Graphics Card

[52Paddy]

I bought the new Simbin release "RACE" a few days ago. Unfortunatley the game didn't run, though I didn't expect it to because the graphics card was too old. Everything else on my PC meets between minimum and reccomended requirements except for the graphics card. I reccomends you have a graphics card with 256mb. We only have 64mb on ours. So, my brother and I have thought about investing in a new card. One of the cons here, is that our PC is 6 years old and only takes basic pci cards. It would not run pci express or any other kind. These pci cards are hard enough to come across and its made more difficult when they have to be DirectX 9 compatible. I'm wondering if any of you members can help with finding a good card with these conditions: must be 256mb, needs to be DirectX 9 compatible, must be basic pci card.

Another question I have is: Outside of gaming, how much of an effect would a card of the above description have on the general pc itself?

And what about the fans? We do a lot of music recording on our PC and my brother says that some fans can be very noisy and would disrupt the recording process. A quiet fan (or a card without a fan) would be preferable but, if they were not available, I would not say no to a card with a fan.

Here is a card I found on amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-FX5200-256MB-DDR-PCI/dp/B00026V8N0/ref=acc_glance__main_0_title/203-5480286-8011155

Do you think its worth considering?

PS: Belated Happy New Year to the lot of you!

Paddy :)

[nicemms]

I found same one at a cheaper price

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=45BW&CategorySelectedId=11137&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11137,41600000,4294957147

It seems quite a good one. You are right about one thing there aren't many pci graphics cards about.

[Daniel]

STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check if your PC has an AGP slot. If it does look at AGP cards :) There are a lot of decent AGP cards out there and they're sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooo much better than PCI cards. PCI cards stopped being the dominant technology about 6 years ago and that card is about 4 years old also so I feel it would be a little bit of a waste. You're essentially spending £100 to play Race for very little benefit in the long run. If you've got a bit of spare cash put it towards a new PC. The results will be a lot better and the benefit will be there in the long run :)

Can you post your PC specs? :)

[52Paddy]

There is no AGP slot on the PC Daniel. It's a 6 year old PC so it only has a basic pci slot (not express). I'm sure AGP cards are better and if the PC would take them, I would buy one of those instead but unfortunatley that's not the case. I know it would seem like a waste but me and my brother agreed to go and spend half of the price each on the graphics card. RACE itself was only €20 so if I've to spend another €40 on the card it totals up to slightly over the cost that the game would have been before the sales. It's not as much a waste as I thought it would have been in the beginning. There is not a lot of benefit in the long run but if I can get the game working with this card, in a few months, the whole concept of spending more money just to run a game will not exist in my mind. I won't dwell on that thought when I get a new working card.

New PCs are a couple of hundred euros (at the very least) and I don't have that kind of money at the minute. If I did, it would be a good idea but in this house (with so many people using the PC), I don't think I could trust everyone to take care of it. Yes, I could keep it for myself. But it's difficult to claim anything for yourself in this house with 5 brothers and a sister...lol.

1. RAM: 1.25GB DDR 266MHz PC2100

2. Sound Card: M-Audio Delta 44 24/96 audio breakout box

3. CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz

4. Motherboard: Microstar 6585

5. OS: WinXP (SP1)

6. Graphics Card: ATI GIGABYTE MAYA RADEON 9000 PRO
Memory: 64mb
Internal DAC 9400Mhz)

7. Monitor: Fujitsu Siemens LCD Flatbed

8. Additional cooling: 11W Ebm-Papst
*120mm Case Fan mounted on Plywood case

[Daniel]

STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check if your PC has an AGP slot. If it does look at AGP cards :) There are a lot of decent AGP cards out there and they're sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooo much better than PCI cards. PCI cards stopped being the dominant technology about 6 years ago and that card is about 4 years old also so I feel it would be a little bit of a waste. You're essentially spending £100 to play Race for very little benefit in the long run. If you've got a bit of spare cash put it towards a new PC. The results will be a lot better and the benefit will be there in the long run :)

Can you post your PC specs? :)

[airshifter]

Paddy,

Other than gaming and high end graphics, you usually won't see much else in change going to a better video card.

If you're not in a hurry, check Ebay. Sometimes you can get computer stuff for next to nothing. ;)

[agwiii]

I just added an ATI Radeon X1950 512MB. It works well with games, flat screen monitors, and all other things.

[Daniel]

I'm going to get an 1950 Pro 256 sometime soonish :)

I would have got an X1950 XTX but with DirectX10 cards becoming more popular this year I just can't justify the cost :)

[Redmond500]

Hope you sort it Paddy, its a sweet game.. I love the 87' BM.

I regard Sinbin as the best PC Games/Simulators.
GTL & GTR2 are woth getting if you do upgrade. :)

[52Paddy]

Yep, it looks like a fantastic game. I really can't wait to play it. Hopefully something will come my way soon.

[agwiii]

I'm going to get an 1950 Pro 256 sometime soonish :)

I would have got an X1950 XTX but with DirectX10 cards becoming more popular this year I just can't justify the cost :)


The best thing about technology is that as it keeps moving forward, the prices tumble!