new video card help... AGPx8

Hey... my names James, I'm to look for a new video card to play CS:S, and any new games...

I still have a AGP video slot so.. im not really sure, heres my specs, im looking for vid cards 150 and under...

my system specc is...

Intel(R) Core*TM)2CPU6320 @ 1.86GHz + 1.86GHz

with 1.50GB of RAM.

geforce 5200 series (you see why i need a new video card)

im hoping to have CS:S running maxed out with a new video card... ps im still using AGPx8

thank you for any help if anything email me at jinglyjinglez@gmail.com

This Is probably one of the best agp cards out.beefdog

Thanks for the quick reply. i appreciate it :) um... yes it looks pretty decent...

i think i'll go with this card! but how well do you think it's going to run CS:S? at what FPS also with my system spec >.< i got windows XP BTW.

Thanks for the quick reply. i appreciate it :) um... yes it looks pretty decent...

i think i'll go with this card! but how well do you think it's going to run CS:S? at what FPS also with my system spec >.< i got windows XP BTW.

jinglyjinglez

Maxed @ 1920x1200 w/AA easily. Probably 110-120ish fps, shouldn't drop below 50 though. A single 8800GT runs CS:S maxed @ 1920x1200 w/16Qaa @ 172fps (benchmark) and the HD3850 is pretty close performance wise (doesn't overclock as well). I don't think AGP 8x will bottleneck the card too much. Some of the latest cards don't even use half the bandwidth that PCIe provides.

[QUOTE="jinglyjinglez"]

Thanks for the quick reply. i appreciate it :) um... yes it looks pretty decent...

i think i'll go with this card! but how well do you think it's going to run CS:S? at what FPS also with my system spec >.< i got windows XP BTW.

Swiftstrike5

Maxed @ 1920x1200 w/AA easily. Probably 110-120ish fps, shouldn't drop below 50 though. A single 8800GT runs Crysis maxed @ 1920x1200 w/16Qaa @ 172fps (benchmark) and the HD3850 is pretty close performance wise (doesn't overclock as well). I don't think AGP 8x will bottleneck the card too much. Some of the latest cards don't even use half the bandwidth that PCIe provides.

Really?

[QUOTE="Swiftstrike5"][QUOTE="jinglyjinglez"]

Thanks for the quick reply. i appreciate it :) um... yes it looks pretty decent...

i think i'll go with this card! but how well do you think it's going to run CS:S? at what FPS also with my system spec >.< i got windows XP BTW.

f-a-d-3

Maxed @ 1920x1200 w/AA easily. Probably 110-120ish fps, shouldn't drop below 50 though. A single 8800GT runs Crysis maxed @ 1920x1200 w/16Qaa @ 172fps (benchmark) and the HD3850 is pretty close performance wise (doesn't overclock as well). I don't think AGP 8x will bottleneck the card too much. Some of the latest cards don't even use half the bandwidth that PCIe provides.

Really?

Opps. I ment CS:S... sigh. My brain to my hands and I lose something.

How does original poster have a core 2 duo 6320 with an agp 8x slot?Gamerkat

hmm how now? x_x

edit: oh and is it any good? im not a comp wiz. thanks.

who, troll, me?

how so..

How does original poster have a core 2 duo 6320 with an agp 8x slot?Gamerkat

You should really just upgrade your motherboard. Seeing as how you have a C2D chip, you already have DDR2 memory, so all you need is a new motherboard before you could use a PCI-e graphics card. I suggest you increase your budget by about $50, then you can get a much better graphics card for the same price.

EDIT: Uhh, yeah. I'm also confused as to how you have an AGP slot. Some motherboard manufactures put AGP on their boards along with PCI-e, but you'd also have a PCI-e slot. Either you're confused and don't have an AGP slot, or you're confused and don't have a C2D.

EDIT #2: I suppose Dell or HP might have had some sort of custom BTX board made with a AGP slot, but that'd be completely stupid and arbitrary.

You should really just upgrade your motherboard. Seeing as how you have a C2D chip, you already have DDR2 memory, so all you need is a new motherboard before you could use a PCI-e graphics card. I suggest you increase your budget by about $50, then you can get a much better graphics card for the same price.kodex1717

EDIT: Uhh, yeah. I'm also confused as to how you have an AGP slot. Some motherboard manufactures put AGP on their boards along with PCI-e, but you'd also have a PCI-e slot. Either you're confused and don't have an AGP slot, or you're confused and don't have a C2D.kodex1717

really?? for only 50 more? you sure?

sounds too good to be true! but im really not sure if my Processor would fit the slot...

and my Ram sticks... i think they are 3200

Is it too expensive? Both your processor and the RAM will work perfectly on that motherboard I mentioned.

What video card are you planning to buy?

sounds too good to be true! but im really not sure if my Processor would fit the slot...jinglyjinglez

and my Ram sticks... i think they are 3200jinglyjinglez

He does not have a C2D processor, but a Pentium D. They're completely different in terms of architecture, C2D being superior.yoscar

Thank-you. I can now tell my ass from my elbow.

He seems to think he has an E6320 along with an AGP slot. I want to make sure that he isn't completely wrong before I tell him to spend money on something.

EDIT: If he's using DDR memory, I can guaranty he doesn't have either a E6320 or a Pentium D. Both need DDR2, so I have no idea what the hell he's got.

Well, since im probably going to buy that motherboard, and have PCI-Expressx16 (YAY.) i feel i got alot more choices now...

um.. im not sure either.. like i said before im not so pro at these stuff.. something that could play CS:S maxd out with good frame rate, and could handle ... battlefield2? COD:4 those are the main games im really going to play..

um.. im not sure either.. like i said before im not so pro at these stuff.. something that could play CS:S maxd out with good frame rate, and could handle ... battlefield2? COD:4 those are the main games im really going to play.. jinglyjinglez

Or to make it more easy, download CPU-Z and check what kind of RAM and processor you have.

there i hope it helps, my MS Paint skills :) Enjoy!

http://i37.tinypic.com/am9zea.jpg

http://i33.tinypic.com/9un4mu.jpg

Uhh, wow. There's something you don't see every day. That really shouldn't work, but you're apparently hacking, or something.

So, yeah. You'll have to buy a new motherboard and memory in order to run a PCI-e card. Also on your shoping list would be a new power supply. Seeing as how this is a pretty big upgrade, could you add an extra $50 to your budget?

My comp is hacking? O_O i have no idea, i got this computer like a year ago i think, from a friend for $400?

o and i need another power supply? how come? and yea, i could add another 50, my budget is 250 about?

Well, you could get a 9600GT for $105, Gigabyte 945GCM-S2C for $50 and 2GB of DDR2 667 RAM for $45, for a grand total of ~$200.

I doubt you'll need a PSU.

9600GT good in games nowdays? how would it perform on CS:S :-D ?

the 9600GT looks kinda funky, copper heatsink, would it cool it efficiently? x.x

i think ill get all those, if theres a better video card.. dont mind throwing it at me :-D

pciexpress16, yay :3, what PSU?

You'll be able to run CS:S and BF2 at the highest settings, with up to 8xAA and 16xAF @ 1440x900 without getting under 60 frames-per-second. COD4 will run at medium-high settings @1440x900 with 2xAA, or something similar.

For about $50 more, you could get a 8800GT, which will perform slightly better, but for around $75* more,you'll be able to get a Radeon HD4850, which surpasses both the 8800GT and the 9600GT by a long margin.

*The 9600GT I linked to costs $105. HD4850's go for about $180, but offer about 50% perfomance increase.

Grab a 550w PSU. Browse Newegg. Rosewill's are great.

You need a power supply because you're getting a new video card.

I'm sorry, I'm a bit out of touch with motherboard prices. You're going to need closer to $300, but I'm going to make this as cheap an upgrade as possible.

Motherboard: Biostar TForce TP43D2A7 - $90

This motherboard is great for overclocking and supports PCI-e 2.0. Basically, you can make your processor faster and it has bandwidth to spare for future graphics upgrades.

RAM: A-DATA 2 x 1GB DDR2-800 - $40

Cheap memory that should take you a decent ways if you decide to overclock.

Power Supply: Antec Basiq 500W - $40

A really cheap power supply made by a reputable manufacter. It will run all but the most power-hungry cards (all of which are outside your budget).

Video Card: PNY 8800GT 512MB + Frontlines: Fuel of War - $120

A great video card which is honestly overkill for BF2 and CoD4, but it will last you a couple years at least before upgrading. It also comes with Frontlines, which I think is a decent game.

TOTAL = $299 after shipping

yoscars RAM looks alot better for the price also (mail in rebate) ends up only around 20 bucks!jinglyjinglez

That's debatable, but it doesn't really matter.

The HD 4850 is the better card. In fact, I just sold my 8800GT to get the money for one, but my situation is a bit different. I play my games at 3840x1024 (across three monitors), so the performance difference will be a lot more noticable for me. If you're going to get one, you might want to get it from NCIXUS.com. The VisionTek card (lifetime warranty) comes with a free copy of GRID for $180, and with shipping the card turns out to be around $200. There's a $20 rebate on it, so I guess that covers shipping if it goes through.

EDIT: If you want the free copy of GRID from NCIXUS.com, you have to add it to your order on the page that follows adding the HD 4850 to your cart.

what is grid?

edit: nvm! i found out! racing game :3.

If i buy the VisionTek on newegg link-> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129112

would i get that lifetime warranty?

and im getting the HD4850 video card, should i get a more powerful PSU?

The cards are the same, only NCIXUS bundles GRID with it. I figure it's worth is for a $5 difference for a $40 game, but I know I'll play the hell out of it. If you aren't going to (or don't know anyone that would), I guess you might aswell buy from Newegg.

That power supply would be just fine for it, but the fans are bad (noisy) on a lot of units, so I'd get this one instead. It's a great power supply and it has modular cables, meaning you only connect the cables you need (and don't have a giant bundle of them in your case). Keep in mind that that's $30-off right now and I don't know how long it will last, so I would order it today.

Kodex, really wouldn't go with a Biostar motherboard. I've used one before (though it wasn't a "gaming" one, but a really simple one), and I've had some problems with it. Also, I've read different forums and they're not good for OC'ing, and are regular for everything else.

As for the 8800GT, that $120 deal is perfect. If you don't have the extra $60 to spare (for the 4850), go with the 8800GT.

So alright, this is gonna be my specs.

my processor i have now dualcore,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138122

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129112

That's crap compared to what you're going to have.

You won't have to buy a new copy of XP, but you're going to have to reactivate. That involves calling Microsoft and telling them that Windows is still installed on the same computer and you're not pirate.

EDIT: On Biostar boards, I've only heard good things about the TForce series. They are meant for overclocking and they do a good job at it. There are a few reviews on Newegg stating otherwise, but there are lemons with any product (not to mention that it's not necessarily the 'board's fault)

It's not a bad computer by any means. You could buy that, take out the CPU and insert a Q6600 and it'll work perfectly fine. I'm pretty sure that it has DDR2 667 RAM, but you're not going to notice a difference. Also, you'd have to add a graphics card.

As for the OS, sometimes Dell don't give you a disc, and you have to create a "recovery" one using whatever software they give you. I do not know if those can be reactivated.