Graphics card help needed

[bighands3d]

need to know if I need a DDR or some other type

I have a 4yr old Dell Diminsion 4550 Intel P4, 2.53GHz, 533MHZ, I know I upgraded video card not sure if it takes a DDR type with this older system. I think my card is only 64MB Nvidia

will this one work GeForce FX5200 128MB DDR AGP Video Card or do I need a 256MB.

Thanks in advance

[BigVanVader]

Hey man....long time no see...you might want to consider going a little higher up the chain on video cards....im running an nvidia FX5700LE 256 card and it barely kepps up...my frame rates are not that spectacular...you might think about going up to at least the FX6600GS 256 or higher

[HeliDan]

what is considered to be a good frame rate? I upgraded my RAM and vid card and have rates of about 150.

[kgfly]

HeliDan - Anything over 50 is bling, anything under 30 is approaching unflyable

AFAIK 128MB vs 256 MB is not a big deal for this application but the GPU performance of a 5200 is just *way* too low, something like a 6600GT or X1600Pro would be as low as I would suggest today.

[bighands3d]

will this one work well NVidia GeForce 6600VE 512MB PCIe Video Card

[bighands3d]

This is for a G3.5 setup. So what am i looking for in an AGP or PCIe card how much GPU is needed. how much Ram is need to run this optimal.

[kriptik]

I run it on my pc that's about 8 years old. It runs fine...no lag, no glitches. Whatever stick input I give, the heli will move with no delay.

Heres the specs of my pc:

-Intel pentiumIII 866mhz
-512MB of ram
-128 ati radeon video card

[kgfly]

will this one work well NVidia GeForce 6600VE 512MB PCIe Video Card

I reckon it will. I personally wouldn't be paying a premium for 512MB of VRAM, it's certainly not needed for R/C sims or even for most PC games. Of couse if the price is OK then it won't do any harm. I also have been unable to find the difference between this "6600VE" and the better known 6600GT. If the performance is the same or better than the GT then it will certainly do the job.

Does your motherboard have both AGP and PCIe ? If so you can choose either kind of card, it doesn't matter much from a performance point of view so whichever is cheaper. If not then your choice is made for you.

You might find this interesting (or maybe just confusing :lol: ) : http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

[BigVanVader]

Yes....definately make sure your motherboard has a PCIe slot.

[bighands3d]

I know my video card is only 64MB Nvidia and I only have 256Ram. I plan on getting a bigger screen I have a 16" CRT I like the new 19" LCD's the one Mac has set up in his shop is nice.

[kgfly]

I have a 4yr old Dell Diminsion 4550 Intel P4, 2.53GHz, 533MHZ

You mean this PC only came with 256MB of main RAM ? You will definitely need to upgrade that, toss in 1GB and you will be amazed how much faster even plain old Word will run.

That 64MB Nvidia won't cut it but if you upgrade you main RAM and get the 6600GT it should handle the sims very nicely.

[bighands3d]

Thanks for the help just need to make sure now that my slot for video is AGP or PCI I don't think I can get a PCIe for this computer. Video is an old Geforce 4 MX 420 and 256MB Ram is it.

Planed on going to 1024RAM they don't have a 1GB for this older speed. I'm computer illiterate any how on Technical stuff.

[kgfly]

1024MB of RAM = 1GB of RAM

According to this review: http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_Dimension_4550_series_for_home/4505-3118_7-20478986.html your PC has an AGP slot, but get someone who knows about such things to check it before buying a graphics card. If it doesn't have an AGP slot then don't bother with a new card, get a new PC, it's simply not worth upgrading that one with more memory and I think you would find it hard to find a decent PCI graphics card anyway.

[VKGT]

FYI 1024MB is the same thing as 1GB


Check www.newegg.com for some good prices. If I were you, I wouldn't go anything less than a GeForce 6800 these days. It's an investment, if you get the right card when you buy, you won't have to upgrade sooner than if you bought the cheapo one.

Upgrade the RAM, upgrade the Graphics card :)

[kgfly]

I just took a look on newegg, sheesh, you guys have it good in the US. Just some examples that I found which would do a fantastic job for the R/C sims and most of the latest 3D games too:

Under $150:
* Radeon X1650PRO 512MB GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X (even the IceQ version which is nice and quiet)
* NVidia GeForce 6800XT 512MB GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X

Under $100:
* Radeon X1650PRO 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X (just as good for R/C sims as the 512MB card)
* NVidia GeForce 6800XT 256MB GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X

You need to be sure your motherboard supports at least AGP 4X (some older ones were only AGP 2X).

[VKGT]

No doubt :) I buy all of my components from NewEgg despite the fact that I get discounts for being a part time employee at Best Buy when I'm not playing Active Duty Air Force guy deployed.. lol