New Computer

[ForeverFlying]

Hi Everyone!

I am looking to buy a new computer, and want to make sure it will be good for G3. I am looking at the eMachines T3256. Here are the specs:
Processor Brand AMD Athlon XP
Processor Speed 2.2GHz
System Bus 400MHz
Cache Memory 512KB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM) 512MB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To 2.0GB
Type of Memory (RAM) PC2700 DDR
Hard Drive Size 160.0GB (7200 rpm)
Video Memory 64MB
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce4 MX
MPEG Yes
Audio nForce 6-channel
Speakers Amplified stereo speakers
Modem 56 Kbps* ITU V.92-ready PCI internal fax modem *Capable of receiving 56 Kbps downloads. However, current regulations limit download speed to 53 Kbps.
Network Card Built-in 10/100 Ethernet LAN
CD-ROM Drive Yes
Maximum CD-ROM Drive Speed 48x
DVD-RW Drive Yes, DVD±RW/CD-RW drive
DVD-RW Drive Speeds 8x4x12 DVD+RW; 8x4x12 DVD-RW; 32x16x40 CD-RW
Total Expansion Bays 4 (3.5"), 2 (5.25")
Available Expansion Bays 2 (3.5")
Total Expansion Slots 3 PCI, 1 AGP
Available Expansion Slots 2 PCI, 1 AGP (8X)
USB Ports 5 USB 2.0 (1 front, 4 rear)
Parallel Ports 1
IEEE 1394 Ports None
Serial Ports 1
Game Ports None
Keyboard Description Premium+ multimedia keyboard
ther Control Devices (mouse, etc.) 2-button wheel mouse
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Software Included Microsoft Windows Media Player, Works 8.0, Money 2004, Picture It! 7.0; Adobe Acrobat Reader; BigFix; Real Player; Power DVD; Nero 6 Suite and more

Anyone have recomendations?

Thanks!
Foreverflying

[rutat]

Better video card.

[bluesky123]

Everything's good except for the video card.
IMHO, the most video performance for the buck is delivered by mid-range cards like ATI Radeon 9600 family. GeForce4 MX is definitely no-no! Low end cards, like nVidia FX 5200 should be avoided too: when I switched from FX5200 to Radeon 9600, my frame rate increased by a factor of 10, from jerky 15 frames per second to smooth 150.

The good source of decent video cards, as well as other hardware, is www.newegg.com. I bought my Radeon 9600 from them for $70 shipped, though this wasn't the deal of the century--if you are lucky, you may get a decent card even cheaper.

BTW, if you are on the market for a brand new PC, you may consider getting one with PCI-Express slots rather than AGP. In the near future, all the new video cards will be made primarily for PCI-E interface. Even now, AGP versions of high-end cards are considerably more expensive that their PCI-E analogs.

Check out www.fatwallet.com Hot Deals forum as well as similar forums on the Net. Sometimes, you can get amazing deals using their info.

:)
Boris

[rutat]

Good point about the PCI-E bus. Also www.tigerdirect.com has great deals.

[ForeverFlying]

Bluesky,
Thanks for the info! Is this the card that you got?
ROSEWILL ATI RADEON 9600 Video Card, 128MB DDR, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "RW9600-128VD" 64Bit -RETAIL
They also have a 128 bit.
Thanks!
Mike

[bluesky123]

Mike,
I've got 128-bit version of that card. Though I've been a little worried by the unfamiliar name of the manufacturer, I gave it a try. Worked fine so far. This card has a passive heatsink on the video chip, thus, it doesn't produce the high pitched noise and makes the whole system a little quieter.
Boris

[DaGuy]

I probably should've checked first but I just ordered a new PC with a GeForce FX5500 256mb. Is that a reasonable card for RC simulation? The rest of the PC specs, I'm pretty sure are adequate.

Thanks!

[W99DEY]

I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 with the stock Ge 5200 video card.

I have seen a few posts about upgrading the video card to a Radeon 7500 and 9000 which I believe are compatable.

Are these cards better or worse than the card I have?

I am sure that my card supports Direct X 9 not to sure about the others though.

I have a 6800 on my desktop bit spoiled there, just want a bit better performance out of my notebook.

Anyone elso looked into this?

[bluesky123]

I'm not aware of notebooks with modular video cards. All the laptops I've seen have the video chip soldered on the motherboard or even using the motherboard's chipset for video (so called "integrated" video, like Intel Extreme Graphics).

For me, this is the main advantage of the desktops over the laptops. I'm upgrading my desktop video card a couple times a year, without paying much. With a laptop, you can only "upgrade" the video chip by replacing the laptop...

The amount of memory on the card makes wery little difference (it's mostly a marketing trick to sell the card). I've had two cards with same video chips but different memory sizes--they perform identicaly, FPS was equal up to the last digit!

You can find comparison of different video cards on many hardware-related sites, e.g. http://www.tomshardware.com/ or http://www.anandtech.com/

:)
Boris

[W99DEY]

bluesky,

on the 5150 the videocard can be replaced.

I will agree with you about video memory, just bought a 6800 128meg.

After reading review, 256meg isnt worth the extra cost.

Onboard memory is a must though, XP handles extra memory well, 1 gig is now a must for hardcore games now.

[jswjimmy]

the gforce 4 ti 4600 is actualy better than the geforce 5600 or the ati r9600(non pro). plus you can get it for less than $70.
here are some benchmarks
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-03.html

look at the 440mx down there at the bottom

[jswjimmy]

Everything's good except for the video card.
IMHO, the most video performance for the buck is delivered by mid-range cards like ATI Radeon 9600 family. GeForce4 MX is definitely no-no! Low end cards, like nVidia FX 5200 should be avoided too: when I switched from FX5200 to Radeon 9600, my frame rate increased by a factor of 10, from jerky 15 frames per second to smooth 150.

The good source of decent video cards, as well as other hardware, is www.newegg.com. I bought my Radeon 9600 from them for $70 shipped, though this wasn't the deal of the century--if you are lucky, you may get a decent card even cheaper.

BTW, if you are on the market for a brand new PC, you may consider getting one with PCI-Express slots rather than AGP. In the near future, all the new video cards will be made primarily for PCI-E interface. Even now, AGP versions of high-end cards are considerably more expensive that their PCI-E analogs.

Check out www.fatwallet.com Hot Deals forum as well as similar forums on the Net. Sometimes, you can get amazing deals using their info.

:)
Boris


64 bit is another thing you might want to look in to, but so far you can only get pci-e with one athlon 64 chipset(nforce4).

[peefiddyonefan]

the gforce 4 ti 4600 is actualy better than the geforce 5600 or the ati r9600(non pro). plus you can get it for less than $70.
here are some benchmarks
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-03.html

look at the 440mx down there at the bottom

gforce 4 ti 4600 is a directX8 card :rolleyes:

[jswjimmy]

do you happen to read maximum pc. the geforce4 ti preform well in dx9, with out looking bad(the d7 cards made the game look like crap). they were testing this in half life 2. the gf4ti is better and cheaper than a 5200fx, 5500fx, and the 5600fx in most games.
i know dx9 is better but the gf4 ti4600 has the best performance for the under $100 range. you can get them used for as low as $50. to get a x9 card with the same performance you would have to get a gf 5600fx wich is $99+.

edit: if you dont like ebay get another card. in most online stores they are about $90. on ebay i got mine for $55 and ive seen them go for less.

[DaGuy]

Is there any where that I can go read performance specs for video cards benchmarked against RC simulators?

So far I only run FMS and with the nVidia FX5500 256mb, I get 75 fps on average. That's very decent performance, given that smooth video is in the neighborhood of 40 fps -if I remember correctly.

I had my doubts about that card but now I feel better about it and hoping that AeroFly Pro Deluxe will also run smoothly and in its full glory. What do you guys think?

[rutat]

www.tomshardware.com has card tests for high end games plus benchmarks. I've never seena site that has anything for perf. specs on flight sims. Smooth starts at about 30.

Just oicked up a Radeon 9550/256 for 60 bucks - will post performance when I get it installed.

[snarum]

<snip>

with the nVidia FX5500 256mb, I get 75 fps on average. That's very decent performance, given that smooth video is in the neighborhood of 40 fps -if I remember correctly.

I had my doubts about that card but now I feel better about it and hoping that AeroFly Pro Deluxe will also run smoothly and in its full glory. What do you guys think?


I am running AFPD with an older GeForce3 card. I can't run the most graphic intensive airport (5 FPS) but the others run fine, even with smoke on. You should be fine.

[jswjimmy]

never mind sorry. i was thinking of halo not fms.

[DaGuy]

I am running AFPD with an older GeForce3 card. I can't run the most graphic intensive airport (5 FPS) but the others run fine, even with smoke on. You should be fine.

Great to hear that. Thanks very much. Now I have to focus on not crashing those dangs plane at landing!

:D

[falconmeister]

www.tomshardware.com has card tests for high end games plus benchmarks. I've never seena site that has anything for perf. specs on flight sims. Smooth starts at about 30.

Just oicked up a Radeon 9550/256 for 60 bucks - will post performance when I get it installed.


How well did this card perform for you?