Hello all, I am in the market for a mid range Video card that could possibly run AoC (i dont necessarily need to play it in the best res). I am currently low on money due to school books and some other expenses so i cant really dish out money for a top of the line card. Before any suggestions heres what im currently running (mind you its not the best or anywhere near it but it does run Oblivion):

Windows Media Center 2005 PC

Pentium IV 3.0 ghz HT

2g Ram

radeon x300 express

Those should be the most relevant specs.

What i am looking for is a card under 200 dollars ATI/Nvidia (plz suggest one of each i dont really go for the idea that one brand is the best period)

I wont be able to buy a better PC untill well into next year so for now this is the best i can do, so plz give me any suggestions which could help me out TY.

all your card needs is 500 mb ram intigrated too it

Originally posted by balle68

all your card needs is 500 mb ram intigrated too it

Sry im not to savy in the art of PC specs so can you please clarify what you mean?

 Well your current card has ether 64mb, 128mb or 256mb of video ram. It's similar to PC ram but it's reserved only for graphics. With a 256mb ram car you meet minimum spec but the game wont be great. You have plenty of PC ram but your processor is right at the minimum too. So a graphics card upgrade will probably benefit you a lot.

 As for ATI or NVidia it's preference. They are pretty close competitors.

 Your card also has to have Pixel Shader 3 support. you don't need to know what it is, you only need to know you have it. I'd suggest getting some thing with Pixel Shader 4 since it does exist and if you want the card to stay current for a while.

 I'd suggest going for around $200 or better, since your going mid range. Also getting a card produced by Nvidia or ATI would be good. some generic manufacturers that only use their chip sets can have problems.

 Here is an example of some cards.

www.shopzilla.com/7S--Graphics_Cards_-_cat_id--405__keyword--512%20megabytes%20graphics

Thx for the advice felix, I appreciate it. Any specific card you would recomend or is 512 memory really the main priority?

 Oh and in that link, be careful not to get an AGP card. AGP is 8X while PCI-express is 16X. You will pay for less performance with AGP.

Originally posted by Rehmes

Thx for the advice felix, I appreciate it. Any specific card you would recomend or is 512 memory really the main priority?

 I persoanly want a Radeon X1900 from ATI. Not sure what the current price is, the one I'm looking at comes with the system. Kind of a power hog though. Or you could get the slightly cheaper Nividia Radeon 7950.

Thats actually great cuz my friend just got a HD2900 to replace his 1900, i may as well buy it off him. Thx for the quick reply btw.

EDIT: I think the 1950XT is only 256mb but should be considerably faster than the 1900, would that make any diff?

 I'd suggest getting 512 mb of ram. You can get the X1950 in 512 mb vesion as well and at a good price. but if you get a deal from your friend I'd say take the 1900.

www.nextag.com/Radeon-X1950-Pro-512MB-534935782/prices-html

Originally posted by Rehmes

Hello all, I am in the market for a mid range Video card that could possibly run AoC (i dont necessarily need to play it in the best res). I am currently low on money due to school books and some other expenses so i cant really dish out money for a top of the line card. Before any suggestions heres what im currently running (mind you its not the best or anywhere near it but it does run Oblivion):

Windows Media Center 2005 PC

Pentium IV 3.0 ghz HT

2g Ram

radeon x300 express

Those should be the most relevant specs.

What i am looking for is a card under 200 dollars ATI/Nvidia (plz suggest one of each i dont really go for the idea that one brand is the best period)

I wont be able to buy a better PC untill well into next year so for now this is the best i can do, so plz give me any suggestions which could help me out TY.

By any chance is your PC a Dell?

Originally posted by Rehmes

I wont be able to buy a better PC untill well into next year so for now this is the best i can do, so plz give me any suggestions which could help me out TY.

Seriously - wait until next year.  With your CPU, and assuming you have an OEM machine (Dell, HP, etc) because you have XP Media Center, you would be better off saving up until Jan or Feb of next year and getting a new PC with a better GPU than you could get now.  And build that one - gaming on OEM machines is like racing with a factory car - it just isn't what they are meant for.  Spending even $200 on a mid range GPU is just a waste if your ultimate goal is DX10 generation games becuase your even if you get an adequate card for that money (and you can get just about an adequate one) your CPU and other components will be trailing the DX10 game generation pretty hard.

Originally posted by AgtSmith

 

Originally posted by Rehmes

I wont be able to buy a better PC untill well into next year so for now this is the best i can do, so plz give me any suggestions which could help me out TY.

 

Seriously - wait until next year.  With your CPU, and assuming you have an OEM machine (Dell, HP, etc) because you have XP Media Center, you would be better off saving up until Jan or Feb of next year and getting a new PC with a better GPU than you could get now.  And build that one - gaming on OEM machines is like racing with a factory car - it just isn't what they are meant for.  Spending even $200 on a mid range GPU is just a waste if your ultimate goal is DX10 generation games becuase your even if you get an adequate card for that money (and you can get just about an adequate one) your CPU and other components will be trailing the DX10 game generation pretty hard.

I know what you mean, and i can agree with that but how can i play AoC with a x300 card? I mean, itl be months between the AoC release and the time i can afford to get a PC built for me.

Originally posted by AmazingAvery

 

Originally posted by Rehmes

Hello all, I am in the market for a mid range Video card that could possibly run AoC (i dont necessarily need to play it in the best res). I am currently low on money due to school books and some other expenses so i cant really dish out money for a top of the line card. Before any suggestions heres what im currently running (mind you its not the best or anywhere near it but it does run Oblivion):

Windows Media Center 2005 PC

Pentium IV 3.0 ghz HT

2g Ram

radeon x300 express

Those should be the most relevant specs.

What i am looking for is a card under 200 dollars ATI/Nvidia (plz suggest one of each i dont really go for the idea that one brand is the best period)

I wont be able to buy a better PC untill well into next year so for now this is the best i can do, so plz give me any suggestions which could help me out TY.

 

By any chance is your PC a Dell?

Gateway 820GM

Originally posted by Rehmes

 

Originally posted by AgtSmith

 

Originally posted by Rehmes

I wont be able to buy a better PC untill well into next year so for now this is the best i can do, so plz give me any suggestions which could help me out TY.

 

Seriously - wait until next year.  With your CPU, and assuming you have an OEM machine (Dell, HP, etc) because you have XP Media Center, you would be better off saving up until Jan or Feb of next year and getting a new PC with a better GPU than you could get now.  And build that one - gaming on OEM machines is like racing with a factory car - it just isn't what they are meant for.  Spending even $200 on a mid range GPU is just a waste if your ultimate goal is DX10 generation games becuase your even if you get an adequate card for that money (and you can get just about an adequate one) your CPU and other components will be trailing the DX10 game generation pretty hard.

 

I know what you mean, and i can agree with that but how can i play AoC with a x300 card? I mean, itl be months between the AoC release and the time i can afford to get a PC built for me.

 Yeah the thing is the ATI card line your looking at is all Crossfire enabled. There is no reason for you to not get a better card because you can use it in your next system. If you get a computer with an ATI motherboard or a 975 series Intel mother board you can plug in a few wires and you are running Crossfire. No messing with BIOS, no software changes and no compatibility issues.

 I agree that off the shelf computers and PC's like Dell and Gateway wont be the best for the game because they put every part not listed as the worst generic possible. Thats why they never tell you what mother board your getting, but you don't need a $5000 PC to run this game in top settings and maximize DX10. Thats Epeen talking. You can get a good system for $1500 and run every thing on high. You can get SLI configurations from a lot of companies and your local PC store can set you up with crossfire for about the same price. Ibuypower.com has good SLI NVidia systems for cheap.

I suggest getting the X1950. Then when you can afford a new PC you can get one crossfire ready from a local dealer or Fry's. Pop in your old card, plug a few wires and you have ATI's version of SLI running with no issues. You won't notice a difference from some one running a huge expencive system.

Originally posted by felix77 

I suggest getting the X1950. Then when you can afford a new PC you can get one crossfire ready from a local dealer or Fry's. Pop in your old card, plug a few wires and you have ATI's version of SLI running with no issues. You won't notice a difference from some one running a huge expensive system.

I don't see an x1950 really being good for much of anything when the value of it is considered.  Sure, compared to an x300 it is better as it will let him run last years games just fine - but it really doesn't put him in a position for the 'next' games that is worth spending a couple hundred dollars to get to - that position being that it will run albeit with settings turned way down.  I mean better to go a couple months without and get to the point where you can run next generation games well then to spend a couple hundred bucks just to get them to run poorly or maybe just OK.

Originally posted by felix77 

There is no reason for you to not get a better card because you can use it in your next system.

Unless his rig now has a PCIe x16 slot any card he would get today would lock him into a bus technology two generations old severely limiting his choices as far as getting a new motherboard (when new PC time comes) that could take that card and do dual configuration not to mention the other components and features of such a motherboard.

Originally posted by Rehmes

 

I know what you mean, and i can agree with that but how can i play AoC with a x300 card? I mean, itl be months between the AoC release and the time i can afford to get a PC built for me.

It is a question of making the most of the few dollars you have to spend.  Adding a 4200 GPU to your current rig is going to yield you only moderate improvement for future games.  Best bet is to save that $300 and use it to get something extra better in a few months.  Now, that being said - if you can get a card now that can be used for the new PC (if your current rig supports x16 slots) then go ahead and get a 7600 or maybe ATIs variant.  Then you use it in the new rig and now money is wasted, and you can possibly add a second card to give you a boost. 

But, spending money now for an only moderately capable GPU (in terms of these future titles) and one that isn't PCIe (the clear gaming configuration for the future, heck - PCIe 2 is coming soon) not to mention one that isn't even DX10 capable is just a waste.

If you need help, I am a MS system builder and partner and I can help you get a rig together.  Send me a PM or email and we can work out what rig you can get or other such options, I would even be happy to you pick all the parts and get it built.

FYI - I checked his current PC specs as I noticed he posted a model number - as I thought it is a terribly checp board with limited expansion capabilities but it does have a x16 slot according to this (allthough the pic shows differently than the specs do).  SO, he could get an x16 card now that could be used in a new rig down the road - but I seriously doubt that Gateway is going to be able to handle a full on DX10 game without severe adjustments to the game settings.  Nevertheless, I will modify what I have said before and suggest he look at getting an NVIDIA 8600, or saving an extra few and getting an 8800 GTS as that will be a good start and paired ith another in a few months when you buidl a new PC it iwll be a good gaming rig.

NVIDIA choices ($100 to $200 range)

NVIDIA choices ($200 to $300, better bang for the buck really)

ATI choices (not really going to work for yoru budget as thier value is on the higher end)

If your system doesn't support PCI-E then definitely stop putting money in to it. He has a point, you can get a 2900 or equivalent later on and get better fine detail then an older SLI config. Also these higher end lines support shader model 4.0. If your planning on having the system 3 years later you will need it to play the games coming out.

All though all most all 2.7g+ P4 systems support PCI-E 16X.

Let me just add a short bit to my last post on this, just do NOT buy anything in terms of a GPU that is not an NVIDIA 8 series or ATI 2900 series - anything else will leave you out of the DX10 generation which starts this fall in earnest.  Additionally, I would prefer to see you with no lower, for gaming that is, than either an 8600 or 2600 so long as they have at least or more than 256M memory on board - anything lower in the line is not going to cut it.  I cannot emphasize enough how much better a card you get if your price goes up from $200 range to $250 to $299 range - example is this card, great value and $259 after rebate.

Best value is probably the 2900 as you can do two of those for the price of one 8800 Ultra but if you are doing one now and another later then the best value for the buck might just be the 8800 GTS, or to save a few more the 8600.  I would stay away from anything in ATIs 29xx series other than their top end as the performance per value drops off quite a bit.

So, all that being said - best bet is to wait, I don't think your rig (GPU improvement notwithstanding) is really made for gaming.  However, if you do in fact have that x16 PCIe slot then consider strongly finding a way to up your budget and get an 8800 GTS, it is a far better card that what you can get for $75/$100 less and a second one down the road in the new system would make for a nice value gaming rig (just do it custom with a guy like me or yourself, OEM PCs suck).

AoC releases on october, and ive done the math over and over again and i can invest on a new rig until about may the year after. From school books to car payments etc, i really cant dish out more than a mere 200-250 USD to be able to play AoC even if its a low settings. I did look into the SLI/Crossfire idea and it seems that it would be worth it as i simply need to buy another card and use it in my future rig. I appreciate all of your recomendations thus far, but with the large selection of cards by Nvidia and ATI it isnt easy for me to know if im getting the best for my money or not.

So my last question is, after knowing what kind of motherboard i have and what my PC has already, what is the best choice from both companies?

1500 USD wont be a problem next year since id be done with my study abroad program so ill have a lot more money in my pockets.

Well after doing some looking on cards in that price range your better off going with Nvidia. they have many more cards available that have DirectX 10 ready. Basically for ATI your looking at $400 for directX 10. The good thing is you get pixel shader 4 with it. the bad thing is the 2900 series looks like you have to match it with another 2900 to run crossfire. Now your talking about $800 in video cards.

 I didn't see a lot in the $200 range that had Pixel shader 3 or better and Direct X 10 but I did see a lot of NVidia chip set cards with nice clock speeds from between $95 to $185. you will have to ask some one else how these generic cards perform. They have good ratings but people who rate them probably play older games.

Best value , $259 after rebate, (addressing all discussed here) and you can get another for SLi when you do the new build in May.  This might sound a strange offer but what the heck, if that card is out of your range then get in touch with me and I will help you out - you can make it up to me by sending me your old PC when build the new one or something and I will recon it and find it a home.