PC help for dummies needed.

[RJShultzie]

Well I am the dummy, I know very little about computers usually just enough to get by or enough to mess things up and I need help. I am going to buy a new video card and want to make the right decision. I have an older computer running XP an AMD athalon xp1500 with 1.25GB of ram on a Asus A7V266DDR motherboard cheap video card(my decent one went bad and this was a leftover) and soundblaster live sound card no fancy case or cooling, monitor is ViewSonic prof series pf790. Now the help needed, I am thinking the 9800 pro (maytbe even the next one up x800?) but do not know if my computer/monitor is good enough for this card. I dont play the fancy games yet but if i decide to I want the right card, the game I want to play now is Black Hawk Down and my card won't do it. I would also like to try America's Army maybe even some of the games mentioned on this board. Opinions please.

If you have tips for me to make my computer better I would love to hear them and upgrade suggestion for the future would be much appreciated, I am not a hardcore gamer but want to have the right stuff without going overboard. Tips on bye the best part here but a value part there for maximum performance/value combination

 

[mAsTAd]

ur computer has enough ram but ur processor is not too great. I suggest u overclock ur athlon or make a new computer.

if u dont wanna get a new computer there is no point in getting the x800 because ur processor will bottlenexk it a lot. Get a 9800 Pro.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: mAsTAd
ur computer has enough ram but ur processor is not too great. I suggest u overclock ur athlon or make a new computer.

if u dont wanna get a new computer there is no point in getting the x800 because ur processor will bottlenexk it a lot. Get a 9800 Pro.

AGP 4x but does support 1.5 cards a7266

 

[Mavrick007]

I wouldn't get any faster than a 9800 Pro since your machine is a bit old in the tooth now.
The 9800 Pro would complement it well for the older games (such as BHD) and if you upgrade your
board, cpu and ram, you will probably have a good match still without going overboard on price
for one of the newest cards out. When you are ready, you will probably be able to buy an x800
for a lot better deal and you'll still have the 9800 Pro as well with bucks to spare.

 

[RJShultzie]

how do I overclock my Athalon and what in the heck did scrap silicon reply mean, remember the I am the dummy part.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: RJShultzie
how do I overclock my Athalon and what in the heck did scrap silicon reply mean, remember the I am the dummy part.

linked you to your mobo's pdf manual ..your mobo does not do AGP 8x ..those cards being discussed are AGP 8x video cards..

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: ScrapSilicon

Originally posted by: RJShultzie
how do I overclock my Athalon and what in the heck did scrap silicon reply mean, remember the I am the dummy part.

linked you to your mobo's pdf manual ..your mobo does not do AGP 8x ..those cards being discussed are AGP 8x video cards..

8x cards are always backwards compatible to 4x, as long as the MB supports the proper 1.5V AGP signalling (and, from the reply above, I think your board does).

Also, you should be able to get a much faster AXP processor (such as a Barton 2500+) and drop it right into that motherboard. You should check the manufacturer's website for compatibility, though; some older boards don't support Barton processors, or require a BIOS update first. But even if you don't, a 9800Pro would still help you a *lot* (I think an X800 would be pushing it; you'd be better off buying a newer motherboard that can run DDR400 RAM and a much faster processor first). An AthlonXP 1500+ is still *fairly* fast -- and even if you are 'cpu-limited' in some newer games, you'll still be able to run much nicer visuals without a loss in rendering speed.

 

[Bovinicus]

Your CPU is going to limit the overall speed of your system while playing games. However, if you do buy a Radeon 9800 Pro, then your system can last through at least one CPU upgrade and the video card will still be sufficient. If you want to save a little money, then I would just suggest going with a Radeon 9600 Pro. For around $110-125, it is hard to beat the value of this card. As well, it will probably still be too fast for that CPU.

 

[mAsTAd]

i think a Radeon 9800 Pro would be perfect for his computer. Even though his cpu will bottleneck it, it will still be very good. And prices are dropping.