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Which card for new monitor?

C

chedderslam

Junior Member
I had a little extra money so I have treated myself to the dell ultrasharp 24"
monitor. In my aging system, I have been using the integrated graphics for my
little 17" monitor, but I would like to invest in a graphics card to get the most
out of my monitor. The system has an agp slot, so it looks like I am limited to
that.

I am considering this card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102730

I am concerned if my power supply can handle it, though. The power supply is a
Enermax EG465P-VE, which I believe is rated to over 400 watts. Can that handle a
3850?

The system has a 2.4 P4 and 2 gigs of ram. I know I won't be able to play the
latest games or anything, but will I be able to play older stuff at the monitor's
native resolution? Really, my biggest concern is video playback as most hd
streamed video maxes the processor and gets so choppy that it is unwatchable. I
am hoping the graphics card will pull some of the load for playback. If I can get
a little gaming as well, that's a bonus.

I could go with a cheaper card, like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102814

It saves me a few bucks, but it is only a 3650.

What should I go with? I am willing to spend the extra money if it is worth it,
but if the rest of the system is going to bottleneck the card or if the power
supply can't handle the more powerful card, why waste the money?

I also have a Mushkin XP-650 power supply. Could I use that? Unfortunately it
looks like it has 4 20 A rails, and the newegg page for the 3850 calls for 30 A
on the 12 volt. If I went with the more powerful card, would this power supply
work? I would rather not switch out power supplies, but it is no big deal if it
lets me use the better card and that card is the best choice.

If I need a new power supply to run the 3850 and the 3850 will be useful, I would consider that as well.

Thanks for any help!
 
Isn't the AGP 3850 limited due to bandwith?

Also suppose that since you said you've been using the integrated you don't game much. I don't think that an AGP HD3850 is a sound investment nowadays anyways. If all you really need is HD decoding you could try picking up a HD3450. I think that should work fine for you.
 
What I tought I edited in before was..

How about upgrading the Mobo first..
Then you can get a better video card and leave room for a CPU upgrade down the road...
 
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