Well, thanks to the wonderful help, advice, and information I?ve received here, I?m proudly staring at a Dell 2408WFP, and I?d like to upgrade the video card.
Budget: Somewhere around $200. I can go up to about $250 or so, if it?ll make a substantial difference.
Existing hardware: An Asus M2N4-SLI, AMD 64x2 4800, 2GB RAM running WinXP.
Replacing: An EVGA 7800GTX
Timing: I?d like to swap the cards out next weekend, but I?m not that impatient if there?s good reason to wait an extra week.
Few things:
First, I?ve checked the motherboard manual and the Asus Web site, and I can?t find any mention of a version for the PCI-e slot. Barring my being an idiot (always a strong possibility), I assume that means it?s a v.1.0 slot. Are 2.0 cards fully backwards compatible, or will there be driver or other headaches waiting for me?
Second, given the limits of the above CPU/motherboard/OS combination, will the performance of a modern $200 card be overkill? If I can max out the settings of HL2 now, will I notice a difference (e.g., more detail in the reflections, sharper lighting effects)?
Third, in looking around on Newegg, it seems like a lot of cards carry virtually identical specs (OC aside). For example, there are eight 4850s, all virtually identical save brand/game combination. I?ve liked the service I?ve gotten from Evga, but really have nothing to compare it to. Does brand make a difference, or should I just go with whichever combo deal suits me?
Thanks!
Rhythm
Budget: Somewhere around $200. I can go up to about $250 or so, if it?ll make a substantial difference.
Existing hardware: An Asus M2N4-SLI, AMD 64x2 4800, 2GB RAM running WinXP.
Replacing: An EVGA 7800GTX
Timing: I?d like to swap the cards out next weekend, but I?m not that impatient if there?s good reason to wait an extra week.
Few things:
First, I?ve checked the motherboard manual and the Asus Web site, and I can?t find any mention of a version for the PCI-e slot. Barring my being an idiot (always a strong possibility), I assume that means it?s a v.1.0 slot. Are 2.0 cards fully backwards compatible, or will there be driver or other headaches waiting for me?
Second, given the limits of the above CPU/motherboard/OS combination, will the performance of a modern $200 card be overkill? If I can max out the settings of HL2 now, will I notice a difference (e.g., more detail in the reflections, sharper lighting effects)?
Third, in looking around on Newegg, it seems like a lot of cards carry virtually identical specs (OC aside). For example, there are eight 4850s, all virtually identical save brand/game combination. I?ve liked the service I?ve gotten from Evga, but really have nothing to compare it to. Does brand make a difference, or should I just go with whichever combo deal suits me?
Thanks!
Rhythm
