Hey all-
I just got a Dell 4700... It comes with the integrated graphics- which kind of blow. I want to upgrade to a decent video card for watching movies and gaming.... I'm not a real serious gamer- just occasionally. What suggestions do you have for what I should look at in the 100-200 dollar range for a decent card?
Video Cards- question
Moderator: ElTaco
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ElTaco
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Your two choices are ATI and nVidia. You can get a good card for under $100 that will support 99.9% of all games today and a good amount in the next year as well.
Aim for something that has 128Mb of Video Ram, 4x or 8x AGP or 16x PCI-eXpress. Make sure it has DirectX 9.0 support, which most if not all cards support these days.
The NVidia choices:
I like the 128Mb Ti4200 8X Nvidia cards for around $60. This should be as low as you go in the Nvidia choices. Also in the sub $100 range is the GeForce 5700.
If you want to go above the $100 mark, you should look into the GeForce 6 Series line.
ATI choices:
ATI Radeon line, 9550 is a good choice. I just purchaed one of these babies and they do a decent job. If you don't mind going a little above $100 then you can also look into the Radeon 9600 line for a little better gaming performance.
Companies to look for:
Nvidia and ATI create the chipsets, which they sell to other companies so they can create actual video cards. ASUS, Intel, ATI, nVidia, PNY, and MSI are all decent companies who tend to do their job so they put out decent cards. Are there differences? Usually no, but the companies do have a choice as to what features in the chipset they actually implement. Doing your research, especially if you have one or two big time games you want to play, might pay off in the long run.
Stores:
newegg.com is great online site, although I stay away from them because they take 2 to 3 days to process your purchase. BestBuy, Crucial.com (they have their own graphics card line and its good), and other PC stores are good places to check out for price comparison.
As far as savings. I think I saw BestBuy have something on some new video cards, but that sale may already be over. If I see any good deals in the next few days, I'll post themon here.
Aim for something that has 128Mb of Video Ram, 4x or 8x AGP or 16x PCI-eXpress. Make sure it has DirectX 9.0 support, which most if not all cards support these days.
The NVidia choices:
I like the 128Mb Ti4200 8X Nvidia cards for around $60. This should be as low as you go in the Nvidia choices. Also in the sub $100 range is the GeForce 5700.
If you want to go above the $100 mark, you should look into the GeForce 6 Series line.
ATI choices:
ATI Radeon line, 9550 is a good choice. I just purchaed one of these babies and they do a decent job. If you don't mind going a little above $100 then you can also look into the Radeon 9600 line for a little better gaming performance.
Companies to look for:
Nvidia and ATI create the chipsets, which they sell to other companies so they can create actual video cards. ASUS, Intel, ATI, nVidia, PNY, and MSI are all decent companies who tend to do their job so they put out decent cards. Are there differences? Usually no, but the companies do have a choice as to what features in the chipset they actually implement. Doing your research, especially if you have one or two big time games you want to play, might pay off in the long run.
Stores:
newegg.com is great online site, although I stay away from them because they take 2 to 3 days to process your purchase. BestBuy, Crucial.com (they have their own graphics card line and its good), and other PC stores are good places to check out for price comparison.
As far as savings. I think I saw BestBuy have something on some new video cards, but that sale may already be over. If I see any good deals in the next few days, I'll post themon here.
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ElTaco
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Please note that if you got the Dell Dimension 4700, which I think you did, it comes with the PCI-eXpress slot and not the AGP.
These graphics cards are a little more expensive, but you can still get a good card for around $100 to $150.
I have one sitting right next to me. I got the ATI Radeon X300. Again, to help yourself develop a gaming addiction, go with the 128mb version. You can purchase it from Dell if you want.
From the Dell website:
Graphics: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900 or PCI Express graphics up to 128MB DDR ATI RADEON(tm) x 16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon (tm) X300SE
These graphics cards are a little more expensive, but you can still get a good card for around $100 to $150.
I have one sitting right next to me. I got the ATI Radeon X300. Again, to help yourself develop a gaming addiction, go with the 128mb version. You can purchase it from Dell if you want.
From the Dell website:
Graphics: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900 or PCI Express graphics up to 128MB DDR ATI RADEON(tm) x 16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon (tm) X300SE
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jiminphilly
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Re: Video Cards- question
You should get your ass on Americas Army once you upgrade your card.BBMarley wrote:Hey all-
I just got a Dell 4700... It comes with the integrated graphics- which kind of blow. I want to upgrade to a decent video card for watching movies and gaming.... I'm not a real serious gamer- just occasionally. What suggestions do you have for what I should look at in the 100-200 dollar range for a decent card?
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BBMarley
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Re: Video Cards- question
Jim- why are you always concerned about where my ass is?jiminphilly wrote:You should get your ass on Americas Army once you upgrade your card.BBMarley wrote:Hey all-
I just got a Dell 4700... It comes with the integrated graphics- which kind of blow. I want to upgrade to a decent video card for watching movies and gaming.... I'm not a real serious gamer- just occasionally. What suggestions do you have for what I should look at in the 100-200 dollar range for a decent card?
I most certainly will though