Computers & Electronics

Good deal for upgrade?

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  • Feb 27th, 2010 8:07 pm
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Deal Expert
Jun 24, 2006
15771 posts
11167 upvotes

Good deal for upgrade?

I am looking for a little upgrade for my computer, want to stay under/around $100. Is this about as good as I can get? Keep in mind the video card has a $15 MIR so, it is really only $25

Going from an X2 3800+ with a X850XT PE

to

[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/54taqf.jpg[/IMG]

thanks.
11 replies
Deal Addict
Sep 29, 2009
2028 posts
545 upvotes
MTL
Uhh, massive graphical downgrade? Unless you just want HDMI and you're not planning on gaming?
Deal Expert
Jun 24, 2006
15771 posts
11167 upvotes
apf888 wrote: Uhh, massive graphical downgrade? Unless you just want HDMI and you're not planning on gaming?
Is it really that big of a downgrade? My current video card is 4 gens old.

No, I don't care about the HDMI, but I run Linux and there is no support/drivers from ATI for a card as old as mine. I am looking for something current and cheap, so I can get a decent driver running.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Jun 11, 2001
9475 posts
1610 upvotes
Meh, don't even bother with that graphics card.

I built almost the same system for my GF a month ago.

Athlon x2 240 $45
ECS 8200 $32 (after MIR)

rest of the parts were left overs. I clocked to CPU to 3.5Ghz and it really flys in Vista64 with 4GB DDR. The HDMI out onboard is a nice as well and the video is good enough to do everything but 3D gaming... even supports CUDA.
...zzz...zzz...zzz...

www.heatware.com
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
30106 posts
5547 upvotes
Montreal
Are you sure your motherboard supports AM3 CPUs?
Deal Addict
Sep 29, 2009
2028 posts
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MTL
Gutty96 wrote: Is it really that big of a downgrade? My current video card is 4 gens old.

No, I don't care about the HDMI, but I run Linux and there is no support/drivers from ATI for a card as old as mine. I am looking for something current and cheap, so I can get a decent driver running.
Buying an entry-level card is buying an entry-level card.

Don't expect an entry-level card to beat the pants off of the very high-end of older generations.

Here's the stats:
X850 XT PE
Mem: 540
Core: 590
Vertex:6, Pixel:16, Tex:16, ROP: 16
Fill: 8.32GT/s
Mem BW: 37.76GB/s (GDDR3, 256-bit)
DX 9.0b, OpenGL 2.0

HD4350
Mem: 500
Core: 575
Shader (Vertex, Geometry, Pixel): 80 (16x5), Tex: 8, ROP: 4
Fill: 4.6GT/s, 2.3GP/s
Mem BW: 8GB/s (DDR2, 64-bit)
DX10.1, OpenGL 3.2
So, as you can see, your old card still beats the pants off of this card except for pixel shaders, but even then, because of the low number of render outputs, it doesn't mean a whole lot.

Having the newer DX10.1 spec means nothing, since the throughput is so low that it'd likely be eliminated by the specs of most games (ex: Mass Effect 2 even goes out of the way to say that you can't play the game on this card).

That card is a waste of money unless you want an HDMI output (I have one, and I use it exactly for that). If you're gaming, you might be better off just buying a better card and leaving the CPU for the moment. Otherwise, I'd use the money to buy a CPU instead or save up more for a more complete upgrade.
Deal Expert
Jun 24, 2006
15771 posts
11167 upvotes
apf888 wrote: Buying an entry-level card is buying an entry-level card.

Don't expect an entry-level card to beat the pants off of the very high-end of older generations.

Here's the stats:



So, as you can see, your old card still beats the pants off of this card except for pixel shaders, but even then, because of the low number of render outputs, it doesn't mean a whole lot.

Having the newer DX10.1 spec means nothing, since the throughput is so low that it'd likely be eliminated by the specs of most games (ex: Mass Effect 2 even goes out of the way to say that you can't play the game on this card).

That card is a waste of money unless you want an HDMI output (I have one, and I use it exactly for that). If you're gaming, you might be better off just buying a better card and leaving the CPU for the moment. Otherwise, I'd use the money to buy a CPU instead or save up more for a more complete upgrade.
I do NO GAMING what so ever on this computer. It is purely for everyday computer use. I just need a current gen video card that has proprietary driver support from ATI/nVidia. As I get a lot of random black screen boots with linux, since there are no drivers for my card.
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
30106 posts
5547 upvotes
Montreal
Gutty96 wrote: I do NO GAMING what so ever on this computer. It is purely for everyday computer use. I just need a current gen video card that has proprietary driver support from ATI/nVidia. As I get a lot of random black screen boots with linux, since there are no drivers for my card.
gts 210 or 9500gt. Stat far, far away from ATI and Linux.
Deal Expert
Jun 24, 2006
15771 posts
11167 upvotes
mr_raider wrote: gts 210 or 9500gt. Stat far, far away from ATI and Linux.
I will take a look at those, but why stay away from ATI? I have had this card running Linux for 4 years now. No problems what so ever, until ATI cut the driver support for old cards.
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
30106 posts
5547 upvotes
Montreal
Gutty96 wrote: I will take a look at those, but why stay away from ATI? I have had this card running Linux for 4 years now. No problems what so ever, until ATI cut the driver support for old cards.
I had the same thing happen to me on my x1900xt, and replaced it with a 9800gt.

ATI cards have trouble with compiz enabled and video playback, compiz + open GL and are much more finicky under wine. Furthermore nvidia now has hardware acceleration for HD video in Linux (VDPAU) and many programs like XBMC support it.

My laptop uses a 3410 and it's fine, as long as I leave compiz off.

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