I've got a 3 year old Dell 4550 and I've got an AGP controller - can't remember whether I had that put in special, though. Actually, I'm shopping for a video card in the same price range as the OP. I was looking at either a Radeon 9600xt ($75 on eBay) or a radeon 9800 Pro ($100 on eBay). I'm not sure which I'm going to get yet, but either is far better than what I have now.Efexeye said:
Buying a graphics card... which one?
- Thread starter UCFCSGuy
- Start date
Efexeye
Silly Donkey
astute1 said:
1st off, that is the best sig I have ever seen.
2nd off, Dell no longer supports AGP, period. Just got off the phone with them.
Also, unless you buy an XPS, you can't get anything better than a Radeon X600 in your PC. So I can't get the NVidia 68000 I want unless I buy an overpriced XPS, the only "better" feature of which is the dual-core processor (which no one needs, 'cause no one is programming for them yet).
Screw Dell, anyway- How hard would it be to put the 6800 into an E510 instead of an XPS? They just won't do it, no reason given.
heh, I had the sound file for the drones thing as the "shut down" sound for my computer for a long time. SMAC rules.Efexeye said:
No AGP from Dell anymore, eh? That blows. I wonder why they're doing that. Isn't it preferred by the video card manufacturers?
BirraImperial
Pura Vida!
Efexeye said:
No AGP support? so what do they use PCI express or just PCI?
Efexeye
Silly Donkey
BirraImperial said:
I didn't ask...I was pretty disgusted, as they didn't even know half of what I know when trying to answer my questions.
It was mostly "Oh, you're a gamer? You NEED an XPS!"
cleverhandle
King
I concur. I just bought a BFG 6600OC (pretty much a GT - 128MB of DDR3 and slightly bumped clock speeds) for somewhere around $160 after rebates. It's running Civ4 beautifully, noticeably better than the not-so-ancient FX5700Ultra that it replaced. It doesn't hit the <$100 range, but I don't think that's very realistic if you're interested in remotely serious gaming. The vid card is the most important component in a gaming rig - skimp on CPU speed or disk space, even memory, but get a solid video card.pachu said:
cleverhandle
King
astute1 said:
No more AGP is good. PCI-E is a superior bus interface and it's been in production long enough now that you can find cards for it even in big box stores. The future is now.
Um... from the tech specs for the E510:Efexeye said:
Slots
2 PCI slots
1 PCIe x 1 slot
1 PCIe x 16 (graphics) slot
So order an E510 with the no-cost integrated graphics, buy a PCI-E 6800 from Newegg (which will be cheaper than going through Dell anyway) and plug it in. You've got yourself an E510 with 6800.
Hate to be blunt, but you don't appear to know very much. Perhaps if you had told the techs what you wanted to accomplish, they could have helped you more.Efexeye said:
Efexeye
Silly Donkey
cleverhandle said:
Uh, I don't appear to know very much? Gee, thanks for the condescending tone, but I've been researching gfx cards for the better part of a year, and I beg to differ.
What I meant was that if I want to buy an E510, from Dell, they won't ship it with the card I want. So, I'll have to crack the case to install it, thereby voiding the warranty.
Is THAT clear enough for you? I mean, I suppose the same tech that told me there was an AGP to PCI adapter available (there's not) would have been able to help me, had I possessed YOUR superior knowledge of computer parts? Why was that little parting shot of yours necessary?
EDIT: I know the E510 supports the 6800, but Dell won't let you combine the two. If you want a 6800 video card, you must buy an XPS (if dealing with Dell). That's all that I meant.
cleverhandle
King
Perhaps you've never called Dell tech support about a software problem. Here, I'll save you the hold time:Efexeye said:
1) Reboot
2) Update your drivers
3) Reboot
4) Reinstall Windows
The only thing a warranty is any good for is hardware failures. And that warranty is certainly not voided by installing your own graphics card.
Efexeye
Silly Donkey
Well, I'm paying for a warranty. I don't expect to use the warranty, or tech support for that matter, but why would I take the chance? I'm sure the first thing they ask when you ask for tech support or warranty service is "did you open the case?" I just don't want to take the chance, is all.
Dude, graphics cards are about as hard to install as Legos are to play with. I've never called tech support for any PC for any reason in my life. I don't intend to start now.
My point was, the E510 supports that card, but Dell will not configure a system that way, because they want you to buy an XPS.
Dude, graphics cards are about as hard to install as Legos are to play with. I've never called tech support for any PC for any reason in my life. I don't intend to start now.
My point was, the E510 supports that card, but Dell will not configure a system that way, because they want you to buy an XPS.
