Lookin' to upgrade my vid.....

[chewiex]

Hey all you "tech-savy" AH'ers, got a question.

I'm lookin' to upgrade my PSU and vid card. I was lookin' at the eVGA 9400GT 1GB and eVGA 8800 GS 512MB cards. I am stuck using PCI due to my older MOBO. Seeing as how these two cards are within my budget, which one would be best suited to use for AH?

My PC is a Compaq Presarion SR1210NX with Intel Celeron D 2.66Ghz processor. I currently have 768MB of sys RAM DDR. Bumping up to a full gig in a week. HP says this MOBO will only support 1g so I'm stuck with that. My OS is Win XP Pro 32 bit.
I did a "video card comparison" online through some web site and I really don't understand all the techno-babble that is shown for the comparison.

If you were to buy/use either card, which one would you choose and why vs. the other?
 

Thanks,
A8Chustr

[Masherbrum]

I believe this is an "AGP" Video Slot and not "PCI-e".   The CPU is killing you more than anything.  

According to this:  http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00063244&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=es&cc=pe&product=431081

2GB of RAM is the max.   Get this if you're getting RAM:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134177

As for an AGP Card?   Might consider this first.   Can your Power Supply handle it?  

[chewiex]

No, I need a PCI card, not AGP or PCI-e. As far as RAM goes, ooops my bad I mis-read HP's RAM specs, thanks for pointing it out. I bought a 512MB stick the other day brand name Crucial. Due to my lack of funds atm, I am going with 1g total for now. Have been running only 512MB total sys RAM. I'm bumping up my PSU from a 250w original psu to a Ultra LPS series 550w from Tigerdirect. So I know the PSU will be able to handle it. I was ordering both the vid card and PSU from them together.

Whats the deal with the CPU? Just curious.

<S> A8Chustr

[Masherbrum]

I'm fond of EVGA:  http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4410190&csid=ITD&body=REVIEWS#tabs    PCI is what it is.   But EVGA's Warranty Policy is excellent.  

Onto to the PSU.    If you still have a Compaq case, that PSU might not fit.   You might need a "proprietary" size PSU.   If you're in an aftermarket case, that will work.  But being at 30A on 12V+ rail, you're leaving only 10A for the rest of your System.   The above card needs a minimum of 20A.  

This is better than the one you're looking at (that Ultra has 30A):   http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4362115&CatId=2533.  


Just make sure the dimensions "will work", especially in the case.  

[chewiex]

Yes it is a Compaq case and I believe the dimensions of the Ultra are the same as the Startech PSU I have in there now. I see what you are saying about the 12v rail amps, the one you linked to looks to be a better fit for my needs. Sooo, I take it from the eVGA card link you posted, that you think the 8400 series is a better choice than the 9400?


Thanks for your input Mash, gives me some more info to think about.

<S>
A8Chustr

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I'm afraid upgrading that box for gaming use is literally throwing money away. It can never run games properly.

[Masherbrum]

Yes it is a Compaq case and I believe the dimensions of the Ultra are the same as the Startech PSU I have in there now. I see what you are saying about the 12v rail amps, the one you linked to looks to be a better fit for my needs and cheaper also. Sooo, I take it from the eVGA card link you posted, that you think the 8800 series is a better choice than the 9400?


Thanks for your input Mash, gives me some more info to think about.

<S>
A8Chustr

The Clocks are faster for both the Core and Memory on the 8400GS.   The only benefit to the 9400GT is it's 128 bit & Dual RAMDAC, but I don't see a huge advantage.  Your CPU is hindering you severely, so there is only the question of which you'd buy.   Both are good cards for what you desire.   The 9400GT (missed it when I linked the 8400GS) is a good card as well.  

Just get a Card that will compliment what you already have.   You cannot go wrong with either.  

I believe the PSU I linked was $10 more than the Ultra, but it's what you NEED.   "Overhead" Power.   You want extra power to not be "near the limit" of the PSU.   The OCZ one is also modular, so you only plug in what you need power for.   Store the rest of the cables, if you upgrade your PC, use the extras as needed.   But, the $10 is well worth it.   The PSU is THE most important component of a PC.  

Others can give recommendations, I'm just trying to "play all of the angles" ahead of time.  

[chewiex]

I'm afraid upgrading that box for gaming use is literally throwing money away. It can never run games properly.

Been doin fine for the last 5 yrs

[Masherbrum]

I'm afraid upgrading that box for gaming use is literally throwing money away. It can never run games properly.

For AH, some gains can be achieved.  

[chewiex]

Thanks again Mash, I have been runnin this setup with a 250w PSU, 512MB RAM and an old Nvidia GeFORCE MX4000 series 128MB vid card. So any little upgrade will be HUGE in AH for me. Been runnin game fine, minus eye candy of course since '04.

I think I just might go with the OCZ PSU and 8400GS card.



<S>


On a side note, I do have a new/barely used ASUS MOBO that I can't seem to find any good info on. Possibly lookin to build a system from scratch using that one day. Any good ASUS reference sites I can check out to find my specific MOBO specs? I don't have any paperwork on it at all. I can post pics if anyone knows ASUS boards by lookin at them.

[Masherbrum]

Thanks again Mash, I have been runnin this setup with a 250w PSU, 512MB RAM and an old Nvidia GeFORCE MX4000 series 128MB vid card. So any little upgrade will be HUGE in AH for me. Been runnin game fine, minus eye candy of course since '04.

I think I just might go with the OCZ PSU and 8400GS card.

<S>

On a side note, I do have a new/barely used ASUS MOBO that I can't seem to find any good info on. Possibly lookin to build a system from scratch using that one day. Any good ASUS reference sites I can check out to find my specific MOBO specs? I don't have any paperwork on it at all. I can post pics if anyone knows ASUS boards by lookin at them.

Post up the Model Number.   It'll be near the ASUS logo on the front of the MB.   Also, you're more than welcome.

[chewiex]

Can't find the model num. Took a few pics. I'll post in a few min.



EDIT* Here is the MOBO.


Here is the only number I can find that is placed regularly on the board. Model number maybe? K7SEM


The processor installed. AMD Duron D700. 700Mhz maybe?


The dealers tag?


Back of the box I got it in.


This pic on the box looks very similar to the actual MOBO. The MOBO is missing some PCI slots and 1 DIMM slot compared to the pic on the box. I'm sure a few other things are different as well.


Front of box.

[chewiex]

  Hmmm.... after doing some of my own research using the K7SEM number, I'm not at all happy with what I found. This MOBO sux. Good thing it wasn't purchased by me, a friend gave it too me. Thinks me has a free paperweight lol.

I'll just upgrade the PC I have now until it dies.

[Fulmar]

I'm afraid upgrading that box for gaming use is literally throwing money away. It can never run games properly.

+1

[gyrene81]

I'm afraid upgrading that box for gaming use is literally throwing money away.

Hate to agree with Ripley but from the evidence, he is right. My "old" gaming system is more powerful than what you're trying to upgrade and it's not adequate for the current version of AH. Whatever money you put into that system is not going to get you the results you're hoping for...other games maybe...not AH. You're gonna be limited to a max of 256 textures with the possibility of maybe bump map terrain turned on...everything else will have to be off unless you really like the stuttering effect with low frame rates...since standard PCI slots run at roughly half the bandwidth of AGP 8x...and both are a far sight slower than PCI-E 2.0, you may as well be running onboard video.

I don't generally do this but...
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/118661/pci_vs_agp
PCI is able to handle 2D images and general business graphics quite competently, but it can be challenged by intense 3D graphics. That's where AGP comes in.


http://www.onlinecomputertips.com/hardware/video_cards.html
PCI uses a shared bus topology to allow for communication among the different devices on the bus. It provides for a bandwidth of up to 133 Mbps with a 64 bit version supporting up to 512 Mbps.
AGP uses a dedicated point-to-point channel so that the graphics controller can directly access main memory. It provides for a bandwidth of 266 Mbps to 1.07 Gbps.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerated_Graphics_Port
The primary advantage of AGP over PCI is that it provides a dedicated pathway between the slot and the processor rather than sharing the PCI bus. In addition to a lack of contention for the bus, the point-to-point connection allows for higher clock speeds. AGP also uses sideband addressing, meaning that the address and data buses are separated so the entire packet does not need to be read to get addressing information.



Save your money.