ATI Card upgrade help

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kamakazi

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Hello, Im looking to upgrade video cards on my pc, its a few year old vprMatrix 226R computer. XP Home, 2.26ghz p4 1gb memory. Currently using radeon 9800 and seems like i need a upgrade for Half-Life 2 for better graphic performance. What I've decided is to go with x800 GTO. Detailed and bought from here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102608&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&ATT=14-102-608

With that card, heres what i need help with-

Im worried if i will need a upgrade for power supply and processor. Running 2.26Ghz p4 and default 300w supply and really like to know if my pc will be able to handle it at 2.26ghz, i hear also power supplies are cheap, so im fine with purchasing a 350 or 400w power supply and have Fry's electronics install it for me. Any answers will be appreciated, heres pix to further give more info, if need anymore pix of other tabs let me know.



abspec1.jpg

abspec2.jpg
 
A gto would be fine and yes, you might want to get a better PSU, but with only 4x AGP capability you are going to be limited in your performance. I'm not sure if the GTO would give you THAT much more than the 9800 due to that.
 
hm ok lets see. this card here says it can run on 4x and 8x agp, and it performs alot better than my 9800pro that iv seen on benchmarks for lost coast. do you think i can run this card well on my PC?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7638318&type=product&id=1130987962424

or do you think upgrading my motherboard(its motherboard right?) to one that can equip PCI-Express video cards, since most of the high-end cards run on that instead of AGP, ??? can you mabye help me look for some motherboard that i can get with my intel p4 processor socket 478(no idea what that means or if u even need it) and can use t he pci-express cards with >_< need some major help;;

btw: purchasing a 400w power supply also, or if needed higher.
 
getting a new system would be the better move, but that would entail replacing most of the syste, now. CPU, Motherboard, RAM, PSU, Video Card... You might be able to use the Drives (Optical and HDD) again.

But the 7800GS in your system now would be serious overkill, not to mention a waste of money.. you will not get the performance out of it due to your motherboard only being capable of 4x.

It's like driving with only 3 gears... putting high octane gas in it isn't going to get you that much more horsepower... you can still only put it in 3rd gear max..

if you have the budget, and the time to do some research first, then my suggestion to you would be to build/buy a whole new system.
 
Hm i see. thats a downer, i just bought another 512mb of memory for this machine, and added a second hard drive. i have little knowledge on how to build a pc, and would most likey like to have someone else do it lol.. i have the game i play most on this pc and lots lots lots of music and things i want to keep :/ buying a new pc would suck i couldnt put my hard drives in it.

so getting new motherboard and psu isnt a good idea??? thats all i really need right? ;_; my processor should be ok i run hl2 fine as is ;;
 
hey hey hey
wait up
if u are using ide hdds then u should have no problem finding a mobo that can support them
my one does
so maybe not be so hasty
 
Well I guess i could use a program to transfer data on old pc HD to new pc HD via usb cable, iv seen some programs like that, norton ghost etc??

The problem is finding a well priced pc for sale (under 2000) with real good performance. take note the only game im wanting to have better graphic performance with is Half-life 2.. any suggestion around let me know, need some help browsin for a pc in that range. Prefer 160gb or higher HD-1gb mem+ and a good card for HL2, any ideas? ;;
 
under 2000?!? as is USD? that would buy one VERY nice machine and still save you some money.

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merc...Store_Code=M&Category_Code=allcustom#desktops

This place will let you congifure every part and they will do the work. All you will have to do is some searching on the forum here and see what's out there now. But some quick specs include

INTEL Core 2 Duo / AMD AM2 dual Core
Associcated mobo's for each type
2GB DDR2 PC4200 or better ram
ATI X1900XT(x) / Nvidia 7900GT(x)
Sata Hard drive (1 or 2)
DVD burner, etc...

but that will be based on your needs and how what you want it for. and how much you truely want to spend. but that website and Newegg are to very good starting points to see what's out there right now.
 
What about buying amd athlon 64 3500+ processor with the ati radeon amd mobo with pci-express slots.. i could just replace those two peices in my pc, lookin at under 200$ which isnt bad-

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4811710

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4509627

then get 450w power supply, and then buy a high-end ati pci-e card, what about that? or am i missing somthing, that could be cheaper than buying a whole new pc, keep my own memory to.

ps: one thing tho, what do i need to look for to see if this mobo can use my 2 harddrives i got in this pc on the intel mobo >_<
 
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