Simviation Forum - Need a little advice on a graphics card

Sep 13^th, 2004 at 12:40am

Professor Brensec Offline
Colonel
Can't you give me a couple
more inches, Adam?
SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA

Gender:
Posts: 2955

I've scored myself a very good buy on a 2 year old Dell system but it has Intel integrated graphics (850e I think).

I want to pop a GeForce or similar card in but don't want to have to start updating anything else (i'm in the process of buildinga 3.0Gb system).
I know this specific model came with optional GeForce graphics, so I know that it can be done, but I need to know what card to go for. Or at least, find out what is the maximum I can install, that will run OK without further mods.

I also want to try and get the GeForce (or similar) card on eBay (as it's just a temporary measure till my new one is finished in 12 months or so), so I again, need to know exactly what I'll need, or can settle for.

The system is as follows:

Dell Dimension 8100 P4 1.7 Gb
512 DR Ram (also what is DR ram as opposed to SD and DDR)
SoundBlaster Live
40 Gb HD
17" VDU Monitor
JVC 200watt speakers
Windows XP Home or Me (take your pick - does one or the other work better with CFS). I prefer Me, but will use XP if it will improve CFS performance.

I believe this particular system in Australia came with a 350 watt power source because of our 240 volt power. I've also read that even the standard 200 watt that it was released with in other countries was rated (in some way) to be more than capable of handling any possible mods, like graphics, sound etc

There you have it. What is your opinion as to what graphics card I should pop in. I know that it is only a 'mid range' PC and is not going to be the 'bees knees' with CFS3. But I'm hoping to be able to get a reasonable crack at it. I've had CFS3 for 18 months and haven't been able to run it on my old PC and my new one (which I'm slowly building bit by bit) is far from ready).

Thanks

&&&&http://www.ra.online-plus.biz&&&&&&I cried because I had no shoes - until I saw a man who had no feet.&&&&Dell Dimension 8100 - Intel P4 1.7 Gb - 512 RD Ram - nVidia GeForce 128 mb FX5200.

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Reply #1 - Sep 13^th, 2004 at 5:17am

Gixer Offline
Colonel
Lets go fly a kite!!

Posts: 1540

As long as you have an AGP port you can near enough put any graphics card in there you want as long as your PSU is up to scatch.

If you want a card to just tie you over I would go for either a GF4 Ti4600 128ddr (Seem hard to get hold of though) or a FX5200 128ddr. Both should be able to be had real cheap second hand. Dont expect miracles from them though, they wont run FS at its best I am afraid.

I have just upgraded my GF4 ti4600 and it was a superb card. It could just about handle 4x Anti-alias with a few other things turned down in FS2004. It ran CFS3 ok too, though didn't like the explosions much but I could live with that.

I would deffo go with XP over ME. XP should help your system run smoother and you may see a slight gain in performance.

If your sig at the bottom is what will be in your new rig you will not want a FX5200 g/card in there. Save up a bit more and go for a new gen card, like an ATI X800 or an Nvidia 6600 or 6800. These are far far far better than the old FX5000 or ATI's 9000 series of cards.

AMD64 3500+ @ 2200MHz 400FSB&&MSI K8N Neo 2 mobo nForce3 chipset&&1gig Corsair XMS PC3200 timings @ 10.2.2.2 &&XFX 6800 Ultra @ 450/1200&&80gig HDD&&Loadsa fans!!!

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Reply #2 - Sep 13^th, 2004 at 7:44am

Professor Brensec Offline
Colonel
Can't you give me a couple
more inches, Adam?
SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA

Gender:
Posts: 2955

Thanks for the advice Gixer.

I'll have a look in eBay for what you suggest.

It is kind of a 'tide me over' type exercise, although it could go on for a while, so I suppose maybe shelling out for something a bit better may even be an option. It's just that I was told by someone that if I put a card in that's too big and powerful, it may not run properly at all. I don't know how much this bloke knows, so I figured I'd come here. I know the people here are in the know when it comes to this stuff.

The 'work in progress' in my sig has changed to 3.0 gig PCU, bigger motherboard, Series 6 GeForce and 1 gig ddr @ 3200. The trouble is, as I buy the separate bits, the technology gets better and cheaper, so I keep deciding to upgrade (I've bought and then re-sold the motherboard once already - didn't lose any money either!!). So yes, it's changing all the time. That's why it's taking so long. That and money Grin

Anyway, thanks for the advice again. I know what to go for now.

Up till now I've been using a Compaq Pressario 700 Mhz with Intel (11 mb shared) graphics. So I know that whatever I do. I'm going to notice a big difference. Cheesy

Thanks

&&&&http://www.ra.online-plus.biz&&&&&&I cried because I had no shoes - until I saw a man who had no feet.&&&&Dell Dimension 8100 - Intel P4 1.7 Gb - 512 RD Ram - nVidia GeForce 128 mb FX5200.

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Reply #3 - Sep 13^th, 2004 at 9:32am

Professor Brensec Offline
Colonel
Can't you give me a couple
more inches, Adam?
SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA

Gender:
Posts: 2955

PS. I pick this PC up tomorrow. How do I know if it has the appropriate AGP input? If it doesn't, is there much involved in having one installed?

I know the 8100 came out with optional GeForce 2 and 4 graphics (32 and 64 mb I think) - Does this mean that it must have one?

Does it matter if the card is 4xAGP or 8XAGP (whatever that means?

(Sorry, but I'm not very well up on graphics stuff). Grin

&&&&http://www.ra.online-plus.biz&&&&&&I cried because I had no shoes - until I saw a man who had no feet.&&&&Dell Dimension 8100 - Intel P4 1.7 Gb - 512 RD Ram - nVidia GeForce 128 mb FX5200.

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Reply #4 - Sep 13^th, 2004 at 9:48am

Professor Brensec Offline
Colonel
Can't you give me a couple
more inches, Adam?
SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA

Gender:
Posts: 2955

Sorry, just another quick question. Cheesy

There seems to be alot of GF Ti4200 128mb ddr cards for sale on Australian eBay for really cheap prices.

What is the 4200 like. Is it a viable option for my needs, compared to the 5200 or 4600 that has been suggested. Remembering that I'm not expecting miracles, just want to try and get the best out of the available PCU and RAM etc that I now have access to. Grin

&&&&http://www.ra.online-plus.biz&&&&&&I cried because I had no shoes - until I saw a man who had no feet.&&&&Dell Dimension 8100 - Intel P4 1.7 Gb - 512 RD Ram - nVidia GeForce 128 mb FX5200.

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Reply #5 - Sep 13^th, 2004 at 12:30pm

Gixer Offline
Colonel
Lets go fly a kite!!

Posts: 1540

I believe the 4200 was a good card too, and if your adventurous a lot of them over-clocked quite good (They aould almost reach 4600 speeds) you can use a program called riva tuner to do this and it can be got at www.guru3d.com

If there is no AGP port it is not somthing that can be fitted. It is a port that comes on the mother board. You can get PCI graphic cards but they dont work as good as AGP ones, though if this is all you can get then so be it. Best thing to do would be to take the case apart on your old PC and check for an AGP port. You should see it pretty easy as its different to a PCI port and usually sits above all the PCI ports at the top.

As for a card thats to big and powerful, well its not teh card thats powerful its the power it uses. With my 6800Ultra it is recommended that I have no less than a 480w PSU. With the GF4 ti4600 I think i was using a 250w PSU and I am pretty sure this size PSU would run the FX5200 too.

It doesnt matter whether the card is 4x or 8x. If your mobo only supports 4x it will run tha card at 4x even if the card is 8x capable. Same as if you put a 4x card into an 8x mobo it will run at 4x. These numbers are the accelerated speeds for you graphics. the higher the number the better it should work. In bench tests 8x didn't score much higher than 4x though so I wouldn't worry to much.

I think thats answered them all!! Grin

One thing you must remeber FS2004 is a sim and also requires a really good CPU. You could have a top of the range G/card and a rubbish CPU and FS wouldn't run certain things in the game very well, i.e. AI traffic. CFS3 is pretty graphic intense too, but I am sure you will find a happy medium that will get you flying until your new rig is sorted.

Oh yeah, this may be a little late now, but if you are building a rig for mainly gaming and havn't brought the CPU or mobo yet consider going the AMD64 route. These are generally better for gaming where as pentiums are better for desktop applications.

AMD64 3500+ @ 2200MHz 400FSB&&MSI K8N Neo 2 mobo nForce3 chipset&&1gig Corsair XMS PC3200 timings @ 10.2.2.2 &&XFX 6800 Ultra @ 450/1200&&80gig HDD&&Loadsa fans!!!

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