Not hard to please so what should I get?

[ashegam]

P4 3.0, 1GB ram onboard video.
I just want to be able to play games at 1280 x 10240 and I never turn on AA or anything else.
So what card should I get that would one not be overkill for my older p4 and second that it wouldn't be an issue with my sony computer psu. I have no idea what the power is on it but it's a standard psu that comes with a 3 year old sony. I'm guessing no different then dell etc...

 

[dguy6789]

Do you have an AGP or PCI Express slot? How much are you willing to spend?

 

[ashegam]

I knew I forgot something.

PCI as far as I can remember. Anyway to check to make sure?
and no more then $100-150 max and I mean max.
I don't see a point in spending more when given the resolution no AA that I will be playing games in, and mostly games that are out now or that are older.

 

[dguy6789]

There are three types of ports you would be likely to have. PCI, AGP, or PCI Express. The three are each completely different from one another. A large number of newcomers confuse and mix/match PCI with PCI Express by mistake.

Drawing of the various types:

http://content.answers.com/mai...t/img/CDE/PCXSLOTS.GIF

These are what real PCI slots look like:

http://www.personal-computer-t...1/images/PCI-sloot.jpg

AGP slot:

http://www.hardwarezone.com/im.../2002/467/agp_slot.jpg

PCI Express slot:

http://images.crucial.com/imag...cie_lores_callouts.jpg


All of these slots can be various colors, so not not look only for color. Your pc has a 99% chance of having multiple regular pci slots. However, you want to find out if you have either of the other two. PCI video cards are terribly slow and would not be able to play newer games at 1280x1024.

 

[ashegam]

thanks for the info dguy. It's a PCI-E slot

by the way my power supply is 295 max
3v 13A
5v 28A
12v 17A

Running one HD, 2 DVD drives, multicard reader, 1gb ramand the other usuals.

 

[dguy6789]

Excellent. In that case, I would recommend the following card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130062

The 7600GT should have a lower level of power draw while being able to play even the newest games out at 1280x1024 at decent to upper level settings excluding AA and AF.

 

[happy medium]

Your power supply should easily run a 7900gs. Your cpu will be just fine.
You can get these for around 150.00$, sometimes less. The 7600gt will just isn't enough for the latest games (2007) at 1024 x1280 even at med settings.

Edit : if you can pull it off grab another gig of
ram too.

 

[ashegam]

thanks for the suggestions guys.
I have 2 questions

is there a d-sub to dvi adapter? will there be noticeable quality loss?

Also I looked at the x1950 and some can be had for $120 after reabate and seem alot better then the 7600 & 7900. But the question is will my power supply be ok with it?

 

[happy medium]

Yes there is a adapter,and not much noticable quality loss.
Your power supply will not handle any 1950 series cards.
In any case a 1950 series is overkill for your cpu except mabe the 1950gt.

 

[ashegam]

I bought that very card dguy since it was going to be about $80.00 after rebate. Figured at this price I can get a good year of gaming out of it before I build a new rig.
thanks.

 

[speckedhoncho]

I have a P4, 1GB RAM, 7800GS, & a 470W PSU, and I can tell you that I cannot maintain good frame rates even at lower resolutions and medium quality for games like Dirt, Oblivion, & Call of Juarez.

Good Luck.

 

[ashegam]

I'm not surprised since you have a 26" monitor and mine is only 19"

 

[speckedhoncho]

It's not a monitor but a 720p HDTV. What is the native resolution of your monitor?

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: speckedhoncho
It's not a monitor but a 720p HDTV. What is the native resolution of your monitor?

1280x1024, which is more pixels than 720p.

ashegam: what games do you plan on running?

 

[ashegam]

not a heavy gamer so any old game I can get my hands on.
call of duty 2, far cary, maybe unreal tournament 2004 if I can get good frame rate. Monkey island 3 etc...

 

[ashegam]

I just received the card from newegg. Before I open the box can anyone tell me how to go by checking to see if my motherboard supports ddr3 on the gpu?
I run regular ddr for my ram but not sure if I can run a video card with ddr3

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: ashegam
I just received the card from newegg. Before I open the box can anyone tell me how to go by checking to see if my motherboard supports ddr3 on the gpu?
I run regular ddr for my ram but not sure if I can run a video card with ddr3

Don't worry DDR3 (GDDR3) on videocard have NOTHING to do with your motherboard if it is only DDR or DDR2....Enjoy your new card.

 

[ashegam]

that's good news. I was reading the reviews at newegg and one guy mentioned to check etc...
I didn't think it mattered either but figured I double check.
thanks rottie.