Thread: What graphics cards should I get?

what can your motherboard take?
PCI / AGP / PCI-E ?

I don't know.

How do I find out?

is it a pre-built system?
if so, post the make and model

Well, why do you need to upgrade?
Do you game? If so, how recent of games are you playing? Do you have trouble running them?
If not, are you running XP? Vista? Linux? BSD? OSX? If Vista, can you run Aero? Do you want to run Aero?

On the whole of it, unless you're a gamer, or want extra eye candy (Aero, Compiz, etc) and can't get it with what you've got, there's no point in upgrading.

Another note, if you're upgrading from integrated graphics in a desktop to a graphics card, especially a mid or upper range card from any era, (7800, 8800 series Nvidia cards, for example), you're going to need a new PSU. Most out-of-the-box systems aren't designed to be easily upgraded in terms of graphics. For example, my Compaq Presario had integrated graphics. I thought about upgrading it for a long time, and ultimately didn't, because it only had a 200-watt PSU that would collapse under the load of even a small increase in power needs. That and I only had PCI slots, no PCI-e or even AGP.

Sorry took so long, didn't have access to this computer for a while.

It's a dell, E510.... it's about 2 years old.

Edit: Not modified in any way

Originally Posted by Tsen

Well, why do you need to upgrade?
Do you game? If so, how recent of games are you playing? Do you have trouble running them?
If not, are you running XP? Vista? Linux? BSD? OSX? If Vista, can you run Aero? Do you want to run Aero?

On the whole of it, unless you're a gamer, or want extra eye candy (Aero, Compiz, etc) and can't get it with what you've got, there's no point in upgrading.

Another note, if you're upgrading from integrated graphics in a desktop to a graphics card, especially a mid or upper range card from any era, (7800, 8800 series Nvidia cards, for example), you're going to need a new PSU. Most out-of-the-box systems aren't designed to be easily upgraded in terms of graphics. For example, my Compaq Presario had integrated graphics. I thought about upgrading it for a long time, and ultimately didn't, because it only had a 200-watt PSU that would collapse under the load of even a small increase in power needs. That and I only had PCI slots, no PCI-e or even AGP.

This machine I'm planning to upgrade runs XP.

I guess I would consider myself a gamer, in that I like to play games, and the latest ones.

Mainly I want a graphics card that can handle Bioshock and Half-Life 2: Orange Box, as I got those for the holidays. I know nothing about about graphics cards but I'm pretty knowledgeable about most other computer things.

Edit: This is a desktop and not intergrated. Originally I was planning to upgrade my laptop but Ynot told me that to do that I would need a new laptop which I can't afford.

If it's a Dell Dimension E510 and not modified in any way, then you are currently using integrated graphics
(open it up and check, just to be sure)

blurb here: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/del...-31555136.html

Specs here: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/del...html?tag=specs

you have one PCI-E x16 slot, so you can upgrade to pretty much any card out there

you have a uni-core processor

so if you're planning to upgrade to vista, you may be disappointed by the performance

the choice of card is up to you, but I think your processor is going to end up being the bottleneck

You currently have 512mb ram
you might also want to think about bunging in a lot more

some cards:

High end
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4BG0

Mid range
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4R4D

Budget
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4KPG

The 8800 GTX isn't the high-end card anymore, it's just throwing money away. The new 8800 GT 512 has better performance in most cases, and just shy of the GTX in the rest, and costs about 1/4th the cash. And in a couple of weeks [EDIT: Oops, already out.] 8800 GTS 512's will hit the shelves, which would be the best GFX solution out there for a while.
But if you go for a GTS or GTX, check your PSU. Seriously, you're going to need at least a 500W to handle a GTS, and a 6-700 for a GTX.

And if you're planning on running Bioshock, you're going to want 2GB of RAM, and a single core processor is usually no good, but you could get by on it if you need.

My graphics recommendations are:
High-end: 8800 GTS 512 (NOT the 320 or 640. The naming convention is confusing, but the 512 is a totally different GPU)
Mid-range: 8800 GT 512
Budget: 8800 GT 256

The 8800 GTS 512 is about $350, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130312
The 8800 GT 512 is about $250, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127311
As for the 8800 GT 256, it hasn't hit shelves yet, but it's aiming at $200.
You could get a cheaper GPU, but it won't handle Bioshock.

Originally Posted by Ynot

If it's a Dell Dimension E510 and not modified in any way, then you are currently using integrated graphics
(open it up and check, just to be sure)

blurb here: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/del...-31555136.html

Specs here: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/del...html?tag=specs

you have one PCI-E x16 slot, so you can upgrade to pretty much any card out there

you have a uni-core processor

so if you're planning to upgrade to vista, you may be disappointed by the performance

the choice of card is up to you, but I think your processor is going to end up being the bottleneck

You currently have 512mb ram
you might also want to think about bunging in a lot more

some cards:

High end
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4BG0

Mid range
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4R4D

Budget
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4KPG

I'm not going to upgrade to Vista on this.

It's definetley not only 512 RAM. It says a gig....

The box says 510 but the system properties says DM051

Do I really need to upgrade to dual core?

I have 2.66 GHz... which I think should be adequate