - 12V == 0.8A (blue)

I didn't know what to put so this is everything on my powersupply. It also has sticker that say ATE ok and HI-POT ok. sry i was so late.... i went outta town for a few days.

edit: Oh and the maker is fsb group inc - sparkle power int'l LTD. I didn't really look into power supplies, the computer store near my house said i needed this one b/c i needed a 24 pin power supply and i think i only had a 20. so i just went with what they said.
 
Vnf4ultra or anyone else, the 7800 in the detailed specs it says its gddr2, and i know for a fact my mobo can't support ddr2 memory sticks. I know this b/c i tried it, so will the 7800 still work if my mobo doesn't support the ddr2 memory sticks? I've realized my mobo is a pain in the **** when it comes to compatibility after i got it, but what can i do lol.
 
Ok first off....yor not going to run anything on the Power Supply your currently have. Not even a 6600GT. So before you go out and buy a gfx card, get a new PSU. I would say 500+watts plus if your runnign the high end cards. Not 500 watts from some jip-o brand either. Look at brands like Antec Enermax OCZ.

Secondly, those cards have GDDR3 not DDR2. BUt it makes no difference, any type of Ram Will be compatible with your mobo.

Sean
 
I agree, that psu isn't enough, it only has 8amps on the 12v(edit: I guess you have a dual rail psu, so it'd be like having 1 22a rail I guess), I think they recommend at least 18 for a single video card amd64 setup(I've ran my a64, 6600gt, etc with a 18a 12v psu, even overclocked).

Ok, the memory on the video card doesn't really matter, as it's built into the video card. The video card uses it's own memory, so it doesn't matter what memory your system has. The main thing to know is that you get a card that has the same graphics slot connector as your board, like pci-e or agp.

Also, if that 7800gt is really gddr2, then I'd look for one with gddr3, it's better, so I've heard than gddr2.
Like this, it's nearly the same thing, but with better memory.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130238
 
vnf4ultra said:
Ok, the memory on the video card doesn't really matter, as it's built into the video card. The video card uses it's own memory, so it doesn't matter what memory your system has. The main thing to know is that you get a card that has the same graphics slot connector as your board, like pci-e or agp.

Also, if that 7800gt is really gddr2, then I'd look for one with gddr3, it's better, so I've heard than gddr2.
Like this, it's nearly the same thing, but with better memory.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130238

so the graphics card in the above site is pci-e and that would work with my mobo, and then would this be a good power supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194001
 
If your psu really is dual rail, then it would be a lot better than a single rail psu with 8a on the 12v. Fsp(fortron) group/sparkle are usually pretty decent, so it may be ok.


If you are getting a new psu, the one you list is probably ok.

Here are some more good psus.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817101516
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103473
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189001


Your pci-e card should work in your pci-e slot fine.
 
What are the specific things im looking for in a psu so when i goto the store i know what to ask them for, instead of writting down like 5 different names and it ends up they don't have any of em. Like how many watts and amps and voltage and all that stuff.

edit: 500 watts and is that all im looking for?
 
First look for reputable brands, then try to get one that's 450+watts, you probably want more than about 26a on the 12+ line, or a dual rail model with about 17a+ on each 12v line. Also look for the right main connector(24pin for newer boards), and that it supports pci-express. If you still have several options pick based on price, quietness of the fan, and weight(more weight is almost always better in psus).
 
Can i have the link for that lol...buddy of mine needs an upgrade and either i am thinking wrong, or thats a really good deal
 
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