Buying a new graphics card - (read first post)

Passive cooling... up to some $167

E4500, P35-DS3, 2GB, Fortron 400 w

😁

Kyle Sanchez4 said:Passive cooling... maybe up to $167

E4500, P35-DS3, 2GB, Fortron 400 w

😁

Look, I already told ya... 3650.

Can I get a link? I can't seem to find the passive one...

You can find the exact same thing at Protis, $0.67 though it’ll cost you a bit more.

Just read a review... with active cooling, temps hit 80 degrees under load..

Something’s definitely off here, or maybe it’s just how the Radeon 7500 handles things. 😁

I mean, the 3650 really should be running cooler than the 2600... but my 2600pro uses some kind of weird passive stock heatsink. When I let the fan die, it gets hot enough to feel, but once I kick that 80mm fan up to 5V, it’s cool as ice.

I’m leaning more towards the HD 4530. It looks interesting... plus, I'd still have enough left over to pick up another hard drive.

I’m currently running an ASUS nForce2 A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard paired with an AMD 2500 Barton processor. I’ve been weighing the possibility of giving this rig a bit of a lifeline—specifically by upgrading to 2GB of PC3200 RAM and hunting down a more capable graphics card, since my current one finally gave up the ghost thanks to my own lack of caution.
Well, now I find myself facing a bit of a dilemma.
So, I’m weighing my options here: should I actually pull the trigger on this?
1) GeForce 7600GT AGP 256MB (though, to be perfectly honest, I don't have any other specifics on that particular card).

I'm not entirely sure what you're aiming for with such a brief prompt, but if you're looking for me to dive into a specific topic or expand on a thought, I'm ready when you are. Just give me the details, and I'll get to work.

2) GeCube X800 Pro 256 MB DDR3 Vivo AGP

Does anyone have any suggestions here? I’m looking at two different options that are priced identically, and I can't quite decide which one is the better move. Which way should I go?

Both were previously used for... $100.

Hey guys, quick question for you all. I’m currently rocking a GeForce 7600 GT, but I’m thinking about swapping it out for a Sapphire HD 2600 xt. Is that actually a worthwhile upgrade? Thanks in advance!

Better for an HD3650... is that PCIe card of yours

I have a question... could someone please offer a bit of advice?
Motherboard Model: Gigabyte GA-7S748 (Features 5 PCI slots, 1 AGP slot, 3 DDR DIMM slots, and integrated Audio)
Processor: AMD Athlon XP, clocked at 1917 MHz (11.5 x 167) 2600+
Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X (Microsoft Corporation) (64 MB)
512 MB of RAM? Honestly, where does it all end? Is this some kind of joke? Can you even call that "memory" anymore, or is it just a collection of empty promises? It feels like we're trying to run a marathon while breathing through a cocktail straw. How is anyone expected to get anything done with such a meager amount? One single browser tab and the whole system starts gasping for air. It’s practically prehistoric.
I simply cannot seem to get these modern games to run. It’s quite frustrating, really. Does anyone have any decent advice on what I should upgrade to stay within a reasonable budget? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

You're really not gonna mess around with that, are you?
How much cash are we talking about here?

Won't even be able to play anything. You can't run any new stuff on this thing. Better start saving up for a new rig 😉

But what if, say, it actually has $333?
Do you think a rig like that can actually handle some gaming?

So, what are we looking at here? Is it even possible to pick up a motherboard and a processor with that amount?
But honestly, even then, it doesn't really get us anywhere, does it? 😛
He’s realistically going to need somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $2,500.

If you’ve got a grand to spend, just grab this from the admin shop and you'll have a much better rig:



And if you can stretch your budget by another $67, you might even be able to squeeze in a dual-core processor... 😉

Hey guys...

So, I need to replace a dead X800 128MB DDR2 card (it was one of those Gigabyte GA-7S748 builds with a silent-pipe setup that basically forced me to slap two 80mm fans on it just to keep it from melting 🤮). My current rig is running an AMD Athlon 64 3000 "Venice," 2x512MB DDR400, an nForce4 board, a Fortron 350W PNF, and a 17" LCD. Here’s what I'm looking at right now:
PEAK x1950GT 256MB for $166
Powercolor 2600XT 256MB DDR3 for $185
Powercolor 3650 512MB DDR3 for $166
Powercolor 4650 512MB DDR2 for $168
Powercolor 4550 512MB DDR3 for $148

Any thoughts? What order should I be picking these in?

x1950gt / hd4650
hd4550 / 2600xt / hd3650

Roughly... the hd 4650 is decent enough, though I haven't come across a comparison against older cards like the x1950gt

So, I have a rig that serves my photo editing needs—but since I occasionally feel the urge to game, I find myself in need of a dedicated graphics card. To put it bluntly, I just installed the new Need for Speed Undercover, and it’s struggling to even render a decent image on my screen.
Reviewing the initial posts, I can provide the following details:

Motherboard: ASRock ALIVENF7G-HDREADY
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 x2 5200 +
From what I can gather regarding connectivity:
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot
- 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
- 2 x PCI slots
Regarding the package: Socket AM2 (940)
Clock speed is listed at 2700 MHz
I have 4 gigs of RAM—two 2GB DDR2 modules.

I don't have a discrete GPU yet; I'm currently relying on some integrated junk on the motherboard that performs as if it isn't even there.
I am using a Samsung 959 NF CRT monitor set to 1280x960 at 100 Hz.
The motherboard came with a converter to bridge the monitor to a DVI output, so that shouldn't be an issue.
The power supply is 550 Watts, and I am aiming to drop roughly $267 200 bucks or so on the card.

The question remains: which graphics card should I get?
Thanks for the help.😁

Gregory Richardson62 said:Basically, I have a rig used for photo editing, but since I occasionally feel the urge to game, I need a graphics card. To put it bluntly, I just installed the new Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and it's barely even rendering on my monitor.
After reviewing those first few posts, I can report the following:

Motherboard: ASRock ALIVENF7G-HDREADY
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo
From what I've gathered regarding connectivity:
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot
- 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
- 2 x PCI slots
Regarding the Package: Socket AM2 (940)
Core speed is listed at 2700 MHz
I have 4 gigs of RAM, consisting of two 2GB DDR2 modules.

I don't have a dedicated GPU yet; I'm running some integrated trash on the motherboard that performs like it isn't even there.
I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S series CRT monitor at 1280 by 960 pixels, at 100 Hz.
The motherboard came with an adapter to connect the monitor to the DVI output, so that shouldn't be an issue.
The power supply is 550 Watts, and I'm planning to drop about $267 200 bucks or something on the card.

The question is: which graphics card?
Thanks for the help 😁

This is currently the best buy for that amount of money. While it isn't incredibly fast, it performs quite decently (and then some) at that resolution.