video cards
BlackRecluse
ok so i have about $250 and im gonna blow it on a video card. ive pretty much narrowed it down to either x800 xt or x800 xl. now i believe the xt is slightly better than the xl, but the i found an xl for $100 off. its an all-in-wonder, and im just wondering if i shouldnt dish out and extra $120 to get the xl, since i believe its more "gamer-prone".
Lurid
I assume your on AGP only? Otherwise thats deffinately not a good idea, assuming you have a good PSU. X1800XT or a 7900GT, any model of X1900XT if you can find one in the $250 range.
BlackRecluse
yes, AGP, completely forgot. oh well, there goes the all-in-wonder. godamn my mobo
LaraStonecypher
I recently got a Geforce 7600GS (256mb) that's PCI-E, and it's a very good card. Got it for $109 on Newegg.
Lurid
AGP wise the top of the line is the 7800GS, I would personally probably go with something like a 6800GS or an X850XT PE. If your using s754 you could potentially replace the motherboard, and pick up something that supports PCI-Express. An upgrade consisting of say...
This or A Similar Motherboard
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Something in This Range
If your on s478 or the like, then you'll have to search your current socket to see if there are any motherboards that support PCI-Express. That would probably be my prefered upgrade. Unless of course you wanted to look in another direction. If it were me and my graphics weren't too bad, then I would by an ASRock Dual SATA2 ULi chipset motherboard, for s939. Aswell as an X2 3800+, for your allocated budget this would be a nice upgrade. You will have to post your full system specifics before anything like that can be really proposed though.
This or A Similar Motherboard
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Something in This Range
If your on s478 or the like, then you'll have to search your current socket to see if there are any motherboards that support PCI-Express. That would probably be my prefered upgrade. Unless of course you wanted to look in another direction. If it were me and my graphics weren't too bad, then I would by an ASRock Dual SATA2 ULi chipset motherboard, for s939. Aswell as an X2 3800+, for your allocated budget this would be a nice upgrade. You will have to post your full system specifics before anything like that can be really proposed though.
Riplox
Yeah, I'm really suprized that AGP card prices are as high as they are. I have an AGP motherboard on my comp at the moment and my 6800XT cost me $215 used. The prices have dropped some, but PCIE is way lower overall. I can get the same card I have now, but in PCIE for 1/2 the price...new. If I were you, I'd save up a little more (maybe $350 or so) and buy yourself a respectable motherboard and video card.
On a BIG side note (and a little bragging...hehe):
It's ok for me now because I'm going to be building a new comp which is going to be a work/game pc funded by my friends business.
Main Parts Listing:
On a BIG side note (and a little bragging...hehe):
It's ok for me now because I'm going to be building a new comp which is going to be a work/game pc funded by my friends business.
Main Parts Listing:
- ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2000MHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor
- 4GB OCZ Gold 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel System Memory
- XFX PV-T71G-UDE7 GeForce 7900 GT EXTREME (520MHz) 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card (SLI Ready) -- (I'll get another one to pair up with it when I get some extra cash)
- Xion PowerReal XON-600F14T-201 ATX12V V.2.01 600W Power Supply
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
sleepy samurai
x800 xt or x800 xl are very similar and the AGP market is at a stand still. If x850 is an option you might see an improvement but other then that I would save the $100.
Or get the 7600 as it is new and has some extra features but do not spend to much money on them, save up...
I have the x800 xt AIW and it runs perfectly on all games in 1280x1048 resolution. Used cards are really cheap right now too.
Or get the 7600 as it is new and has some extra features but do not spend to much money on them, save up...
I have the x800 xt AIW and it runs perfectly on all games in 1280x1048 resolution. Used cards are really cheap right now too.
sleepy samurai
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Riplox
On a BIG side note (and a little bragging...hehe):
It's ok for me now because I'm going to be building a new comp which is going to be a work/game pc funded by my friends business. Main Parts Listing:
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600W power supply is allot but I assume you are buying an SLI power supply?Might be an idea to get two hard drives if you like playing and try RAID0 or have room for storage.
You should get one of those 24" dell monitors too
Other then that I like the system and was thinking of some thing similar.
Riplox
About ATI. I know they're good...really good. The only thing is that I've had bad experiences with the older of ATI's models, especially with opengl support. That's one reason I went back to NVIDIA.
To sleepy samurai:
I do a lot of Adobe CS2 and Macromedia Studio 8 (just learning) work, so I need it. As it stands now, I frequently run out of memory when working with Photoshop.
Also I don't like really like huge screens. 19" max. I guess it cause I sit pretty close to my screen so even a 17" fills up most of my view. DDR2 also isn't much more expensive than regular DDR so I decided to go with it instead.
About the 600...I was thinking of going with an 850 so I'd never have to worry about power and yes, it is SLI capable.
To sleepy samurai:
I do a lot of Adobe CS2 and Macromedia Studio 8 (just learning) work, so I need it. As it stands now, I frequently run out of memory when working with Photoshop.
Also I don't like really like huge screens. 19" max. I guess it cause I sit pretty close to my screen so even a 17" fills up most of my view. DDR2 also isn't much more expensive than regular DDR so I decided to go with it instead.
About the 600...I was thinking of going with an 850 so I'd never have to worry about power and yes, it is SLI capable.
BlackRecluse
im just gonna dumb a couple grand and get a new computer. all of my parts are old and need to be replaced. yeah im getting a dell, im a sell out - whatever. and the only thing i havent decide is either dual 7900 GS or x1900 xtx
Riplox
NONONO!. If you have a couple of grand to dump, do NOT buy a brand name comp. ALWAYS build your own. You get much higher quality for the money. Newegg.com is a great place to start. Look at what I'm putting in my comp. I DARE you to find something from Dell or any computer manufacturer besides Falcon Northwest with those calibur components for less than 2 grand (can't really get anything awesome from FNW for less than 3k so they dont really count). If you need any help in choosing components, I'm sure there are more than a few willing people out there to help.
Lurid
Bleh, if you have that much money to spend the only way to get your money's worth is to custom. I won't call you a sell out, i'll just call you silly, lol.
gabrial heart
Quote:
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Originally Posted by sleepy samurai
4GB ram is allot. Are you sure you need 4? Mind you DDR2 is cheap.
600W power supply is allot but I assume you are buying an SLI power supply?Might be an idea to get two hard drives if you like playing and try RAID0 or have room for storage. You should get one of those 24" dell monitors too Other then that I like the system and was thinking of some thing similar. |
Riplox
WTF...How can you get all that for under 1k? You going with standard off-brand models or something? You must mean 2k. IF however you do mean 1k, please show me where you're getting your stuff 
. Also I will NEVER use a plain-ol power supply that comes with a case ever again. They are far too inefficient and have a tendency to go out more often. You could have a faulty power supply and not even know it (unless you test it) because it could be putting out low voltages on it's rails and that's bad for the rest of the parts in your comp and could shorten the overall lifespan of your rig.
. Also I will NEVER use a plain-ol power supply that comes with a case ever again. They are far too inefficient and have a tendency to go out more often. You could have a faulty power supply and not even know it (unless you test it) because it could be putting out low voltages on it's rails and that's bad for the rest of the parts in your comp and could shorten the overall lifespan of your rig.
BlackRecluse
just found one riplox 
Riplox
Can you provide me a link or tell me exactly what you have in it?
gabrial heart
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Riplox
WTF...How can you get all that for under 1k? You going with standard off-brand models or something? You must mean 2k. IF however you do mean 1k, please show me where you're getting your stuff
. Also I will NEVER use a plain-ol power supply that comes with a case ever again. They are far too inefficient and have a tendency to go out more often. You could have a faulty power supply and not even know it (unless you test it) because it could be putting out low voltages on it's rails and that's bad for the rest of the parts in your comp and could shorten the overall lifespan of your rig. |
Mobo/processor combo by ecs special @ fry's = $200
*1 gig dual sdram stick @ fry's= $89
*2 sata 150 100 GB drives @ fry's (@10krpm) = $140
*1 dvd r/w 32x/32x/16x@ globalcomputer.com = $40
*1 500 watt power supply (ULT31841) @ globalcomputer.com= $50 w/shipping
*19 lcd widescreen @ fry's = $150
* 1- ati (ati model) 1900 master card **used** =$250 (brand new is 600 and up)
For a total of $930...
Riplox
Why do you keep calling it a master card? There's a video card (or GPU if you like) and a motherboard/mainboard. Please use the correct terminology.
gabrial heart
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Riplox
Why do you keep calling it a master card? There's a video card (or GPU if you like) and a motherboard/mainboard. Please use the correct terminology.
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Riplox
Oh...oh...oh...Wow. I feel like a dumbass now. Well didn't know that little bit of info. I really need to remember the old proverb: A closed mouth gathers no feet.
BlackRecluse
sure riplox, i can name the specs:
Intel Core2 Duo processor E6400 (2.13GHz)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
512MB ATI Radeon X1900 XTX
20 inch UltraSharp 2007FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic (D), w/Dolby® Digital 5.1
i just copied and pasted from the selection site. my step-father works at dell (i guess he's good for something), and he got me a discount, which is how i got it under 2 grand ;x
otherwise it would have costed towards 2300 (im buying it at $1800 atm)
edit: thats pretty cool gabrial, i never knew that
Intel Core2 Duo processor E6400 (2.13GHz)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
512MB ATI Radeon X1900 XTX
20 inch UltraSharp 2007FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic (D), w/Dolby® Digital 5.1
i just copied and pasted from the selection site. my step-father works at dell (i guess he's good for something), and he got me a discount, which is how i got it under 2 grand ;x
otherwise it would have costed towards 2300 (im buying it at $1800 atm)
edit: thats pretty cool gabrial, i never knew that
swaaye
Just grab an X800 XL AGP for $120 from ATI's online store (clearance) or from Newegg. Newegg's selling AGP X800 GTO cards for $125 that are just rebadged X800 XLs from the reviews on there. X800 XL is R430 GPU with 16 pipelines enabled.