What Video Card for kids computer?

[neonsurfer]

I'm building a computer for my niece and nephews to use when they visit. It will be used for games, internet, and music. I'm not a gamer, so I don't know the video requirements/price-performance trade-offs on selecting video cards. If possible, I would like to get a budget card that will last at least 3 years. PCI-Express. My niece plays SIMS and is constantly on Myspace. My nephews are currently caught up in an online game called Runescape (spelling?). The other games are strategy games. I think one of the games is called Age of Mythology. Their mom doesn't allow the Doom type of games. Don't know if that is enough info for a good recommendation. As far as the rest of the system. It will probably be an AMD solution or Pentium D solution. I haven't quite decided if I want to go with the extra $80 - 100 for an E6300. Probably 1 Gig Ram. I will probably keep XP for as long as possible.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: neonsurfer
I'm building a computer for my niece and nephews to use when they visit. It will be used for games, internet, and music. I'm not a gamer, so I don't know the video requirements/price-performance trade-offs on selecting video cards. If possible, I would like to get a budget card that will last at least 3 years. PCI-Express. My niece plays SIMS and is constantly on Myspace. My nephews are currently caught up in an online game called Runescape (spelling?). The other games are strategy games. I think one of the games is called Age of Mythology. Their mom doesn't allow the Doom type of games. Don't know if that is enough info for a good recommendation. As far as the rest of the system. It will probably be an AMD solution or Pentium D solution. I haven't quite decided if I want to go with the extra $80 - 100 for an E6300. Probably 1 Gig Ram. I will probably keep XP for as long as possible.

Wow! you're a nice uncle (or aunt?) it sounds like all you need is a midrange card like the 7600GT although if you want to spend a little ($50-$70) more go for the 7900GS or x1950Pro. If the 7600GT is too expensive then go with the 7600GS although that definitely won't last 3 years (the 7600GT probably won't last that long either)

 

[neonsurfer]

Its about 30% nice and 70% to keep my wifes computer and my computer free from viruses, chips, soda, etc.

I was looking at this sub $100 7300GS card.
Link to Newegg

Do the games I mention really require a 7600GT? If so, I'll probably won't be able to do the E6300.

I didn't mention it earlier. I don't overclock either.

 

[aka1nas]

Most of those game either are not 3d-accelerated or are more CPU intensive than anything else. I would either go with a cheap single core AMD solution or a low-end C2D chip. I would avoid a Pentium D as they aren't significantly cheaper, run pretty hot, and have rather unimpressive performance.

As for the video card, the games you mentioned, with maybe Age of Mythology as an exception, could be run on the integrated video of the 6150 chipset even. As they aren't allowed to play shooters, that limits their need for a fast GPU somewhat. I would go with that 7300 if it makes the difference between getting a lesser CPU or a C2D.

 

[neonsurfer]

Am I correct in what I've been reading that most of the games are written for single core processing? If I do go with a sub $100 card, any suggestions? I usually shop Newegg.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: neonsurfer
Am I correct in what I've been reading that most of the games are written for single core processing? If I do go with a sub $100 card, any suggestions? I usually shop Newegg.

This is pretty good, less than $80 and totally silent (and almost twice as fast as the 7300GS)

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: neonsurfer
Am I correct in what I've been reading that most of the games are written for single core processing?

Yes.
Non-3D accelerated games, especially ones written before mainstream dual-core CPUs existed, will only use one core of your dual-core CPU...

Originally posted by: neonsurfer
I will probably keep XP for as long as possible.

You are right about keeping XP.
Windows XP is the best MS operating system right now, and will continue being excellent system for about 2 years. Do not install Vista - it is very raw and will have lots of security breaches. Lots of hardware has no Vista drivers as of yet; Some programs/games may not work under Vista (yet). I say the earliest you can install Vista is after MS releases first or second Service Pack.

 

[LW07]

I would recommend this EVGA 7600GTS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130054
It's $113 plus shipping, and a much better choice than a 7300GS. It's basically a 7600GS overclocked to 7600GT speeds, so you're getting the performance of a 7600GT.

 

[neonsurfer]

Thanks for all the replies. Black Friday at Bestbuy just added another option. I didn't wait in line but showed up at opening. I picked up the 19 inch widescreen samsung for $129 and the ATI Radeon X1600 Pro PCI Express for $99. How does this card compare to those already suggested. I can always return the card if its not a good card. Since it was a retail value of $199 and had 512 memory, I thought it might be a better card. Feedback is appreciated. If its a good card, hopefully the monitor was a good deal as well. If I did well, I'm sure the kids will go WOW and I will have spent the same as I originally intended.

 

[neonsurfer]

Anyone?

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: neonsurfer
Thanks for all the replies. Black Friday at Bestbuy just added another option. I didn't wait in line but showed up at opening. I picked up the 19 inch widescreen samsung for $129 and the ATI Radeon X1600 Pro PCI Express for $99. How does this card compare to those already suggested. I can always return the card if its not a good card. Since it was a retail value of $199 and had 512 memory, I thought it might be a better card. Feedback is appreciated. If its a good card, hopefully the monitor was a good deal as well. If I did well, I'm sure the kids will go WOW and I will have spent the same as I originally intended.

That ATI card is very nice, will more than work out for all the games they're likely to play

As for the rest of the build, it's been well noted that cpu speed is not of the essence for current games (and ESPECIALLY stuff like the Sims, etc). Unless you have a godly $400 video card, going from a Pentium D to a Core 2 won't make much difference. Memory, otoh, makes a pretty big difference in everything. I'd rather have a Sempron 3000 w/2GB than a Core2Quad6700 w/512Mb hehe That being said, it's still nice to have upgrade room.

So : (all prices from Newegg, which rocks, btw)

$100ish P965 Mobo (The DS3 is quite good)
$100ish Pentium D 820 Retail
$180ish 2GB Viking DDR2-667
or
$100ish 1GB DDR2-667
$50ish Case w/basic 450w psu (read reviews carefully)
$30ish Samsung 18X DVD+-RW/DL
$60ish WD 250GB Sata Drive ($20 off right now!)
$20ish KB/Mouse Combo
$20ish 3-piece speakers

And there you have it, a real nice system. I know some would fault the choice of the Pentium D, but you can't get an AMD dual-core for that price, and with a X1600 video card, there's not that much difference anyway. At least this way, you can drop in a C2D when they get cheaper, and they run into something that needs a lot more power in a couple of years. With 2x1MB L2 and 800FSB, it's no slouch for the money.

You found a great deal on that video card. Good luck with this build!

 

[betasub]

Good price on the gfx card, but don't be fooled by the 512MB of GRAM - it isn't a high-end card that can make use of large textures (high detail settings), its 512MB of slow GRAM doesn't have anywhere near the bandwidth of high-end cards with 256MB.

Performance-wise, the x1600 Pro just about scrapes into the mid-range segment & should be plenty fast enough for your nephew/niece's gaming.

 

[nitromullet]

I recently built the beginnings of a relatively cheap home theater PC, and I just did some gaming on it this past week and I was really impressed with it considering the whole rig was less than the video card in my main rig. It plays World of Warcraft and Half-Life 2 @ 1680x1050 with 4xAA/16xAF like a champ. (I know they won't be playing shooters, but they are still a good yardstick for measuring performance).

The parts:

MSI K8NGM-V motherboard (mATX)
ATI All-In-Wonder X800XL (PCI-E)
AMD Sempron64 3000+ (socket 754)
Buffalo 1GB DDR400 (single stick - the Sempy is only single channel)

...I already had a case, HD, and optical drive, but you can get all that stuff for $100-150 easily. I'm actually running this system with an ATX v1 PSU, which only has 20 pins for the main power connector even though the motherboard has 24, and haven't had any issues whatsoever. Antec makes decent cases that come with a power supply.

It certainly isn't the fastest powerhouse on the block, but like I said, I was actually pretty surprised and impressed at how well it has handled the games I've tried on it. The AIW X800XL was a good buy at MicroCenter for $130, but that X1600 for $99 will do the trick. You can probably find the cpu, mobo (or something similar), and the RAM for just a bit over $200. Also, don't forget to check out Newegg's bundles... Here as an example:

http://promotions.newegg.com/amd/amd_asus/index.html

(I don't know how good that motherboard is, but an Athlon64 3400+ would be more than enough cpu for what you are looking for)

ok, that really turned into a lot of rambling, but that should be a few ideas to get you started.