Graphics card

[muttleymacclad]

Hi all

I know this gets asked all the time but here goes.

Currently got a p4 2.53ghz processor, 1 gig ram on an Abit mobo but am looking to play a few games on the pc now.

I've only got pci and agp ports not pci-e, I know this set up isn't going to be great for this but what's a good pci or agp card that's a decent price that would be worth me getting.

Cheers

MML

[pumpman]

9250 is as fast as youll get on pci which today is a bit poo

on agp this is as good as it gets http://www.ebuyer.com/product/126420

[blaggard]

You must have AGP?? you can get an Nvidia 7800 series card.I have the Gainward 7800 with a 7900 core, 512 meg golden sample edition, in the Crysis PC test in was just 10% short of top marks. You might even get a 7900 agp

[apllrd]

for 80 quid m8, i'd rather take the step up to pci-e, good amd board and cpu around £90, someone on the board mentioned a 8800gt for aroung £80 and 2 gig or ddr2 is only just over £30 for a decent brand. you can always flog the older bits to cut the upgrade cost.

[blaggard]

You certainly DO have to think about the costs and whether it's worth spending money on an AGP card when PCIE is completely dominant. I bought the best AGP card around last year but then I knew it woulf be at least a year before I would need to upgrade the mobo etc.

[muttleymacclad]

for 80 quid m8, i'd rather take the step up to pci-e, good amd board and cpu around £90, someone on the board mentioned a 8800gt for aroung £80 and 2 gig or ddr2 is only just over £30 for a decent brand. you can always flog the older bits to cut the upgrade cost.

Anything you'd particularly recommend mate for a mobo and amd processor. Always used intel before.

MML

[apllrd]

after a brief look i concocted this, looks like a fairly good upgrade for £190 delivered, maybe cheaper if you shop around. (incidentally, i have just ordered this motherboard for myself) anyone have any opinions on the graphics card, had some good reviews on ebuyer.
ECS KA3 MVP (V1.0A) 580X CrossFire Socket AM2 UDMA133 Serial ATA-300 (RAID) 8 channel High Definition Audio ATX Motherboard £47.29 inc VAT
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132327
Sapphire HD 2600XT 256MB GDDR3 Dual DVI TVO PCI-E Graphics Card (to match ati chipset on m/b) £64.94 inc VAT
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128946
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ (2.1GHz) Socket AM2 Energy Efficient L2 1MB (2x512KB) Cache Retail Boxed Processor £43.47 inc VAT
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/125199

went for a better quality memory though so only 1 gig,

Crucial 1GB DDR2 PC2-6400/800MHz CL4-4-4-12 Ballistix 2.2V SLI Ready £29.76 inc VAT
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/119273

[apllrd]

also, if you need higher end graphics have a look at this one,
PowerColor X1950Pro AC2 512MB DDR3 256bit PCI-E Graphics Card £84.99 inc VAT
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132535
crossfire compatible so you can double the performance in the future by adding another card.

[harryb]

someone on the board mentioned they got an ati 2600 512mb AGP for about £70... worth a punt? also takes away a lot of the cpu use when watching hd movies etc... do a search it was very recent

[muttleymacclad]

Ok, after further investigation I'm now considering this set up, Intel for overclocking rather than AMD:

Gigabyte motherboard GA-P31-DS3L Intel P31 Express LGA775 1333 FSB Quad-Core / Core2 Extreme / Core2 Duo ATX £50
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Product...roductID=25415

Intel CPU Pentium DualCore E2180 2x2.0GHz £50 now sold out, grrrrr.
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Product...roductID=22054

Corsair 2048MB TwinX XMS2 6400 DDR2 Memory £44
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Product...roductID=15884

INNO3D GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR3 PCI-E, HDTV, DVI £65
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Product...roductID=21794

650W Silent ATX PSU +SATA cable 12cm fan 24 pin £22
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(12394)...an-24-pin.aspx

I'm ok for HDD and DVD burner so no need to include these items.

How does this look for about £235?


MML

[BFG]

looks ok to me, I might follow suit as I'm looking to build a new desktop.

Anyone recommend a good case as an addition to all this?

Sorry for hijacking your thread muttley...

[inspectercoley]

I have this one and its ace

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(25003)...ver-black.aspx

might need better psu tho... and i think its a lot cheaper on ebuyer

[muttleymacclad]

looks ok to me, I might follow suit as I'm looking to build a new desktop.

Anyone recommend a good case as an addition to all this?

Sorry for hijacking your thread muttley...

No probs BFG.

I think this would be quite a good deal, esp as the processor can be clocked quite a bit. Not sure whether this processor comes with it's own fan but if overclocking it may need something more substantial for cooling.

I've used micro direct as you can get 2% quidco, not sure whether ebuyer with £10 googlecheckout (re-registering as a new user) is better value though. Swings and roundabouts I guess.

MML

[pattikins]

looks ok to me, I might follow suit as I'm looking to build a new desktop.

Anyone recommend a good case as an addition to all this?

Sorry for hijacking your thread muttley...

If I didn't already own an Antec P180 I would have bought this:
Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Mid Tower Case - With 500W EarthWatts PSU (£71)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128045

[mysterym]

I don't mean to make this a "my case choice is better than yours thread", however i've done a lot of research in building my next penryn powered quad core machine and my current choice based on price and quality would be the Antec P182.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=8863

[muttleymacclad]

Yeah, yeah, yeah but what about my proposed set up !!!!!!!

I guess the problem with this case is that it's not a budget case, which I guess is what me and BFG are after. (Well I don't need a case as I'm using my old one with a new PSU but hey ho!)

Cheers for the input though, good to know the options m8.

MML

[pattikins]

Yeah, yeah, yeah but what about my proposed set up !!!!!!!

I guess the problem with this case is that it's not a budget case, which I guess is what me and BFG are after. (Well I don't need a case as I'm using my old one with a new PSU but hey ho!)

Cheers for the input though, good to know the options m8.

MML

I'd change the Corsair memory for: http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(14777)...l-Channel.aspx (quality brand, cheaper & better memory timings) & possibly change the PSU to something like this: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=408083 -
Otherwise, your proposed set up looks fine.

[muttleymacclad]

thanks m8.

that memory does look good.

MML