Temporary Solution: X700 Pro or IGP?

[DCGMoo]

UPDATE: This is a closed thread. Solution has been decided. Thanks to all who looked though!!





First off... this is a TEMPORARY solution.

I had to save about $300 of my current build until my next paycheck. Within THREE WEEKS, maximum, I'll have a 3650 or better as my video card, and a brand-new monitor to view it all on.

However... until then, I'm curious as to what the better short-term solution would be?

- Integrated Graphics on an Asus P5Q-E?
- The old ATI Radeon X700 Pro (256MB, PCI-e 1.1) in my closet?

Remember, this is only a TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT for what will eventually be a superior graphics card/monitor setup.

But I wanted to get the build up and running before waiting multiple weeks for the card to come in, to OC a bit and ensure it's stable before putting the high-powered GPU in and gaming regularly on it. And I'm not sure if an OLD PCI-e 1.1 GPU would be better than modern IGP on a very-recent mobo.

E7200 Wolfdale
Asus P5Q-E
4 GB Corsair XMS DDR2-800
Seagate Barracuda 500GB
Antec EarthWatts 430W

So, I don't need true benchmarks or anything... but what would YOU do, just for a week or two of testing and internet usage?

Moo.

 

[mathiasschnell]

Depends. What's the IGP on that ASUS board? If it's any kind of Intel GMA thing, then I'd go for the X700 Pro. But if it's the Radeon 3200 or some kind of recent Nvidia IGP, then they might do better.

Also, I'm assuming this is not a gaming build, or at least not a powerful one, but still I have to wonder why you're getting a 3650, especially when you're gonna have $300 to blow.

 

[cow_moo]

go X700 all the way

 

[royalcrown]

I have a 3200 and it's still slow...

 

[DCGMoo]

No Radeon/nVidia on-board the Asus P5Q-E.

$300 is an approximate number.

Also, a reminder... THIS IS ONLY A TEMPORARY SOLUTION.

The plan is to get a 20-22" monitor and a solid GPU, and spend approximately $300-350. That gives me about $100-120 for the video card, and I'll get the best video card my budget will allow. The 3650 is the bottom of the barrel I'll go... and will probably go better, even if it costs a bit more.

USAGE:
There WILL be gaming done on this computer. I'm not a FPS gamer... so I don't need to prepare for Crysis or UT3. But I _AM_ a RTS player... and I want the GPU to run Starcraft 2 (when it comes out), SupCom and Civ: Revolution without much hiccups. I think the 3650 would be bottom of the barrel there anyway.

But again... I don't need heavy gaming out of this solution. This is only a temporary solution, to get the computer up and running for a couple weeks before I put a more powerful GPU setup into it.

USAGE FOR NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS:
- Overclocking
- iTunes
- Internet
- E-Mail
- LIGHT gaming (maybe AoE III, but nothing taxing until the new GPU is installed)

I'm thinking that ANY GPU will be better than standard Intel IGP. But this is an older GPU, and wanted to get double-confirmation that I would be better-served for the next few weeks with the X700 Pro than the IGP.

Moo.

 

[DCGMoo]

BAH.

-NEVERMIND-

Guess I should check my specs a bit better.

There's no VGA, VIVO or DVI output on the P5Q-E.

Guess the Radeon X700 Pro it is for the next couple weeks.

Thanks for the help anyway, everyone. It looked like the X700 was the better option even if there WERE monitor inputs on the mobo... which I initially suspected would be the case anyway.

Moo.

 

[radium69]

8800GT for your upgrade or if you can afford a ATI 4850

8800GT's are fairly cheap nowadays !