Not Sure about VGA upgrade

[skikaz]

Trying to upgrade an eMachine T4480
P-4 2.4 GHz
1 GB DDR SDRAM (2700)
Bus Speed 533 MHz
ATI Radeon 9000 64MB
PS 250 WATT

Runs BF2 OK in singleplayer with few problems but have not tried multiplayer yet. Think it would crash or just screw up the game for others. Once it kinda froze but only on the opposition, got in close for head shots.
I don't have but $200-$300 max. Eating only cheese and crackers to get there(and sometimes peanut butter ) and cutting back to cheap cat food (I do have cats). Worried about all the 'if's' on upgrading. I know a new power supply will be needed but not sure of problems with motherboard or with agp4x. I've searched the forums and find some info that helps. With some luck I was going to order a 6800 but just today I found a All-In-Wonder X800 XT Video Card, 8x AGP, 256MB DDR for $280. Would that be a good deal for me if I did get a new PS?

[Scinto]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

500w Power Supply is reasonably cheap,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182003

if you hav AGP 4x most likely you will find AGP8x cards wont work

[skikaz]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

This card has AGP 8X 4X shown on the box. I'm staying away from those that only has 8x in the specs. Most state some info but not always.

Card System Requirements:

* ALL-IN-WONDER® X800 XT requires connection to your PC’s internal power supply for operation. A 300-watt power supply or greater is recommended to ensure normal system operation. A 350-watt power supply may be required in some fully-loaded PC systems where a number of other internal devices are installed.
* Intel® Pentium® 4/Celeron™, AMD® Athlon® or compatible with AGP 8X (0.8V) or 4X (1.5V) slot

on newegg its listed as ATI All-In-Wonder X800 XT 100-714200 Radeon X800XT 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail for $299.00.
I would try to build a new system but that would take too long while getting the money. So I'm looking for the best way to improve game specs.

[Scinto]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

the graphics is the only thing letting you down at the moment, but will proberly die from the lack of power *hint*

others mite question how much ram you hav but ive 1gb i dont get much hassle from the game adding an xtra 512mb stick would be good if you could add it to your budget

[redrider]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

Scinto is right about the video card, It will work fine but you will need more power. In order to stay on the cheaper side I would only go for a power supply around 400 watts(probably about 90 bucks or less) any bigger will cost more and you really dont need the power with your current system.
If you are woried about on line play, I would start by checking my frame rate in empty servers. After that move into 16 player servers that arent full (at least 10 players). The mother board with a 533 bus will become a bottle neck for your system in the near future. I would look into a new one but get the mother board and ram at same time. I would also try and reuse as much of my current components as possible (ie. new video card, CPU, drives, etc.). There is a web site called anandtech.com that has forums that discuss computer hardware issues in greater depth. I saw a thread about how to build a gaming machine on the cheap (I been there and done that, the computer is my second BF2 machine). They might have some helpful tips that we missed here. Hope this helps. . . . . . . .Red

[Scinto]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

In order to stay on the cheaper side I would only go for a power supply around 400 watts(probably about 90 bucks or less) any bigger will cost more and you really dont need the power with your current system.

check the link i posted from a different thread someone asking abut PSU advise

[skikaz]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

I am Looking for a 400w PS or higher but not sure if there is an amp rating I should look for, card does not specify. The higher the better but cost more too. There are some with 12v 12amp up to 18amp.

[reverend1313]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

You might want to jumo out to www.Newegg.com for the power supplies...If nothing else you can look through a bunch and read some reviews and see which ones seem to be rated high. I personally like Antec Power supplies as they seem to be very reliable but they are a lil more expensive then most.

As for the Vid card. There is a new card that just came out that is very fast for around 300.

Geforce 7800GS 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X

at neweggs site they seem to run from 290 and up. But they are supposed to just be great fast fast cards. If they werent so much I would love one to upgrade for my 6600GT.

[Death Merchant]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

i hear that the 6800gs is an awesome buy for $190

[jdrou]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

The video card is certainly your weakest link but I wouldn't spend too much on an AGP card for that system. You will probably be wanting to upgrade the motherboard fairly soon too and you'll probably want one with PCI-e so your AGP card wouldn't work. Your new mb will need new RAM and a new video card. That 6800GS sounds like about the highest I would go.

[megawhompertoo]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

I would go ahead and get the card (x800xt AIW) and then save up $40 for another 512mb ram. That system will keep you gaming for two more years.

I have an AIW x800xt and I have been nothing but (mostly) pleased. Early on, there were jagged lines across the screen SOMETIMES, but the newest drivers fixed that. That's one thing about ATI--updated drivers every month (occasionally twice-a-month) to keep their users happy.

The plusses:

1) x800xt is one of the two best AGP cards to own playing BF2

2) the AIW part of the card will let you do tivo, record from any video source (dvd, vcr, camcorder) directly to your hard drive, where you can edit, save, export, etc

3) nobody with an nvidia card can do ^^^ that without buying an add-on product

4) 16 glorious pixel pipelines in glorious AGP

5) same price as 7800gs, which (probably) is just a little faster, but doesn't do the AIW stuff

6) when you finally upgrade your computer, you can park your old computer (with the x800xt AIW) in front of your TV and have a really nice home theater PC.

Ok, there are a couple of "bad" things:

1) you're getting the best of a dead technology (agp is going away)

2) other than that, not much else

Just to be clear, just because AGP is dying, don't make the mistake of missing out on getting in on what is still a pretty great card. The x800xt AIW will work wonders for you for 18-24 months, and it is a far more useful card than most others.

If it was me, I'd get the card, play the newest games at a great frame rate, and not look back when I have to lower the settings A LITTLE next year.

You need at least a 350W PSU to run it though. I have a 380W with 2 hd's and 2 optical drives, and a 3.0ghz Prescott and it runs just fine.

Best of luck. If you have more questions about the product, post them.

edit: some of the above posters are correct, in their own particular manner. you should save up while the "early adopters" are wringing the bugs out of pci-e and by the time you absolutely have to upgrade (24-30 months from now if you get the AIW x800xt) you will be in a better position to buy than if you piece-mealed a new computer now. What I'm saying is to make the most of what you have, and be happy with a farily great--and very flixible--system for a while.

[CaptJordus]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

I would go ahead and get the card (x800xt AIW) and then save up $40 for another 512mb ram. That system will keep you gaming for two more years.

I have an AIW x800xt and I have been nothing but (mostly) pleased. Early on, there were jagged lines across the screen SOMETIMES, but the newest drivers fixed that. That's one thing about ATI--updated drivers every month (occasionally twice-a-month) to keep their users happy.

The plusses:

1) x800xt is one of the two best AGP cards to own playing BF2

2) the AIW part of the card will let you do tivo, record from any video source (dvd, vcr, camcorder) directly to your hard drive, where you can edit, save, export, etc

3) nobody with an nvidia card can do ^^^ that without buying an add-on product

4) 16 glorious pixel pipelines in glorious AGP

5) same price as 7800gs, which (probably) is just a little faster, but doesn't do the AIW stuff

6) when you finally upgrade your computer, you can park your old computer (with the x800xt AIW) in front of your TV and have a really nice home theater PC.

Ok, there are a couple of "bad" things:

1) you're getting the best of a dead technology (agp is going away)

2) other than that, not much else

Just to be clear, just because AGP is dying, don't make the mistake of getting in on what is still a pretty great (though sinking) ship. The x800xt AIW will work wonders for you for 18-24 months, and it is a far more useful card than most others.

If it was me, I'd get the card, play the newest games at a great frame rate, and not look back when I have to lower the settings A LITTLE next year.

You need at least a 350W PSU to run it though. I have a 380W with 2 hd's and 2 optical drives, and a 3.0ghz Prescott and it runs just fine.

Best of luck. If you have more questions about the product, post them.

your #1 is wrong.

There are several cards better for BF2.

7800GT, 7800GTX, 7900GT, 7900GTX, X1900XT, X1900XTX, etc.

[megawhompertoo]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

your #1 is wrong.

There are several cards better for BF2.

7800GT, 7800GTX, 7900GT, 7900GTX, X1900XT, X1900XTX, etc.

and those are all pci-e.

he/she has an agp mobo, with a decent processor, 512mb ram, at least one hd, and at least one optical. he/she'd have to toss the most expensive parts of that system to get to one of the gfx cards you're talking about.

actually, if you've got a link to any of the above in an agp config, i'd LOVE to see it.

have a great friday, and don't stay up to late looking for agp version...

[skikaz]

Re: Not Sure about VGA upgrade

thanks for the help guys, but I found a PNY 6600 AGP 256MB for $120 and got it. just didn't have the money to go the best or semi-best and thought this was the best in that price range. now looking for a pwr sup that might be able to go in a new pc later on. from a Radeon 9000 to the PNY 6600 is great, now just getting the bugs out and will maybe try the overclocking later, then some more memory. I can only dream about a nice system with a high end card and what the would be like. maybe soon.... thanks again