Which video card should I get?

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:18 am

Hello all,

I have a Dell Dimension 8300 with Windows XP home and Office 02 Pro. I have owned it since new and have upgraded a couple things on it. I installed a new ultra silent case fan (with help from you guys here) and a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS sound card. I ordered it maxed out from the factory, with a 3Ghz P4 chip with HT, 1GB or ram, 200GB hard drive, and DVD/CD burner. It has an outdated ATI-all-wonder 9000 Pro 64 graphics card, which makes so much noise when running it is scary!

I figured that I would keep the unit as-is until Windows Visa was released. Well, it is almost here!! I want to run the ultimate version of Windows Visa with the Aero experince. I do not want to go overboard and spend tons of money on this computer. What are some video cards that I should be looking at? I do not play video games, but I do have a digital monitor with a DVI input that I would like to continue using. I want quiet, reliable, fast and fully Windows Visa Aero capable.

Thanks for your help!

trudodyr · Post by **trudodyr** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:23 pm

I'd go for a cheap (<40â‚¬) Geforce 6200 AGP card. Those are usually passively cooled, 128MB of RAM is plenty and they will support Vista's Aero.

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:06 pm

I forgot to mention that the computer can only use a regular PCI card, not PCI Express. Could I put a PCI Express card into a regular PCI slot?

qviri · Post by **qviri** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 7:32 pm

mini1 wrote:I forgot to mention that the computer can only use a regular PCI card, not PCI Express.

What about AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)?

Could I put a PCI Express card into a regular PCI slot?

No.

Tzupy · Post by **Tzupy** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:34 am

That Dell also came with a 9800 Pro AGP card, so it MUST have an AGP slot.
I suggest to stay within the power envelope of the 9800 Pro, like under 50W, to avoid straining the Dell PSU.
Something like HIS Radeon 1650 Pro Iceq AGP maybe. Many other AGP cards have a small and noisy fan.
If you are not gaming, maybe you can still find a passive Radeon 9550 AGP.

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:37 am

What is the difference between AGP and PCI?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:54 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerated_Graphics_Port

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral ... terconnect

Basically both are pretty much obsolete in terms of high-end graphics cards.

Tzupy · Post by **Tzupy** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 5:26 am

Here is a link to a passive 9550 AGP: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125170
It is fully DX9 compatible, so it *should* run Aero. But you must find out IF it will be supported under Vista.
Ati and nVidia will probably focus driver support on their newer chips. Maybe the old 9550 will have a driver included in Vista?

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:34 pm

Alright, so I know that I should get an AGP card. What are the best options for me? I've got the 9550 down. Which cards will work with Vista Aero without question? I don't want to buy a card then not have it work with Vista.

oakdad · Post by **oakdad** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:29 pm

This link has a 1300 being Vista ready
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814103016

And the 1300s comes in a PCI, AGP and PCI-E version.

jackylman · Post by **jackylman** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:27 pm

Here's a passive GeForce 7600GS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Custratin ... 6814125039

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:36 pm

I looked at the 1300. It doesn't look that great, only good. The GeForce 7600GS looks to be what I'm looking for. It is listed on newegg as "Vista Ready" but are they 100% sure that it will work with Vista Aero? It has 4 times that amount of memory I have now on my current card. Are there other cards out there like the GS?

oakdad · Post by **oakdad** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:10 pm

If you are sure you have an AGP able to do at least 4x then the 7600gs linked above is the answer. If you only have PCI then the 1300 is the fastest card you can get and I found that this one is passive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161050

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 4:17 pm

oakdad wrote:If you are sure you have an AGP able to do at least 4x then the 7600gs linked above is the answer. If you only have PCI then the 1300 is the fastest card you can get and I found that this one is passive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161050

How can I be sure that my computer can support this AGP card? It looks like the best choice.

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 2:13 pm

anyone?

fmriguy · Post by **fmriguy** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:42 pm

mini1 wrote:anyone?

If you go to the Dell Support website you can punch in your Dell ID number and/or just look up your model # and then navigate to the specifications section. Then you can see what types of ports, slots, etc that it has. You could also attempt to go to their "upgrade" section and see what it suggests as an upgrade (and see what slot their recommendations are). I've done this with a number of other dells...

The (debatably) more time consuming alternative is to just open up your case and look. Hope this helps!

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:26 pm

I just pulled up the Dell website. Wow, is that helpful! It says that I have 1 AGP 8X slot.

So, the 7600GS is the card I want? Can this card do what is named Vista Aero Glass??

Thanks.

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:36 pm

I'm reading further and I see that APG is listed as: connector=172 pins, connector data= 32 bit, bus protocol= 8x/4x/2x at 1.5v

fmriguy · Post by **fmriguy** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:55 pm

mini1 wrote:I just pulled up the Dell website. Wow, is that helpful! It says that I have 1 AGP 8X slot.

So, the 7600GS is the card I want? Can this card do what is named Vista Aero Glass??

Thanks.

The 7600gs is a great choice and it looks like it fully supports windows vista:

http://www.nvidia.com/page/technology_vista_home.html

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:59 pm

but will it work with my set-up? It says that it is 128 bit. My slot says it is 32 bit, isn't that a problem?

qviri · Post by **qviri** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:03 pm

128 bit is the width of the memory interface on the card itself, not the AGP connector.

Since you have an 8x AGP slot, any AGP card will work in it.

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:12 pm

perfect, will is work with Windows Vista Aero "Glass"?

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:21 pm

There seems to be a 7600GS 512MB card. Should I got that instead?

See here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/nVidia-PNY-Geforce- ... dZViewItem

Stereodude · Post by **Stereodude** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:10 pm

mini1 wrote:There seems to be a 7600GS 512MB card. Should I got that instead?

See here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/nVidia-PNY-Geforce- ... dZViewItem

Are you sure that one on ebay is fanless? (assuming you want fanless)

qviri · Post by **qviri** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:30 pm

As far as I know, 512 MB of video RAM is useless unless you're a hardcore gamer.

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:49 pm

Stereodude wrote:
mini1 wrote:There seems to be a 7600GS 512MB card. Should I got that instead?

See here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/nVidia-PNY-Geforce- ... dZViewItem
Are you sure that one on ebay is fanless? (assuming you want fanless)

I just pulled it up on NVidia's website. It DOES have a fan! Darn! Oh well, good thing you mentioned that.

Does anyone know what I referring to as Aero "Glass"? I need to make sure this card will work with that.

mini1 · Post by **mini1** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:29 pm

Anybody know anything about Ram in these computers? I went crucial.com and scanned my system. I have 2x 512mb sticks with a max of 4 GB allowed. They are DDR PC3200. I want to add at least another set of 2x 512mb sticks. Can I just go on ebay and buy any brand or type of DDR PC3200 sticks and they will work or do they have to be specific to my system?

Stereodude · Post by **Stereodude** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:18 pm

In general any DDR PC3200 should work. However, I would stick to reputable brands and reputable retailers.

oakdad · Post by **oakdad** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 6:00 am

To bad it says out of stock but this one sure looks nice.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... ode=327704

Towermax · Post by **Towermax** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 2:00 pm

mini1 wrote:Anybody know anything about Ram in these computers? I went crucial.com and scanned my system. I have 2x 512mb sticks with a max of 4 GB allowed. They are DDR PC3200. I want to add at least another set of 2x 512mb sticks. Can I just go on ebay and buy any brand or type of DDR PC3200 sticks and they will work or do they have to be specific to my system?

Buy.com has a pretty hot deal on Kingston 512MB DDR PC3200 for $59.95 each plus free shipping. Using Google check-out gets you another $20.00 off, so your final cost is $39.95 shipped, with Kingston's lifetime warranty.

If you want two sticks, place two separate orders and use Google check-out for each order. 1GB for $79.90--not bad.

http://www.buy.com/prod/Kingston_512MB_ ... 46746.html

And Newegg has a special on a pair of Corsair dual-channel 512MB PC3200 DIMMS for $98.99 (free shipping with PayPal through today, I believe). The Corsair RAM is slightly better than the Kingston RAM--it's CL2.5, the Kingston is CL3.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145440