New Video Card for Nose

[Canadian Nose]

*NOTE* I know nothing about computers, so im not sure if ANY of this is relevant.*



I need a new Video Card. Ill give you my specs first.

Total Physical Memory: 1.00 GB
Used: 457.0 MB (44%) Free: 565.0 (55%)

Total Virtual Memory: 2.4 GB
Used: 432.5 MB (17%) Free: 2.0 GB (82%)

[C:/] Total: 144.3 GB
Used: 27.1 GB [18%] Free: 117.2 GB [81%]


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Internet Speed: 3.4 megabits per second

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Right. So, im not sure If you need that, but id hate to leave anything out. I guess its a pretty good computer, its new. The problem is, im getting 20-30 FPS on most maps, 40 if im lucky. I assume this is a graphic card problem. Its well ventilated, cause it was freezing up but I pulled it out of its cubby think a little bit and now it works fine.

Its a Raedon X600 Series. I just want Names, Series #'s or anything like that. Im looking for a video card that can get me 60-90 FPS average. Im NOT looking to spend thousands of dollars to get 200 FPS. I dont know a price range because I dont know the market. If I can get 150 FPS for 300 Bucks, thats wonderful. If I cant, oh well. I cant spend over 500$, Im sure of that. So any help in Price Ranges and/or specific companies, Names, Series, video Cards, anything.

It may not be a video card problem, because I heard it was a good card. If so, any suggestions as to what it might be would be great. Its wierd cause CS suggests high on all detail settings, but i only get 30 FPS. >.<

Thanks for your help, and sorry for any unnescary information.

[TEX]

ok first off, don't ever buy an ati again, worthless peice of garbage. However, if you currently have a x600, that means you have at least one pci-e 16x slot, yay!

Nvidia is the way to go, and right now, for the price your looking for, the Geforce 7900 GT is what you're looking for. Plenty of power, but still cost effective. It'll prolly get you 70-90 fps on high settings. Right now, on Newegg.com, eVGA is having a deal on their 'superclocked' model.

If you need any help finding it, just let me know

[Canadian Nose]

around 300 bucks, ok, thats good. Any idea what kind of FPS ill get with that?

And I think ATI was the only upgrade otpion, it was cheaper to buy a vid card in a package with the computer. but I wont. ^_^

Quick response, ty. Bookmarked. =)

[Jonus]

I have a NVIDIA GEFORCE 6800 and get high 70's to 90's and on really good days on smaller maps the 140's for some reason.

[Canadian Nose]

I have a AGP slot, w/e that means, so i need an AGP card, w/e that means. >.<

[TEX]

that cant be

the ati radeon x600 only comes in pci-e 16x not agp

but if you're sure you have agp, then you need a different card, oh and could you tell us what kind of agp slot you have (comes in 2x/4x, 4x/8x, and pro 4x/8x)

pci-e is the latest in mobo interface tech, agp (accelerated graphics port) is just a step down. It was made for video cards only, has a higher bandwith on the mobo than pci slots, this was the tech that ati placed all its hopes on. Sadley times changed and instead of converting to pci-e, they focused on agp cards, and eventually nvidia steamrolled all of them

[Canadian Nose]

Well, it says here (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_400?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~section=specs#tabtop)

that I have a PCI slot. However i have no idea which, so ill need to get back to you, thanks for your help. Ill make sure i have a PCI slot somehow.

[TEX]

err, is that the comp you have?

cause if it is then you don't need to upgrade anything

and i don't see anything about an AGP slot on the site

[Canadian Nose]

i have the xps 400. Thats just the generic one. Its a PCI. Should i still get the GEforce 7900 GT? It looks nice and its only 250, which is nice. =)

[TEX]

go ahead and get the Geforce 7900 GT from newegg, if it doesn't work, then you can send it back within a week to get your money back

[Canadian Nose]

ok. Whyd you say I didnt need to upgrade anything? Should my video card be able to handle 70 FPS?

[TEX]

well from the specs on the site you gave, you should have a Geforce 7800GTX, the third best video card for gaming, but i guess it depends on how long ago you bought your computer and when that site was updated

If you know you have a radeon x600, then the 7900 GT will be about 4 times better.

[Canadian Nose]

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150139

Is this it? Sorry i need so much confirmation, I just really dont wanna buy the wrong thing, and this only has 256 MB of memory, so i dont know if that is enough. Thanks for your help.

[TEX]

i personally have had bad exp's with xfx, but if you'd rather pay $10 more (after rebate), you get a faster core, faster memory, and a better quality card

It's recommended that you have at least a 400 Watt power supply with the eVGA though

if you have that i would recomend this one
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130016

[Canadian Nose]

375 watt power supply. That not good enough?

also those reviews talk about DOA cards and overheating problems, so im leaning towards original card. Think it will be fine?