A few questions on comps from a newbie

KevinL · Dec 3, 2002

Hello All!

Since its the Christmas time, I was thinking about some presents for my son. Since I recently handed down my old computer (1ghz celeron w/ 128 sd ram) to my son, I was thinking of some upgrades for him. I know he plays a few games (which I happen to play too). The computer seems to lag a bit when he plays warcraft3. I was thinking as a Christmas present to dump out the old vid card (sis intergrated) and give him a new one. Im looking to spend 60< USD dollars. Im not too computer friendly (besides operating one) but my son is. I want this to be a surprise so I've come here. So... I was researching on the Internet and I hear that
a Geforce 2 may be what im looking for. Or a Radeon 8500. I already looked up the Motherboard and i know that it is compatible to Geforce cards.. any help is great! Thanks in advance!

lhgpoobaa · Dec 3, 2002

Radeon 8500 is much better than the geforce 2.
Its a good card.

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Spitfire_x86 · Dec 4, 2002

If you can spend $92, you can give him a Sapphire Radeon 8500 (not LE) 64 MB. This will be an excellent gift. It's 4 times better than GeForce2 MX. If you were thinking about GF2 Ti, then it's 2 times better than it.

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KevinL · Dec 4, 2002

Hrmm there are so many to choose from... I've changed my mind about the budget, I am willing to spend more for a decent video card.

However, I have a few questions.
1)The motherboard that I have is the TUSI-M by Asus. I hear that it only supports sd ram. If I purchase a video card with a DDR memory, will it work properly along with the motherboard? If they wont work together properly, which video card will be the best for my motherboard?

jclw · Dec 4, 2002

They will work fine together. The memory on the motherboard is used by the CPU and the memory on the video card is used by the GPU so it doesn't make any difference if they are different types.

Another vote for an 8500 as well from me

Another 128mb of memory would really help as well.

*Dual PIII-800 @900 i440BX and Tualeron 1.2 @1.74 i815*Edited by JCLW on 12/03/02 08:44 PM.

dhlucke · Dec 4, 2002

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=radeon+8500+64MB+OEM" target="_new">Radeon 8500, not the LE version though, for $92 w/ free shipping</A>


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johnoh · Dec 4, 2002

128mb more memory will make a big difference.

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KevinL · Dec 4, 2002

Yeah, I was looking at some of the benchmarks for the 8500, and hey are quite impressive for the price.
However the GeForce4 MX440 & 460 also seems to give good value for the price, along with the GeForce 2 ti...
So hard to choose! Are the GF4 MX cards any good?

nja469 · Dec 4, 2002

Someone has to break the consensus, so it'll be me

For $90, I'd get the GeForce4 MX440 SE 128MB DDR VGA & TV-OUT. While they offer overall similar performance, the GF4 has AA and other features that sometimes allow them to perform a bit better than a 8500. Just my opinion, no flames please, not in the mood. $88 shipped from newegg.

Also adding some more system RAM will be a BIG plus. Newegg also has Kingston 128MB SDRAM for $20 shipped, maybe pick that up as well.

RAM and new vid card would make it a much better system overall for around $100.

Schmide · Dec 4, 2002

I would have to go against the Geforce4 MX440 as it is a DirectX 7.1 card. It will be outclassed when developers start using DX8's vertex shading routines. The 8500 is fully compatible with next generation games. If you want TV and Video out, go for the ATI's all in wonder series. The difference in price is worth it.

Dichromatic for your viewing plesure...

fiask0 · Dec 4, 2002

DO NOT GET A GEFORCE4 MX SERIES... ok, now that that's out of the way, try the ati cards, they're decent cards. I'd also have to agree with the 128 megs of memory. You can get memory pretty darn cheap now, like 20 dollars or so if you look around. That would do alot for your games.

Yahiko81 · Dec 4, 2002

<A HREF="http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr+Productline=Asus+ASUS+Desktops&mfr=Asus&cat=RAM&model=Terminator+PIII&submit=Go" target="_new">Crucial</A> has memory for 17.09 (128) shipped. or 29.69 (256) I'd recommend getting as much memory as you can. If you run windows 98 then their is no need for more than 512mb. But if you are going to ever upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP I'd recommend at least 256mb. Your board only has two memory slots. You need to find out if you have two 64's or one 128. This way it'll give you a better idea of how much memory you'll have total when you install the new.

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baldurga · Dec 4, 2002

Well, another vote for the 8500 and a very big NEGATIVE point to Geforce 4 MX series. So sorry. And memory is worth also, probaly I would go for 256Mb more. It's up to your budget.

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Lamoni · Dec 4, 2002

I just thought I'd add my vote also. Another NO for the GF4MX and a YES to the Radeon 8500. I would add more RAM, but I would recommend not getting any more than 512 MB. I would even recommend staying at 256MB because you don't see much of a difference after that and as far as keeping your RAM for future upgrades... once you upgrade your CPU, you will also need to upgrade the motherboard, and you will want better RAM so just buy the RAM you would use now (256MB is good enough IMHO)

Spitfire_x86 · Dec 4, 2002

I have already said yes for Radeon 8500 Pro. Now a big NO for GeForce4 MX.

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KevinL · Dec 4, 2002

Thanks everyone for the input. Ok so I won't get the GF4MX series. Ill go buy the Radeon 8500.

Crashman · Dec 5, 2002

Crucial 256MB Cas2 PC133 cost $30 with free shipping, I'd get a module. IN fact, I just bought two myself.

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slvr_phoenix · Dec 5, 2002

Hmm ... with memory prices so low now, I wonder if this X-Mas I'll bother to upgrade the old Celeron 500 from 256MB to 512MB. Now to just find two low-density 256MB DIMMs. Considering that it usually uses PC66, I somehow don't think I have to worry about CAS latencies. Heh heh heh.

Maybe I'll even see about getting some sort of PCI Radeon. (Or anything better than a PCI Savage4.)

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Crashman · Dec 5, 2002

Ah, but that Crucial part IS low density, it's 16-chips. And Cas2 is the same price as Cas3. Considering that the Celly system might crap out, the PC133 rout is good in the fact that you'll find the memory more usefull if you need to reuse it on another system.

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slvr_phoenix · Dec 6, 2002

Neato! It might be a thought. The wife and I just reviewed our savings last night though and I might be able to get a new PC. So I'll probably keep those memory sticks in mind if something comes up that keeps me from getting it. Otherwise, I may not need to upgrade old Cel after all! Yipee!

[edit]
And the Celeron system might crap out? Don't say such things! [conspiratorial whisper]It might hear you...[/conspiratorial whisper]
[/edit]

<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=45775#45775" target="_new">Join the THGC LAN Party!</A>Edited by slvr_phoenix on 12/06/02 10:26 AM.

Crashman · Dec 6, 2002

Hmm, for $30, can you afford NOT to add 256MB to that machine (even if it's just a spare to your new one)?

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slvr_phoenix · Dec 6, 2002

Well, $30 would be like two or three upgrades to the processor of my new system, or probably another 20GB of hard drive space. Maybe even the difference between a Radeon 8500/GeForce3 and a GeForce4 Ti 4200. So $30 can make a huge difference. As much as I'd like to upgrade old Cel, that money might be better spent elsewhere.

Hmm ... thinking of which though, maybe if I put off the new system for another couple of months, I could instead upgrade Cel's processor (what's the fastest 66MHz FSB Celeron?), RAM, and video card. (I think a GeForce4MX can come in PCI...)

Then maybe I could stand waiting a little longer for a new system. Decisions, decisions...

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A few questions on comps from a newbie

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