PCI Video Card (Opinions needed)

[Zombie]

Well.. I was being an idiot and ordered a Radeon 9600 Pro Ultimate. (Yes, I'm a gamer) Little did I know the Dell Dimension 2350 Series's mobo DOES NOT come with an AGP slot. In the end, I'll just return the graphics card and settle for PCI. I know PCI cards arn't the greatest for top end gaming.. and my choices are limited.

What should I go with? My budget is about $150.00 US

Any ideas?

Edit: Right now, I've got super extreme integrated graphics.. oh boy.. extreme they are.

[joker_927]

do the g4's come in PCI? The 4200, 4400, and 4600 are awsome cards for the money. The only downfall is that they aren't dx 9 compatible. I you HAVE to have dx 9 then I'm at a loss. I simply don't know what cards come in PCI.

[Aaron_J]

This may or may not help you, but in my opinion if you are really a "gamer" than the only real answer is to get a mobo with an AGP slot and a good video card to go with it.

There is no replacement for AGP right now. Anything else and you will probably be disappointed in the long run.

EDIT: It doesn't have to cost a lot either. Keep the vid card you bought and shell out another 60-90 bucks for a used mobo in the fs/ft forum.

BTW, what processor and memory do you run?

[revson]

Your money would be best invested in a new Mobo and likely a larger power supply, sounds like it's time to sit back and make a plan for a new computer.

[Zombie]

Ram: 786mb DDR PC2100
Processor: Pentium 4 @ 2.0ghz

I'm not to sure about exchanging the mother board... wouldn't that be a little hard to do on a dell? I've heard rumors they kind of lock everything up.

The idea of saving the video card till I get a mobo with an AGP slot does sound tempting though. I just have little money to play with.

Definitly don't want to be dissappointed with the PCI card... BLARG..

Guess I'll just stick with the Radeon 9600 Pro Ultimate and wait it out for that AGP slot mother board.

Thanks for the help.

Edit: ATI > GeForce :P

[revson]

Have you given Dell a call and see about upgrading your Mobo?
Might be worth a couple bucks to find out or check their site out for replacement or upgrade parts.
I would say that even with Dell, aftermarket parts should be no real problem, as long as there is velcro and duct tape the world will survive!

Revson

[Hungrycookpot]

yeah ive heard all those rumors too that dell "locks up" their systems, but i'm pretty sure that yours wont be. Of all the dell computers ive seen and ripped apart (quite a few) ive only ever seen one that would be any more trouble to upgrade, and that was a really old one, something like a 300-400mhz processor in it, i cant remember what it was. The new ones dont usually seem to be like that, my mom has a dell p3 1gig computer and its no harder to upgrade than my self-built AMD.

[eagle1]

Hello:

http://www.sudhian.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=445


Buh bye!


BTW, doesn't the reviewer look like Dan Akroyd?!?

[sm8000]

Dell wires their PSUs and mobo PSU connections differently, so if you change it the whole system goes up in smoke. You can buy Dell-wired PSUs though, from http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com

A bit expensive, but nice to have. Visiontek makes a good ATi Radeon 9100 PCI card, probably your best PCI choice for performance. nVidia only makes the MX series in PCI (400, 420, 440) and they're not so great.

[Zombie]

Woo alright. I'm so glad there is hope for PCI video cards!! AHhaha. I found a Radeon 9100 128 for PCI, this is great.


Thank you all for your help and info.