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Suggestions For New Graphics Card
My computer is pretty old. Yesterday I upgraded the ram to 3 gigs. Now, I need advice on a new graphics card. Because my computer is pretty old, the motherboard only supports AGP and not PCI Express. My current processor speed is AMD Athlon 64 300+ (2.08 GHz) processor.
I went to the local Fry's and Best-Buy and they only had three AGP supported graphics cards, all 256 MB. My current processor is a Radeon 9600 Pro. I am looking for a serious upgrade to my graphics card without having to buy a new computer. I want to buy an AGP 8x supported graphics card at 512 MBs.
I will most likely be playing either Age of Conan or Warhammer in the next few months, so I would like a graphics card that can handle those games. I'm looking for a really nice upgrade to last me for another year before I buy a new gaming computer.
Any suggestions are really appreciated. I don't understand much about computers so if you can tell me what I should get and why, I would be in your debt.
Comments
If you plan on playing AoC your best bet is a new computer for that game.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
I would like to avoid paying $1000 to play one or two games. I don't need to play the game on the best graphics. Playing on the medium to low-medium settings is fine with me. I've been playing WoW on my 9600 Pro, 3 gigs of ram, and AMd Athlon 64 3000+ (2.08 GHz) for three years without a problem.
Are you saying that my current set-up makes it impossible to play AoC or won't look as good or won't play period?
Also, getting a 512 MB AGP graphics card won't make a difference? After reading the forums for the last two days, I remember a lot of people saying AoC developers said that if you had a "high-end" machine 4 years ago, you can run AoC on your computer. If I get a new graphics card, with my current processor speed and 3 gigs of ram...that should be enough wouldn't it?
So there are no AGP graphics cards that can support Age of Conan?
If anything, buy a new motherboard ($100+/-) that supports you CPU and PCIe, and get a PCIe graphics card like the 8800GT or 9600(Nvidia).
Not really sure on how low tech you can go for AoC, and I know someone posted the specs somewhere, so I'll check it out and see what your best option is.
Edit:
AmazingAvery had the specs posted, so I will paste them here
Required
OS: Windows Vista/XP
Processor: 3GHz Pentium IV Single Core
RAM: 1GB RAM
Video Card: Shader Model 2.0 and 128MB RAM: NVIDIA GeForce 5800 or ATI 9800
Recommended
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz (E6600) or better (Dual Core)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7950GX2 or better
RAM: 2GB or more
Looks like you can go with maybe an X1950pro/Nvidia equiv and be ok on low specs.
There are 3 types of people in the world.
1.) Those who make things happen
2.) Those who watch things happen
3.) And those who wonder "What the %#*& just happened?!"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+1069609639+1068310557&name=512MB
these are all 512mb agp4x/8x 2600+ should work just fine for war, and ok for aoc
(hmm link no working just go to newegg.com and go to video cards and select agp)
Look for the ATI x1950 pro online, the AGP version is still rather powerful and will run AoC easily. But generally that is the top of the line when it comes to AGP.
Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161209
Will i go wrong with this one?
The Ati x1950 Pro is only for PCI express, which my motherboard does not support. Unless there is an AGP version, I couldn't find it.
www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp
Visiontek Radeon X1950 Pro / 256MB GDDR3 / AGP 8x /
There are 3 types of people in the world.
1.) Those who make things happen
2.) Those who watch things happen
3.) And those who wonder "What the %#*& just happened?!"
I already have a 256 MB card...a Radeon 9600 pro. Is that 256 card better than a 512mb card?
I'm not following how a lower mb card is better? Please explain, because i'm really new to this stuff.
What about a
Sapphire Radeon HD 3850 512MB AGP
A 512 would be better, but compared to your card, the X1950 256 is still a lot better.
More memory is a good thing, as is a faster GPU. So even though that card has the same amount of memory as yours, the memory is a bit faster and the GPU is better than what you are running now.
There are 3 types of people in the world.
1.) Those who make things happen
2.) Those who watch things happen
3.) And those who wonder "What the %#*& just happened?!"
Head on over to http://www.srtest.com then select Age of Conan from the drop down list and you will better see how well your system will be able to run the game. Also, I do believe, that they will make suggestions for upgrade paths if you fail a specific test. Good Luck!
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
as for the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 3850 100228L Video Card, It would be a good choice as well.
There are 3 types of people in the world.
1.) Those who make things happen
2.) Those who watch things happen
3.) And those who wonder "What the %#*& just happened?!"
if you are going to upgrade in a year i wouldn't spend much now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161209
http://www.soesucks.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=10
Holy crap...that's an amazing link.
I tried it out and I meet all minimum requirements, except for, you guessed it...video card. Thanks a lot.
Ok...
I just upgraded my CPU to an AMD Athlon 3400+ (w/ L2 1 mb) from a 3000+.
I also replaced my 9600 pro with a Sapphire Radeon 3850 512 MB video card to go along with a 3 gig hard drive. If that doesn't run AoC...i will be very disapointed. The processor upgrade cost me 80 bucks, and the video card cost me 120 bucks for a total of $200. It definetely beats spending $1000 that I don't have, on a new computer. Though I will probably buy a new computer sometime next year.
Your be fine mate!
GPU is best bang for buck at the price you got it for, the CPU is about 25% better than your old one.
I think you will like what you see when you load up any new mmorpg.
How much of a difference is there between the Radeon x1950, 2600 Pro, and 3850?
I havn't finalized the 3850 deal yet....if it's not that big of a difference...i can try to save some money till I build a new gaming rig next year.
Dont know if you know this site but you can look here if you like: http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=728&model2=1066&chart=296
from the drop down bars pick a game, the resolution of you monitor (makes big difference) and the graphics cards.
There are few diff types of x1950 cards but generally speaking the 3850 is pretty neat for the price
I used to have the x1950 Pro which was pretty good and still is.
I treated my self to a new pc with a promotion at work recently, but havent finished putting the parts together yet. I work for a cable company and have one of the best download speeds in Canada :P Time to make it all work with a new PC.
I've been building systems for over a decade. I sword off of ATI ten years ago due to severe driver issues, basically buying a card that wouldn't work due to improper drivers. I bring this up because when the 9800Pro was released I went back to ATI and loved them.
Fast forward a few years, I bought a 1950Pro after reading great reviews. I never once overclocked it and ran it in a machine with other high end parts for a year. Over that time I had consistent driver issues and finally last month the card almost totally died out. I would get severe artifacts or outright lockups from the card overheating.
I took the heatsink off, reapplied some thermal paste a few times, this helped a bit but the card would start locking up at 70C. Even though its suppose to operate at this temperature. I finally got fed up and remembered to NEVER EVER EVER buy another ATI product.
I bought a 8800GT, get speeds multiple times faster and run at about 45C under load. Not a single driver issue, and its rock solid.
So that being said, NEVER EVER buy another ATI product and ensure you get something with 512K for texture memory.
The 8800GT is a steal, but the 9000 series cards are also very nice.
ATI fanboys sorry, I hate to see ATI in such pathetic shape because NVIDIA is charging a premium for most of their cards these days. Unfortunately they must be smoking too much weed in Canada because ATI is releasing garbage these days.
Fortunately their Wii sales should keep them in business just so they can keep NVIDIA from a monopoly.,
I want to thank everyone who provided the information in helping me upgrade my computer to be able to play AoC. I did a little bit of research and some hunting on the net for the best deals. I decided to go with the Radeon x1950 Pro (512 MB) over the Radeon 3850, because I wanted to save $150. I will most likely be building a new computer next year, so I decided to try to keep the costs to a minimum while still being able to meet the requirements of AoC.
As of now, this is what my computer will look like in a week or two, once the parts arrive.
3 Gigs of Ram (from 1 gig before).
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (upgraded from +3000). Only upgrade possible for a 754 Socket. There were some 3700+ for socket 754 but it would cost me 250+ by itself, and it doesn't seem worth it. My 3000+ already meets the minimum requirements for AoC anyway.
Radeon x1950 Pro 512 MB (from a Radeon 9600 Pro). Best I can do with an AGP motherboard while still keeping the costs down. I know one of the posts didn't have a good experience with this card, but I read extensive reviews and it seems that case was the exception rather than the norm. The graphics card was also rated top 5 in a couple of "Best AGP Graphics Card" lists in an age of PCI Express.
The three upgrades cost me $270 (tax and shipping included). Better than spending $1000 that i don't have. This should allow me to play AoC, maybe not on the best setting, but it will do for now. Thanks a lot guys, I learned so much from this thread, so much so, that I will be making my own computer for the first time next year. Or just pay $1300 and get an alienware. I've always wanted to have an Alienware computer.