Buying a Video Card

[khom562]

In need of help i have an old computer and im thinking of buying a new video card for it but sadly i dont know much bout computers i always needed 1 and im pretty much clueless when it comes to computers...so any help would be fine thanks lol.. well heres my dxdiag
http://pastebin.com/f4785b405
my budget is 150 bucks for right now also im trying to learn more about computers later on so i can built my own computer but so far i just wanted to play fallout 3, grand theft auto and stuff. If possible please mention what i need to improve my current computer.

 

[Mr soft]

The things you will have to find out is , what motherboard you have , and what Power supply you have.

You will have to open your case and have a look on the side of the psu. Take note of the watts and 12 volt amps. This should be printed on the side of your PSU.

Something like pc hardware wizzard will give you the rest of your specs. {it's free}

 

[daisymtc]

The best AGP card would be 3850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE

And make sure your PSU is juicy enough to power it up. You probably need a 450W to run it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012

BTW, I suggest you spend $350 to have a major upgrade instead.
AMD Athlon II X2 250 + ASUS M3A76-CM or ASRock A780GMH/128M + 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 + ATI 4850 + 500W PSU

 

[Trace_hunter]

I would seriously suggest saving up and building a gaming computer, you could build a half decent one for something like 450 bucks.

 

[khom562]

The things you will have to find out is , what motherboard you have , and what Power supply you have.

You will have to open your case and have a look on the side of the psu. Take note of the watts and 12 volt amps. This should be printed on the side of your PSU.

Something like pc hardware wizzard will give you the rest of your specs. {it's free}

i currently have a Allied AL-A300ATX/SL-8320BTX ATX 300W Power Supply but im upgrading lol

The best AGP card would be 3850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE

And make sure your PSU is juicy enough to power it up. You probably need a 450W to run it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012

BTW, I suggest you spend $350 to have a major upgrade instead.
AMD Athlon II X2 250 + ASUS M3A76-CM or ASRock A780GMH/128M + 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 + ATI 4850 + 500W PSU

I would seriously suggest saving up and building a gaming computer, you could build a half decent one for something like 450 bucks.

ok thanks guys i took what you guys said to consideration and i did some research for myself im thinking of building my computer with these parts when i have a bigger budget if i do buy them but i dont know much bout the parts itself so im not sure how good they are but here is what i want

triple deal
Asus M3A78-CM Motherboard CPU Bundle - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6GHz OEM Processor+Corsair XMS2 4 GB (2 X 2 GB) PC2-6400 800 MHz 240-PIN DDR2 Dual-Channel Memory Kit - TWIN2X4096-6400C5+TR2-R1 Amd AM2 Cooler
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-M3A78-CM...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244691652&sr=1-53
$192.32

triple deal
Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W V2.0 with 12cm Fan Power Supply + Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD5000AAKS+ Corsair XMS2 4 GB (2 X 2 GB) PC2-6400 800 MHz 240-PIN DDR2 Dual-Channel Memory Kit - TWIN2X4096-6400C5
http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-P...6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244694080&sr=1-6
$166.22

Sapphire Radeon HD4850 1GB DDR3 Dual DVI / TVO PCI-Express Graphics Card
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rade...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244699065&sr=1-27
143.78

in all bout 500 something bucks but i was wondering would do you guys think? and please if its not the right parts please direct me lol

also these are in the maybe piles

btw for this price do you guys this this 1 is good?

Logisys 575W 20+4-pin Dual-Fan ATX Power Supply - SLI Ready
http://www.amazon.com/Logisys-4-pin...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244694080&sr=1-20
$20.99

Sapphire Radeon HD4830 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI / TVO PCI-Express Graphics Card
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rade...8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244698943&sr=1-8

Sapphire Radeon HD3850 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI-I / TVO AGP Graphics Card
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rade...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244698943&sr=1-24
104.99

Diamond Viper Radeon HD 3870 512 MB GDDR4 PCI-E
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Viper...9?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244698943&sr=1-9


ASUS P5GC-MX LGA775 Intel 945GC DDR2-667 Intel GMA 950 IGP ATX Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/P5GC-MX-LGA77...9?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244690455&sr=1-9
$60.59
HIS H365F512ANP Radeon HD 3650 HDMI 2x DL-DVI (HDCP) 512MB (128bit) DDR2 AGP RoHS Video Card Retail
http://www.amazon.com/HIS-H365F512A...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244697672&sr=8-12
88.98

 

[Mr soft]

I would say forget about AGP graphics cards, they are older and not as efficient. Saying that I always have liked that 3870.{edit the 3870 is Pcie }

Entry level cards would be a 4670 ATI or a 9600GT. Nvid

The 4770 is a very good bang for buck.

The AMD 5000 is also a very good processor , I had one for a couple of years, But is old AM2 and there are other better ones like the AM2+ 7750 , or the phenom ii 550.
A lot of people have been turning these into Quads with the right MB and Bios.

I forgot to mention , I was running GTA 4 on a 5000+ black ed O'clocked to 3ghz and it struggled, it is cpu hungry.

 

[khom562]

I would say forget about AGP graphics cards, they are older and not as efficient. Saying that I always have liked that 3870. Entry level cards would be a 4670 ATI or a 9600GT.

The 4770 is a very good bang for buck.

The AMD 5000 is also a very good processor , I had one for a couple of years, But is old AM2 and there are other better ones like the AM2+ 7750 , or the phenom ii 550.
A lot of people have been turning these into Quads with the right MB and Bios.

I forgot to mention , I was running GTA 4 on a 5000+ black ed O'clocked to 3ghz and it struggled, it is cpu hungry.

ohh i c and what are u currently playing gta4 on now? i was thinking of playing it..whats the best that gta4 would run on? btw what 4770 are u talking bout?

 

[Mr soft]

btw what 4770 are u talking bout?

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd4770/

whats the best that gta4 would run on?

It's a ported game,meaning it was ported over from the consoles. The cars still look and handle like San Andreas.

A tri core or Quad is the way to go. Game developers are going to look at offloading more load on to the CPU's.

My 4670 has been very good to me, I bought it when I had a crap Power supply, as they draw very little power.

They can be picked up very cheaply. I am playing GTA 4 on this at the moment 30 fps in the city and 50 odd out, but that is with the tri core. I could hardly get it to run on the dual core 5000+

Basicaly most games will run ok with the 7750 and a 4670.

But GTA 4 is not good on a dual core it needs more.
If I was going to build now it would be , Gigabyte 790x , AMD X3 720 , ATI 4770. 4gig Kingston hyper x 1066.

 

[blazinjewel]

I'm not sure about your video cards guys. But what I am sure about is the one that I'm using which is the 'Sapphire ATI Radeon HD3850 512MB DDR3 2DVI AGP Video Card' is definitely doing great. I would even recommend this to you. I bought it at Blazintech. I found it cheaper yet high performing

 

[Mr soft]

The 3850 is a nice card and a good performer, the 4670 is equal to the 3850 but is newer, cooler, and takes less power.

 

[khom562]

The best AGP card would be 3850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE

And make sure your PSU is juicy enough to power it up. You probably need a 450W to run it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012

BTW, I suggest you spend $350 to have a major upgrade instead.
AMD Athlon II X2 250 + ASUS M3A76-CM or ASRock A780GMH/128M + 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 + ATI 4850 + 500W PSU

if i was to buy the 3850 will it work with my old agp MS-6540 motherboard?

The 3850 is a nice card and a good performer, the 4670 is equal to the 3850 but is newer, cooler, and takes less power.

to bad i dont have a pci-e slot =/

 

[fritzj92]

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd4770/



It's a ported game,meaning it was ported over from the consoles. The cars still look and handle like San Andreas.

A tri core or Quad is the way to go. Game developers are going to look at offloading more load on to the CPU's.

My 4670 has been very good to me, I bought it when I had a crap Power supply, as they draw very little power.

They can be picked up very cheaply. I am playing GTA 4 on this at the moment 30 fps in the city and 50 odd out, but that is with the tri core. I could hardly get it to run on the dual core 5000+

Basicaly most games will run ok with the 7750 and a 4670.

But GTA 4 is not good on a dual core it needs more.
If I was going to build now it would be , Gigabyte 790x , AMD X3 720 , ATI 4770. 4gig Kingston hyper x 1066.

Speak for yourself SIR.. my B/E is doind just fine in EVERY game so far including GTA4, load perfect plays perfect, and i haven't even installed me GTS 250, hell i used to use my 5000 B/E with a onboard HD3200 and play GTA4 @ like 25fp/s (HMP) lmao, but still get the tri or quad core, more helpful for future games...

 

[bomberboysk]

Speak for yourself SIR.. my B/E is doind just fine in EVERY game so far including GTA4, load perfect plays perfect, and i haven't even installed me GTS 250, hell i used to use my 5000 B/E with a onboard HD3200 and play GTA4 @ like 25fp/s (HMP) lmao, but still get the tri or quad core, more helpful for future games...

What res are you playing at? 640x480?XD HD3200 integrated would barely run gtaIV considering how crappy it runs cod4....

 

[Mr soft]

hell i used to use my 5000 B/E with a onboard HD3200 and play GTA4 @ like 25fp/s

Hmmm, I had a BE 5000+ clocked to 3ghz, a 4670 tweaked with Riva tuner , ram OC'd , and GTA 4 and I were struggling.

What res are you playing at? 640x480?XD

Ahhh, all those PS2 days