newby question

[sunkman]

My comp crashes and I take it to get fixed. Three weeks later they give me a new mother board at no charge...you know they did something wrong!!!! Anyways, I end up with a sempron 2200+ (from a PIII 600) and no video card. I am thus interrested in purchasing on a limited budget a new video card- (I prefer to spend my cash on my mountain bike). My primary goal will be to play the new Myst and when the Halo price drops that too. Though I am willing to drop the details to play Halo to save some $, I am hoping I won't have to for Myst: Revelations. I am hoping that I won't have to spend more than $100 on it and if less is possible; even better! I have been eyeing some the cards available in the newegg reburbished section...

My questions then:

1) How important is it to have a direct X9 card vs. 8?
2) In attempting to do some research, I read that the gf 5700LE can be supped up to be a pretty good card for the buck; is that true?
3)what is more important: getting a card with more ram (128 vs 256) or getting a 128 card with more updated hardware?
4) I am running 256 mg on my mother board, should I spend money on another 256, and will this greatly improve my gaming experience?
5) where would I get the card you would recomend?
6) Am I forgetting to ask any other important question about buying a video card?????

Thanks for your imput...

 

[MadEye2]

I don't reckon dx9 is all the usefull, not on a sempron 2200 (i have the same cpu). 128mb of ram is enough - 128mb of fast ram is more useful than 256mb of slower ram.
Your 256MB of system RAM should be enough if you have win98se. If you have XP or 2k get another 256MB or higher. PC2700 and PC3200 RAM is what you should get for your current CPU - just check if your board can handle PC3200 (it should do), if not PC2700 is perfectly adequate. There are people on here with far more experience and knowledge with PCs than me, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: sunkman
My comp crashes and I take it to get fixed. Three weeks later they give me a new mother board at no charge...you know they did something wrong!!!! Anyways, I end up with a sempron 2200+ (from a PIII 600) and no video card. I am thus interrested in purchasing on a limited budget a new video card- (I prefer to spend my cash on my mountain bike). My primary goal will be to play the new Myst and when the Halo price drops that too. Though I am willing to drop the details to play Halo to save some $, I am hoping I won't have to for Myst: Revelations. I am hoping that I won't have to spend more than $100 on it and if less is possible; even better! I have been eyeing some the cards available in the newegg reburbished section...

My questions then:

1) How important is it to have a direct X9 card vs. 8?

Not *that* important if your main concerns are Myst and Halo.

2) In attempting to do some research, I read that the gf 5700LE can be supped up to be a pretty good card for the buck; is that true?

Uh, no. It's pretty much crap no matter what you do to it.

3)what is more important: getting a card with more ram (128 vs 256) or getting a 128 card with more updated hardware?

While more video card RAM helps to a point, there's practically no difference between 128 and 256MB for anything but the very fastest cards available today (the $400-500 ones). A faster card with 128MB of RAM will blow away a slower one with 256MB of RAM.

4) I am running 256 mg on my mother board, should I spend money on another 256, and will this greatly improve my gaming experience?

Possibly. A lot of games run better with 512MB of RAM in your system, and multitasking is a lot smoother.

5) where would I get the card you would recomend?

Newegg (or other reputable online dealers like ZipZoomFly or Directron), or maybe the FS/T forums here if you're looking for a used card?

6) Am I forgetting to ask any other important question about buying a video card?????

Thanks for your imput...

Well, you might want to try a search or two. This question gets asked a lot. For you, I might recommend a used GeForce4Ti, or possibly a RADEON 9500Pro or 9600Pro/XT if you can find one in that price range (don't buy a 9600SE; they're total junk). Used 9700Pros are available for a bit more money (~$130).

 

[2Xtreme21]

Your best bet, like the previous poster said, is getting a Ti4600 or a 9500 Pro. A 9600 pro is too expensive and accomplishes little more than a 9500 pro does, so I'd kinda stay away from that. If you're looking to spend a little more money for a lot more performance, 9700 Pro (used) will surely satisfy that.

 

[Todd33]

Ya, look for a used Ti4600 or 9500/9700 pro. Don't get a FX5200 or 9200.

 

[sunkman]

Thanks so much for the input.

Trying to catch up on some reading from various posting on this site and trying to learn as fast as I can so that I don't ask too many dumb a** questions.

The 9700Pro seems to be a great card looking at various bench marks. Though completely out of my price range, I was wondering if buying a 9700le and then "flashing" it (i would need more info on this before doing it, since exposing myself to a video card is most likely not going to do much good!!!), would upgrade the card to a full 9700???? Would that work and be a good way to afford a good video card?

 

[MadEye2]

Look on auction sites, there seems to be a lot of 9700pros on them. Also, some 9500 cards can be softmodded to 9700s

 

[Appledrop]

there is no "9700le" just 9700 and 9700 pro. check ebay?
cards to look out for:

gf4 ti series
9700/pro
geforce FX 5800 ( only if a good price on ebay)

all are fairly well paired with a 2200 cpu

edit: having owned a 9700pro, it was great and halo looked and played nicely

 

[sunkman]

Alright, with all your help, I am closer to making a choice. My last step, is where to buy this thing...and was wondering how safe it was to buy a card from ebay and if anyone knows of any flags to look for or any reasons why one should not buy off of ebay...(btw, I am going for a 9600 XT). Thanks for all your help, and if you ever need some mtb help, drop an email.....

 

[Todd33]

Just look at their seller ratings. If it's above 95% with 50+ auctions, you are pretty safe. I've bought and sold a bucnh on eBay with only one bad deal (guy sold Halo as "mint" full of scratches).