MexicanHeat
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Graphics Card
I'm looking to upgrade my computer with a new graphics card. Want to be able to play whats out now, halo, doom 3 etc.. Its a dell dimension 2350. 1.8 mhz. Apparently it doesnt have an AGP slot so I'd need something that can plug into a pci slot. Any suggestions would be great. Lets go ahead and put a 150 dollar limit on this too. :)
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gunite
very awesome video card! I put it in a 433Mhz machine and it still made the games FLY.. since then I upgraded to a faster computer its wonderful
ASKER
Well i'm not gonna really upgrade my computer anytime soon as its running just fine, but any advice on something that would help with my current system?
well that graphics card i recommended should run any games that you meet the other requirements on i.e. CPU/MMRY/OS i use a 5500 to play doom3 without problem. It handles halo fine too but my geforce3 handled that without problem
card should be under 150$ and is PCI base
card should be under 150$ and is PCI base
go with woopie's recommendations (on the card and extra ram). but you may want to consider replacing the system in the near future instead of buying a pci video card and memory today.. stuff that you wont want to put in your new system (it'll have agp or pci-express and different/faster memory).... the card and ram will be worthless to you, and not worth much used.
I just checked the specs dell dimension 2350 does have AGP slot.
ASKER
Mark whered you get that info on the AGP slot? I traded emails with dell and they told me my system didnt have an agp slot and id have to go with a pci card.
some do, some wont.. and still other times, dell says there isn't but the actual motherboard in the system does have one (but dell wont support or acknowledge that fact).. typical dell.
just pull the side panel off and look at the slots.. if you have a tan colored one at the top (if tower is standing up) and it's set back from the white ones an inch or so and about as long.. then you're set, whoohoo!!.. go to www.tomshardware.com and check out some benchmarks.. then price cards at www.newegg.com and find one within your budget, then scrimp and save and buy one a step up from that. :)
just pull the side panel off and look at the slots.. if you have a tan colored one at the top (if tower is standing up) and it's set back from the white ones an inch or so and about as long.. then you're set, whoohoo!!.. go to www.tomshardware.com and check out some benchmarks.. then price cards at www.newegg.com and find one within your budget, then scrimp and save and buy one a step up from that. :)
i'd still stick with 5500, if you have an agp slot i'd go for the 256meg version from BFG Tech. Easy way to find out is nltech's suggestion of just pulling side off and looking to see if there is an AGP slot inside.
I did a google any looked at the specs for the board. Sorry i don't recall the site.
but the man is right open the box and look.
but the man is right open the box and look.
ASKER
Okay, so i opened it up and it only has the pci slot. No agp. So i think im gonna get the evga nvidia geforce mx 4000. I've decided to upgrade sometime soon, but think this should hold me over until then. What do you guys think?
ASKER
Alright im gonna close this down in the next day or so, but i've looked hi and low and can't find the wattage requirement for the evga mx4000. If anyone could help me with that, thatd be great.
the power supply that came with the dell will be more than adequate for what you've chosen. i doubt you'll run into any problems with any new pci card you would put in there.
i would still recommend something with native dx9 support (the 4000 you've chosen is an 8.1 card), like a fx5200/5500, radeon 9200/9600 (for ones in/near your price range).
check some test results at www.tomshardware.com - you can use the agp card's results to give you an idea of how well the gpu's perform.
i would still recommend something with native dx9 support (the 4000 you've chosen is an 8.1 card), like a fx5200/5500, radeon 9200/9600 (for ones in/near your price range).
check some test results at www.tomshardware.com - you can use the agp card's results to give you an idea of how well the gpu's perform.