I desparately need a new video card for my computer (at least I think I do). My current video card is a SiS 650, for my computer that is Petium 4, 2.42 Ghz, 38 GB memory, 240 MB of RAM. Advice needed please on a better video card that can be used for years without becoming obsolete, and that falls within my price range (anything cheaper than $350 or $400, Canadian).
Help needed: video card.
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CruddyLeper
Unworshipped Deity
It depends on what you computer has for connection to a video card. I'm assuming the SIS650 is the onboard video.
OK, you got 2 basic kinds of connector. PCI and AGP. PCI runs at 33MHz tops and is thus very slow - but if you have no sort of AGP connector (it's a brown slot, next to the white PCI ones) then PCI is the only choice. The fastest PCI card so far as I know is the GEFORCE 4 MX.
However, the GEFORCE4 MX is currently regarded as pretty slow, so if you DO have an AGP slot - don't get one!
Next, how fast is your AGP? 1X, 2X, 4X or 8X? So long as it's 2X or faster (very likely given you have a P4) then your best choices are the Radeon 9700 or the NVidia GEFORECE 4 FX. Although designed for 8X AGP they should work at 2X. And they are both out of your price range (I THINK).
So next best choice would be GEFORCE 4 TI. It too can go at 8X but is somewhat cheaper (and a lot slower) than either of these.
The FASTEST one is the Radeon 9700. The Cheapest is the TI (just about within your price range).
It pays to shop around, so maybe you can get a Radeon if you look hard enough - the 9800 is out now.
Oh yeah, one other point - GFX cards come in either 64MB or 128MB sizes. The bigger the better - but if you have a small monitor 15-17 inch then a 64MB should do if you are prepared to run games at lower res (800 X 600 pixels say, rather than 1024 X 768 or higher resolutions).
Hope this helps - happy hunting.
OK, you got 2 basic kinds of connector. PCI and AGP. PCI runs at 33MHz tops and is thus very slow - but if you have no sort of AGP connector (it's a brown slot, next to the white PCI ones) then PCI is the only choice. The fastest PCI card so far as I know is the GEFORCE 4 MX.
However, the GEFORCE4 MX is currently regarded as pretty slow, so if you DO have an AGP slot - don't get one!
Next, how fast is your AGP? 1X, 2X, 4X or 8X? So long as it's 2X or faster (very likely given you have a P4) then your best choices are the Radeon 9700 or the NVidia GEFORECE 4 FX. Although designed for 8X AGP they should work at 2X. And they are both out of your price range (I THINK).
So next best choice would be GEFORCE 4 TI. It too can go at 8X but is somewhat cheaper (and a lot slower) than either of these.
The FASTEST one is the Radeon 9700. The Cheapest is the TI (just about within your price range).
It pays to shop around, so maybe you can get a Radeon if you look hard enough - the 9800 is out now.
Oh yeah, one other point - GFX cards come in either 64MB or 128MB sizes. The bigger the better - but if you have a small monitor 15-17 inch then a 64MB should do if you are prepared to run games at lower res (800 X 600 pixels say, rather than 1024 X 768 or higher resolutions).
Hope this helps - happy hunting.
CruddyLeper
Unworshipped Deity
That's what it says if you click the "about" button.
Be aware that Pricewatch is more of an advertising forum for suppliers than a regulator - if the deal goes sour your beef is with the supplier, not Pricewatch.
Go on, click the "About" button and read for yourself.
Yeah, pricewatch just shows prices. www.pricescan.com is a simular website, and I think both allow you to post if you've had problems with a vendor. But since I use them to gauge prices and buy elsewhere, I don't buy online.
katka
Chieftain
CruddyLeper:First off, the GeForce FX 5200 Ultra is the fastest PCI card right now. The 9800 Pro 256MB version is the fastest video card right now (the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB gives it a run for it's money though)
I don't think AGP 8x cards will run in a AGP 2x slot because of voltage (1x is 3.3v 2 and 4x is 1.5v and 8x is .8v) it might though.
Oh and there is no such thing as the GeForce 4 FX. FX is the new Nvida line of cards and 4 is the old line of cards..
I don't really know what card is under you price range because I don't know how much you want to spend in US dollars. However I think the GeForce 4 TI 4200 is and it is still a good card, you won't get DX9 support though if you want that you'll have to go with either the Radeon 9XXX or GeForce FX 5XXX lines.
I don't think AGP 8x cards will run in a AGP 2x slot because of voltage (1x is 3.3v 2 and 4x is 1.5v and 8x is .8v) it might though.
Oh and there is no such thing as the GeForce 4 FX. FX is the new Nvida line of cards and 4 is the old line of cards..
I don't really know what card is under you price range because I don't know how much you want to spend in US dollars. However I think the GeForce 4 TI 4200 is and it is still a good card, you won't get DX9 support though if you want that you'll have to go with either the Radeon 9XXX or GeForce FX 5XXX lines.
CruddyLeper
Unworshipped Deity
Thanks for telling me this - I was unaware the FX was available in a PCI version. Note these "fastest" card stats become old very quickly...
Some do, some don't. Check on the website is best advice - although some motherboards might need a BIOS upgrade to get it to work. You need a video card to do a motherboard BIOS upgrade - a chicken and egg situation!
Thank you. I had noticed this but my post was plain wrong.
Ah, being a bit economical with the truth there. DirectX9 does support older cards - but the DirectX 9 features built into DirectX 9 video cards are emulated in software. So you WILL be able to run DirectX 9 games on a TI or earlier card - just not nearly as fast (because the comp will be running software to do the jobs, not onboard hardware inside the video card).
See above.
katka
Chieftain
Ah true. What I should of said was native hardware DX9 support.
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