MarineCorps
Explosion!
Just a wondering but what exactly does a graphics card do? 
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-135&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-135&depa=0
What do this part do?
- Thread starter MarineCorps
- Start date
steviejay
Now in Black and White!!
Graphics cards essentially allow your computer to run more complex games and the like, having a good graphics card also allows for your monitor to run at a lower resolution. A good graphics card is pretty much essential to run the newer computer games.
I'm gertting the feeling that might not be a good enough explanation. so.....
I'm gertting the feeling that might not be a good enough explanation. so.....
www.computeruser.com said:
AceChilla
Goedheiligman
It's especially important if you are planning on playing 3d shooter's like doom3 or battlefield, or game's with loads of 3d modelling like rome total war.
Without on expensive graphics card those games whill not run smooth or you may not be able to play at all.
To play civ you won't need such an expensive one.
Without on expensive graphics card those games whill not run smooth or you may not be able to play at all.
To play civ you won't need such an expensive one.
MarineCorps
Explosion!
Jeratain said:
Don't worry this is the one I'm gonna get now.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-181&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
MarineCorps
Explosion!
Drunk Master said:It's especially important if you are planning on playing 3d shooter's like doom3 or battlefield, or game's with loads of 3d modelling like rome total war.
Without on expensive graphics card those games whill not run smooth or you may not be able to play at all.
To play civ you won't need such an expensive one.
I know that I won't need it to play civ3 but I want one.
Sanaz
Gorilla Joe
Can you help us with this? What makes this card so bad, in particular, and both Asus cards in general? What do you look to avoid? If you have a link to some reviews or spec descriptions that would be great - or if you have a recommendation for a particular card that gives best performance for the buck. There are thousands of reviews out there, but not many reliable "recommendations".Jeratain said:
Well, I don't want to make any recommendations for the reason that a specific price range is not listed. Honestly, the best bang for the buck card is still the 9800 Pro (preferrably the Sapphire branded one that has the R360 core, which allows for easy overclocking to XT speeds).
People were speculating that when nVidia released the 6600 GT, it would be the best bang for the buck model out there; but now there are rumors that there wont be an AGP model of it - still waiting on that.
Anyhow, to make a long post short - considering the price range of the two cards he posted (under $80), I suppose those will do for basic gaming. Don't get me wrong, they will play Doom 3 and other newer games - just not very well. All settings will need to be set at low and the resolution somewhere around 800x600 or less. Basically the video card will be a bottleneck for the system.
If he wants a video card in that general range, then maybe look at this one which is only a few dollars more:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-349&depa=0
A decent $100 range card would be: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-291&depa=0
And you can find a 9800 Pro in the sub-$200 range these days.
If you want to go with really high end cards, look at the nVidia 6600 and 6800 series.
EDIT:
You want to look for memory bandwidth (not so much the amount of memeory, but that helps), the number of pipes, the software capabilities (ie: DX 8 or DX 9 shaders), the bit depth, and some other miscellaneous things. If you want to know about video cards, you should read up at a site like http://www.guru3d.com for reviews and references.
People were speculating that when nVidia released the 6600 GT, it would be the best bang for the buck model out there; but now there are rumors that there wont be an AGP model of it - still waiting on that.
Anyhow, to make a long post short - considering the price range of the two cards he posted (under $80), I suppose those will do for basic gaming. Don't get me wrong, they will play Doom 3 and other newer games - just not very well. All settings will need to be set at low and the resolution somewhere around 800x600 or less. Basically the video card will be a bottleneck for the system.
If he wants a video card in that general range, then maybe look at this one which is only a few dollars more:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-349&depa=0
A decent $100 range card would be: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-291&depa=0
And you can find a 9800 Pro in the sub-$200 range these days.
If you want to go with really high end cards, look at the nVidia 6600 and 6800 series.
EDIT:
You want to look for memory bandwidth (not so much the amount of memeory, but that helps), the number of pipes, the software capabilities (ie: DX 8 or DX 9 shaders), the bit depth, and some other miscellaneous things. If you want to know about video cards, you should read up at a site like http://www.guru3d.com for reviews and references.
AceChilla
Goedheiligman
I always find Tom's Hardware benchmark graphs pretty handy:
Gives you a quick overview without having to compare everything yourself
And for the rest I agree with Jeratain, for a card used for playing high end 3d games be prepared to pay around $200. I myself have a 5900xt and it working great.
Gives you a quick overview without having to compare everything yourself
And for the rest I agree with Jeratain, for a card used for playing high end 3d games be prepared to pay around $200. I myself have a 5900xt and it working great.
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MarineCorps
Explosion!
Jeratain said:
Actually All I really want to do is play civ and use bryce.
Doom 3 is not something I have ever played. Price wasn't the issue, I had to find a card that was supported by my motherboard. 
