You don't give much info on what you will be using your new vid card for... Or what mobo, or how much you use your computer, and with a 3.00 Ghz, we'll need to know how old it is (Or the mobo model is good :lol
... Or what your current video card is. I'll try to help you out, by giving you the best that you really can go. Please do note that if you just use your computer for school or work type situations, then don't bother upgrade the video card
.
It looks like he could go for a PCI-E card
. But just in case, i added a link for PCI:
PCI:
mmm not much for PCI but here is my search (I would go with Readeon 9250... But...):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=pci+video+card
AGP:
Looks like were covered
PCI-E: Now... With a 3.00GHz, you'll want a Radeon HD 4650 If you go anywhere higher, you will bottleneck and waste your money:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=+Radeon+HD+4650+
I like XFX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150396&cm_re=Radeon_HD_4650-_-14-150-396-_-Product
The other one is a little weaker.
If you really want a nice vid card (And not waste your time, money, and effort), then i would throw your current mobo out the window (Especially if it doesn't support PCI-E) and throw in at least 3GB RAM, and an i3. With that, then you could (Cheaply) get a Radeon HD 4850 and a cheap power supply. I suggest ATI because Nvidia doesn't like to lower their prices after their equipment gets old
.
If you can't afford to throw your mobo out, then give the mobo model and ill see if you can get a small dual core upgrade
. I'm hoping your computer isn't too old (7+ Years) then we won't be able to use that old mobo to upgrade...
Oh btw, Video Card RAM, matters little to none when you are gaming, or anything else for that matter. Most of the time (Unless you are going 2650x1600) 512MB is fine. You won't tell the difference in performance between 512MB and 1 or even 2GB unless you are playing at 1920x1080+ rez. Manufactuers like to make the 1GB or 2GB seem way better and they charge way more for the same card when you in acuality only get a small performance gain if any. What you need to look at are your core clock speed, how fast that RAM is, what interface it uses, if the output is compatible with your monitor, and even how many stream procs there are. You could also look at directx capibilities, but just use this as a reference point on how new the card is, not how GOOD or how much POWER it has:
ATI:
5XXX - 11
4XXX-10.1
3XXX-9.0c
2XXX-Dont even bother
Nvidia:
GTX 4XX- 11
GTX 2XX- 10.1
Geforce 9XXX GT, GS, GTX, GTX+ -10.1 (Though this is misleading because anything lower than a 96XX GT, GS, GTX, GTX+ is useless)
Geforce 8XXX GT, GS, GTX, GTX+ -10.1 (Though this is misleading because anything lower than a 86XX GT, GS, GTX, GTX+ is useless)
Geforce 7XXX GT, GS, GTX, GTX+ - Don't bother upgrading this low
Mind you though, directx capabilities still don't tell you how POWERFUL the card is... Here is a list in order of how powerful they are:
ATI:
Radeon HD 5970
Radeon HD 5870
Radeon HD 5770
Radeon HD 5850
Radeon HD 5670
Radeon HD 5830
Radeon HD 5750
Radeon HD 5650
Radeon HD 5730
------------------------(Above) These are the 'higher' end brand new series.
Radeon HD 4890 x2
Radeon HD 4870 X2
Radeon HD 4850 X2
Radeon HD 4890
Radeon HD 4870
Radeon HD 4770
Radeon HD 4850
Radeon HD 4750
Radeon HD 4670
Radeon HD 4650
------------------------ (Above) Medium High end cards, cheaper, but not as powerful as the new series.
Radeon HD 3870
Radeon HD 3850
Radeon HD 3650
------------------------ (Above) I wouldn't go any lower than this, these are cheaper, but harder to find, i don't think they produce these anymore.
Nvidia
Geforce GTX 480
Geforce GTX 470
Geforce GTX 460
------------------------ (Above) These are the 'higher' end brand new series.
Geforce GTX 295
Geforce GTX 270
Geforce GTX 260 Core 216SP
Geforce GTX 260 Core 216
------------------------ (Above) Same Directx abilities as the ones down below, but more powerful. I wanted to separate them.
Geforce 9800 GX2
Geforce 9800 GTX+
Geforce 8800 Ultra
Geforce 9800 GTX
Geforce 8800 GTX
Geforce 9800 GT
Geforce 8800 GTS 512
Geforce 8800 GTS
Geforce 8800 GT
Geforce 9600 Gt (I have this card
)
------------------------ (Above) Below this i don't think its worth it...
I hope that helps, and get that info to me, so we can decide what way to go for your CPU! :lol:
If anyone finds mistakes in my list just hallar
.
(Oh yes just realized, this is a CPU forum, not a Video Card forum :lol:, just letting you know!)
-Edited to correct the many spelling errors.
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