NYYankees133B Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 I was thinking about getting a video card but I dont know alot about them I wanted to know what brand I should get, how it works (Do you have to open up your computer to insatall it), and if you don't need to open your computer up to install it where would it connect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APR Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 I should know because I just bought one. First, yes you do open the computer, and its basically a plug and play type deal so to speak. Couple things though. 1) What games are you planning on playing? 2) What's your price range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmariner Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 You are asking a tough question here. There are alot of video cards that work well with this game. For example I have a Nvidia gforce 4 TI 4200 and it works like a charm. Yes: to install a video card you have to open up the case. Now I dont know the specs of your computer, so I really can't get into details. Do you have a mother board with built in video? or do you just want to upgrade your card? Video cards come in AGP and PCI, so you need to make sure that you have the proper slot for it. All motherboards are different. You can get a very good video card that might not be the most expensive and will serve you for along time. Check your manual to see what expansion slots you have! Installing the video card is not hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmariner Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 I concur with Gameguy. Newegg has the best prices,shipping and customer service. Just a side note: Make sure you get something that is directx 9 compatible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APR Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 I concur with Gameguy. Newegg has the best prices,shipping and customer service. Just a side note: Make sure you get something that is directx 9 compatible. Ya, I just bought my GeForce 6600GT for $150 after rebates which is a fine deal. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYYankees133B Posted May 24, 2005 Author Share Posted May 24, 2005 I have a pentium 4 Dell flatscreen but, I wont put it in this computer im planning on getting a laptop to play my games. Thanks for your suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpooge Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 Unless you're going to be buying something like the laptops Alienware offers then you will not want to do alot of gaming on a laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APR Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 Gaming can be done on a laptop, my friend plays Call of Duty on high on his laptop. It can be done, but Desktop is probably better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerryW Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 Laptops are not meant for gaming. If you are planning on throwing in a 3000+ MHZ processor in there and a higher-end graphics card, expect to have a battery life of just over an hour..pretty pathetic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jitter Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 You do not want laptops for games. Call of Duty is not a very demanding graphical game. My framerates for that game are at least 2x higher than more demaning games such as HL2, Doom III, Far Cry, MVP baseball. tiger woods, etc etc... It is possible to run games on laptops, but you will need a high end one. ATI does make mobility cards for laptops but the only drivers available are from the manufacturer of the laptop not from ATI themselves. What i mean is you cant get video driver updates for your laptop from the ATI site you would need to goto dell, HP, etc etc. There is some software that will mod the standard drivers for laptops so you could go that route, but I still wouldnt recomend gaming on a laptop. Another thing you have to remember is that in laptops there is basically very minimal to no cooling and if your doing any type of heavy gaming it will get HOT and possibly damage something or cut the life of your components. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYYankees133B Posted May 25, 2005 Author Share Posted May 25, 2005 Thanks for all your opinions I think im just gonna buy a new desktop computer because the one im using right now is my brothers and hes not gonna like the fact of me opening it up and putting a video card in it. One other question what kind of desktop computers are good for gaming and are not really expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APR Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 Make sure you get a power supply good enough to power a good card. I just got my 6600GT in the mail today, and my 250 Watt stock is not able to handle it very good, so I'm upgrading to a 300 Watt. :mrgreen: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eber Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 Make sure you get a power supply good enough to power a good card. I just got my 6600GT in the mail today, and my 250 Watt stock is not able to handle it very good, so I'm upgrading to a 300 Watt. :mrgreen: Wow, only 300W? That's still pretty low for that card plus whatever you've got in your system. If you haven't upgraded already, I'd suggest at least 380W-400W. To be absolutely sure, (I don't have the site handy), but there are websites for power supply calculators--you input your components (CPU, optical drives, hard drives, videocard, etc...) and it calculates a recommended PSU wattage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jitter Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 How much are you willing to spend? If you build your own it will be a lot cheaper and you will get better overall performance. The main problem w/ buying a system from a company like Dell, Sony, HP, Compact, etc etc is upgradeability. For example I bought a Sony Vaio and I tried to put more RAM in it the PC keeps rejecting it and support cant help me out. Also the bios on all those PC's are locked which means you cant overclock or tweak other settings such as voltages, memory timings and such which can be important when trying to troubleshoot certain things. Also in my case the Powersupply is kinda stuck in its own cage above the videocard so I cant even upgrade that w/o rigging something up. I put a special cooler on my vid card and because of the way the power supply is my vid card wouldnt fit anymore. I had to take out the powersupply and hang it off the side of my case to put the vid card back in. Here is a list i made for a friend a couple months ago i dont know how up to date it is now, but it shouldnt be way off. I am not sure how much XP costs I kinda just made that one up because I was going to lend him a copy. Also if you have highspeed net then you can take off the money for the modem. This PC would not be extreme top of the line, but it is pretty highend and very upgradeable so you can add stuff to it later and would easily play any game out there now at decent settings. MSI K8Neo4 Platinum MotherBoard (MotherBoard) 1 SATA HD w/ NCQ Technology (Hard drive) 1 PCI-E 6600 Nvidia Ultra (Graphics Card) 1 GB Dual Channel DDR PC3200 RAM (Memory) 1 AMD 3500+ 64bit Processor (Processor) Case with 400+ Watt PSU (Case and Power Supply) 1 DVD +/-/Dual Layer Burner (Cd/DVD/Player/Burner) 1 56k v.92 Modem (Modem) Audigy 2 ZS SoundCard (Sound Card is optional) Windows XP Pro (Operating System) Price List MotherBoard $140 Hard Drive $100 Graphics Card $200 RAM $150 Processor $275 DVD Burner $70 Case $75 Modem $25 Monitor $150 SoundCard $100 Operating System $150 _____ $1435 No SoundCard (Onboard Sound) -$100 Lesser Processor (AMD 64bit 3200+) -$75 Lesser Graphics Card (Nvid 5750 or ATI X700Pro) -$40 to -80 Lesser RAM (512MB Dual Channel PC3200) -$75 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acpython1 Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 From personal experience, if you are inexperienced at building computers, and are looking for a reliable model, buy a standard Dell model, and throw in whatever upgrades you want from NewEgg. I used my Dell for gaming for 2 years, it cost me just under $2k when i first bought it 2 1/2 years ago. I recently built a new computer for myself. Don't buy from ZipZoomFly. Ever. Even if their prices are cheaper than Newegg. I bought most of my parts from ZZF (Motherboard, RAM, Processor, Case), and EVERY part was defective. My MoBo, RAM, and processor all had to be RMA'd, and the case that was supposed to come with a power supply did not. If you plan on building from scratch, make sure you don't forget anything important. I ended up ordering some missing parts from Newegg (Sound Card, Heatsink). I'd post your prospective specs here to be reviewed by those "in the know". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAM Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 Wow, only 300W? That's still pretty low for that card plus whatever you've got in your system. If you haven't upgraded already, I'd suggest at least 380W-400W. To be absolutely sure, (I don't have the site handy), but there are websites for power supply calculators--you input your components (CPU, optical drives, hard drives, videocard, etc...) and it calculates a recommended PSU wattage. don't skimp on a power supply either otherwise you'll find yourself replacing it about once a year. i recommend an antec true blue about 480 watts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezdriver Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 I was thinking about getting a video card but I dont know alot about them I wanted to know what brand I should get, how it works (Do you have to open up your computer to insatall it), and if you don't need to open your computer up to install it where would it connect. NYY, you are not a good candidate to build your own computer as evidenced by the statement above. Just go out and buy yourself the best computer that your money can buy (be it Dell, local shop-built, etc.) according to whatever your budget is. Also, truth be told, if you're buying for primarily gaming, try to go with an AMD-based system. Intel's are good in their own right, but AMD (especially the newer 64's) are geared more for gamers. Do a little research, comparison shop, and you'll once again be a happy gamer. Good luck! ez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jitter Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 I agree that he isnt a good candidate to build his own PC, but i thought maybe a friend or relative would have the knowhow/desire to do it. Maybe even have a PC shop build it. Normally for the components you get and the price I would recomend that over buying a dell, compact, HP or whatever. The problem w/ brand name PCs (except alienware but alienware is way overpriced) is they use OEM parts which trying to get certain support for is worse than pulling teeth. I definitely agree w/ the 64bit comments that seems to be the way of the future, and also I would get something with PCI-express graphics card instead of the AGP card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.