Graphics Card Help

[Zelig]

It matters marginally. IIRC Leadtek 6600GT cards have good ones. EVGA ones are based on the reference NVidea heatsinks, which are always sufficient.

Overclocking is raising the speed of components beyond their specifications. Similar to using nitrous oxide in cars.
It's not often too useful for video cards, as they usually run pretty close to their max spec anyway, so for much overclocking, you either have to make very careful purchases, or spend more money on increased cooling and voltmodding.

I can see you having problems with a 300 watt power supply if it isn't a good quality one...

 

[Ghost]

If there is a real problem with a 300 I'll buy a 400 for $15

 

[CruddyLeper]

Also Cruddy,
you sayd something about heatskins
Do they matter and which are better?
Also Can you explain overclock?

Just something to add to above post - some heatsink/fans are silent, some are near silent, and some are just as noisy as your MX440.

It doesn't really matter unless you're operating outside of normal temperatures, like a very hot climate with no airconditioning. Although it's always nice to have a quiet computer.

Above post on overclock is quite good - think of it as speeding up the clock signal that keeps the gfx card ticking. Most components are made to a 5% tolerance, so you can usually get away with boosting it that much.

It's not a major deal, most people don't bother - you'll be amazed at the difference a 6600GT makes to some of your current games, let alone new ones, without touching the clock settings at all.

Oh yeah, one other bit of advice - if I had to choose between a good PSU and a 128Mb card, or a not good (cheap) PSU and a 256Mb gfx card, I'd get the good (expensive) PSU and 128Mb card.

You pretty much get what you pay for with PSU's - and poor quality ones (cheap) can really make using a computer horrible. Things like glitches in games, random resets, sometimes not turning on or off - much better plan to get a good PSU. Avoids a lot of potential problems.

EDIT: I hope you got Windows 2000 or XP (either Home or Pro) otherwise a 6600GT won't work. Though you've probably checked that anyway?

 

[Ghost]

wht's a PSU?
sorry but I really don't understand computers
I searched google and it gave me: Pensilvania State Univercity

 

[Ghost]

NM I figuered it out
It's a power supply Unit (haha I'm dumb)
Also where can I get a 256mb 6600 gt for under $200?

 

[CruddyLeper]

Yeah - can seem very daunting to change 'em at first. All those wires.

Four screws and it comes away - then you just plug in wires from the new one where the old one was plugged in.

Trying the old PSU first isn't a bad option - maximum rating is also a bit of an unknown. The label says 300W, but could (in reality) be 330 or 380 or whatever - only way to test it for sure is test it to destruction. Which is impossibe in the real world, so give it a whirl anyway and see how it stands up.

 

[Zakharov]

I agree that the 6600GT 128MB seems to be the best card for you. There is no point getting the 256MB version as the extra cost is not worth it. By the time games require a 256MB card you will have upgraded your whole pc anyway.

A 300W psu should be fine.

 

[Ghost]

Thank you guys
I'm probobly going to order it tomorow
but one last question:
Are you 100% shure that the 6600gt has pixel shader 3.0?
Because if not I need a different card

 

[Comraddict]

yes it does.

and don't buy cheap power supplys

enermax, antec, thermaltake are good ones.

 

[CruddyLeper]

Thank you guys
I'm probobly going to order it tomorow
but one last question:
Are you 100% shure that the 6600gt has pixel shader 3.0?
Because if not I need a different card

Absolutely sure. PS3 and VS3 (vertext shader 3) are like the internal command sets for processing the 3D data (defined shapes of objects) into actual screens.

There's a lot more to it than that, but pretty sure anything later than 6200 (Nvidia) or X600 (ATI) will have VS3.

Thing is mate, even if it did just have VS2, it would still run latest games. Not as well, but mine's only an old 4200 Titantium (like, next step up from your card) and it runs latest games... slowly.

You're now going to leapfrog me massively. Which is cool.

 

[Zelig]

Thank you guys
I'm probobly going to order it tomorow
but one last question:
Are you 100% shure that the 6600gt has pixel shader 3.0?
Because if not I need a different card

Yes, it has 3.0 pixel shaders... don't get so hung up on them though, if it didn't, you seriously would not notice any difference.

and don't buy cheap power supplys

enermax, antec, thermaltake are good ones.

Yeah, cheap power supplies are horrid, they tend to mess everything up. Those ones are good, though pricey. Sparkle and Fortron make high quality power supplies for those who don't want to pay quite as much.

edit: Actually, the cheap Thermaltake ones aren't too good, different make than their higher end ones IIRC, and prone to problems.

 

[Zakharov]

All versions of the GeForce 6200, 6600 and 6800 have Pixel Shader 3.0. There are currently no ATI Radeon cards with anything higher than PS 2.0, though the new R520 core should have PS 3.0 when it is released.

 

[Ghost]

thank you guys
I have a TigerPro 300W PSU
Is it good?

 

[Zelig]

From what I found googling, it's a generic poor quality PSU... I doubt you really want to get a new one unless it starts giving you problems though.

 

[Ghost]

I need more help
I'm going to buy the card today but I was wondering what different heatsinks are there?
I found a really cheat card on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814145107

Also I found a better card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150080
I was xondering what's the difference and which is better

 

[CruddyLeper]

Not much difference - you get a few games bundled with the XFX. It has 2 DVI outputs and comes with 2 adaptors to hook up 2 monitors.

The Gigabyte you only get 1 DVI output, but you do get an HDTV output for plugging into HDTV (High Definition TeleVision).

So if you want to plug into HDTV at some point, the Gigabyte one is better.

It would take a lab and several hours to say for sure which heatsink is better - unless you live in a hot climate and want to overclock there's not much point in knowing.

 

[vbraun]

It would take a lab and several hours to say for sure which heatsink is better - unless you live in a hot climate and want to overclock there's not much point in knowing.

Welcome to Arizona

It's probably why my processer sometimes hits 65C.

 

[Ghost]

Gigabyte one?
huh I had a link to a XFX and to a Chaintech
here is the chaintech one again
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814145107

 

[CruddyLeper]

Gigabyte, Schmigabyte... Yes I meant Chaintech.

If you click on the "Detailed Product Information" on each (have both on a separate browser window) then you can compare them yourself.

If you really want to find out heatsink / operating temperatures, I suggest you email the manufacturers and ask.

Here's a tip - when checking out a board, don't go by the people selling it.

Google the homepage of the manufacturer, and 95% of the time, if there's a search button on the homepage, the model number will take you straight to it.

 

[Ghost]

ok thanks guys
I ordered the XFX 10 minuets ago