Can I upgrade my Graphics Card?

[SoloCamo]

Well even if you would slap in the best of the best agp card out(which happens to be a x1950pro by Ati.) you won't be getting the full potential of the card. I'm not one to spout bottlenecks, but with a 2ghz p4, your best bet for a videocard is at the highest a x850xt/6800gt.

However, even an old card like the 9800pro(and if you want newer features for newer games, go with a 6600gt by nvidia) would be a HUGE improvement over what you are using now.

[SoloCamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilRick

Okay, I see what you're saying. The 8X cards will run relatively close to their 8X specs in 4X mode. The bandwidth will be lower, but the performance will still be close.

It's been a while since I really looked at video cards. I have a 9600 AIW and Ti4600, so that should tell you something there.

Ha, I was using my Ti4200 128mb forever...I eventually was forced to upgrade when games I wanted to play didn't even support it

[him61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music layer

and I thought today that I would have to go for one of those old PCI cards, for old computers.

Music to my ears...

So best card for me to get would be would be....? I would like to play all the new games, like Command and Conquer 3, Supreme Commander, Spore when it comes out, etc...

Well, this could be a problem... For C&C3 and SupCom, your computer will barely makes minimum reqs, so you will have to tone down the quality quite a bit... Spore you should be able to play on medium settings though...

[pullmyfoot]

spore.. not likely, you need a much better system overral to play it, not to mention a direct x 10 card which costs a minumum of US$300. plus you need a PCIexpress slot. us go for the ATi 9700 Pro, and a good quality power supply that you can also transfer to a new build in the future if you do one.

[MegalosSkylaki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilRick

ATi 9700 Pro or GeForce 4 Ti4600 I would say.

Now, you could get an ATi 9800 XT or GeForce FX5950, but neither would run at their max speed. They'd only run at 4X AGP which I think would be a bit of a waste.

The Ti4600 was a DirectX 8 card. And I've been wondering all along if the rig would support DirectX9 ? DK.

Would it? If not, maybe keep the price under , say $100 or less, and save for an
more modern machine.

DOOOOG

[quickoldcar]

I suggest getting the 6600gt instead of the ATI's because the 6600gt has shader 3.0 and ATI does not for those lower cards.

New games need shader 3.0 or game won't even load for you.

And yes a better power supply like 400 watts, can find a good 550watt power supply for same costs pretty much, just look for higher amps on the 12 volt rails and buy a respectable brand name like enermax,fortron or antec(truepower)

Seeing that there is an agp and also a pci version of the 6600gt , the agp actually costs more and harder to find.

I'm gonna say go and get a 7600gs agp card .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130076

If looking for any performance in games more than that, a computer upgrade would be recommended with a newer technology motherboard with pci express video.

[him61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pullmyfoot

spore.. not likely, you need a much better system overral to play it, not to mention a direct x 10 card which costs a minumum of US$300. plus you need a PCIexpress slot. us go for the ATi 9700 Pro, and a good quality power supply that you can also transfer to a new build in the future if you do one.

The reqs arent even out yet, but most people think that Spore will run on pretty modest hardware. Here's the generally accepted guess:
OS: Windows 2000, XP, ME or Vista.
1 GHz processor or better.
512 MB of RAM or more.
64 MB 3D graphics card.
6 GB of hard drive space.
It will probably be higher though...

I'm trying to find a UK store where they stock AGP 4x/8x cards, but most of them just stock the 8x ONLY cards.

Ah, found a 6600GT that's 4x and 8x certified:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=150992

The processor will bottleneck everything higher... in fact, it may even bottleneck this.

That and any of the power supplies on my other list will make a good upgrade

[pullmyfoot]

yeah but hav you seen the videos? direct x 10 needed

[SoloCamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pullmyfoot

yeah but hav you seen the videos? direct x 10 needed

Where are you getting all this?

No developer (especially one with so much experience) is going to be stupid enough to require a DX10 card/system. Especially on a game like spore that is not graphically intensive.

[ruleofnike69]

An ATI 9800 Pro would be a great card for that system.

I have a similar unit that I am running an ATI AIW 9600XT in.......Its a nice card....they say it is a factory overclock and should outperform the 9800......I just use it for tv capture and light gaming in a home theatre set up........but the card really does a great job.

To the best of my recollection.......both of those cards are backward compatible to 4X