Graphics card

[Just...Will]

I have a geforce4 graphics card, should I get a new one? And will that affect games like Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 or something? I need help.

[maximan]

I had an MX 420, and got a 6800. I'm still in awe. But MAKE SURE you're card is compatible with your motherboard first. What brand of computer do you have?

[Just...Will]

Dell, got it in 2002. And what card should I get, and is possible for my comp?

[maximan]

Oh man...its going to be hard to upgrade. The thing is, dell uses custom Dell-made powersupplies, motherboards, and fans. First off, make sure your motherboard has the appropriate slot for the video card (a newer video card will most likely be AGP 8x/16x or PCI-E). Next, make sure you have an appropriate powersupply open in your computer, since you really can't upgrade the powersupply in a dell. The only problem left is that since all dells ship with one fan, and are built around it, if your video card cant keep cool on its own, you really can't intsall another fan.

I had a Dell a few months ago, tried to upgrade it, ended up buying a whole new comp because i was so pissed. Got one custom built, and now I can customize all I want :D

[Just...Will]

New computer then? It's really old (in comp-land anyway).

[maximan]

If you can afford it. The best thing to do is to build your own computer. I didn't feel like it ( :D ), so I got a computer from www.monarchcomputer.com

They custom build you a PC...cheap

But if you have a LOT of money, the very best in gaming PCs (which I assume is what you're looking for, because you actually care about your video card?) is Falcon NorthWest...just be sure to NOT BUY A PC FROM ALIENWARE! I have heard HORROR stories about their reliablity, and mostly their customer service, which they recently moved to pueteo rico to save money.

[Just...Will]

I'd vote for build my own, probably cheaper in the long run, could you give me an affordable list of parts, like available at CompUsa or something for a decent gaming/school/internet computer? You can email it to me if that would be better.

[maximan]

I'd reccomend you order your parts off of www.newegg.com

Their shipping is never more than $4, and they always have the lowest price for computer parts.

How much money do you have to spend?

[Just...Will]

Depends. As little as possible for a decent computer. Excessive speed, average memory (120-ish GB) Midi, USB 2.0 and Firewire ports, not the best graphics card but one newer than 3 years.

[Gothic_Knight]

The graphics card, for you, I recommend is a 9800 Pro. Not as good as the X or Geforce 6 series, but pretty damn good.

[maximan]

The graphics card, for you, I recommend is a 9800 Pro. Not as good as the X or Geforce 6 series, but pretty damn good.
If he wants one to last him for a little longer, he should get a 6800 or preferably an x800 or x850

[Just...Will]

Would that be compatible with the Dell or the new one?

[<-Dying_to_Live->]

of course

[Gothic_Knight]

The graphics card, for you, I recommend is a 9800 Pro. Not as good as the X or Geforce 6 series, but pretty damn good.
If he wants one to last him for a little longer, he should get a 6800 or preferably an x800 or x850Yes, but he said he wanted decent and affordable, and that pretty much describes the 9800...the others are probably too much.

[Kiros]

bah! ATi must die! :P

<<<<<< nVidia freak :)

[Just...Will]

The what 9800?

[maximan]

Found you some good cards. PLEASE dont just rely on me! Check around at actual PC forms, and others here please offer your input.

ASUS 6800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121192

Sapphire X800 (I RECCOMEND THIS ONE, core clock of 500 MHZ) :shock:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102423

GIGABYTE 6800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125181

MSI 6800 (I got an MSI, I RECCOMEND THIS CARD AS WELL, great bundled software)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127140

SAPPHIRE X800 PRO (VERY GOOD FOR THE PRICE!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102380

MSI X800 (VERY GOOD VALUE!!!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127156

MAKE SURE to take note of the TYPE OF HOOKUP WITH THESE CARDS! Others please reccomend cards too.

ALSO: I searched mid-range cards. If you have more money to spend, there are certainly better cards, but these cards will serve you well for a few years at least. Let me know if these are too expensive, or if you have more money to spare.

[Just...Will]

Those are probably within range if I'm building a whole new computer. (It does make a diffence to my parents whose money I'm spending 8) )

Question: Would it be possible to pluck the hard drive from this computer, the dell one, and put it in the new one that I'm building so I don't have to start over from scratch? Only there are a few programs on here that are rather expensive and are only available from download. I guess I could burn those to a disk and then install them on the new one. But then... oh, jeez. For instance Noteworthy Composer and Style XP.

[maximan]

Those are probably within range if I'm building a whole new computer. (It does make a diffence to my parents whose money I'm spending 8) )

Question: Would it be possible to pluck the hard drive from this computer, the dell one, and put it in the new one that I'm building so I don't have to start over from scratch? Only there are a few programs on here that are rather expensive and are only available from download. I guess I could burn those to a disk and then install them on the new one. But then... oh, jeez. For instance Noteworthy Composer and Style XP.
You might or might not be able to. That's what I planned to do with my Dell HD, but it didnt work, Because for some reason my new HD refused to be slave to my old Dell master. So what I did was use this program called PC relocator:
http://www.alohabob.com/products/pc_relocator/index.asp
Which transfers all of your files and settings between your old and new computer. It's easy to use, and now this is basically my old computer settings, look and feel wise.

BUT LISTEN! That comes with a serial cable to connect your 2 PCs. DONT USE IT. It's slow! Instead go to a computer store (comp usa or something) and get a USB cable to connect your two PCs. They're cheap, and they transfer much faster.

With the USB cable it took me about 23 hours to transfer 80GBs of stuff, which is pretty good. It transferred at an average rate of 600kb/s, which is pretty damn fast.

[Just...Will]

Just standard USB cable? And it transfers everything?

Nvm I got a better (and less expensive) motherboard that has a PCI-express x16 slot

[Kiros]

hmmm.... the normal transfer rate for USB 2.0 is 450Mb/s (which is about 56.5MB/s) and 600 Kb/s isnt that great... its 75KB/s and thats only about 4 times faster than standard dial-up internet :?


AAAAnyway, maximan, u didnt set ur jumpers right... lol u probably had it on either cable-select or both of the were set to Master and were using the same IDE lol... simple fix.

so yes, it WOULD be possible :) just make SURE the jumpers are set correctly... I'm afraid i cant tell u which settings would be better, because i dont know the settings that u want to keep from the old drive and i dont know the config of the new and old drives and how they differ.

Though if ur gonna transfer ur files from the older drive to ur newer one, make sure u dont override existing OS files... it could lead to bad things, especially if u are running the new OS...

PM me if u have any questions directed to me

[maximan]

hmmm.... the normal transfer rate for USB 2.0 is 450Mb/s (which is about 56.5MB/s) and 600 Kb/s isnt that great... its 75KB/s and thats only about 4 times faster than standard dial-up internet :?


AAAAnyway, maximan, u didnt set ur jumpers right... lol u probably had it on either cable-select or both of the were set to Master and were using the same IDE lol... simple fix.

so yes, it WOULD be possible :) just make SURE the jumpers are set correctly... I'm afraid i cant tell u which settings would be better, because i dont know the settings that u want to keep from the old drive and i dont know the config of the new and old drives and how they differ.

Though if ur gonna transfer ur files from the older drive to ur newer one, make sure u dont override existing OS files... it could lead to bad things, especially if u are running the new OS...

PM me if u have any questions directed to me

No, I set them right. The problem was that my old one was IDE, and my motherboard didnt have enough IDE slots that weren't for RAID setups (which I couldnt do, because my HDs were different capacities). The one IDE hookup it had was taken up by my CD/DVD drives.

[Kiros]

then just temporarily disconnect those drive and use the one IDE for both HDs =]

[maximan]

then just temporarily disconnect those drive and use the one IDE for both HDs =]

I tried disconnecting those, and for somereason it now recognized it, and windows started, but it crashed every time within 2 seconds. Plus my new HD is SATA.

Anyways, it doesnt matter now, I've already transferred everything over :D