Graphics cards for computer

[Eyuva 'S' NRG]

Mmm, I'm curious, how important are these for the latest games. I got a 2.25 pentium 4 and it runs Sims 2 pretty slow.

I was wondering, what is more important, the processor, or the graphics card. Should I up my pentium to one of the duel core processors or upgrade the graphics card. I think I got one of those 64mb geforce cards, I'm not sure though.

Any advice?

 

[Rukee]

They work hand in hand, but looks like you could use a video card before a CPU upgrade. Do you have a AGP, PCI or PCI-e slot?? Also, how much RAM do you have??

 

[Frostblood]

For today's games, you really need a 256 Mb graphics card, although 128 will do in a pinch. I recently upgraded to a 128 Mb card ( from an integral 64 Mb one ) and it's made a lot of difference on games like Civ 4. I have a simelar processor to you.

You can get a graphics card on EBay for about £30 ( $50 ). Just make sure you get the right kind. There are 3 kinds - PCI, PCI-e and AGP. Your computer may only have one kind of slot, so you'll be screwed if you buy the wrong kind. You can find out which you've got by looking inside your PC.

This is what they look like :

http://www.crucial.com/library/pcie_agp.asp

 

[OO7MIKE]

They work hand in hand, but looks like you could use a video card before a CPU upgrade. Do you have a AGP, PCI or PCI-e slot?? Also, how much RAM do you have??

I agree with Rukee. With todays games you cant have one without the other. Software mode is a thing of the past since the gaming industry is moving much faster than Intel and AMD can produce CPU's to keep up with them.

It seems like the only a few things on your computer that either dont effect performance or do so very little. Your keyboard, monitor, and sound card. How do I know this? Because I have the very same keyboard, monitor and sound card I bought way back in 1998 and they still perform well... usually LOL.

I wish I could say the same thing about my BX motherboard Pentium 2 350mhz and voodoo 2 gfx card.

And so what if the keyboard is a backup keyboard that has a sticky enter key... The monitor may be dying soon its lived a life longer than most.... and alas Long live my soundblaster live value card. Still works, and still sounds great after all these years.



So... Should I act on my 7 year itch?

 

[Eyuva 'S' NRG]

For today's games, you really need a 256 Mb graphics card, although 128 will do in a pinch. I recently upgraded to a 128 Mb card ( from an integral 64 Mb one ) and it's made a lot of difference on games like Civ 4. I have a simelar processor to you.

You can get a graphics card on EBay for about £30 ( $50 ). Just make sure you get the right kind. There are 3 kinds - PCI, PCI-e and AGP. Your computer may only have one kind of slot, so you'll be screwed if you buy the wrong kind. You can find out which you've got by looking inside your PC.

This is what they look like :

http://www.crucial.com/library/pcie_agp.asp

Well I looked in my system specs and I have a GeForce4 MX440 which was released in early-mid 2002. I'll check what slot it uses.

 

[Eyuva 'S' NRG]

For today's games, you really need a 256 Mb graphics card, although 128 will do in a pinch. I recently upgraded to a 128 Mb card ( from an integral 64 Mb one ) and it's made a lot of difference on games like Civ 4.
http://www.crucial.com/library/pcie_agp.asp

Ok, I'll probably get one then. How is Civ 4 by the way. I have it, but it's got a nasty graphics glitch that transforms over the course of the game. (The black fog of war bug)

Amazon.com user reviews were trashing it for the most buggy release ever. Bugs aside, it does look like a good game, if I could see the map properly.

 

[Frostblood]

Ok, I'll probably get one then. How is Civ 4 by the way. I have it, but it's got a nasty graphics glitch that transforms over the course of the game. (The black fog of war bug)

Amazon.com user reviews were trashing it for the most buggy release ever. Bugs aside, it does look like a good game, if I could see the map properly.

It's awesome If you've played Civ 3, it really leaves it in the dust - better in every way. The combat side is much more interesting now, you will not win with a big stack of one kind of unit anymore - you need to think tactically. The AI is far better, and is no longer a psychopath - you can actually make friends with an AI and not have to worry about them backstabbing you. Basically, it's fantastic. It's system-heavy though - my 512 MB RAM, 2.6 Ghz, 128 MB graphics card PC suffers big slowdown on larger maps.