Need an Upgrade, got only 80bucks =/

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reynaldoabc

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
10
0
0
NOTE: I edited the video card, on this thread, before it was a geforce 8500gt, but Arkaign showed me a better geforce than that, so i putted it here instead of the old one i was thinking about.

First of all ill introduce myself, my name is Rey, and i got to say that english isnt my first language, so excuse me if this is hard to understand.

I have been looking for a good cheap videocard that allow me to play at max settings games like CoD4, Devil May Cry 4, Fable and Prince of Persia(the trilogy). Im not a huge fan of games like Crysis, or Left 4 Dead.

I only have around 80dollars to buy a videocard, ive searching around amazon and new egg(only sites i trust to buy online). First of all i gotta say ive never owned any other videocard that was not a nVIDIA GeForce, and also ive always had bad cards, ive had a couple FX series and at the moment i got a 6200 onboard. I want a serious update to play some more new games.

Even though i have never owned an ATI videocard, or any other that was not a geforce i was looking around and i found this card that filled my expectations: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127383 and is an ATI, i got to say that i am a little worried about buying a non geforce card but i'd give it a try if it worth it.

Ive also been thinking about of this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150320 as you can see this one IS a geforce, i am going to uy the best one out of those(for gaming). I hope i can get your help guys.

ALSO THIS IS MY MOTHERBOARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...TX%20AMD%20Motherboard

AND RIGHT NOW WHAT SCARE ME THE MOST IS THAT ANY OF THOSE CARDS(specially the ATI one since i think thats the best one) WILL FIT MY MOTHERBOARD. x_x


EDIT: what worries me is this:
- That those cards arent gonna fit or work in my motherboard, since i dont know if it is compatible with PCI-E 2.0
- That ive read on the internet to not buy any card that is not 256bit anymore, and both are 128.
- That if i buy the ATI videocard it will give me problems or i dont know, i have no experience with any other company that isnt nVIDIA :/
 
taltamir

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
can you, by any chance, slightly increase your budget? there are some really nice cards in the 100- 110$ range that are much faster then the 80$ ones.
 
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reynaldoabc

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
10
0
0
I would but i'd have to wait for like 1 more month =/, well maybe not maz settings but decent play, im not a hardcore gamer, i just want to play decently, and i know that what i have now (geforce 6200) wont get me there.

So the 9600GSO VS Radeon HD 4670, which would be the best option for me? and also would those work in my motherboard =/.
ill list it again, this is my motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...TX%20AMD%20Motherboard


By the way, incase you guys want to know my pc isnt all that badass. Its a dual core amd 2.3ghz(brisbane), and 2gb 800mhz memory(2 sticks, dual channel). But at least is "decent", in my opinion.
 
taltamir

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
ok, oops messed up the edit and deleted a bunch of my post by accident...
Anyways, don't worry about PCIE, backwards and forwards compatible... don't worry about ATI. both companies have their share of problems, as for memory size, sensible advice...

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/...hmarks-Totals,795.html
This is a good place to start. Your onboard graphics is about 50 points on that chart I hazard. (notice that is it is lower then the weakest of the weak of cards there). That chart is NOT all inclusive. But it has a lot of info...

for a new card, this looks like a good deal if you are ok with MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121268

For 80$, I Would really look for a used card, it make your money go a lot further.
 
F

Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
6,666
3
81
Hi Rey, welcome to the Anandtech Forums! :D

The biggest question is, what power supply are you using? Does it have an external power connector for a video card?

The Nvidia 9600GSO and ATi 4670 are very similar in terms of overall performance. A marked difference between the two is that the ATi 4670 does NOT require external power from your power supply, whereas the Nvidia 9600GSO does.
 
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SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,002
126
If $80 is your absolute max budget I doubt you'll do much better then the Radeon 4670 you have listed. There is a Radeon $4830 on sale for $105 at Newegg (after $30 MIR though) that is a nice step up. And as others have mentioned, around the $110ish range you can really do a lot better then the $80 range. But I would think a 3870 (I saw them for $85 after MIR) or the 4670 is about the best you can do at the $80 mark.

*edit - Where did you read that you should only buy cards with 128 bit memory? What's important is the overall memory bandwidth, 128, 256, 512 doesn't really matter, just the overall bandwith (in regards to memory only I mean).
 
taltamir

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
76 - 20$ MIR + cost of shipping for 4670. Or 120$ - 20$ MIR + free shipping for the 4830...
And both of them would be orders of magnitude faster then the onboard graphics you have.
 
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reynaldoabc

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
10
0
0
@Flipped Gazelle, i have no idea of what did you just said, should i open my CPU and look at the PSu and see if it have a special cable or any cable that is free?
@SlowSpyder, yea ill just save and get a good one.
@taltmir, thanks men! Ill buy one of the good ones that you posted above, so ill sell my mp3 player, which i dont use anymore, and so ill have around 35 dollars more.(im selling it to my sister, she have been begging for me selling to her since a while so ill just do)
So i have like 100-110 in budget maybe. BTW thanks for the table, a lot USEFUL wow.


EDIT:

So im almost convienced about getting this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121289
Would i need a new power supply or something?
by the way thanks a lot guys!
 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
Reynald, what's your display size? Your cpu isn't that fast (not bad, just not really fast). A 2.3Ghz X2 will not be able to max out a 8800GT/9600GT (cpu limited in most cases). No sense buying a more expensive video card if you don't really need it. If you have 1GB or 2GB of ram right now, your money would be better spent with a 4670/9600GSO + getting to 4GB of memory in that situation. Also nice to have a lower power draw, which ATI has somewhat of an edge on if I understand correctly. Either way, a GSO or 4670 will be more than enough for high detail, medium/low AA gaming at common resolutions like 1440x900 and 1680x1050 in most games. If you're looking to max out resolutions higher than that, or have extreme AA, you'd probably be starting with a ~3ghz or higher C2D, better mobo, etc anyway.
 
AzN

AzN

Banned
Nov 26, 2001
4,112
2
0
You might want to post specs of your system and what brand and rated power supply you have to get a better idea what is right for you.
 
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reynaldoabc

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
10
0
0
@arkaign, oh i see. Didnt know that my cpu would limit the videocard. Then if so ill just get the Radeon 4670, since it looks better than the GeForce 9600GSO. And than ill buy a nice couple 2gbx2 sticks 800mhz to make it dual channel.

Guess that will be enough and will just be 60$+45$= 105 dollars.

This is what im buying:
Radeon 4670, special in MIR, only for 60bucks http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814125244
G.Skill 2x2gb(dual channel kit), for 45dollars and free shipping: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122


By the way my display size... i dont understand at all, i guess your asking me about my screen. it is about 20' not sure how much tho. But it is also like 10 years old, lol.

---
brb in a second, going to open my CPU to see the PSu.
 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
20" CRT 4x3? You can probably do 1600x1200. I don't think they made 20" Wides 10 years ago.
 
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Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
6,666
3
81
@reynaldoabc, the PSU might have a cable that has a black connector at the end, designed to plug into a video card that requires an external power source, like the 9600GSO.

Also, printed on the side of the PSU should be the wattage, the 12v rail(s) - there might be 2 listed - and the brand.
 
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reynaldoabc

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
10
0
0
@Arkaign, sorry, i just thought it was around 20. I looked for it on the internet just now, and for my suprise it even does appear, thought it wouldnt, since is so ooold. This is my Monitor: http://images.google.com/image...700&btnG=Search+Images it says that it is 17". And for being exact, the monitor was bought back when i was 14, and im almost 18 now, so i'd say this monitor is about 5 years old.

@Flipped, i opened my PC and saw the PSu, i didnt look at the cables but i did look at the paper printed on the PSu(ill open the pc again and look for the cable).

On the printing on the side this is all what it says:
===============================================
Switching Power Supply
Omega Model: ATX-550
INPUT 115V-230V 12/6A
INPUT 60/50 Hz
===============================================
OUTPUT: 550W
OUTPUT:
+3.3V----------------------28A------------------------ORANGE
+5V------------------------32A------------------------RED
+12V1---------------------16A------------------------YELLOW
+12V2---------------------18A------------------------YELLOW/BLACK
+5VSB---------------------2.0A-----------------------PURPLE
-12V------------------------1.0A-----------------------BLUE
PS-ON--------------------------------------------------GREEN
P.G.-----------------------------------------------------GREY
===============================================
+5V and +3.3V combined load maximum 250W.
Total output maximum 550W.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

As you, Flipped Gazelle, said there are 2 12v rails listed in the printing. Ill open the case again and see if i can find those cables now, there are supposed to be one Yellow and the other one Yellow+Black i guess.

 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
Oh, well crap. Definitely get the 4670. It will do very nicely up to 1680x1050 with your cpu. Your 17" screen will probably not be able to do 1600x1200 at a decent refresh, so you're stuck with either 1280x1024, or 1024x768, and either the GSO or 4670 will do that resolution balls-fast, and you'll end up CPU limited anyway.
 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
Hey, another idea for you. Keep an eye on your local craigslist. A lot of times you can catch a really nice 21" CRT for $30 or less. They're heavy as all hell, but you can't beat the price vs. quality deal. Sounds like you're a budget-oriented guy, and that would be a giant bang for the buck upgrade.
 
Ryland

Ryland

Platinum Member
Aug 9, 2001
2,810
13
81
Check the FS/FT forums for video cards.

PCI-e 2.0 cards work in PCIe 1.1 slots. I have a 260GTX working on a 1.1 slot.
 
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reynaldoabc

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
10
0
0
Ok guys, so i was looking for like 30mins for a cable coming out of the PSu that had a black ending but couldnt find it. Ifound the cable that is black/yellow but have no black ending, and there were not a "whole black" cable so i have no idea where would i plug the videocard if it doesnt suck the power out of the board. But the 4670 get the power throught the PCI slot right? so i wouldnt have to worry about changing my PSu i guess. Am i right?

@taltamir and Arkaign, thanks for your help guys, ill buy the radeon videocard and the g.skill 4gb kit. Then later in jan ill buy some decent screen.

@Ryland, but is my mobo PCIe 1.1 or 1.0? how do i know? or 1.0 does not exist?
---

This board is excelent, im glad i found it on the net, and the best thing is that is not only about videocards but EVERYTHING, amazing.
 
Denithor

Denithor

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2004
6,298
23
81
The plug is not always black, just look for a plug with 6 pins (and they're often labeled either VGA or PCIe). And don't even worry about that, just get the 4670 (which doesn't need external power) and you're good to go. It will be much much better than your onboard video right now.
 
R

reynaldoabc

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
10
0
0
Ok thanks a lot mate. My problem is solved and all thanks to all of you guys. Ill be around the board for a while :p, love it.
 
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