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Need a new video card...odd specifications.
mcdermott
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
EDIT: I need a new video card to shove into a Dell Inspiron C521, which is a low-profile (half height) case and has a shit power supply. I have roughly $50-$75 to spend. Read on for details.
So, I have a little money burning a hole in my pocket and I've decided I want to make my zombies prettier.
But I gots problems.
Serious problems.
For starters, it must be low profile...unfortunately my computer has a shitty half-height case, which means a full-height bracket (or card) simply won't do.
Profile height from the board is less important...it seems like I have about a double-height of clearance before I run into the heat sink on my crappy onboard video that I don't use. But preferably not an actual double-height card...a little bit of extra clearance is fine, but a lot may be an issue.
Power supply. Upgrading is not an option. I have the crappy 280W power supply that came with this computer, which has a 12V rail rated at 16A. When they give specifications on a site like NewEgg, are those conservative specs? What else is on the 12V rail? I don't really have much else running in my computer (just a wireless card, a single hard drive, and a single DVD drive...plus an Athlon X2 4000+).
My budget is $50-$75 or so. I only want to be able to run L4D at like 800x600 with full prettiness, or at something a bit higher with lower settings but good framerate. My current card is an ATI Radeon X1300 Pro (256MB) that came with the computer. It runs it, but not fantastically. Maybe being able to run Bioshock at lowass detail levels without it coming to its knees would be good as well.
The computer is a Dell Dimension C521, with the 250 GB hard drive, DVD-RW, and an extra gig added to the 1GB that came with it.
What say you, denizens of Moe's. Is this possible?
I was looking at this, but the power specifications are significantly higher than mine (18A on the 12V rail, 350 watt). What does a "free low profile kit" mean, anyway? Other cards seem to come packaged with the low profile bracket...I'm confused.
Or I was looking at something like this, but it doesn't specify power supply rating (I assume it wants higher than mine). I'm hesitant to give up my S-Video port, because at the moment I use it, but will only be using for about 4 more months at which poitn I won't need it anymore.
Then there's this, which has an S-Video out and is nice and cheap (especially with the mail-in rebate, which I will make absolutely sure I send in). But who the fuck is Powercolor? Then again, who the fuck is XFX? I've been out of the game for too long, dammit. I don't even know what the fuck the numbers after the Radeon or NVIDIA mean anymore.
I'm just so confused!
Seriously, the last time I bought a standalone video card it was a Voodoo Banshee or some shit. HELP ME PA FORUMS, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE!
EDIT: I looked it up. 3dfx Voodoo3 was the last standalone video card I bought. Seriously, I's dumb. HALP!
So, I have a little money burning a hole in my pocket and I've decided I want to make my zombies prettier.
But I gots problems.
Serious problems.
For starters, it must be low profile...unfortunately my computer has a shitty half-height case, which means a full-height bracket (or card) simply won't do.
Profile height from the board is less important...it seems like I have about a double-height of clearance before I run into the heat sink on my crappy onboard video that I don't use. But preferably not an actual double-height card...a little bit of extra clearance is fine, but a lot may be an issue.
Power supply. Upgrading is not an option. I have the crappy 280W power supply that came with this computer, which has a 12V rail rated at 16A. When they give specifications on a site like NewEgg, are those conservative specs? What else is on the 12V rail? I don't really have much else running in my computer (just a wireless card, a single hard drive, and a single DVD drive...plus an Athlon X2 4000+).
My budget is $50-$75 or so. I only want to be able to run L4D at like 800x600 with full prettiness, or at something a bit higher with lower settings but good framerate. My current card is an ATI Radeon X1300 Pro (256MB) that came with the computer. It runs it, but not fantastically. Maybe being able to run Bioshock at lowass detail levels without it coming to its knees would be good as well.
The computer is a Dell Dimension C521, with the 250 GB hard drive, DVD-RW, and an extra gig added to the 1GB that came with it.
What say you, denizens of Moe's. Is this possible?
I was looking at this, but the power specifications are significantly higher than mine (18A on the 12V rail, 350 watt). What does a "free low profile kit" mean, anyway? Other cards seem to come packaged with the low profile bracket...I'm confused.
Or I was looking at something like this, but it doesn't specify power supply rating (I assume it wants higher than mine). I'm hesitant to give up my S-Video port, because at the moment I use it, but will only be using for about 4 more months at which poitn I won't need it anymore.
Then there's this, which has an S-Video out and is nice and cheap (especially with the mail-in rebate, which I will make absolutely sure I send in). But who the fuck is Powercolor? Then again, who the fuck is XFX? I've been out of the game for too long, dammit. I don't even know what the fuck the numbers after the Radeon or NVIDIA mean anymore.
I'm just so confused!
Seriously, the last time I bought a standalone video card it was a Voodoo Banshee or some shit. HELP ME PA FORUMS, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE!
EDIT: I looked it up. 3dfx Voodoo3 was the last standalone video card I bought. Seriously, I's dumb. HALP!
mcdermott on
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It does limit your options quite a bit though. The 9500GT is probably your best bet. XFX is a good name in NVIDIA cards as well.
(Oh, and don't upgrade your drivers past the NVIDIA 178.xx series if you want to play L4D. Beyond that has the chance of making gameplay stutter and freeze for 5-10s at a time.)
http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/hardware/1819_9.html is a good 9500GT vs HD4550 review as well.
tl;dr - ouch bro, buy the 9500GT, it's about the best you can get with that machine.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.