Getting a new video card! Need help choosing which one.

ScenarioJosh · TweakNOOB Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 6

Hi, I have an nVidia GeForce 5500 FX video card, and it is acting up... the fan is making VERY loud noises and is overheating, so I am looking into getting a new one, hopefully an upgrade. I have a regular PCI slot, can anyone point me in the right direction? I am looking in the $100 price range, but would look at higher if it will get me a better product. I am using the card for gaming, mostly in the realm of RTS's, specifically AOE3, and would like ot be able to jack up the details on it.. can anyone give me a general idea on what cards I may want to get? I get lost in all the different cards out there.
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ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

PCI only?

do you have an AGP slot?
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ScenarioJosh · TweakNOOB Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 6

No, I just have a PCI slot.
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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

TBH, if your system is so old that it doesn't even support AGP, it's time to upgrade............WAY past time to upgrade. You're well past the point where you'll be able to run high details on any newer games with any reliability.

You can get an FX5700 for about $100, but it's not gonna be a whole lot better than your current 5500.........PCI video cards stopped "growing" several years ago.

Post the rest of your system specs, if you would. I'm interested to see what you have........maybe a patch-up system upgrade would work to get you to at least AGP status.
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Xal · Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 7:34 am Post subject:

My guess is he has a brand name machine like dell. Maybe a dell Optiplex 170 series? If so it is still a p4 and shouldn`t be short of CPU power. The 5700 FnF mentioned would probably be your best bet. You should see a marked increase in framerate over your current card but it still wont be up to the speed expectations of AGP and PCIE. Still the games you mentioned shouldn`t need much more than that so enjoy it till you can afford a new rig

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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

That's kinda why I wanted to see system specs. He might be able to move to a "newer" mobo with AGP support for a few bucks, you can still get decent older mobos that would support PC133 RAM. Depends on what proc he has, though. As of last month, the "business computer" shop where I used to live in CT still had some Tyan and Gigabyte skt 478 mobos for $30 or so, brand new.
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ScenarioJosh · TweakNOOB Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 6

Yes, its a Dell dimension 2400 PC. I purchased it perhaps 2 years ago. I have come to the conclusoin that I need a new motherboard, but now I need to figure out what motherboard!

I have 512mb ram and 2.4 Ghz CPU.
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ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

anything by MSI, Asus, Abit, or intel (for the non overclocker) should suit you fine.

Just find the one with teh specs you need...=]

Does your chip have HT?
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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

No, he's got a Celeron.........400mhz FSB, no HT. I'm assuming the 512mb RAM is an upgrade, that rig only came with 256 installed.

Honestly, I'm not going to suggest a PCI vid card for your rig. Instead, I would get 1gb of system RAM, use CPUz (google for it) to find out what your memory timings and voltage are, so you can upgrade accordingly. This will give your Intel graphics chip a little breathing room, and make your system perform better.

The main reason I'm suggesting this is that a PCI card might perform slightly better than your onboard graphics, BUT it won't be DX9 compatible, which will actually degrade how your newer games look.

As far as a mobo, you might have a problem there. Dell mobos typically have proprietary mounting, so putting an Asus or Abit in that case may not be possible, in which case (no pun intended) you're looking at a new case as well. Toss in a PSU that will fit the new case................
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ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

this is a good point.....although with a little "help" (drill) mounting.....
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ScenarioJosh · TweakNOOB Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 6

Yes, the 512 was an upgrade.. so your thinking once the video card I have now totaly quits on me because of the fan, I should just take it out, get more ram and then just use the onboard graphics?

From the sounds of it, a new system might be a better value then trying to upgrade. Is this correct?
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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Yes, and yes.

It's a trade-off with the onboard graphics. You'll lose a little bit of power over your 5500, but what you lose, you'll more than make up for in DX9 compatibility. As crappy as the Intel Extreme chips are, they're still better than an FX series card. And since the onboard graphics use system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, the 1gb upgrade will help overall. It also runs on the AGP system bus, which is faster than the PCI bus your 5500 is running on now.

Yeah, unfortunately, you got a machine that isn't particularly upgradable, so you're pretty much left with buying a new rig. Cost is a trade-off. You can build a nice game-worthy system for around $1200-$1500, or you can buy another pre-built for about the same price, and run into the same potential problems again.

If it were me, and I was on a tight budget, I would yank the PCI vid card, upgrade the RAM (you should be able to get compatible RAM for under $100) and start saving up for a new system entirely. If you upgrade in the next 6 months or so, and go with an AMD based system, your new RAM will drop right into it, so you wouldn't be wasting any cash, whereas spending $100 or more on a new PCI vid card would be a pure waste of money.
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[KoG]^weaZel · Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:08 am Post subject:

uummmm the machine is two years old does it even have the Intel Extreme Graphics capable of DX9?
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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Yeah, it should have. DX9 was released in 2002.
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2old2care · Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:28 pm Post subject:

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/eg1/index.htm

Prolly not....an 845 chipset won't even play Final Fantasy 11... I had to put a PCI video board in a Gateway the other day because of something it didn't support.
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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Hmm.......that's odd. I know the 845-based chip I had on an older mobo supported DX9 with no issues. I guess a check with Sandra or Everest is in order, it'll say if it is or not.
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ScenarioJosh · TweakNOOB Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 6

So.. the final advice is to buy a 1gb ram upgrade? Then save for a newer rig?
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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

That would be my advice.........Weaz? 2O? Any other suggestions?
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[KoG]^weaZel · Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:50 pm Post subject:

Don't spend the money on the ram. Just save for a new rig.

As far as DX9 support in chipsets goes, I don't think that the Intel's had support for DX9 stuff till at least Intel Extreme Graphics II and even then it was spotty.
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2old2care · Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:02 pm Post subject:

Spend 10 or 20 bucks and replace the GPU heatsink and maybe add ramsinks to the 5500 while you save up.
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ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

^^^^at this point agreed.....if youre looking for instant gratification, a ram upgrade will help here, but it will just allow you to prolong the new rig build longer, whic you dont wanna do.....isnt just so nice getting all new gear?!?!?

Anyway....i have to agree....how is your case ventillation? Maybe just do what 2o said
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Xal · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:55 am Post subject:

I agree, fitting a new GPU heatsink should tide you over till you can afford a new rig and it means you should still be able to play your games. Good luck.

Oh and did you say the card fried? Whats it doing (not posting/ flashing etc...)

Let us know before you go for the new heatsink/fan.
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ScenarioJosh · TweakNOOB Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 6

No, its not fried... but the fan makes horrifying noises, then it will stop, to begin again later... its progressivly getting worse.
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sickofsoyo · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 2:16 pm Post subject:

yea your vid card fan is dieing. Just get a new one, look aorund. It might even be ok just without the fan, just a heat sink.
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Xal · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 9:07 am Post subject:

You should be good just replacing the Heatsink and fan then. Just look for your card make and model and search the web for a compatible HSF (heatsink and fan). Should only be between $10 and $30 and you should be fine.
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