1. What does "overclocking" mean?
2. Is there a difference between a 9550 and a 9600 worth spending an extra $15 over?
3. What is the difference betweeb AGP, PCI and all others of that type. I have heard people talking about having a AGP motherboard and that. So if you have a AGP motherboard do you have to get a AGP video card?
4. Where can you find out what your motherboard is? (AGP, PCI or any other)
I think that is all of my questions, If I stumble upon any more questions, I will post them.
EDIT:
Oh ya, will I be able to play guild wars at max settings with these specs:
Intel Celeron 2.6 ghz
512mb ddr sdram
120gb
Raedon 9550 or 9600 128mb 128-bit (have not decided wich one to buy, but I will not go any lower than a 9550 or 128-bit)
Guild Wars will be the only high graphic game that will be runing on this computer.
Video card questions
Eskimo Bob
DeadNite
1.) Overclocking is basicly modifying your system components (processor, memory, video card, etc.) to run faster then they would when you bought them from the store. As this may be a performance gain, if done by someone who doesnt know essentually what they are doing, it could cause problems in windows(crashing, freezing, video problems).
2.) no clue as I am an nVidia person.
3.) their are 3 differant standards right now when it comes to video cards and drop-in-cards. PCI, AGP, and PCI-E. The first two are getting old now as the third is phasing both out at the same time. PCI is mostly used for network cards, tv tuner cards, soundcards, and in some cases video cards. AGP is used ONLY for graphics cards hence AGP stands for (accelerated/Advanced graphics port.). AGP is faster then PCI which alows it to transfer more data to the proccessor and rest of the system because the path to the processor and ran is shorter allowing more throughput(umf....if u will). Which allows for better graphics. Consider PCI as 1x and AGP as 8x. Over the years their have been AGP 1x(which was about the same as PCI), 2x, 4x, and finally 8x. The way the speeds work is 2x is twice as fast as 1x, 4x is twice as fast as 2x and so on. PCI-E which is the new standard uses x16 for its graphics port and has various others(x1, x4). The thing with PCI-E is that it is double the speed of AGP 8x and is not only for graphic cards. It will replace PCI and AGP as it can exceed the others in speed. Most hardware manufacturers estimate that within 1-4 years, PCI and AGP will be phased out.
The second part of your question really depends on the motherboard. I have seen mother boards with just PCI, PCI and AGP, PCI and PCI-E, and all three. You generally want to get a card that utilizes the latest port you have on your motherboard. Most people only use PCI videocards if they have an integrated graphics accelerator.
4.) When your computer boots, during POST(looks like DOS) it will normally tell you your motherboards model #. Also, if you crack open your case, you will find that you have some slots(PCI) with cards in them, but if you have AGP or PCI. Thier will be a differant looking slot closest to your processor. That slot is usually set back a little from the other ones. As to tell the differance betweent he AGP and PCI-E slot. its a little hard for me to explain in words. Maybe someone else on the forum can do a little better then i can.
2.) no clue as I am an nVidia person.
3.) their are 3 differant standards right now when it comes to video cards and drop-in-cards. PCI, AGP, and PCI-E. The first two are getting old now as the third is phasing both out at the same time. PCI is mostly used for network cards, tv tuner cards, soundcards, and in some cases video cards. AGP is used ONLY for graphics cards hence AGP stands for (accelerated/Advanced graphics port.). AGP is faster then PCI which alows it to transfer more data to the proccessor and rest of the system because the path to the processor and ran is shorter allowing more throughput(umf....if u will). Which allows for better graphics. Consider PCI as 1x and AGP as 8x. Over the years their have been AGP 1x(which was about the same as PCI), 2x, 4x, and finally 8x. The way the speeds work is 2x is twice as fast as 1x, 4x is twice as fast as 2x and so on. PCI-E which is the new standard uses x16 for its graphics port and has various others(x1, x4). The thing with PCI-E is that it is double the speed of AGP 8x and is not only for graphic cards. It will replace PCI and AGP as it can exceed the others in speed. Most hardware manufacturers estimate that within 1-4 years, PCI and AGP will be phased out.
The second part of your question really depends on the motherboard. I have seen mother boards with just PCI, PCI and AGP, PCI and PCI-E, and all three. You generally want to get a card that utilizes the latest port you have on your motherboard. Most people only use PCI videocards if they have an integrated graphics accelerator.
4.) When your computer boots, during POST(looks like DOS) it will normally tell you your motherboards model #. Also, if you crack open your case, you will find that you have some slots(PCI) with cards in them, but if you have AGP or PCI. Thier will be a differant looking slot closest to your processor. That slot is usually set back a little from the other ones. As to tell the differance betweent he AGP and PCI-E slot. its a little hard for me to explain in words. Maybe someone else on the forum can do a little better then i can.
ameoba
The Radeon the 9550 has a 250MHz core processor and 400MHz memory, the 9600 has a 325MHz core and 400MHz memory, the 9600Pro is at 400/600 and the 9600XT is at 500/600. Unless money's really tight, I'd go for at least a 9600, if not a Pro or XT. Just be careful - you need to watch out for cards with the same name that are clocked slower and/or have 64-bit memory instead of the full 128-bit. OTOH, there are a few companies that sell cards that are a bit faster than the competition.
Soul Monarch
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Originally Posted by ameoba
The Radeon the 9550 has a 250MHz core processor and 400MHz memory, the 9600 has a 325MHz core and 400MHz memory, the 9600Pro is at 400/600 and the 9600XT is at 500/600. Unless money's really tight, I'd go for at least a 9600, if not a Pro or XT. Just be careful - you need to watch out for cards with the same name that are clocked slower and/or have 64-bit memory instead of the full 128-bit. OTOH, there are a few companies that sell cards that are a bit faster than the competition.
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And, yes, get the 9600. 15$ isn't much, and I can assure you that the 9600 drivers work perfectly with GW right now.
Principa Discordia
The 9600 (expecially the 9600 XT) is a much better card than a 9550 and will last you much longer.
Seth3 Errow
9600 or higher for sure, $15 is worth it buddy.
Lamoi
You definetly won't be able to play highest settings.
Drevay
Oh lord, you have a Celeron D don't you? You'd be better off with an Athlon Sempron. Poor lad. 
Anyway, overclocking is the art of making your GPU/CPU/Memory/Northbridge/etcetera run faster than it normally can - this creates heat, so unless you have some serious cooling, don't overdue it (which many do, sadly).
GET THE 9600 OVER THE 9550! The 9550 is just an underclocked 9600, it IS worth your extra money to get the 9600. Get it. Now.
How do you tell if you have AGP? Look inside your case. You will see white slots, those are PCI slots - do you see a black slot right above the white slots, or maybe a white slot that is positioned further out from the back of the motherboard than the rest? That's an AGP slot - I'd say "look for PCI-E as well", but you have a Celeron D, so no worries there. ;P
If you do NOT in fact have an AGP slot, you will have to settle for a PCI card. Unfortunately, the PCI card's speed is limited to the speed of the PCI slot, which is extremely slower than an AGP slot, so spending a crapload of money on a "top end" PCI card is not worth it. Get an nVidia 5200 PCI version if you only have PCI slots - but you should at least have a universal AGP slot (4x/8x capability), so hopefully no worries there.
If you're still unsure as to whether you have AGP or PCI, consort Google. Use your Google-fu young padawan, and you will see the light! :P
PS, yes, if you have an AGP slot, get a freaking AGP card by all means. You should be able to run Guild Wars on medium settings with a 9600 and your beater of a Celeron D (;p). Unfortunately, your card/proc are holding you back from absolute max settings. In fact, my X800 XL lags a bit (goes down to 30-40 fps in towns at times) if I max out the settings to the extreme (1600x1200, AA, all that jazz maxed out). So yeah, medium settings and you'll be good to go.
Anyway, overclocking is the art of making your GPU/CPU/Memory/Northbridge/etcetera run faster than it normally can - this creates heat, so unless you have some serious cooling, don't overdue it (which many do, sadly).
GET THE 9600 OVER THE 9550! The 9550 is just an underclocked 9600, it IS worth your extra money to get the 9600. Get it. Now.
How do you tell if you have AGP? Look inside your case. You will see white slots, those are PCI slots - do you see a black slot right above the white slots, or maybe a white slot that is positioned further out from the back of the motherboard than the rest? That's an AGP slot - I'd say "look for PCI-E as well", but you have a Celeron D, so no worries there. ;P
If you do NOT in fact have an AGP slot, you will have to settle for a PCI card. Unfortunately, the PCI card's speed is limited to the speed of the PCI slot, which is extremely slower than an AGP slot, so spending a crapload of money on a "top end" PCI card is not worth it. Get an nVidia 5200 PCI version if you only have PCI slots - but you should at least have a universal AGP slot (4x/8x capability), so hopefully no worries there.
If you're still unsure as to whether you have AGP or PCI, consort Google. Use your Google-fu young padawan, and you will see the light! :P
PS, yes, if you have an AGP slot, get a freaking AGP card by all means. You should be able to run Guild Wars on medium settings with a 9600 and your beater of a Celeron D (;p). Unfortunately, your card/proc are holding you back from absolute max settings. In fact, my X800 XL lags a bit (goes down to 30-40 fps in towns at times) if I max out the settings to the extreme (1600x1200, AA, all that jazz maxed out). So yeah, medium settings and you'll be good to go.
Eskimo Bob
Ok so what would you say medeium settings are? And hopefully I will be able to upgrade my procesor to a p4 hopefully with HT. And I was planing on playing it at 1600x1200 I was planing on playing at whatever the default setting is at, or maybe a little higher.
Principa Discordia
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Originally Posted by Eskimo Bob
Ok so what would you say medeium settings are? And hopefully I will be able to upgrade my procesor to a p4 hopefully with HT. And I was planing on playing it at 1600x1200 I was planing on playing at whatever the default setting is at, or maybe a little higher.
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1600x1200 with the default options (no antialiasing, post-processing effects enabled) is definitely high quality as far as most people should be concerned. I can run that, and with 4x antialiasing / 16x anisotropic filtering, but I get migraines trying to read the tiny text, so I stick with 1280x960 in full detail.
Eskimo Bob
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Drevay
I'd say "look for PCI-E as well", but you have a Celeron D, so no worries there. ;P
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Serafita Kayin
You won't have PCI-E, but the reason he said it's a Celeron D is because the original celerons weren't made that high GHz.
You may/may not have an AGP slot, do you have a separate card that you plug the monitor into or do you plug it right into the motherboard?
You may/may not have an AGP slot, do you have a separate card that you plug the monitor into or do you plug it right into the motherboard?
Eskimo Bob
There is a specific monitor slot on the back. I think I might hold on to buying a video card for now and save up to get a decent computer and then get a good video card. See you in guilds wars in a year! Unless I get the summer job with my sister, I will be able to get it at the end of the summer.