My computer (Dell Dimension 4550 P4 2.0ghz) is in need of an upgrade, can anyone here suggest a good video card and going prices for such? The card I'm running now is an ATI Rage 128 Ultra 32mb. I've tried to run a few newer flight sims, but the card is apparently not up to snuff memory-wise. Also, what brand of RAM would be recommended, I'm running 512mb (Kingston I believe) now, but would like to upgrade to 1GB or more. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. It may sound like I know what I'm talking about, but that's not the case at the moment....
Rayell, I checked that site, some very reasonable prices there. Good to see some of the reviews too, some of the lower end video cards sound like complete turds. cooter, my computer came with 256mb RAM originally. The gentleman (I use the term loosely in his case) I bought it from told me the tale that he paid extra for the extra RAM, and, unfortunately, I fell for it. My old Sony Vaio only came with 128mb, so I was excited to have double that.....at the time. A friend of mine gave me a 512mb stick last week, for the life of me I can't remember if it was 2100 or 2700, I'll open it up tomorrow morning and check. That much helped a lot, so 512 more should make a big difference. I'll PM you when I find out.
5.0, an old pair my glasses has tape holding them together, does that count for me or against? When I first took computer classes in school, we still had the old green screens, which was around 1995. We were WAY behind in technology, to say the least.
Nerds rule!! Especially here at work, when you need help on the computer. We have some of the best guys and gals in tech support, all younger than my grand kids!, almost! It makes me have hope for the future, no matter what is said about our youth. Many are dolts, but many are nerds too. I'll bet the guys in Manhatten and Apollo projects were considered nerds too! One group saved/doomed the world, and the other got us to another one, just in case we need it!!
78Squire, sounds like you've got a pretty old box there, by today's standards. Before you buy a new card you should check with Dell to find out what it will handle. Dell machines and others of that period were very proprietary and will not accept newer video cards. I found out the hard way when I bought an IBM. Since then I've built my own comps. If you're into the newer video games you'll need to build/buy a system that will work with them. And it won't be cheap. I built my latest system two years ago at a cost of almost 1K, but it works flawlessly and will keep up with the newest stuff available. Take your time, do your research and get what you need. Don't go for the latest and greatest because that will all change in 3 months. Get what will suit your needs for now and the future.
That's just the thing, cooter, I don't plan on running the newest games that require outrageous video cards or huge amounts of ram. I'm talking games that are several years old, like Jane's WW2 Fighters, IL-2 Sturmovik, etc. Something I could max out the graphics on and still get decent frame rates. I've seen some good deals on 256 and 512mb cards from newegg and tiger direct that seem tempting if my computer will take the cards. When I do order one, I gotta remember that mine takes the older agp cards instead of the pci-e's. Someday I'll get with the times. I've noticed the last couple of days, reading up on video cards, that some of the higher-end jobs require a 450 watt power supply to run good. This stuff advances fast than I can keep up with it, that's for sure!
Did you gamers know that the Federal Air Traffic Controllers Department are recruiting big time, targeting guys with computer skills and especially gaming skills. Heard on radio ad over here recently. Decent starting pay, $40-60K to start. Unless you are way above that, and don't like stress, check it out!!
No, not really! But I guess you are right. But makes you think. What could the suicide rate be for Swedish, and other Scandenavian, air traffic controllers? Must be a weekly turnover!!
As long as ATX stays the standard layout...you can stay high-middle ground when rolling your own pc about every 2-3 years and for about $150...
lol...dude..we were seperated at birth.. Ive been all AMD for a loooooooooong time...my last Intel was a 486 get some good bang for the buck when you get those MB/CPU packages on ebay.. do up the CPUS until the MB cant support them anymore ..then do the MB/CPU package again...Im right on the verge of dropping down to LOW end at the moment....and buying a new car has made that permanent..at least until my inlaws ask me what i want for Christmas its those little peripherals that jack up the price...like vid cards...and sound cards....stuck with my SBlive until they finally said ENOUGH no more updates... gotta say the new SBs are freakin awesome in sound quality!! if you havent got one..more than worth it.... Vid cards are a tougher call... been an ATI guy for a long time ...kinda handy when they merged with AMD huh?!
