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Haphasto
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 10 Nov 2002
Posts: 1800
Location: St. Louis, MO
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 Posted: 02/13/05 - 23:32 Post subject: Graphics cards and motherboards?
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(1)is there any way to tell how much of a hefty graphics card my motherboard can support, and the same with ram? I have a factory built computer, and the motherboard is going on 3 years old, so i'm not sure what it can support at the moment.
(2)would the Radeon 9800 128 MB be a significant upgrade to my current Radeon 9600 128 MB? Or is there a better card out there around the $300 range?
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Nictathan
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 5531
Location: here... where I am... not with you
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Posted: 02/14/05 - 00:21 Post subject: Re: Graphics cards and motherboards?
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| Haphasto wrote: | (1)is there any way to tell how much of a hefty graphics card my motherboard can support, and the same with ram? I have a factory built computer, and the motherboard is going on 3 years old, so i'm not sure what it can support at the moment.
(2)would the Radeon 9800 128 MB be a significant upgrade to my current Radeon 9600 128 MB? Or is there a better card out there around the $300 range? |
1 - This isn't really necessarily dependant upon your motherboard as long as you have an AGP slot. Alot of systems built in a factory don't have the slots on their boards. Look for a slow at the top of the others that is set back an inch or so
2 - Check http://www.tomshardware.com or http://www.anandtech.com for framerate differences. If you feel the difference is enough to warrant the purchase of the other card then that's what matters.
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Deiahova
Luke Warm
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Posts: 317
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: 02/14/05 - 01:29 Post subject:
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Be wary of wattage requirements for the videocards you looks at. This kinda rules out the high end nVidia cards as they can require upwards of 450 watts, which some motherboards/HDs can overheat with.
okay
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Xthos
Can't Stop Posting
Joined: 09 Nov 2002
Posts: 550
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Posted: 02/14/05 - 06:08 Post subject:
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You typically only get into the 400 watt range when you run the new nvidea cards in sli. It also depends on how many hard drives, you have etc. If you dont have anything special going, you should be fine for a single video card.
Also, dont forget adding ram can usually be a huge improvment also.
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Tura
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
Posts: 4866
Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: 02/14/05 - 10:03 Post subject:
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| Xthos wrote: | You typically only get into the 400 watt range when you run the new nvidea cards in sli. It also depends on how many hard drives, you have etc. If you dont have anything special going, you should be fine for a single video card.
Also, dont forget adding ram can usually be a huge improvment also. |
Yeah, RAM makes a huge difference when it comes to gaming. As far as the graphics card goes, it all depends on what you're trying to do. If you're just playing classics like UT, Q3, CS, or Blizzard games, I would just keep the 9600. But if you're trying to play Doom3 or EQ2 I would definately upgrade.
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Tura
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
Posts: 4866
Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: 02/14/05 - 10:21 Post subject:
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Also, if you're feeling evil theres a way to get a nice radeon for a low price.
First, you have to front the money to buy one of the low-end cards for around $80. Wait a week or so after that and buy the high-end card for around 400$. Switch the serial number stickers off the cards and do it very carefully, (they're delicate). Then switch the cards from box to box and return the cheaper card in the expensive box. Most of the employees at the desk don't know the difference because they have no idea. I would visually look for someone who looks like they don't know much about gaming or computers like a black woman in customer service or a naive white girl(no offense ladies). Just make sure you're not dealing with some hardcore computer junkie with tatoos of crash bandicoot on his arms or anything. I've seen it done quite afew times now smoothly without any hangups.
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Maldek
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 16 Oct 2002
Posts: 2089
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Posted: 02/14/05 - 11:23 Post subject:
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| Tura wrote: | Also, if you're feeling evil theres a way to get a nice radeon for a low price.
First, you have to front the money to buy one of the low-end cards for around $80. Wait a week or so after that and buy the high-end card for around 400$. Switch the serial number stickers off the cards and do it very carefully, (they're delicate). Then switch the cards from box to box and return the cheaper card in the expensive box. Most of the employees at the desk don't know the difference because they have no idea. I would visually look for someone who looks like they don't know much about gaming or computers like a black woman in customer service or a naive white girl(no offense ladies). Just make sure you're not dealing with some hardcore computer junkie with tatoos of crash bandicoot on his arms or anything. I've seen it done quite afew times now smoothly without any hangups. |
be sure to do this with a credit card so they can come to your house later in the week and kick the shit out of you
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Tura
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
Posts: 4866
Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: 02/14/05 - 11:29 Post subject:
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cash 
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myndwarrp
Can't Stop Posting
Joined: 27 Jan 2004
Posts: 637
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Posted: 02/14/05 - 12:48 Post subject:
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Well, personally, in the 300 dollar range youre better off to pony up another 100 bucks and get an nVidia 6800GT. If you dont want to, get an nVidia 6600GT for about 200 bucks. I'm not going to get into all the details here, but nVidia blows ATI away in gaming. Check any reputable site and see the gaming benchmarks. If you want specific details I can give them, but nVidia has much better driver support and graphics.
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Kurel
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 1877
Location: Cali
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Posted: 02/15/05 - 11:03 Post subject:
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nVidia for teh win.
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