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"Best Graphics card?"

What's the best 'budget' graphics card?

(ie. -£100.)

Are the ATI RADEON 9600's good? Especially for FPS's, like Return to Castle Wolfenstien... Nothing amazing, but good for online gaming anyway.

Or are nVidia the best?

But that's what I mean, taking off the side of the case.

How do you do that? Are there just some screws or something? (Is PC upgrade n00b)

damn, you don't even need a screwdriver to fit the RAM. well, unless you count taking the case off the machine.

in fact, it'll take longer to get the side of you comp, than it will to click in a couple of DIMMs.

Good good. So for installing Graphic cards and/or RAM a non-magneticially shielded screwdriver is fine.

Me happy.

For case screws it will be fine. If you were to be unscrewing bits off the motherboard then I would say not to. But we are just talking a few screws on the case.

Paine wrote:
> Notorious Biggles wrote:
> Messy wrote:
> Thanks spike, you just saved me £20...
>
> And do all computers have AGP slots? Mines relatively new...
> But has an onboard graphics card. From DELL, so it should have an
> AGP
> x8 slot right?
>
> What was it again? A Dell Dimension 2400? Because if so, I would
> have
> a wee look inside the case before you buy the card as there is no
> mention of an AGP slot on the Dimension 2400 specs on the Dell
> website. But there is for other models, which is a bit worrying.
>
> To know what to look for
> [URL]http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/uk/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=NF7-S&fMTYPE=Socket+A[/URL]
> and then click on the picture of a motherboard.
>
> Now then, see to the left of the fan there is a brown slot? That is
> an AGP slot. The five white ones are PCI ones. You should check that
> your PC has one of the brown ones. If not, you would have to
> consider
> getting a PCI graphics card, which isn't as good as AGP.
>
> Thanks.
>
> I'm a bit worried, as I don't have any screwdrivers which are like...
> Magnetically shielded.
>
> But... That's OK, right?

yeh just ground yourself by touching the radiator every few monutes

Notorious Biggles wrote:
> Messy wrote:
> Thanks spike, you just saved me £20...
>
> And do all computers have AGP slots? Mines relatively new...
> But has an onboard graphics card. From DELL, so it should have an
> AGP
> x8 slot right?
>
> What was it again? A Dell Dimension 2400? Because if so, I would have
> a wee look inside the case before you buy the card as there is no
> mention of an AGP slot on the Dimension 2400 specs on the Dell
> website. But there is for other models, which is a bit worrying.
>
> To know what to look for
> [URL]http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/uk/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=NF7-S&fMTYPE=Socket+A[/URL]
> and then click on the picture of a motherboard.
>
> Now then, see to the left of the fan there is a brown slot? That is
> an AGP slot. The five white ones are PCI ones. You should check that
> your PC has one of the brown ones. If not, you would have to consider
> getting a PCI graphics card, which isn't as good as AGP.

Thanks.

I'm a bit worried, as I don't have any screwdrivers which are like... Magnetically shielded.

But... That's OK, right?

i have a dell, the poos plugged in a lame graphics card hto.. i soon got rid of it for a radeon 96000.... yeah baby

Messy wrote:
> Thanks spike, you just saved me £20...
>
> And do all computers have AGP slots? Mines relatively new...
> But has an onboard graphics card. From DELL, so it should have an AGP
> x8 slot right?

What was it again? A Dell Dimension 2400? Because if so, I would have a wee look inside the case before you buy the card as there is no mention of an AGP slot on the Dimension 2400 specs on the Dell website. But there is for other models, which is a bit worrying.

To know what to look for [URL]http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/uk/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=NF7-S&fMTYPE=Socket+A[/URL] and then click on the picture of a motherboard.

Now then, see to the left of the fan there is a brown slot? That is an AGP slot. The five white ones are PCI ones. You should check that your PC has one of the brown ones. If not, you would have to consider getting a PCI graphics card, which isn't as good as AGP.

ÂLŠ†ÂÎR wrote:
> The Half Life 2 free offer is crap. I got it free with my 9800 XT back
> in January however you either have to pay 12.00 to have it shipped
> into Europe or you have to download Steam, download the game (1.5GB)
> and then bye connected to the internet everytime you want to play the
> offline story mode. Its a scam and I wish I hadn't rubbed the code
> off as people on eBay are actually paying for it.

Of course had you checked the steam website in the past day or two you would know that the big update that lets you play without being connected has been released....

I have broadband, so 1.5 Gb isn't really all that big. From a proper server, a couple of hours. And £12 for a game that will probably cost £30-£40 is not that bad even. Plus with the steam account, you do get Half Life and all its mods for free.

Thanks spike, you just saved me £20...

And do all computers have AGP slots? Mines relatively new... But has an onboard graphics card. From DELL, so it should have an AGP x8 slot right?