GFX Card?

[GodBlitZor]

WHat kind of GFX card should I get? Relatively cheap, but still good.

Here are my specs

Dell DIMENSION 4500S
Intel(R)
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.00GHz
1.99 GHz, 512 MB of RAM

No current GFX card

[FireFly]

A 6600 GT seems like a common recommendation around here - get that if you want decent mid-range performance. If you want something more high end I would get an X800 XL.

[GodBlitZor]

Links and things would be nice. I dont know much about these things, hence why im asking! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Thanks

[Joonas]

GodBlitZor said:
Relatively cheap



Are we talking about several hundreds of dollars or less than two hundred?

[GodBlitZor]

Nothing too much. Maybe 300 tops.
I want to be able to persuade my parents to buy it. So.. you know the deal.

[FireFly]

Well you should be able to find them at most online stores, but here's some links from Froogle:

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q="6600+GT"&btnG=Search+Froogle (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=)
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q="X800+XL"&btnG=Search+Froogle (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=)

Remember to pick AGP. If you want benchmarks then:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/powercolor_x800_xl_agp/page5.asp
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050524/vga_charts-02.html#3d_mark_2005

Edit: URL tags don't work for some reason.

[GodBlitZor]

ehr.. benchmarks? AGP?

Im a n00b sorry

[FireFly]

Benchmarks basically measure how fast the card is, usually in FPS or frames per second (the number of times the screen is 'refreshed' per second.)

An AGP (accelerated graphics port) slot is what 3D cards used to plug into, but the standard since been replaced with the newer PCI Express bus.

[GodBlitZor]

So umm... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
IM lost http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dopefish.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif stupid = me

I just want a card that will allow me to play HL,HL2, and Doom3 with no problems.

[FireFly]

Then a 6600 GT should do fine. Look here (http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050524/vga_charts-04.html). 30+ FPS is what you should be aiming for. You can see the 6600 GT (with a faster CPU) gets 77, so that gives plenty of leeway.

[GodBlitZor]

I dont understand the bar graphs. But I guess I'll trust ya on it.

is this what you speak of?
http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce_6600.html

[Tedski]

As you appear to know next to nothing about the subject, one relatively vital question that you will need to address is who is going to install the card? I can't necessarily see the card not fitting your system - I assume the gfx you have at the moment are 'on-board' and use a proportion of the 512mb of ram you've got. What I can foresee is not having somebody who knows enough for the job to be done quickly and without any problems. If you have a relatively local pc supplier - your best bet may be to order the card from them and get them to install it for you. You may pay a bit more for it, but you should have peace of mind etc. The card recommended shouldn't be too expensive now anyway, although I don't know what they currently run at (I'm thinking of the 6600GT here). Trying to get a card that is faster/better than that level would be relatively pointless, as the rest of your system probably wouldn't keep up with it.

[Thriller]

Check out the new radeon 700(something.. Help me guys).
Should be in stores now I guess. From what I´ve heard it works really well and is dirt cheap (<100$)

[GodBlitZor]

My brother knows more about these things then me. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif He can install them Im sure.
Im running on what the computer can do, my GFX spot in nothing but an empty port I guess

[Ecmaster76]

Make sure you actually have an agp slot. A lot of those Dells with integrated graphics don't. Pop open your case and look for something like whats circled in the attached picture. Generally its brown and above the white slots.

[Tedski]

Well - after having a quick look around, you may be in a spot of bother as regards upgrading to anything worthwhile. I'm not sure that the Dell has an AGP expansion slot, and if it doesn't, you are probably not going to be able to do anything that is of much use in terms of upgrading. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Joonas]

You need to know a bit more than "I just need it to play Doom fine" when buying a card... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/icons/irritated.gif

[GodBlitZor]

Oh shit, I thought it was standard. Dell are *******s, just like Microsoft, DAMN YOU!!!!! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tinyted.gif

[Joonas]

GodBlitZor said:
Oh shit, I thought it was standard. Dell are *******s, just like Microsoft, DAMN YOU!!!!! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tinyted.gif



Wrong/Naw. MS products are actually developed. Dell, along with other "computer companies", just compile stuff. They don't make stuff themselves. They buy licences, get hardware from different companies and compile a computer out of them with some silly name.

Preset computers:

- cost a lot more than buying the same parts yourself
- give less performance for the same money you could've used for picking the hardware yourself
- tend to use onboard graphics
- suck

Applies to pretty much all vendors, especially Dell.

[GodBlitZor]

Argh.... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif