Just a few things to put out

[ecliptiC]

I wanted to ask about video cards.

Are there any good cheap video cards around or under $80 that I could get? The plug I have for my video card is an AGP.

Any recommendations?


PS: My birthday is coming up next Tuesday :)

[Google]

[Travis]

AGP? Sure, yeah. For $80 you could probably get a couple nice sticks to rub together and make fire. Oooh! Or maybe carve some flint into useful tools like axes and knives. I hear the wheel is also a nice option, though that might set you back a little more.

[Nobu]

I can't speak for the actual quality of these cards, but here are some:

If you don't mind OEM and want the most for your money:
ATI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000380048%201069609639%201305520549%20136983678 7%204027&name=%2475%20-%20%24100)... Can't really find any good/recent ones for nVidia at newegg; I'm pretty sure they have at least some fairly recent ones for AGP, but not there. This is what they have (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000380048%201069609639%201305520549%20136983678 7%204027&name=%2475%20-%20%24100).

If you're going for retail, here's your selection (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000380048%201069609639%201305520549%20106792462 %201067936592&name=Radeon%20HD%203650). Note that they have less than half the stream processors of the 3850s.

For about $40 more, you could get a retail version of the 3850s, but I'm not sure it's worth it.

If you feel like upgrading your motherboard, for $30 less (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000380048%201069609639%201305520549%20106792462 %201067936592&name=Radeon%20HD%203650) you could get a card of equivalent or better specifications. But it could cost $40 to $60 to upgrade your motherboard, depending on whether you have to upgrade your processor or RAM as well.

[Sim9]

lol, Travis. Though, cards are coming down a lot these days. I got my current card for something like 150... the one before that was 300... and before that like 450. And all of them were new cards too... not bleeding edge, but still top quartile, high performing, latest gen cards.

FYI - This month's PCGamer's recommended entry-level card is a Geforce 8600GT, priced at $58. Maybe do some research on it and see how it stacks up?

Edit: Just noticed that it's AGP only. Uh, nevermind, and good luck. :P

[Nobu]

Edit: Just noticed that it's AGP only. Uh, nevermind, and good luck. :P

lol; just posted, too. 20-minute post, ftw! (when I started, Travis hadn't posted yet.)

Yeah, a few years back(about 2-4, I guess) AGP seemed like a good choice... Then came PCIe...x16! XD

Nice to see ATI's got a few good cards for a reasonable price, though. I just wonder when the card's performance will become too great for AGP to handle...

[ecliptiC]

lol; just posted, too. 20-minute post, ftw! (when I started, Travis hadn't posted yet.)

Yeah, a few years back(about 2-4, I guess) AGP seemed like a good choice... Then came PCIe...x16! XD

Nice to see ATI's got a few good cards for a reasonable price, though. I just wonder when the card's performance will become too great for AGP to handle...

I guess I should settle for a new case, eh?

[Nobu]

You could, if that's what you want.

It's not necessary though, if all you want is an upgraded motherboard, video card, processor, and/or memory. That is to say, you can upgrade those without getting a new case; though I'm pretty sure you knew that already.

Anyway, good luck. ^.^

[Travis]

Okay, serious post: AGP is a dead technology. I can remember hearing something about some AGP cards being made fairly recently (within the past year), but honestly...? You want something with a little more staying power. PCI-e is where it's at these days, and even though they're updating the specification for it every few years [we're in PCI-e 2.0 now, with 3.0 coming up later], they all remain backwards-and-forwards compatible.

Now, I'm pretty sure we can all sympathize if you can't upgrade your base system (motherboard, CPU, and probably RAM), especially since you seem to have a budget under $100, so my advice would be to just wait. Don't buy any computer components within the next year, see if you can save up maybe $200-300, and at that time come back and revisit this.

Every year I read about some "budget" $500 system that a hardware review site makes around the holidays (when there's naturally less news, and you get a lot of filler material, like those Top 10 lists you see everywhere). The thing cries like a bi... ehem, girl, when trying to run something like Crysis, but is more than serviceable as a low-end gaming system. If you're budget conscious, I'll bet you can do a decent upgrade of your motherboard, CPU, and Graphics Card [The new mobo may or may not have support for your existing RAM. I leave that to you.] for under $300.

Just be sure to upgrade in as much of a "future proof" manner as you can. Buying AGP these days would be like buying an PCI (non -e) card after the year 2000. If I feel like it, I'll post back with a list of current PC technologies with some lasting power.

[Sim9]

I second Travis' post; I don't think purchasing an AGP card at this point would be wise, and certainly wouldn't get you the performance boost you're looking for.

Nobu: Wow, we all posted at the same time? Impressive timing! :P

[Travis]

Alright, here's a quick list. Others, feel free to add in or critique. Just remember, this list is mostly intended to be technologies that are current and should be around for a few years, not necessarily cutting-edge (like Intel's new i7 processors).

CPU:
* For Intel, you basically have the LGA775 chips - if that means nothing to you, don't worry. It's just basically the model number for the type of connection. Basically every Intel chip [aside from the already mentioned new i7's] is a 775 chip.
* For AMD, I believe they're currently on the AM2/AM2+ chips. AMD fans, help me out here... I think the AM3 is out now with the new Phenom processors? Anyway, if it's out, it's incredibly new. No real need to go there just yet. AM2+ processors will be out for a while.

Graphics Card:
* As already stated, the current technology used is PCI-e. It's much faster than the old AGP specification. Currently we're at specification 2.0 - That doesn't have to mean much to you, but features include things like having two x16 (speed) PCI-e cards working on their own independent bus. [Previously, two x16 cards would split their bandwidth, effectively making them run at x8 speed.]

Expansion Ports:
* Again, PCI-e is the current standard. Having a couple older PCI (non -e) ports is useful, as a lot of simpler hardware still use them [modems, network adapters, and some sound cards]. When looking at a new motherboard, pay attention to the expansion ports available. You'll want at least one PCI-e x16 port, one PCI-e x1 port, and one or two PCI ports. Ideally, you'll want two or more of the PCI-e x16 ports, but one is perfectly serviceable if that's all you can afford.

Hard-Drives:
* These days it's all about SATA. You might already have a SATA-enabled motherboard, as it's been around for quite some time. There's not much more to say about this. Every board these days has a number of SATA ports, and usually an older IDE port for things like optical drives (as many of those still use IDE for some unknown reason - SATA is becoming more popular in optical drives, though)

RAM:
* Currently DDR2, though DDR3 has been out long enough that it'll probably soon take over DDR2's reign as the most common RAM technology. The best I can tell you is to be mindful of what's available on the motherboard you're considering. If you can get a decent board that supports both DDR2 and DDR3, it might be worth looking into. Otherwise, check if there are some good deals on DDR3 ram - it'll always be more expensive than DDR2, but you might find something for a good price. If all else fails, DDR2 will probably still be around for a few years yet.

Power Supply (PSU):
* Okay, this is a biggie. Lots of people overlook the power supply, but it is the most crucial component in your system. Buy a bad one, and prepare to shell out hundreds of bucks replacing all the hardware it's going to fry. There isn't a specific technology so much as there are some considerations.
- First, buy a reputable brand. This is one of the few instances in which buying off brand will kill you. Antec makes great Power Supplies. I have a Cooler Master that works really well. Look around on hardware review sites for some of the big names.
- Second, get as much power as you can afford. If you're making a killer system, you'll need at least 750W of power. For a lower end, around 500W would be good. Power supplies are most efficient when using 50-75% of their total sustained power, so don't go overboard... but don't short yourself, either. Trying to draw more power than your PSU can handle is a recipe for disaster.
- Third, a modern PSU should offer most typical connections anyway, but be sure you have a power supply with connectors for SATA drives and a couple 6 or 8-pin auxillary connectors for your new graphics card. They're no longer passively powered through the AGP/PCI port; they have to be powered with plugs from the PSU directly as well. The rest of the connections will be pretty standard: a few Molex connectors for older drives and fans, the motherboard cable, etc.

Chipset:
* Hahaha... no, I'm not going to get into this one. There are too many chipsets by too many vendors, and while I could give you a list of some of the ones currently used, as long as they adhere to the technologies above, you'll be fine. The chipset essentially defines what technologies may be present on your motherboard, but the configurations vary wildly from chipset to chipset, and from model of motherboard to model of motherboard.

Did I say "quick list"? Oh well. So that's mostly it. There are tons more details of course, but I'd say that's the majority of what you'll want to consider. Of course, given your budget, you won't be doing any full system upgrades anytime soon, but I hope you'll look into these technologies a bit more so when you do have the money, you'll be ready. Good luck!

[ElyCyan]

Now I want to update my system! Jerks.

[Nobu]

RAM:
* Currently DDR2, though DDR3 has been out long enough that it'll probably soon take over DDR2's reign as the most common RAM technology. The best I can tell you is to be mindful of what's available on the motherboard you're considering. If you can get a decent board that supports both DDR2 and DDR3, it might be worth looking into. Otherwise, check if there are some good deals on DDR3 ram - it'll always be more expensive than DDR2, but you might find something for a good price. If all else fails, DDR2 will probably still be around for a few years yet.
If you're going for AMD, I'd get a board like one of these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200022%201070946434&name=AM2%2b%2fAM3), with both DDR2 and DDR3 memory support if possible. That way, you can use an AM2+ CPU until AM3 processors start being sold(they aren't yet, but it's good to have an upgrade path so you don't end up spending extra money to upgrade your motherboard twice).

If you feel like going Intel for the time being, I would try to get a board that uses DDR3, so that if you ever decide AMD's going to kick Intel's butt in the future, you can easily switch without having to buy new RAM.

[Sim9]

Wow, nice write-up Travis. +10 :)

[ecliptiC]

If you're going for AMD, I'd get a board like one of these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200022%201070946434&name=AM2%2b%2fAM3), with both DDR2 and DDR3 memory support if possible. That way, you can use an AM2+ CPU until AM3 processors start being sold(they aren't yet, but it's good to have an upgrade path so you don't end up spending extra money to upgrade your motherboard twice).

If you feel like going Intel for the time being, I would try to get a board that uses DDR3, so that if you ever decide AMD's going to kick Intel's butt in the future, you can easily switch without having to buy new RAM.

My current motherboard has an AMD processor. Do ASUS motherboards have them? A friend of mine recommended I get an ASUS.

[Nobu]

Of course. Here are all the ASUS AMD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200022%2050001315&name=ASUS) motherboards available at newegg.

The oldest socket they have is AM2. If you want an older socket for whatever reason, you could get one from some other site or ebay, I guess.

ASUS will soon or has released boards supporting AM3 (http://event.asus.com/mb/AM3_CPU_Support/)(list linked) processors (though currently they don't support DDR3, if I am to believe what that page notes at the bottom), so if you want to wait for those or search around, you can do that.

[Nobu]

PS: My birthday is coming up next Tuesday :)

Happy birthday!

...or did you mean next, next Tuesday?

[ecliptiC]

Happy birthday!

...or did you mean next, next Tuesday?

Thanks, it's today :)