Video Card Q+A

[bballaust]

I have a question. My pc unfortunately has intel integrated graphics and it does not have a agp slot so I have been looking into pci cards, specifically the one mentioned above, the Radeon 9250. I have a question though, does it matter if the card is called the PowerColor ATi Radeon 9250 128MB, or Sapphire ATI Radeon 9250 128MB or some other name in front of it? Is this still the same card, or if not, what's the difference?

Take a look at this page:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=48&Submit=Property
I dont get the difference between all these cards.
Thanks for helping all us "computer stupid" people!

 

[alamo]

@Tharak: Yes, DIM3000 is the model.

There are plenty of PCI cards. What to get is still an open question. I tried to go something close to recommended, but with all the problems it may be advisable to go higher.

@bballaust: I would shoot higher, and seriously consider paying the Nvidia premium.

I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. I went cheap - $100 ATI 9550. I may regret that decision.

@Libertarian: Processor and RAM are ok. What is the video card?

@Rise: That card is good, nay Great! If you have problems then we're all sunk!

 

[bballaust]

What would be some reccomendations, then, for a good PCI card that will run Civ IV?

And I am still wondering what the difference is with the different names in front of the cards like I asked before, regardless of if those are actually good cards, they are just more for example

 

[alamo]

The first name is probably the card maker, then the gfx chip names.

A recommendation is hard at this point, since I don't have the game yet.

There isn't many PCI cards, apparently. This is about the best I could find - GeForce FX5700LE

 

[superslug]

What would be some reccomendations, then, for a good PCI card that will run Civ IV?

Best bet I can find so far is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814103167

 

[Libertarian]

@Libertarian: Processor and RAM are ok. What is the video card?

That's what I'm trying to determine, really. Someone told me that my video is "onboard", whatever that means. They say it is 64 MB, with generic Windows driver.

(Thank you very much for responding to these questions. You're the only one helping me.)

 

[Captain Badger]

can anybody recommend a uk based online graphics card seller? i've been thinking of upgrading my 64mb geforce 2 mx400 card for a while now.

 

[Rise]

i have just ordered a geforce 6600 agp8x card will that run civ4 ok?

 

[alamo]

There seem to be 4 flavors of 6600, but all should be great mid-line cards.

I bet that hurt the wallet!

 

[Rise]

£80 that reasonable for that type of card luckly i had my birthday in september so i had some left over

 

[Valeron]

I bought a GeForce FX 5500 256mb for this game but am having difficulty installing, when I install the computer won't start up and the monitor displays a black screen with a blue box in the middle. Has anyone else experienced with their cards when installing?

 

[Chopperhead]

I bought a GeForce 6600 GT works great. cost me about $320 for it though lol so far civ4 has cost me about $376

 

[Old Dood]

I bought a GeForce 6600 GT works great. cost me about $320 for it though lol so far civ4 has cost me about $376

OUCH! No offense...but you could have got a 6800GT for a few dollars more. I bought the ATI X800XL for $300.00 and it is in the class of the 6800GT. I am sure you can get the X800XL for cheaper then what I paid too.

I have had no problems at all with this card on anything....

 

[zonk]

Assuming everything's OK on the strict hardware side (i.e., I get the right type of card, etc) -- are there any limitations I should be aware in purchasing a new card?

I've got a Dell 8200, 1.7 P4, 512 RAM, running Windows XP. Certainly not a top of the line rig -- but neither is it one that I feel needs to be completely replaced anytime soon. It's been a great pc -- other than replacing the tower fan recently, not a single problem, ever.

I guess what I'm getting at -- let's say I go top of the line card, 256 RAM.... Would such a high-end card be wasted for me because I'm running "only" 512 on a 1.7 P4? Should I be looking into overclocking my processor as well? Should I plan on another stick of RAM, too? I understand that the card's memory is separate from the CPU -- but don't I reach a point where a great card is wasted unless of the rest of the pc can keep up with it?

It's looking pretty much inevitable that I'm going to need to drop another 1-200 bucks - but would certainly prefer not to overspend if buying a top card would be like getting XM radio for a Gremlin.

Any advice -- and Alamo - your first post was amazingly helpful - would be appreciated.

 

[Old Dood]

Zonk,
I wouldn't waste a whole lot of money on a P4 1.7Ghz system. A good mid level card would work. $150.00-$200.00 range. Also go to Crucial.com. they have a Ram checker to see what kind and how many sticks you have. Going up to 1Gb would do wonders.

 

[zonk]

Thanks, Dood --

I'm pretty sure I'm expandable by at least another stick on the CPU RAM side, so I'll probably take the plunge there. Unlike a vid card, where I'm a little leary about spending too much due to my gaming tastes not really being graphic intensive (except for Civ, I guess ;-), I think extra RAM is always appreciated and rarely a bad idea.

Price-wise, it looks like I can get a 256 card well within the range you listed, so might as well go that route...

 

[zonk]

One other quick question -- from the forums, it doesn't appear that there's much difference in trouble between NVIDIA users and ATI users.... though it does seem that most folks with an ATI card seem to be paired with AMD chips (or am I just thinking that anecdotally?)

Personal preferences?

I'm fairly handy inside the tower - but by no means an expert, so I'll almost certainly stick with a card from one of the big 2.

 

[Old Dood]

Zonk,
I am a owner of 3 Dell systems. That is why I always recommend Crucial.com. They usually have the same exact type brand of memory that Dell will sell you at a higher price. It is either Micron or Samsung. both are good quality. You can go to Crucial's website and click in your Dell model and it will lead you to what you can install. I always replace ALL the sticks with new sticks. I rarely will mix older ram with newer ram. Less problems...just costs more. I think the Dell 8200 has room for 2Gb of memory..I am not totally sure though. So you could get 2 sticks of 512meg ram and call it good.

As for video cards...many people will swear by whatever brand they are using. I myself have owned both Nvidia & ATI. Both have their Pluses & Minuses. I also have an older Dell 4600 with a AGP slot. I installed the 9800pro 128 meg in that one...still works fine today. If I were you I would find some cards that interst you...write down the model and number...then Google REVIEWS for those cards. Read what people are saying. Read the C-Net reviews too. You do not need a super duper card for that older motherboard..or you do not need to buy a expensive AGP card. Save your cash for your next computer with a PCIe slot.

 

[zonk]

Thanks, Dood --

Your help has been outstanding and greatly appreciated (somewhere soon, there'll be a commission you should get a slice of).

Just got home - and yeah, I'm expandable to 2 gigs.... not sure I'll go all the way, thinking perhaps I'll just double myself to 1 gig.

Unfortunately, crucial.com doesn't seem to carry the type of RAM I need (RDRAM -- which I believe was "supposed to be" the successor to SDRAM.... not sure why it never took off --- until this game, I've had nothing but smooth, quick sailing).

Anyway - I've got a few smaller discount shops I visit that might be able to get me a better deal than what I found at Dell (plus, of course, settling my impatient streak!).

I'm going to shop around card-wise - looks like my options are pretty wide. Based on the forums here, seems like I've got the reqs to shoot for pretty much nailed... relatively speaking, at least.

It's a shame to drop another couple hundy to get in the Civ IV game - but thems the breaks I guess.

I'll let everyone know what I go with and how it works out.

Wish me luck!

 

[Old Dood]

Zonk,
Be very aware of Dell's Fussyness over Ram chips. Too bad Crucial didn't have what you need. They guaranty their Ram will work. That is why I use them. You might end up buying it from Dell...sorry to say. Dell's are so fussy that just sticking a ram chip in them will cause more problems then solve.

I forgot about RDRam. One of the main reason it never took off is that it is real expensive.