What graphics card is best for me? How to upgrade for X3?

Ecthelion · Post by **Ecthelion** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 06:36

perdidopunk wrote: the best place to buy anything is at a trade show / computer expo. you get OEM prices there instead of retail and wind up saving quite a bit.

I had always heard this, but when I went to my first computer expo (in McLean, Virginia), I found everything there was either around the same price as Newegg or a good bit more expensive. There was one vendor selling some things cheaper, but they had all their CPUs out loose on a plastic tray, and generally seemed not-too-legit. I did end up getting a good used monitor though. So my question is, where have you gone, that you got good deals?

Captain Hello · Post by **Captain Hello** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 16:03

I love the X games and X3 has taken over my life. But now I'm playing X3 on the lowest settings in a tiny window. Becouse of this I'm going to upgrade my Gefoce 4800Ti to some thing with a bit more kick. Here is the question, is there a graphics card that can play X3 on medium settings but has a small cooling fan since my MoBO is sh*t. I must also be AGP X8

Bubblenose · Post by **Bubblenose** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 17:53

I'm looking to upgrade my Ti4200 to one of the latest AGP cards (256MB) and was wondering if there were any X3-ers out there who have already done this?
What cards do you have and any problems running X3 ?

Specifically, I'm looking not to have an expensive door stop!

Cheers, Bubblenose

Galaxy613 · Post by **Galaxy613** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 18:08

I have a ATi 9800Pro 128MB, it works best at High/Low AA off AF on. But it can also doo High/High AA/AF on at 1208x1024, but don't expect to do battles with it without major laggage. I am currently running X3 on High/Medium AA off and AF on, works pretty well.

Leroy The Badger · Post by **Leroy The Badger** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 18:08

I upgraded to a Geforce 7800 GT recently. Seems to run X3 pretty good.

Fretty · Post by **Fretty** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 18:12

Well, I personally and using the P4P800 Deluxe motherboard as well. The video card I use is a ATI Radeon 9600XT (128mb) AGP.

I actually choose that card OVER a Radeon 9800 due to all the benchmarks pointing in the direction of the 9600 being better for gaming. I've had absoluately NO problems running X3 on the highest quality available. I also run several other programs at the same time too (5 pages of IE, MSN, Photoshop CS, Excel) and still encounter no problems.

The only time the game ever slows for me is when in high traffic sectors (such as Argon Prime) where there is so much going on it slightly slows down your fps, but nothing you can't handle.

Since the price has dropped on the Radeon 9600XT AGP (down to roughly $175 Canadian) from the original $275 CDN I paid, it's even a better deal!

Fretty

captain_crunch · Post by **captain_crunch** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 18:25

I just upgraded to a leadtech 6800GT 256 mb/agp version from a Gainward fx5900xt. No problems...Also, the leadtech has a huge heatsink/fan on it so you can easily clock it up to ultra speeds. The 6800's are the best agp cards out there, I believe. (The ATI cards are really good too I hear, they might be worth looking into as well...)

X3 looks awesome now...

BoNe MacHiNe · Post by **BoNe MacHiNe** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 18:34

Before I upgraded my v-card I was using an ATI 9800 pro 128 Mb, then I flash upgraded it to an ATI 9800 XT, a slightly faster card, slight but noticable. The later 9800 pro can be flashed upgraded. Here are a two sites that tell you how to safely do it:

http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=78708

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/153/42/

Good luck and try it at your own risk. It worked for me.

Post by **X-Warrior B AS** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 19:40

I have an Asus P4P800-E deluxe with a Radeon 9800XT, doing the job just fine. Graphics on high, but no AA I think. Of course there's still lag in the worst situations, but usually it's quite ok.

Ecthelion · Post by **Ecthelion** » Fri, 25. Nov 05, 21:42

Captain Hello wrote:I love the X games and X3 has taken over my life. But now I'm playing X3 on the lowest settings in a tiny window. Becouse of this I'm going to upgrade my Gefoce 4800Ti to some thing with a bit more kick. Here is the question, is there a graphics card that can play X3 on medium settings but has a small cooling fan since my MoBO is sh*t. I must also be AGP X8

I'd say something in the ATI 9x00 PRO series (preferably 9800 PRO), but I don't think they have small cooling fans. Also, if the rest of your system is decent, you should be able to play on high with a 9800.

Bubblenose · Post by **Bubblenose** » Sat, 26. Nov 05, 13:25

Many thanks Guys. That gives me a bit more confidence in choosing the next card.

Much appreciated.

Regards, Bubblenose

plynak · Post by **plynak** » Sat, 26. Nov 05, 13:31

Hello,

I have a P4P800 SE with a MSI FX5900XT. My new MSI 6600GT is right in front of me. Can you help me how to chnge them? Uninstall the old one, remove from PC, add the new one and install new drivers? Will Win XP survive?

rustamk · Post by **rustamk** » Sat, 26. Nov 05, 14:12

Hi,

I will buy a sound card as suggested by many people on this forum. I want this to be really the last upgrade before I will buy a new PC. So, I have the following options. I can get a Phillips one for £38. I can get a Creative Soundblaster Music for £79.

I have £50. What do you think, should I get the Phillips one, or a different one? I would need to save up for longer, but is it worth it to get the one for £79 (i.e. is the improvement really this big?).

My current system is P4 2.4GHz, 1024MB RAM PC3200, 256MB geForce 6600 AGP, Realtek AC97 audio. What's your opinion?

These are the links to PCworld:

The one from Phillips, £38

The one for £79
{links tidied - esd}

Thanks for Your advice,

Rustam

Galaxy613 · Post by **Galaxy613** » Sat, 26. Nov 05, 15:43

Ecthelion wrote:
Captain Hello wrote:I love the X games and X3 has taken over my life. But now I'm playing X3 on the lowest settings in a tiny window. Becouse of this I'm going to upgrade my Gefoce 4800Ti to some thing with a bit more kick. Here is the question, is there a graphics card that can play X3 on medium settings but has a small cooling fan since my MoBO is sh*t. I must also be AGP X8
I'd say something in the ATI 9x00 PRO series (preferably 9800 PRO), but I don't think they have small cooling fans. Also, if the rest of your system is decent, you should be able to play on high with a 9800.

The problem is that ATi 9x00 Pro cards will be able to play well at High, not the Medium he wanted.

My ATi 9800 Pro plays X3 extermely well at High/Low but is still pretty playable at High/Medium (both with AA off and AF on).

ConraDargo · Post by **ConraDargo** » Sat, 26. Nov 05, 18:36

My specs:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+
GeForce 6800LE
1024Mb Corsair VS 400Mhz

Which of the following options do you think (first and foremost) would help me get more out of X3?

1. Get a 3500+ CPU
2. Get a better GFX card
3. Get 2Gb RAM

Thanks

Post by **Cycrow** » Sat, 26. Nov 05, 21:10

have u tryed unlocking ur current gfx card ?

im assuming you have AGP, so not too much point getting a better gfx card as u'll be limited

especially if i can manage to clock ur card close to a 6800GT

ConraDargo · Post by **ConraDargo** » Sat, 26. Nov 05, 23:27

Yes, I have - all 16 pipes are open/unlocked.

So I should go for a faster CPU or more RAM then? Thanks

I'm assuming that twice as much RAM would give a higher performance boost than 400 more Mhz.

Post by **Cycrow** » Sun, 27. Nov 05, 02:34

it depends how much money you have really, but if u have all 16 pipes, then the performance increase on a new gfx card is going to be limited on agp, the best u'll get is an 6800 ultra, and its really not worth it, so unless ur planning on getting a pci-express montherboard, i wouldn't bother

i think the best thing would be to get the extra ram, it will help more than the others
and u can always push ur current cp to faster than a 3500 anyways
i have a 3000+, and its running at 2.3ghz

BoNe MacHiNe · Post by **BoNe MacHiNe** » Sun, 27. Nov 05, 06:32

rustamk wrote:Hi,

I will buy a sound card as suggested by many people on this forum. I want this to be really the last upgrade before I will buy a new PC. So, I have the following options. I can get a Phillips one for £38. I can get a Creative Soundblaster Music for £79.

I have £50. What do you think, should I get the Phillips one, or a different one? I would need to save up for longer, but is it worth it to get the one for £79 (i.e. is the improvement really this big?).

My current system is P4 2.4GHz, 1024MB RAM PC3200, 256MB geForce 6600 AGP, Realtek AC97 audio. What's your opinion?

These are the links to PCworld:

The one from Phillips, £38

The one for £79
{links tidied - esd}

Thanks for Your advice,

Rustam

Get the Sound Blaster. You want a card that has sure compatability w/ all games. You can transfer the card to the next computer.

ConraDargo · Post by **ConraDargo** » Sun, 27. Nov 05, 13:42

Cycrow wrote:i think the best thing would be to get the extra ram, it will help more than the others
and u can always push ur current cp to faster than a 3500 anyways
i have a 3000+, and its running at 2.3ghz

Yeah I wasn't really seriously thinking about getting a better gfx card anyway - because I'm limited to AGP only (XPC SN95G) and I kinda knew that a 6800 Ultra wouldn't do much difference when my current gfx card have all 16 pipes unlocked. Just felt like tossing it in as an option

Thanks for the advice, I'll get the extra memory then. Like you said yourself - I can always push the CPU ^^

egosoft.com

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