Thread: New video card

  1. #1
    Darkness Prevails Dark_Phoenix's Avatar
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    New video card

    I am looking into building a new computer and looking for some advice on a video card. I am kinda out of the loop on video technology, but I am looking for something inexpensive and reliable. The card I have on my current computer (about 6 years old) gives good graphics quality but frame rates are extreamly slow.

    I have been looing at this one
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127214
    Any suggestions / comments?
    Last edited by Dark_Phoenix; 11-24-2006 at 05:00 PM.
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  2. #2
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    Was the most expensive you're willing to go? If you go about $20 more you can get an X800GTO which will be much more satisfying than the card you're looking at.
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  3. #3
    Darkness Prevails Dark_Phoenix's Avatar
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    Well, I am on a pretty small budget. Trying to do a build for $6-700. I have an old Gateway computer now (PIII, was a great computer 6 years ago when I bought it) Nothing left that I can reuse/upgrade except the keyboard/mouse and monitor so I am pretty much having to start from scratch. With my current money situation I am forced to stay behinf the current technology (right now looking at the Intel 930 Dual Core) But I think I can swing a few extra bucks on the video card.

    I have looked at a few online stores and NewEgg seems to be the cheapest I have found, Anyone know any other places I can look with decent prices?
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  4. #4
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    URL Removed because NewEgg is fudged... look below for Product List.

    I believe everything is there for ya.
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 11-25-2006 at 11:59 PM.
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    [edit]nevermind, I thought that Sly had found Dark_Phoenix's wish list... ah, I am stupid

    [back on topic]
    Go for a slightly higher-end card, such as the X800GTO SlyMaelstrom suggested, and you won't be disappointed. After all, you're probably going to be using it for a while, so you might as well get a good one.
    Last edited by joeprogrammer; 11-25-2006 at 07:46 PM.

  6. #6
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    AH! Something happened to the wish list. Let me restore it.

    Edit: Ok, it should be restored... I have no idea what you saw Joe, so I guess your comments can be anywhere on the sincerity spectrum. If it gets all screwy again and doesn't show a full computer system, please tell me. Although, it is missing one thing and that's Windows. Any legitimate copy of Windows will put that over $700, so I can only hope you have a spare license or are a Linux user. You could always just pop your current hard drive in the system as well and boot from that.

    Edit 2: Mmmkay, it broke again. Whatever, I don't understand NewEgg wishlists, I guess. I'll post up the list in the morning of what it had...
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 11-25-2006 at 11:58 PM.
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  7. #7
    Darkness Prevails Dark_Phoenix's Avatar
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    OK, here is what I have come up with...

    Intel Pentium D 820
    MSI 945 P Neo3-F ATX MoBo
    Corsair ValueSelect 1 GB DDR2 667
    Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT
    Western Digital Caviar SATA 160 GB HDD
    LITE-ON SATA CD-ROM drive
    HP DVD burner

    Plus case, speakers, mouse and keyboard I am down to just under $600. Still a little higher than I expected but there is room for upgrades later on.
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  8. #8
    Registered User Kybo_Ren's Avatar
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    Also try ZipZoomFly.com

    Sometimes they're cheaper by ~$20, generally on CPUs (in my experience).



    EDIT:

    By the way, I'd recommend ~$20 more and this combo:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813185083 - PCCHIPS
    PC CHIPS A33G V1.0 Socket AM2 SiS 761 GX Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
    http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=80721-10 - Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2

    You'll get MUCH higher performance.
    Last edited by Kybo_Ren; 11-27-2006 at 09:27 PM.

  9. #9
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    An AMD processor? Are you serious? Not while the Core 2 Duos are running the show, no sir.

    Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 - $180.00
    ASUS P5B-VM Micro ATX - $125.99
    G.SKILL 1GB DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 - $124.99
    GECUBE Radeon X800GTO 256MB GDDR2 - $115.99
    Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 7200 RPM SATA - $74.99
    NEC 18X DVD±R DVD Burner - $29.99
    Foxconn Black/Silver Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case - $35.99

    Total $687.94

    ...and that should be $687.94 of high quality computing. No crappy parts there. ('sept the case. ). If you have to go cheaper. I'd jump down to a 160GB hard drive and save $10 there. Then, I'd probably drop the memory down to something cheaper. Stay name brand and you might be able to knock $25 off for the Value RAM. After that, you could always go cheaper on the motherboard. I'd stay MicroATX with your budget, though. No point in dual PCIe x16 slots if you aren't going to use them. MicroATX will always be higher quality for cheaper at the cost of some upgrade-ability. You may be able to bring this closer to $625 without changing the processor.
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 11-27-2006 at 11:39 PM.
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  10. #10
    Darkness Prevails Dark_Phoenix's Avatar
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    I always thought the Intel 965 chipset could only use memory operating at 1.8v?
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  11. #11
    Registered User Frobozz's Avatar
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    Isn't Core 2 Duo a bit overkill when his graphics card is more likely to be the limiting factor? I personally went with Pentium D 805 and am quite happy with it. Granted I should have gone with the 820 that had the faster FSB, but at this point I think my graphics card is where the current limit rests. I went with an Ati Radeon X850 CrossFire card I got refurbished from Ati's shop for $150.

  12. #12
    Darkness Prevails Dark_Phoenix's Avatar
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    With the tight budget I am on I feel the Core 2 Duo is a bit over kill for what I use my computer for. Although I will probably regret it later, at least I am trying to get a Mobo that will support it so I can upgrade later if I feel I need to / get the money to...

    I am running a 6 year old P3 with an ancient video card right now and it runs great for what I need. At this point anything will be an improvement
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  13. #13
    MFC killed my cat! manutd's Avatar
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    Honestly, I have a three year old Dell with a P4 and it runs great. So don't stress about the CPU.
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  14. #14
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    You're actually correct about the G965 chipset, I forgot about its memory limitations. If you're planning on going cheaper than the Core 2 Duo, then I guess the Pentium D would be the best option. However, I think you will regret it later on when you have to upgrade again sooner than you think.
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  15. #15
    Registered User Kybo_Ren's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SlyMaelstrom
    An AMD processor? Are you serious? Not while the Core 2 Duos are running the show, no sir.
    Running the show? Not by a long shot.

    The E6300 overclocks like a ........... The 3800+ is even better.

    The E6300 will definitely take some benchmarks, and the 3800+ will take others. Of course, there are a huge number of different factors (chipset, memory, etc.), but either way the E6300 sure as heck isn't running the show.

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