Video card newbie needs help

[PC Hobbyist]

The card that came with my 3-year old hp computer is the nVidia Geforce4 MX 440 with 64MB DDR, 8x AGP, TV-Out.

I am looking to replace my CRT monitor with a 19" wide screen monitor either from Acer (AL1916WAs) or Hanns-G (similar specs as the Acer, but with analog AND digital connections).

Will my video card be able to handle the high 1440x900 resolution of these monitors?

And even if it does, would you recommend I upgrade my card anyway? If so, which one would you recommend? I like and I'm used to nVidia and would prefer to stay with that. I would want to spend around 50 - 70 Euros (around $85 USD) or so, but not more because I hardly ever play games (maybe once or twice a year!!!) - But who knows, maybe with a nicer card I might play more often

I am about as sharp as a bowling ball when it comes to video cards and so I was wondering... where would I notice the difference with a new card if I don't really play games? And what should I look for in a card (other than at least 128MB for an 8x AGP slot)?

Here are my pc specs:
WinXP Pro SP2 on a Pentium 4 / 2.6 GHz / 1.5 GB PC2700 DDR-RAM / three PCI slots (2 are open) and one 8x AGP (I assume in use by the video card).

 

[The_Other_One]

I would think it could handle it, but I can't find specifically that it can or can't... I'd say go ahead and get the monitor. If the different resolution isn't supported, then upgrade

Man, I actually have an old PCI MX440 in my closet, but I don't have any monitors that'll support wide screen

 

[PC Hobbyist]

I'd say go ahead and get the monitor. If the different resolution isn't supported, then upgrade

Yeah, I think I'll do that. I'm still curious as to what nVidia card people here would recommend in my case. Maybe for Christmas I'll upgrade it unless the new monitor forces me to do it sooner.

 

[Jet]

If it doesn't support it, then a great card would be any Ati X1600 card or a Nvidia 6600/GT

 

[fade2green514]

i would upgrade the card if you want to upgrade to windows vista, but there will still be an option not to install, or run windows aero (?) which will be vista's new graphic interface that'll feature transparent windows and so on and so forth...
i think you can get a real cheap card that'll do it, integrate 6100 graphics would even do the trick. im not sure if it'll support older cards like that though...
what resolution do you use right now? higher resolutions make the desktop "smaller" so to speak, you might not like that, i know my dad still uses 800x600 because its what he's used to, i personally prefer 1280x1024... but w/e

 

[PC Hobbyist]

@ jet: Thanks for the suggestions. I looked into them and I have a few questions. Will any nVidia 6600/GT work for my pc as long as it fits the AGP slot? I found several of them online, but I don't know what options to choose - for example,

1. will DDR3 work?

2. I also don't know what to choose in terms of 128MB with 1.2 GHz or 256MB with 900 MHz? What is more important between the two options and how do they influence performance? Other than the RAM, I don't know what each of the following really are or how they work together: RAM (e.g. 128 or 256 MB), RAMDACS (e.g. 500 MHz), and Memory Data Rate (e.g. 1.2 GHz).

3. If it only says DVI connection, then will I be able to still use analog monitors with it?

4. Some have a TV-in option. What is that for? I only know TV-out.

Thanks Jet (or anyone else who can answer these questions). I would like to become a little more educated in terms of video cards. (My pc specs are on my first post in case you need them)



@ fade2green514: yeah, I have Vista installed as a trial thing and none of the Aero effects were turned on during installation. For now, I think by the time I were to actually buy Vista, I would definitely have a new video card.

And my resolution is 1024x768 on my 17" CRT monitor. I assume that will change once I have the 19" wide screen monitor. So, how will the pc know to give me resolution options that match a wide screen format? Is that something that the monitor drivers take care of or is it the video card or does windows simply recognize the 16:10 size and offer new resolution options? Because, from what I've read, there are no drivers that come with the monitor. For example with Acer, you can download drivers online, but you don't have to.