I need a graphics card for my

Mark_Dj

I need a graphics card for my sons pc. He got it for xmas of his granny. It got an AMD processor and standard memory and hard drive. What should I get him? Some of the games he got to play on his pc won't work til I fit a graphics card for him. Cheers for any info 🙂

Matt

What sort of games is he playing? What is the recommended GPU for them?

You'll more than likely need a AGP one. I got one for £60 from PC world for a 256mb one.

Mark_Dj

I am not sure Matt. It was asking for a better Direct X at first then said something about a 3d graphics card was needed. It's only got a sound blaster in his system. He can't play a Golf game he has.

Matt

Sound Blaster is the sound card.

What you need to do is find out what version of Direct X is running then. There is a way to do this from the run command, but I can't remember off the top of my head, and it also lets you test the current graphic settings.

Mark_Dj

Cool. I tried to put Diret X into his computer but then it said something about his graphics card, needed to be 3d or something. I will try and get a better spec on his pc. I don't want to buy him the wrong card lol. He only got the tower new, his gran bought the monitor and speakers separate.

DBcoup

see wot type of card the mobo supports agp, pci. pci-e

Mark_Dj

The motherboard is an Msi. This is his pc spec, either one or the other one...

Specifications: AMD Sempron processor 2800+
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
MSI K8MM3-V class 64 bit motherboard with integrated audio, graphics, LAN and USB 2.0
512MB DDR PC3200 400MHz memory (upgradeable up to 2GB)
80GB 7200RPM hard drive
16x dual layer DVD ± Re-writer
ATX COLORSit C43 midi tower case with 350W PSU

AMD Sempron processor 2800+
17” slim flat panel TFT monitor with built in speakers
MSI K8MM3-V class 64 bit motherboard with integrated audio, graphics, LAN and USB 2.0
512MB DDR PC3200 400MHz memory (upgradeable up to 2GB)
80GB 7200RPM hard drive
16x dual layer DVD ± Re-writer
ATX COLORSit C43 midi tower case with 350W PSU
Internet keyboard & optical wheel mouse

AMD Sempron processor 2800+ 64 bit
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Direct 2D/3D on-board graphics
MSI K8MM3-V class 64 bit motherboard
256MB DDR PC3200 400MHz memory
80GB hard drive with 2MB buffer
16x multi format dual layer DVD writer
5.1 channel on-board audio
1.44MB floppy drive
ATX COLORSit C43 midi tower case with 2 front USB ports
Ability Office Basics software included

He bought his pc from the same store with the above info, He has one of those above...

DBcoup

the board supports any 8*agp card running at 3 volts, depending on the games he plays get one with a minimum 128mb (prefrably 256mb) because it only has 256/512mb of ram. If you get a card with any less it will simply rob some of the system ram memory and slow everything down when gaming and running anything in the background, as on board it only has 64mb.

Mark_Dj

Cool. I will get a 256 graphics card tomorrow for him 🙂. Cheers mate

Mark_Dj

Whats best out of these below for him 🙂. Thanks

256MB ATI CONNECT3D RADEON X550 £33.63

Product Details: 256MB ATI Radeon X550 by Connect3D
Device Type: PCI-Express Graphics Card
Product Model: Connect3D 3034
Engine Speed: 400 MHz
Rendering Pipelines: 4 Rendering Pipelines
Pixel Fill Rate: 1600 Mega Pixels Per Second
Memory Speed: 250 MHz
Output Connectors: DVI, VGA & TV-Out
Features: Card meets requirements of popular games such as The Sims 2
Additional Information: Requires PCI-E X16 Slot
Warranty: 1 Year

256MB ATI CONNECT3D RADEON 9250 £30.37

Product Details: ATI / Connect3D AGP 8X 256MB Graphics Card / Adapter
Device Type: AGP Graphics Card
Chipset: ATI RADEON 9250
Interface Type: AGP 8x
Video Memory: 256 MB
Memory Clock: 200 MHz
RAMDAC Speed: 400 MHz
Interfaces: 1 x DVI-I - 29 pin combined DVI, 1 x TV-out, 1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
Features: Supports Dual-Monitor
Additional Information: OpenGL, DirectX 8.1 API Supported
Warranty: 1 year

256MB ATI CONNECT3D RADEON 9550 £36.19

Product Details: ATI / Connect3D AGP 8X 256MB graphics card
Device Type: Graphics card / Graphics adapter
Model: RADEON 9550
MPN: 6055
Chipset: ATI RADEON 9550
Interface Type: AGP 8x
Video Memory: 256 MB
Engine Speed: 250 MHz
Memory Clock: 200 MHz
RAMDAC Speed: 400 MHz
Interfaces: 1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15), 1 x DVI-I - 29 pin combined DVI, 1 x TV-out
Features: SMARTSHADER™ 2.0 - For improved programmability and performance
VIDEOSHADER
FULLSTREAM™
SMOOTHVISION 2.1
CATALYST® Software Suite

Additional Information: Supports Dual (2) Monitors
Warranty: 1 year

256MB NVIDIA MSI GEFORCE 6600LE OEM £39.19

Product Details: 256MB nVIDIA MSI GeForce 6600LE graphics card OEM
Device Type: Graphics card / Graphics adapter / Video card
Graphics Card Model: NX6600LE-TD256E

MPN: NX6600LETD256E
Quick Reference: 256PCX6600LEMSI
Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce 6600LE
Memory: 256MB DDR SDRAM
RAMDAC: 400 Mhz
Interface Type: PCI-E
TV: Yes
DVI: Yes
HDTV Ready: Yes
VIVO: no
SLI Supported: no
Cooler: Heatsink
Features: • NVIDIA® ForceWare™ software delivers unmatched features and rock-solid stability • High dynamic-range (HDR) rendering • NVIDIA® UltraShadow™ technology • NVIDIA® Intellisample™ high-resolution compression technology (HCT) • NVIDIA® ForceWare™ Unified Driver Architecture(UDA) • NVIDIA® nView™ multi-display technology • NVIDIA® Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) 3.0
Additional Information: Dedicated video hardware reduces CPU utilization and improves overall system performance
On-chip video encoder and motion estimation engine provides fast, high-quality encoding from TV tuner
Programmable video engine ensures compatibility with future video codecs
High-quality video scaling and filtering improves playback quality at any window size
Please note, this is an OEM item, therefore is not retail packed, and does not include any assembly accessories or software *
*in most cases

Warranty: 1 year

DBcoup

only the middle two are suitable the other are pci express and aint compatable.

DBcoup

check here out to view some cards out http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products ... bnails=yes

Mark_Dj

Ah, glad you noticed that. I am getting the one in the middle tomorrow as that shop is local to me. Whats the one in the middle you are on about as I have 4 up above. Cheers mate 🙂

Mark_Dj

It's ok it must be this one 256MB ATI CONNECT3D RADEON 9550 🙂

DBcoup

256MB ATI CONNECT3D RADEON X550 £33.63
256MB NVIDIA MSI GEFORCE 6600LE OEM £39.19 are pci-e so are unsuitable

256MB ATI CONNECT3D RADEON 9250 £30.37
256MB ATI CONNECT3D RADEON 9550 £36.19 are ok just double check they run 3v, but it says 8* so it should be fine.

sry yeah i noticed i mis-wrote it, just edited it. Been a long day lol