video cards

zenld · Mar 15, 2005

looking to upgrade my video card. currently running a card no games support.

looking for advice on which card, and where to get it the cheapest.

thanks.

zen

Rackhir · Mar 15, 2005

zenld said:
looking to upgrade my video card. currently running a card no games support.

looking for advice on which card, and where to get it the cheapest.

thanks.

zen

You are going to need to supply more information than that. So far you've said the equivalent of "My car has an engine, I want it to go faster".

A) What kind of computer do you have?

B) Does it have built in video?

C) What kind of slot for video cards does it have?

D) What are the other specs of your computer (Processor speed, amount of memory, HD size, etc....)

I'm going to hazard a guess that your computer is something on the order of 5 yrs old. Has video built into the motherboard. A 300-500 MHz Processor and should probably simply be thrown out and replaced with a new one that will be better faster and cheaper rather than trying to upgrade your current computer.

drothgery · Mar 15, 2005

And most importantly,
E) What's your budget?

and

F) What games do you want to play?

Given some answers to these, the correct answer may be "leave your video card alone and buy an Xbox."

KenM · Mar 16, 2005

You also have to consider how much wattage your power supply has. Most video cards need at least a 300 watt PS these days.

zenld · Mar 16, 2005

it is an older computer, but i believe the video card is separate. of course, i am stupid.

1.5 p4, 80gb hd, 640ram, currently on an nvidia tnt2 pro card.

the game i am currently facing a dilemma over is WoW.

i can think of nothing that would convince me to buy an xbox, regardless of what issues i have with my pc.

i would love to just replace the whole thing, but a video card may be financially feasible, while a new system is probably not.

ps may be an issue. looking into it.

just seeking options.

driver8 · Mar 16, 2005

Just an added question that may be pertinent- was the computer put together by you or a local OEM shop? Or is it a brand name (Dell, compaq, etc) and was it bought "off the shelf".

I ask since it some brand boxes are not very upgradable or are difficult to upgrade.

drothgery · Mar 16, 2005

Any modern video card will meet WoW's minimum requirements, and they didn't show an above-minimum 'recommend' system on Blizzard's web site. And with an early-model P4, anything beyond a current-generation low-end card (GeForce 6200, Radeon 9550) or an older midrange card (GeForce FX 5700, Radeon 9600) is likely to outrun your CPU.

trancejeremy · Mar 16, 2005

I would suggest a GeForce FX 5700 or the ATI equivalent. If you have an TNT2 card, you probably do have an AGP slot. I think they are around $70 or so.

Don't get a GeForce FX 5200. It really really sucks (IMHO). I got one with my new computer, and it doesn't work very well (about as fast as my old GeForce 3), plus the drivers are not very stable. And the FX 5500 is just an overclocked 5200.

Rackhir · Mar 16, 2005

Check your motherboard/computer manual. It sounds like your computer may be old enough that it only has a 1x or 2x agp slot. If that is the case you probably can't use most of the current agp video cards since they require a 4x or faster agp slot.

On the bright side, i believe that any of the cards that would require a beefy psu are going to be overkill for your processor and ram.

Nareau · Mar 16, 2005

If you're looking to play WoW, don't spend *all* your money on a video card. Instead, buy some more RAM if your comp can handle it. Upgrading from 512M to 1G made the game run without any slideshows for me.

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