Computer guys...graphics card help please

[yarddog35]

So my old Dell finally started to die on me. Money is a little tight so I bought a older HP tower that had been gone through.

I would like to get a graphics card for it. Its a older pci so I have noticed my options are limited. The computer has a AMD Athlon processor that is 2 GHz. I upgraded the RAM with a strip I had from the Dell so it has 1.5 gigs of RAM.

These are what I saw from researching:

http://cgi.ebay.com/nVIDIA-GeForce-F...item45efe686e8


http://www.staples.com/Diamond-Steal...?cmArea=SEARCH


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/EVGA+-+G...&skuId=9638441

Those are the three I have found to be or seem to be the better ones. I am leaning toward the ATI but it is costly.

Any opinions would be much appreciated

[house_Fly]

tbh it really depends on what you want to do with this computer. If you are going to just use it for basic things such as browsing forums and occasional word documents the 5500 will be more than sufficient. If you want to view HD videos in youtube and play older games you may want to choose a card that is running DDr2 and 128 bit.
Check your power supply wattage and make sure the card will be capable of running on it.
You can see all of neweggs products that are PCI at this link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e=&srchInDesc=

I have been shopping with newegg for a while and have spent several thousand. Trusted company with lots of Rep.

The best bang for your buck will be if you computers power supply can handle it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130498

And if you wanna go between any of those choices the 8400 at best buy is my pick.

[K_B]

The price on the ATI is a bit high it would seem. I would go with the 8400 as well since it has the most onboard memory. Definitely surf through NewEgg. Also keep in mind the size of the card. Better cards are generally bigger. I ran into that problem with my Dell. However, given your budget and interface limitations, you shouldn't really have a problem.

[JeremyH]

Out of those three, I'd go for the 8400 since it has 512MB memory, however, if you have an actual computer store nearby (like Microcenter or Frys), then you'll probably get a better buy for the money. I recently got a good deal on a 1MB card from Microcenter.

[caymin last]

If you have a local Votech school that has a computer electronics tech class, they may sell you one, even give you one, see if you can talk with the class instructor, lots of companies donate their used machines to them and they always have a bunch of extras. Just a thought, maybe save some cash for you.

[yarddog35]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will look through that website, maybe take the drive to Frys tomorrow to see what they have too. I will check on the power of my computer also.

If I could score something for $50 or so that would be good. The ATI at $80 is pricey, feel like I'm wasting $$ adding on to an old computer. Kind of like spending $180 on a Novak Goat system and putting it in a stock Wheely King.

[C*H*U*D]

Have you checked out this page on GPU Review? It's a nice way to compare different cards side by side:

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php


.

[Red Rockcrawler]

So are you sure you need a pci card. Some of the agp cards look like a pci card?

[yarddog35]

Thanks CHUD I will check that over tomorrow when I'm a little more sober lol.


Red Rock, I think it is because my 1 gb RAM fit into this computer and the other slots look the same.

Thanks all