VISA Posted May 18, 2002 Share Posted May 18, 2002 I'm going to upgrade my computer. I have 128 of ram and a ATI 128 pro 16mb card. I was thinking of getting a new video card. I don't want to spend much more than $170. The radeon 7500 seems to meet my needs. Are there any other cards that might be better I want at least 64mb and want to spend 170 tops. Also how hard is install on something like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3po Posted May 18, 2002 Share Posted May 18, 2002 Get an nvidia card they are much better. if you have Win2000 or WinXP get new ram. goto mwave.com and... buy 128 meg of ram for $18.50. item #: A01981 VISIONTEK XTASY GEFORCE2 TI 5864 64MB AGP NVIDIA $124.00 item #: 509026 i've got the Xtasy 5864 and it is awesome. all together with ground shipping (assuming that you live in WA) it will cost you: $152.21 if you live in california you'll have to add sales tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
striderx2048 Posted May 18, 2002 Share Posted May 18, 2002 remember to get the tv out too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3po Posted May 18, 2002 Share Posted May 18, 2002 the Xtasy listed above has s-video out only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutek Posted May 18, 2002 Share Posted May 18, 2002 I suggest you get a GeForce card, they seem more reliable (as they are the most common atm) Installation of the vid card shouldn't be a problem. Simply whip out your old one and shove in the new one (do remember about static and the like - ground yourself on the case, but leave the mains power off and the power cable in). at a guess I'd say your existing card is AGP? I have seen some people who still use PCI graphics cards. Once the card is in, all you need to do is install the drivers, which you should find on a CD comes with the card. you might then want to upgrade those with the latest drivers (I won't list any sites as I don't know which you will end up getting). If you need to know how to check the slot type, take the side off your case and look at the card which your monitor is connected to. If the card is set into a brown coloured slot, about an inch form the back of the case then it's AGP. If it's a white coloured slot next to several others (there are usually many PCI slots, but only ever one AGP slot) then it is a PCI card. If the card *is* PCI then it will limit your options some. If the card is PCI and you have an empty AGP slot, then for the love of god get and AGP card. Happy hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyGH Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Try this April 2002 Sub $200 video card roundup at Anandtech.com Video card roundup It shows performance for a bunch of games (including JK2) plus it has CPU scaling charts after the performance stats. What that means is you can see about how your computer should perform in said game with said card instead of only having the reviewers rediculously high powered system for refrence. Almost forgot: GET SOME MORE FRIGGIN MEMORY! Computer memory has BY FAR the best user apparent price to performance ratio of any other upgrade. Especially with the small ammount you have. Triple your ram (at LEAST) and you'll be plesantly surprised at how much smoother and snappier things run in general. the above is simply my opinion based on experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowen Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Well how does a GeForce 4 Ti4200 with 128 megs of ram for $178 sound? It's available at that price and will only go down. Just go to http://www.pricewatch.com and you can pick from whatever retailer you want to...the lowest price is $178...it goes up from there but don't even think about getting a Radeon 7500 when you can blow it away and the 8500 as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homosexual Ewok Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Don't ATI users have a lot of problems with the drivers for their cards? I have always heard that, never owned an ATI card though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VISA Posted May 19, 2002 Author Share Posted May 19, 2002 How can I tell through the system if its agp or pci I took out and put back in my card but I still can't tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VISA Posted May 19, 2002 Author Share Posted May 19, 2002 I have 128 mb of ram you think I should get more and how would I install that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaledDur Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Look inside; if you have AGP, the FIRST slot should be one that looks unlike the rest of the slots, it should be slightly shorter and brown (in most cases). Is this a custom built computer or did a major manufacturer do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kincade Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Originally posted by Homosexual Ewok Don't ATI users have a lot of problems with the drivers for their cards? I have always heard that, never owned an ATI card though. nah, my radeon 8500 works perfectly. changed the drivers twice just because new ones came out. used to be the case, but ATi shaped up their driver department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyth'emos Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Originally posted by k3po Get an nvidia card they are much better. if you have Win2000 or WinXP get new ram. goto mwave.com and... buy 128 meg of ram for $18.50. item #: A01981 VISIONTEK XTASY GEFORCE2 TI 5864 64MB AGP NVIDIA $124.00 item #: 509026 i've got the Xtasy 5864 and it is awesome. all together with ground shipping (assuming that you live in WA) it will cost you: $152.21 if you live in california you'll have to add sales tax. you can get 128 mb of ram for 18 bucks ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kincade Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 Originally posted by Kyth'emos you can get 128 mb of ram for 18 bucks ? http://www.pricewatch.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3po Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 um... did you read the whole post of mine, Mwave.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XERXES Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 nividia...those new geforce 4 cards are nice...mines 64megabites or whatever...and i have 320 ram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon812 Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 I saw a GeForce 4 card (not the MX variety) in yesterday's Sunday advertising supplement for Best Buy in the paper for 99 bucks!! However you can get an ATI 7500 for 72 bucks (shipping included) at pricewatch.com. I bought one (I had a GeForce 2) and am happy with it. SO...for 170, you chould easily be able to afford an ATI Radeon 7500 and about 512 Mb of Ram! By all means, get both!!! One thing to consider though, as an afterthought...if you want a REAL ATI video card, make sure it says "Built by ATI" on the box. There are a lot of "partner" companies who produce video cards that say ATI Radeon 7500, but on the box it says "Powered By ATI". Mine is "Powered By ATI", and I was not able to identify who built the damn thing, though I know it was made in China. There was no documentation whatsoever to indicate who the true manufacturer was...so I just downloaded the latest "reference" drivers from the ATI site. The REAL ATI drivers from the ATI website will not always work with a card that is "powered" by ATI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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