best PCI card?

iwantram3n · January 12th, 2008, 11:54 PM

ok, my computer is basically crap. it only has PCI slots but i was searching the web and i saw Geforce 5500. is that the best card out there for PCI? also, some cards said they're "low profile"...? are low profile cards compatible on any computer or is there some requirement? id appreciate it A LOT if you could help me out :P

KarmaKiller · January 13th, 2008, 12:12 AM

Hi there, welcome to TIMO!

The best performing PCI graphic card is the ATI x1550. Which is no power house by any means, but it should help improve some gameplay.
And for the most part low profile cards won't work in a standard ATX case. The mounting bracket is shorter on low profile cards.
The link above has one low profile card, and one standard card. You can see the difference in size.
Good luck, Hope I helped..

pullmyfoot · January 13th, 2008, 12:30 AM

what do you have now? if it isnt gonna be much difference then you shouldnt bother upgrading

iwantram3n · January 13th, 2008, 09:43 AM

thank you for your reply, it really helped me! my current card is intel 82865G; the card itself without the bracket included is 12 cm long and 6 1/2 cm wide. the bracket is 12 1/2 cm long. so the bracket is nearly twice as high as the card. would my card be low profile then?

pullmyfoot · January 13th, 2008, 11:38 AM

yes it would be low profile. a non low profile card is much bigger, ofter as tall as te bracket. try to get a cheap one on ebay or something. theres no use spending good money on a long obsolute card.

what do you plan on doing with the system anw. you could honestly get something that would blow away your current configuration for under $200 if you reused some of your old parts. its just too old to bother really

pullmyfoot · January 13th, 2008, 11:47 AM

CPU ($56) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103046
motherboard ($47) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128045
ram ($25) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145526
power supply ($30) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104901

that adds up to $160. can can then choose a case you like. you can also then either reuse your old hard drive and CD rom drive or get new ones, though getting new ones will definatly bring it over $200. im just tryin to keep costs as low as possible. even though its probally more than you were willing to spend, its alot more worth it than buying that old card. it will give you more space to expand in the future as well..

iwantram3n · January 13th, 2008, 09:32 PM

i dont hav enough money for a whole new motherboard and all so im planning on just getting a new graphics card. But since my current card is low profile does that mean my computer can only use low profile cards? oh, and my power supply is only 250 watts...is that enough for most PCI cards? sorry for so many questions but im desperate >.<

pullmyfoot · January 14th, 2008, 01:38 AM

yeah. its enough to stick in a fx5500. but really, the difference is going to be so little its will be hardly noticable. the best thing you can do is to bear with that now and jsut save up for a new system. its no use wasteing your money on this..

pullmyfoot · January 14th, 2008, 01:38 AM

double post

iwantram3n · January 14th, 2008, 09:50 PM

im just gona get the evga geforce 6200 256MB card since i can't wait to save up enuf money for a whole new system lol. but i'm not sure if it'll work on my computer...i hav an intel dimension 3000 with a 250 watt power supply. oh and my current card (intel 82865G) is "integrated." does integrated mean it can't be changed? sorry, my computer vocab is horrible xD oh, and one last question, what does "vga" and "dvi" mean? my monitor is "plug and play" but the card says it's only dvi or vga. reply asap, thanks!