Need to find the best gaming PCI card available

[BoGMan1a]

Well, I have not actually seen his computer (Emachines T3406) but I looked up specs on the MB chipset (865GV) and it looks like the computer only has a couple of PCI slots available after the modem. I am recomending that he at least double his 256mb's of ram ($21 shipped from Newegg) and get a PCI card to upgrade his video (Intel Extreme Graphics 2). I went through the Newegg site and found a PNY fx5500 with 128mb card that looked OK, and a 3D Fuzion 256mb fx5500 that looked better but was out of stock. Does anyone still stock the fx5700 PCI cards? I am looking at DX9 support so I have been sticking to the Nvidia line unless someone can point me in another direction or correct my line of thinking. Thanks in advance for any help and links to any better products.

 

[hans030390]

Are you SURE it's just PCI? It's new enough to have AGP or PCI-E...

Hmm...Open it up and check before deciding on a card.

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: hans030390
Are you SURE it's just PCI? It's new enough to have AGP or PCI-E...

Hmm...Open it up and check before deciding on a card.

Emachines probably cheaped out and didn't even bother to put the slots in to save $$$$. They always do that

 

[BoGMan1a]

I am not positive. I was just going by what the Intel reference design for that chips MB was. I am going to have to look at it, but it is 100 miles round trip and I probably can't get there for a few days. In the mean time, I am trying to present him with the best option available in the event that it is only PCI. I have a pretty good grasp about what is available in the newer formats. I even have a 9600 pro left over from my last upgrade to the 6600GT if it has an AGP slot. I figure that will still play just about anything for the next year or so. If it has PCI-X I will point him to a $99 AR 6600GT that I saw at Newegg.

 

[imhungry]

You could just call and ask if he has a brown/green or black slot. . vs a long white slot.

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: BoGMan1a
I am not positive. I was just going by what the Intel reference design for that chips MB was. I am going to have to look at it, but it is 100 miles round trip and I probably can't get there for a few days. In the mean time, I am trying to present him with the best option available in the event that it is only PCI. I have a pretty good grasp about what is available in the newer formats. I even have a 9600 pro left over from my last upgrade to the 6600GT if it has an AGP slot. I figure that will still play just about anything for the next year or so. If it has PCI-X I will point him to a $99 AR 6600GT that I saw at Newegg.

all you had to do was look at emachines.com. it only has pci slots not any pci-e(please dont call it pci-x because that is for servers) so you will be limited on your choices. i think there is some pci 6200 cards out there somewhere.

 

[blckgrffn]

Yes, the PCI 6200 is your best bet. www.chumbo.com, maybe?

Good luck

Nat

 

[BoGMan1a]

Thanks blckgrffn! That appears to be just what I am gonna need. I figure that with the PCI 6200 and another 256mb of ram that he will be able to play Rome:Total War which is why he bought a desktop.

 

[BlacKJesuS]

^^^ $300 for an OK game?

 

[jwhitt]

or you could swap out the mobo with a new one with a faster cpu etc etc

 

[jwhitt]

why waste money on petty upgrades that will only prolong the death of the machine give him some options with upgrading

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: jwhitt
why waste money on petty upgrades that will only prolong the death of the machine give him some options with upgrading

oh wow. He bought a $150 desktop. I don't think it was meant to be awesome. It was meant to be livable in games and surf the net. Give him a break.

And it is a better deal than a $2,000 xbox 360 for sure

Hope that PCI 6200 works out for you! Let us know how it goes.

Nat

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: BoGMan1a
Thanks blckgrffn! That appears to be just what I am gonna need. I figure that with the PCI 6200 and another 256mb of ram that he will be able to play Rome:Total War which is why he bought a desktop.

why did you thank him?? i am the one that looked up the info and made the suggestion. he just agreed with it.

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: toyota

Originally posted by: BoGMan1a
Thanks blckgrffn! That appears to be just what I am gonna need. I figure that with the PCI 6200 and another 256mb of ram that he will be able to play Rome:Total War which is why he bought a desktop.

why did you thank him?? i am the one that looked up the info and made the suggestion. he just agreed with it.

Wow. I did tell him where it was, didn't I? Chill out, I am pretty sure he is thanking both of us because now he is getting the best card for PCI. I was going to suggest it even without your post

 

[edplayer]

Where is my thanks?

:|

I was thinking about the PCI 6200 also. Even though I didn't post it the least you guys could do is show a little appreciation

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: blckgrffn

Originally posted by: toyota

Originally posted by: BoGMan1a
Thanks blckgrffn! That appears to be just what I am gonna need. I figure that with the PCI 6200 and another 256mb of ram that he will be able to play Rome:Total War which is why he bought a desktop.

why did you thank him?? i am the one that looked up the info and made the suggestion. he just agreed with it.

Wow. I did tell him where it was, didn't I? Chill out, I am pretty sure he is thanking both of us because now he is getting the best card for PCI. I was going to suggest it even without your post

its no big deal. im not mad but he only thanked you not both of us. i went to emachines and looked up the specs then suggested the 6200 card. i get no respect. lol.

 

[BoGMan1a]

My humblest apologies to all offended! I actually sincerely thank all that bothered to look at this post and respond. I would not have found the 6200 otherwise. Even though I knew that the card had been produced at one time, my searches at Newegg, ZipZoomFly, and a couple of other online places, as well as Ebay never came across the card. Thanks again to all for your efforts/advice!!

 

[jwhitt]

i was thinking more along the lines of doing something like this https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wi...=HISTORY&ID=1774546&WishListTitle=idea i know this has integrated video but think of this as a step process why spend 200 on a video card when the system is out of date upgrade the enitre thing leaving room for upgrades in the futureuse the integrated video for now untillthe holisdday season has passed somehtign will drop in price and walah

 

[Sunrise089]

The 6200 as stated above is the best option, in addition, I think your friend made a great purchase decision. After the PCI card and the memory he will be able to play his game and do all other computing tasks for like $225 and have a warranty to boot. Actually, the 3 black friday eMachines I bought for family members that don't game (and all have memory on the way) make me kind of sad to spend 8x the $$$ on a PC just to play games.

 

[edplayer]

He isn't spending $300 nor $200 on the card. It says its $76.

I'm going to guess the reason he doesn't buy a new motherboard and videocard is because he doesn't want to spend a lot of money

and that link you posted asks for a user name and password