let me think in my country this  r expansive no mather how u take them :P   but there are programs and games that work better on a DX 8 grapics card  but  how the world evolves its recomendet that u take the one  that has DX 9      i have a   Evga e-GeForce PCX 6800 GT, (256 MB) Graphic Card  :P its one of the best :D  i have DX 9 
   p.s. u know there r diferent programs that require always diferent dx-s  so no mather u will always need better and better  so go for 256 mb  one      
  
  dont know of this help's but anyway :P

    hi from Romania  

      - vlad - 
 
 

Hi Beppe,

I'm just back from the shops,after looking at graphics cards. I also need a new one,got some Pc games as presents and I cant play them cause I need a 3-D or something, graphics card.I also need my Tanx to go faster so I can run away quicker.:p.

I think the more memory card is better,as most games come with DX9 in them,ready to download.

They were priced at,,,,£60,,£70,,,or £130.Was gonna go for the £70 one , but thought I'd look on E-Bay first.Supposed to be lots of bargains in there. 

Let us know how ye got on.

;). 

Yeah, I'm looking in ebay. I figured that if I can get a deal, then why not (got a USB 2.0 front/rear adapter for US$0.01). I am thinking DX9 as well... it's the fact that I don't have DX8.1 on my 64MB card that's causing problems, and I don't want to be caught out again in a few weeks.

I've been watching a few 128MB and 256MB cards go by. I'll talk in US$ because that's the region I'm in. With patience you'll pick up a 128 for $15-40 and a 256 for $25-50 (plus S&H). The thing to watch is that you can get better 128MB cards that will exceed the performance of the low 256s. I don't have any need for more than 64 right now, so I am leaning towards a higher performance 128.

Sounds good too me,tho all these numbers are giving me a sore head.

;).

Can you get a graphics card that plugs into your USB?

I doubt that very much RRF.

Hello Beppe
here is a couple of cards which will do you .

Radeon 9550 (256Mb) approx 56 pounds directx 9 comp

Radeon 9600 Bravo (256Mb) approx 65 pounds 8x agp

MSI - GeForce FX5700 LE (256Mb) approx 90 pounds

if you want top performance which comes at ahefty price , then this board is a beauty

ASUS - Geforce 6800GT (256Mb) approx 275 pounds.

regards

Lou

Thanks Lou. Still looking on Ebay, haven't had a chance to check out the local stores yet. I keep losing bids by one or two dollars in the last minute. Guess I'll have to up my bid prices :p

http://www.pricewatch.com

I only posted this link to help out petey :)
but feel free to use it. Anyhow I posted about video cards in the tanx forum a while back. So you can look for that post if its still in there. Just remember not to go with a high end video card if your monitor cannot support it's highest settings or you are just throwing money away.And unless you are playing DOOM 3 or a demanding game like that dont bother going with anything over 128 even with that you can play DOOM 3. 

o and suit you can get a video card that plugs into your usb a company called Telegnosis makes one. I do not know how good this usb vid card is though. You can visit their site I just hope you understand kanji.

;) Cheers Mexi.

This might help me to make my mind up,this month.Just in time for my birthday ,next month.:D.

Will start dropping hints to the wife,once I pick one.

Tanx again matey.

;).  

kanji is my speciality ;)

before looking at the prices, make sure you are buying the Correct TYPE of card.

The 3 types are PCI, PCI Express, and AGP.

If you buy the wrong one most stores will NOT exchange it. The cheapest 256Mb cards are the AGP ones, which retail for around £99 in most high street stores.

Prices on auction sites tend to be lower, but unless you are buying a retail boxed card from the auction be VERY careful because many graphics cards are overclocked too and this can have a drastic effect on their performance if done wrong.

Ohhhh dear,

This just gets more an more complimicated.

:|

Most motherboards come with an agp slot and numerous pci slots, with that said your logical choice should be an agp card since they outperform pci cards. 

I am looking for an AGPx4 compatible card. I just won an auction on eBay for a new ATI Radeon 9600SE 128MB. With postage it's about 20 quid, but... I didn't really check to see what the card does... and it's DVI only... which my LCD is not! I haven't paid for the card yet, and I am waiting for a reply from the store to see if they will swap it or cancel the sale if I buy another of their cards. What a freaking idiot I am!

I have now decided that the performance of the SE is too low, and that I need the XT or Pro instead. Even better, the discontinued 9500 Pro is good value, or spend a little extra and get the 9700 range (the 9500 is a underclocked 9700, and can overclocked with excellent results). Another budget option is an off the shelf Nvidia 5200 128bit 256MB. It's about 60quid here in Canada, but I think I will stick with the Radeons. I know it's time to change, as about 30 minutes ago I just blew up my 32MB PCI card and am now back to on-board shared graphics! At least it's 64MB shared :p

Does anyone know what happens if I don't pay for an eBay item?

Hi Beppe
if you dont pay, the worst that can happen is you are given negative feedback.
this isnt a major prob apart from ppl use the feedback system to decide wether you are trustworthy or not.
you could always send the seller a nice email explaining that the card is no better than the one you have , tell them you are willing to buy a better card off them if they have one.
If they dont , you could always offer to pay for the item to be relisted or pay theior listing fee and commission , which on 20 quid would be minimal, in exchange that they dont leave negative feedback , therefor keeping your good name , and reputation.

hope this helps

lou

Thanks Lou, that's very helpful. I sent the company an email 5 minutes after the auction ended, and two more since. I have offered to purchase a better card from them in return for a cancelled sale, and even offered the relisting fee. The company specialises in reconditioned or new discontinued cards, and they list several cards of the type I want every day. Unfortunately they haven't replied.

A negative mark is not such a bad thing as I am not selling anything. I usually pay immeadiately, but this sale asked that I waited for the invoice :p

I came to an agreement with the seller - got the 128 MB Radeon 9500 for about 33 quid (still haven't found the pound symbol on the US keyboard). I could have saved a fiver or so in an auction, but I am happy with it at this price. I figured that by the time this card becomes redundant, there will be better cards on the market than the ones I am looking at today.

Next question - does anyone know about overclocking? As I mentioned before, the 9500 is an 

underclocked

 9700. I have seen articles on overclocking the two. The 9700 is pretty close to what it can achieve, whilst the 9500 can come close to the 9700 standard. What they don't tell me is how to do it. Veriac, do you know about this?

Here is what I used to overclock mine, Do not get greedy with the desired effects you want and what your card can actually give you.

http://www.entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm

Radeon grahics cards are really good, but they are too powerful. I just got a new computer a few weeks ago and the chip burnt out~(fan stopped) The reason was for one game>>> BattleField2. That game takes up too much graphics memory. But the strange thing is, is that America's Army has more space, wierd.

Generally speaking i would simply recommend you do NOT overclock a graphics card at all. Many people do overlock them, but in most cases this simply reduces the life of the card.

If you do insist on it though, i would recommend that you use RivaTuner, which includes a comprehensive set of tweak tools, overclocking options and, in new versions, support for cards from both of the “big two” of the graphics industry -- ATI and NVIDIA. 

You can download the tool for free from 

http://www.guru3d.com/

Cheers Veriac. The ATI Radeon 9500 was an entry level 9700 underclocked for that part of the market. It can be made to run like the 9700 with no or little risk. However, I don't 

need

 to have it faster right now, so I am going to download the tool you suggest and put it to the side for the forseeable future.

The card arrived yesterday in the post, and it works just fine :D

Well as usuall, the wife goes overboard . My birthday on Sat 20Th Aug,so she gets me a new computer :D.I did tell her  it was a graphics card I wanted.

Its strange,playing on a new comp,not used to it yet.It does have a Radeon X600 series card in it. 

:D:D:D

Nice one :D

Cheers Beppe,

How you gettin on with your new card ?

Brilliant! I am happy with what I picked up from Ebay, but I think I got lucky. Still, my wife never gave me what you have... :)