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Geek Culture / Upgrading Graphics Card. Tips?

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Mason
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 17:01 Edited at: 31st Jan 2005 02:40
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I have 2 computers, one which is really good and one which is old and crappy. My friend comes over and we try to code in Dark Basic Pro, but its to slow. It's specs are currently:

256 mb ram
660 mhz processor
windows 2000
3.5 mb graphics card (Oh my god lord help us)
[/b]

I know there was a thread earlier about this, but I need to know if it would be compatible and what not if I throw a geforce 5200 fx 128 mb graphics card in. I like geforce the most and I was also wondering if it is compatible, where do I get the best deal on it. A funny question, but serious, should I try ebay?(lol)

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Dom
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 18:21
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Ummm It would help if you maybe gave us some info on your Mobo. But if it has an 8x or even a 4x APG slot it should be fine.


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Mason
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 18:58
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I don't know what a mobo is... How do I know what kind I have? Do I actually have to open up the computer up and check, or is there something I can run to see what mobo I have.

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Teh Go0rfmeister
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 19:25
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mobo=motherboard.

you probably wil have to open up your pc, but it sounds like it could be very ancient so the brand probably doesnt exist any more.

i'd think about upgrading the rest of your pc as well as the graphics card.

CPU: Get an AMD. theres not really much point in getting a 64-bit cpu.

Motherboard: Make sure it fits your CPU. If you want to prepare for the future you should get one with pci-express.

RAM: DDR400 is good.

PSU: 450watts or more

GRAPHICS CARD: oooooooooh where shall i start...

You can either go for ATI or nvidea. in theory nvidea are the better choice since they're more up to date with technology, the latest cards now have the option for SLI (linking 2 cards together to get dual graphics processing power, though this is expensive) and suppoort pixel shader 3.

the latest ATI cards dont have SLI and only use px shader 2.

but in reality, there's very little performance difference between the 2 brands, and it mostly depends on what games u wanna play.

HL2=ATI, Doom3=nvidea

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Dom
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 19:48
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Also ATI have the Omega Drivers. Which are better than the ATI ones. I'm getting an Sapphire Radeon 9800se


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Mason
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 19:55
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I really don't want to spend a whole lot of money on this computer. It is a secondary computer for people that come over. Do I have to get all this stuff just to get a better graphics card. And how can I tell if it is mobo 4x or 8x? So I look at my mother board and then what?

By the way this computer can already play games like Dungeon Siege, Mu online, and other decent graphic games. So it can't be so horrible that it needs a whole new setup. All I really want it to do is run my games faster and be compatible with Dark Basic Pro. So with that in mind, can you recommend me anything. (please help me find out if my mother board supports a 128 meg graphics card)

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Dom
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 19:58
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Well the APG slot is on its own (Theres only 1 of them) and they tend to be either yello or Brown! Or at least a different colour to the other slots


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Mason
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 20:03
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Ok, So I open up my computer. Then Check the cpu for either a brown or yellow slot. Now how can I tell if it's a 4x or 8x or what not?

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Dom
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 20:33
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No check the motherboard NOT the CPU. As for telling apart 4x and 8x I'll look into it.


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Dom
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Posted: 30th Jan 2005 20:44
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OK here we go...



First goto 'Control Panel' Then Click on 'System' Then click on the 'Device Manager' tab then double click on 'System Devices' It should list all the things installed on you Motherboard. I don't have an APG slot (Intergrated graphics) so i don'y know wether it works or not but it does say I've got a PCI Slot.

OR...

Go to your BIOS and make your way to Graphics. It should tell you there.


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Mason
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 02:19
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Well I did find something that said PCI Bus. Is that it?

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Dom
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 02:28
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No


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Mason
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 02:32
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Well I checked the control panel spot, found the system, but there wasn't any thing about PCI or APG slot. Well do you think this is compatible

Platform: PC
Type of Video Card: 2D/3D Video w/TV Support
Slot Type: PCI
Chipset Brand: ATI
Chipset: RADEON 9200 SE
Installed Video Memory: 128 MB
Memory Technology: DDR-SDRAM
RAMDAC Speed: 400 MHz
Max Resolution: 2048 x 1536
Refresh Rate at Max Resolution: 85 Hz
Port Connectors: VGA
RCA
S-Video

System Requirements: Intel® Pentium® 4/III/II/Celeron™, AMD® K6/Duron™/Athlon®/Athlon XP® or compatible.
64MB of system memory
Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
DVD playback requires DVD drive

Thats the card I've found that seems most compatible and of a decent brand. Now If I can figure out if its supported on my mobo. By the way, this computer isn't too ancient like you guys are thinking. I bought it in 2000, so shouldn't have at least one of those?

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Preston C
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 02:37
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Quote: "256 mb ram
660 ghz processor
windows 2000
3.5 mb graphics card (Oh my god lord help us)"


Mate, if your computer is 660 Ghz fast, you shouldn't need a graphics card. Software rendering should be good enough

Intel Celeron 1.3 Ghrz | 512 MB Ram | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB
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Mason
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 02:39
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Ummm, oops lol. I meant 660 mhz. Come on, you know what I meant

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Dom
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 02:57
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if you can run a Radeon 9200 then you can run any other APG card


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Mason
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 03:13
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Well I'm Going to Comp USA to buy it now. I'll attempt to install it and see if it works. I'll let you know when I'm done. Thanks for the help so far (I'm obviously not hardware literate)

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Mason
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:08
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Now im starting to get frusterated! I have the card, but I can't find the slot. The computer is open right now. There are four white slots that I can see, and thats it (I can't find the brown one)... I hate computers

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DBAlex
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:10 Edited at: 31st Jan 2005 05:11
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http://www.buildyourown.org.uk

I just built my own PC, good tutorials there.


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ionstream
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:16 Edited at: 31st Jan 2005 05:17
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If you only see 4 white slots, my friend, then you don't have an AGP slot. You cannot install your card, or any new card. Get a new motherboard, and someone to install it for you.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-123-227&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-138-227&depa=1

EDIT: And DBAlex, scale down that huge sig image.

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DBAlex
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:19
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ionstream, ok.

and...was i playing you at HL2 earlier?

i was named alex or something...or I could have been frank (my freind named us that for a laugh...)

???

There was definetly a player called ionstream...


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DBAlex
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:22
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Ive scaled it down now.




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ionstream
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:23
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Yay, thanks .

I mean .

No, I don't have HL2... someone must have STOLED my name....

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DBAlex
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:24
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your joking?

i was sure it was you.


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Preston C
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:33 Edited at: 31st Jan 2005 05:37
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Well, if you don't want to upgrade your Mobo, why don't you get a PCI 5200 or 5700LE if you're stuck with PCI?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-140-041&depa=1 - GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB (More powerful of the two, of course)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-108-129&depa=1 - GeForce FX 5200 128MB

[Edit] But if I were you, I'd save up and get a new computer. Your computer isn't even highway worthy if all it has is a 660 (P3 I'm guessing?) Mhz processor and 256MB of RAM. You could get much better for cheap too.

Intel Celeron 1.3 Ghrz | 512 MB Ram | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB
MSVC++ .Net 2003 | Wings3D | CharacterFX | Gimp v2.0
Prayne de crabug ahm rinedere be-yogt iglo kes gron
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Mason
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 05:48
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Well I don't have an agp slot for sure. Preston, those are good suggestions for graphics card, but I think I'm going to get a Predator Geforce 4000 +. It has PCI and AGP support (not sure how that works out though) and it has a 128 mb video card. Is this a smart decision? I also like the price, $80. I believe I can just trade in my radeon 9200 for the predator since they are both the same price.

DBAlex, weee tutorials! I will check them out right after I get my new graphics card. I'm leaving right now

¤§Mason§¤

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Preston C
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 06:05 Edited at: 31st Jan 2005 06:08
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...

You're willing to get something that (by the reviews I saw) can barely play UT2k3 at 20FPS...when you can get something for $9 more (5700LE) that kicks the MX4000 out of the water ten times over?

I'm sorry, but thats the dumbest thing I've heard today, and I've heard some pretty dumb things today.

[Edit] I mean, c'mon. I have an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 PCI, and it plays Star Wars: Battlefronts, maximum settings, at amazing frame rates. It can even play Doom 3 at low settings at a constant 20FPS. The 5700LE is quite stronger than the 5200 too. So if you choose the MX4000 (which sucks, horribly), you're making a big mistake.

Intel Celeron 1.3 Ghrz | 512 MB Ram | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB
MSVC++ .Net 2003 | Wings3D | CharacterFX | Gimp v2.0
Prayne de crabug ahm rinedere be-yogt iglo kes gron
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Mason
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 07:44
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Preston, I can buy whatever video card I want for the price that I can afford. I own a 5200 Geforce Fx as well, I'm not completely stupid about graphics cards. I'm not gunna go and spend money on my secondary computer. What you don't get is that I don't use this computer half as much as I use my real computer. I bought a Radeon 9250 Predator PCI and it works great, was easy to install. Preston, you need to chill out and worry about other things, like fixing your site

All of you guys that helped me, I appreciate it. Thanks

¤§Mason§¤

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BenDstraw
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 07:50
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On top of that is he really going to be concered with playing Doom 3 on 660 MHZ computer!

¤§Ben§¤
So your broke, no change. download from Black Lab its FREE*
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Preston C
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Posted: 31st Jan 2005 08:16 Edited at: 31st Jan 2005 08:18
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Quote: "What you don't get is that I don't use this computer half as much as I use my real computer."


Hope you like using early versions of DBP. The 9250 doesn't support anything higher than DirectX 8.1. The GeForce 5700LE I suggested supports DirectX 9 easily. DBP uses DirectX 9 now.

Quote: "Preston, you need to chill out and worry about other things, like fixing your site"


Yeah, my website sucks doesn't it

I'm no website designer at all, though if you're referring to that blog thing, it's fixed now.

But yeah, I personally think you made a mistake with the card. Of course you won't be using it to run Doom3 or anything, but now you're limited to older, buggier versions of DBP that are stuck with DirectX 8.1 (not to mention there have been many problems with ATI cards and DBP).

Intel Celeron 1.3 Ghrz | 512 MB Ram | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB
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