Video card is on fire, need a new one stat!

[phonb]

Well it's not actually on fire, but it's definitely dosed in gas...

Actually it's been failing the past few weeks and I'm looking for a replacement until I can afford a new system. Literally, I'm online now only after 7 hours of safe mode maintenance and cross fingered reboots.

My original troubleshooting thread: https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic154885.html (thx Route44)

I've googled all night yet haven't found anything useful that's at my level of computer savvy as to what is compatible with my system. Here's what I have and what I'm looking for:

Current Card: MSI Nvidia 256mb Geforce 7600 GS DDR (it has a DVI and S-Video output which I'd prefer though do not require)

MOBO: MSI NEO-F P965 Intel S775, (PCI-E v1.0a)
Mem: 1GB PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2 RAM
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0GHz HT (2MB), S77
Power Supply: 350W, 'Enlight' brand I think.
Monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 906BW
Budget: As LOW as possible

I run XP and only game older stuff such as WOW, Civ4, SC4. Though I hope to build a dedicated gaming PC, this one is really only used for common use. And I'm in the U.S. from the question in the sticky thread. Really all I need is a card that can maybe run WoW, has a S-Vid out, and is compatible with my mobo and my budget. Thank you very much for reviewing my thread.

Also I'm looking for a good seller. I've scoured Pricewatch.com and find suppliers that I'm unfamiliar with or am reluctant to trust.

 

[EDO219]

I think this XFX GeForce 9400 GT will do what you need and it supposedly has free shipping and only costs $19.99 after the mail in rebate.

Also, here's a 1 GB stick of dependable RAM for $17.49 plus $0.99 shipping. ;D

 

[CMH]

I thought I'd be able to beat that recommendation.....

I failed.

I'd grab that mail-in rebate offer ASAP, unless you're after something with more punch, and I believe those will start over the $50 line.

edit: performance wise, I think it'd be similar to your old card, or a tad slower since the 9400GT is the smallest card of the line. Might be possible to overclock it a tad....

 

[phonb]

thx yall, the 9400gt looks good to me though I'm lookin for a base price rather than an after rebate. Really I just need a card that will hold my system for a few months. Yeah gaming wise I'd prolly need the 9400gt for WoW and Civ4, but that's not a priority. I'd like to hear what y'think would work for basic computing for dvd/xvid/divx playback, web media, and if reasonably priced that ability to run the aforementioned games at least the current quality of my current card. Budget is key here for me as my system will need complete replacing within a year.

 

[CMH]

Your pickings are getting really slim here. Your other choices would be an 8400GS, 7200GS, or the Radeon 3450. The 9400GT would be about as powerful as your previous card (as mentioned), and the others would be slower still.

Difference between those cards would be up to $15 from the 9400GT before you put in the rebate. The 9400GT is $45, the cheapest is the 7200GS at $30. And nobody in the world has ever bought the 7200GS thinking they'd be playing anything more than minesweeper on it.

The 8400GS is slightly better (and @ $35), and this is what someone had to say about it:

my 8400gs oc@670/430 only averages about 15-20fps in call of duty 4 and bioshock when the setting are settings are high at 800x600 or low at 1024x768.

Marketing says you can't tell the difference after 30fps, this is way below that, which means it will be choppy. When it comes to FPS, anything less than 60fps isn't ideal (but I notice you don't list any FPS on the games you play).

Wow isn't really all that graphics intense, but at higher resolutions (like the native res of your 19" widescreen monitor, 1440x900) it might not be playable at all, especially if you're into massive PVP or PVE fights.

 

[phonb]

Thx all for the great replies. I think I have decided on a ZOTAC GeForce 8400GS 512MB (ZT-84MEH4M-HSL) card. For 30 bucks it seems reasonable and it has a HDMI for tv output. Should I be worried about my power supply at all? Also I've never heard of the Zotac brand before and wonder if anyone has any input on them.

Edit: I read posts about this not working with PCI-E v.1.0 slots because it's a v.2. I think these posts are outdated but are there still issues with compatibility between the two versions? Also it's said the card runs hot, my current card ran on a fansink in which the fan failed lond ago and I never had problems. Should I be worried with this one? It says you can add cooling to it but I don't have much experience modding cards to cool other than opening my case and blowing on it...

 

[CMH]

As far as I know, v2 cards should work with v1 slots, will just work at the slower v1 speeds.

These are very low-power cards, which means they should be low-heat as well.

Of course, if you live somewhere with an ambient of 50C, might be a little hard to guarantee any card will work

Zotac is one of the smaller brands, and I'd rate them about as high, or maybe a tad higher than Powercolor. Not that it really would matter. The GPU themselves are made by AMD/nVidia. All they do is put them together... No need to pay for all the expensive advertising Asus/Gigabyte/big brands....