What should i buy to help my pc performance?

[basketkase543]

I've just gotten into pc gaming and realized my new pc isn't all its cracked up to be. It has 64mb video card, 2.6 ghz processor, and 512mb ddr ram and is still not running at a graphics level that i am happy with. I don't really know what to get that will help the situation. What should i buy first? more ram or a better card? Would it help if i bought another 512mb ddr ram? Or should i get a new card? What cards are adequate and moderately priced? Thanks in advance.

[SolinariDotCom]

Your RAM is fine.. you need a new video card. 64 MB is kind of old these days.

[LeviathynX]

check www.pricewatch.com for a good card price. i recommend an ATI 9800 Pro 256MB for around $250 I think. Depending on what game you are trying to run the 512 + the 256 embedded graphics memory should be good. If not add another stick. If you wanna get hella stupid wicked sick, add a 1 gig stick. It'll set you back a bit, but you're smoking CPU will thank you.

[DMFunk]

It's gonnna take more specs than just that to figure out whats holding your computer back, for all we know it could be set at some horrid refresh rate of dewm, either that or your trying to run some outrageous resoloution in the games your playing.

Overall more information as to the type of video card, ram, processor, etc. would be helpful.

Edit: yeah your thinking about the 128mb radeon 9800, the 256 one will run you at least $300+
reedit: mild typo before :P damn number keys being so close together...

[basketkase543]

It's gonnna take more specs than just that to figure out whats holding your computer back, for all we know it could be set at some horrid refresh rate of dewm, either that or your trying to run some outrageous resoloution in the games your playing.

Overall more information as to the type of video card, ram, processor, etc. would be helpful.

Fair enough, I'll tell you what i know of: Processor: Pentium 4 2.6ghz, Video card: Nvidia Geforce 4 MX 440 (64 MB).

I don't have more than $150 to spend on upgrades so i know it has to be pretty tame. Would a 128mb graphic card be worth it? What kind should i go for?

[DMFunk]

Yeah it sounds good, I was hoping you'd say Athlon XP or P4, and not like celeron or something. Anyways

http://www.tcwo.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_prodid=740308&sid=44oBmP0-K7LE6y4

that's a nice card that fits in your price range, keep you eyes open as i see if i can find a cheaper price, or a better card to fit in the range...

[basketkase543]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1064607240818&skuId=6035505&type=pr oduct
Is this the same one?

[basketkase543]

Hey LeviathynX, where does your avatar come from? I wish i knew squirrels like that.

[SolinariDotCom]

I have a GeForce FX 5200 128 DDR - it works good considering the price (70 USD months and months ago..).

I think they're like 50 now, and it serves me very well for what I need it for. These guys probably know more about it than I do, though.

[DMFunk]

I personally prefer ATI over nVidia cards, and also the SE is the worst of the 9600 series, the Pro being the second best and the XT being the best...
the one you showed me is the SE
The one in my link is the pro

Comparision chart... I love how they have all these:
http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9600/radeon9600pro/compare.html

Yeah and I did find quite a few on Pricewatch, you can look around there a bit, I truthfully just don't like dealing with pricewatch that much.

[basketkase543]

I personally prefer ATI over nVidia cards, and also the SE is the worst of the 9600 series, the Pro being the second best and the XT being the best...
the one you showed me is the SE
The one in my link is the pro

Comparision chat... I love how they have all these:
http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9600/radeon9600pro/compare.html

Yeah and I did find quite a few on Pricewatch, you can look around there a bit, I truthfully just don't like dealing with pricewatch that much.

gotcha, thanks for pointing that out. Is there a big difference between the one you suggested (9600 Radeon pro) and the one mentioned by SolinariDotCom (GeForce FX 5200 128) because the difference in price looks to be almost $100. Is it worth putting up the extra money for the ATI? Just to let you all know, as of now i want to be able to play Star Wars KOTR and have it run smoothly at a nice graphical level.

By the way, SolinariDotCom, what kind of comp do you have and what games do you play on it?

[SolinariDotCom]

KotOR runs -great- for me. That's actually why I went out and bought the card.

Running a 2.5 Pentium with 512 DDR and the card listed above. So, you may want to consider getting my card, or a ~100 dollar card if you want it to last a little longer. Not sure. I just know mine does KotOR fine.

[magilacudy]

Ouch. An MX is the ultimate cheapass video card. I'd go with a better video card first, then more memory. If possible try getting both, as they pretty much increase each other's performance sort of like an intake and exhaust upgrade on a car.

I'm out of the loop when it comes to video cards since I last upgraded last year, but I think NVidia and ATI just released some new flagship cards (or releasing within the next few months) so I'd recommend waiting a bit until the prices drop on the specific video card you want.

[basketkase543]

Ouch. An MX is the ultimate cheapass video card. I'd go with a better video card first, then more memory.

Sorry, but which one is the MX? I'm not too familiar with the cards. Did you mean FX? So would you recommend going for the ATI one?

[basketkase543]

Solanari, are either of these cards the one that you have?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051826238649&skuId=5430795&type=pr oduct

or

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051826238806&skuId=5431008&type=pr oduct

They are both around $100 so i wasn't sure if this was the one you mentioned earlier.

[SolinariDotCom]

That's either my card, or one very similar. Go in-store and look for rebates, or check their circulars or something. I know mine had a 20 dollar rebate.

[eatntae]

Like magilacudy said, you might want to wait a couple months. ATi just released the Radeon x800 Pro, and nVidia released the Geforce 6800. I'm not sure about the Geforce, but the x800 Pro $400 retail. I'm not saying get this card, but when these cards become readily available, the higher end cards from the previous generation may drop in price. The ATi Radeon 9800 Pro can be found at some online shops for a little more than $200 after rebates. The price drop may not be drastic, but hopefully it'll bring the price of the 9800 pro down to less than $200 w/o rebates.

Anyways, I really think you should try to wait and save your money. Doom 3 and Half Life 2 are coming out (hopefully soon), and they'll probably require powerful cards to run at a nice resolution. If you're into those kind of games, you might kick yourself later for not getting a better card.

[magilacudy]

The GF4 MX is basically the same as a GF2 in terms of processing power. It's primarily a budget card. While you can get by with current games with a GF4, the MX doesn't really qualify as one.

If you want to get decent frames for the price, you'll want to go midrange like eatntae (I hope you don't really do what your name says...hehe) says. If you wait a bit the high end cards will drop into the midrange.

Its best to put your money in at that point of the video card 'life' cycle rather at the end of it so you get the most bang for your buck.

[gamefreak117]

I, too recommend that you may also want to wait for a few months...

but if you are very IMPATIENT, then there is a hot 256 mb video card deal waiting for you:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-128-190&depa=1

could last you for a year or so of gaming decency.

[Kaijufan]

Any one have any idea how much the 9800 XT is going to drop after the X800 comes out?

[Admiral Ackbar]

Try to get a refurb ATI 9700 or 9800 128 for less than $150

[LeviathynX]

My avatar is a gopher, but he was adopted from www.avatarity.com. His little RPGs are so cute (I mean the ammunition, not the game genre). i would stay away from any ATI XT products. I have heard bad things about them. They go through your wallet at night, knock up your sister, cause graphical glitches, etc.

[schu]

I've just gotten into pc gaming and realized my new pc isn't all its cracked up to be. It has 64mb video card, 2.6 ghz processor, and 512mb ddr ram and is still not running at a graphics level that i am happy with. I don't really know what to get that will help the situation. What should i buy first? more ram or a better card? Would it help if i bought another 512mb ddr ram? Or should i get a new card? What cards are adequate and moderately priced? Thanks in advance.

get a 9600xt for 150

[CloKx]

Your current video card is DEFINITELY what is holding you down.

check www.pricewatch.com for a good card price. i recommend an ATI 9800 Pro 256MB for around $250 I think. Depending on what game you are trying to run the 512 + the 256 embedded graphics memory should be good. If not add another stick. If you wanna get hella stupid wicked sick, add a 1 gig stick. It'll set you back a bit, but you're smoking CPU will thank you.

Don't bother going for the 256MB ones. The cards really don't take advantage of it. The ones that do are the really high end ones, like the X800. If you're going for the R9800's go for the 128, BUT make sure to go for the 256-bit ones. The 128-bits are trash and the 256-bit is only 20 dollars more.

I suggest you go for the 9600XT's. They are very good and can handle any game out there right now, but don't expect to go all out on Anti-aliasing and Ansitropic Filtering.

Also, Newegg is one of the best places to buy PC Parts. Low prices and most of their stuff is 2-day Free shipping.

[Moxio]

I suggest you go for the 9600XT's. They are very good and can handle any game out there right now, but don't expect to go all out on Anti-aliasing and Ansitropic Filtering.

Also, Newegg is one of the best places to buy PC Parts. Low prices and most of their stuff is 2-day Free shipping.

He's right. If you can't shell out enough for the 9800XT, stock up on the 9600XT.

[hunter_d]

I'm running a 1.8 AMD Athlon 2700 processor, 512 ram, and a 128mb Geforce 5200 FX card. I have no trouble running KotOR at purty graphic levels.

I highly reccomend the Geforce 5200. It's cheap, but it can handle most any game coming out these days. If you insist on having ultimate maximum graphics, though, and don't mind a kidney punch to the wallet, get the ATI 9800.

[alongx]

i'd recommend getting only a 128mb graphics card, preferrably an ATI 9600/9800, though I'd wait for the X800 to come out first so the price would drop.

[basketkase543]

Ok, so i think i've decided that i don't really wanna wait because summer is coming up and i want to get my pc gaming on so what do you think of this card:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?CategoryID=cat01151&id=1077627695058&s kuId=6376227&type=product&ref=10&loc=01

Its not very expensive but i am not sure about the
quality. Or is GameFreak's suggestion the way to go?:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-128-190&depa=1

Which should i go for? What do you think?

[alongx]

I'd say go with the 5700 at newegg. Unless you want it to act as a tuner as well, then go with the 5500. Either way, I still think it's a waste to get a 256 MB card.

[Moxio]

If you must get one of the two, get NewEggs. A TV Tuner can be bought cheap separately.

[KaneRobot]

I'd get either a 9600XT or a 9800 Pro. Both have dropped in price recently and perform very well, with the 9800 Pro being a little more expensive (around 190-200 bucks if you find a deal).

[pinatamonkey]

Ok, have to make a MAJOR NOTICE here

Do NOT Buy a fx5200 to replace a geforce4 mx!!!

The 5200 has nearly the same performance as the mx series of cards, but with directx 9 hardware support (so you'll technically be able to -run- new games, just not at playable framerates).

As you see by this chart: http://www17.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-05.html, the fx5200 is -just- above the mx in performance (that is to say, also very near to the bottom)

[msdmoney]

Do NOT Buy a fx5200 to replace a geforce4 mx!!!
This needs repeating. If you are going cheap look for cheap radeon 9600's or 9600 pro's. They can be had for near $100, an fx5200 just doesn't cut it, try it on a game like far cry. If you want the best money can buy, get an X800 or geforce fx6800.

[basketkase543]

Okay, sorry people, but I am still torn. I think i figured out the ones i wanna go for but i still have some questions:

I originally was going for this GAINWARD nVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Video Card (256mb) for $142.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-128-190&depa=1

Then i found this nice looking BFG GeForce FX 5700 ULTRA Video Card (128MB) for $155. It's more expensive but it has great
reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-143-006&depa=0

Is the BFG one better even though it is 128mb while the other one is 256mb? Or do you guys still think i should go for the ATi 9600 xt? thanks for all your help by the way. You've all been helping alot.

[basketkase543]

Allright, i think i am leaning towards the 9600xt or 9800 Pro. Which manufacturer should i go for? Is it worth paying the extra money to get the 9800?