Whats better, a X1950Pro or a Radeon X800? "256 oder 512MB of RAM" - Do you mean in his computer or in his card?
A Radeon X1950Pro is faster, it's a very new chip. My X800 is about 2 years old. It's a good card, too, but not worth buying anymore. I was referring to the Video RAM (of course) in my last post. 256MB of system RAM simply aren't / wouldn't be enough. The fact that there are 512MB graphics cards kinda makes that obvious. :p
Hehe, sorry for being so nooby! You have been an amazing help though, I really cant thank you enough. I've been trying to buy a card for ages but been stuck amongst all the numbers. Thankyou very very much Just one last question.. about the X1950Pro Will it be able to handle Supreme Commander? How about C&C 3?
Game performance doesn't soley depend on your graphics card, but it should run both games well. I've watched my X1950Pro dude play SupCom some days ago and the performance was good, but I didn't inquire about his settings ingame. My X800 ran the Demo perfectly fine, I havn't tried the full game yet, though. There are only 2 or so more powerful chips for AGP8x anyways, I'll look them up in a second. #Edit: Apparently I was wrong and there are no more powerful cards for AGP8x. GeForce 7600GT and 7800GS and Radeon X1950Pro is the best you can get.
Wow, thankyou I'm gonna get the Radeon X1950Pro I believe I also want to get a 1gb stick of DDR RAM. I know you've helped me a lot already but do you think you could help me with the RAM too? hehe. I know how to install it, I have before, just can you recommend any RAM sticks? I lack the understanding of all the numbers and things like "pins" and what mhz they run at and whatever.. Basically I just need help picking out a good one I searched on E-buyer and found http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/63128 but apparently it's a bit of a gamble using value RAM!
The easiest way would be to tell me either the name of your mainboard ("Asus 8XGA4" f.e.) chipset ("Intel i865" f.e.) or what type of RAM you use at the moment. ("PC1066-32" f.e.) and the name of your CPU ("Pentium 4 "Northwood" 2,66GHz 533FSB" f.e.) There basicly are 3 things you need to know before purchasing RAM. which type of RAM you need (SD, DDR or DDR2) the preferred Frontsidebus of your CPU (133, 166, 200, .. MHz) what kind of other RAM you have inside your box (since all modules have to run at the same speed and latency)
"The easiest way would be to tell me either the name of your mainboard ("Asus 8XGA4" f.e.) chipset ("Intel i865" f.e.) or what type of RAM you use at the moment. ("PC1066-32" f.e.) and the name of your CPU ("Pentium 4 "Northwood" 2,66GHz 533FSB" f.e.)" How do I do those?
Yeah I realized I should have written it down straight away. Too late for an edit. Right click on "My Computer" and click "Properties" (I actually don't know if it's called like that :p) Your CPU type should be listed on the lower part of the first page. Mainboard is a little more tricky. Your Chipset / Mainboard name should be on screen while the PC boots up. Little time to write it down though. The Mainboards name is also printed onto it, but can be difficult to spot. Currently I'm looking for a reliable way too find it out without installing anything. You might be able to find out something about your RAm inside the BIOS, There will be an option to adjust your Frontsidebus (FSB), will show something between 100 and 266, or multiples (2, 4) thereof. I don't know any way to find out more without software atm. #Edit: Download and install this, :p won't hurt anyways. http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/index.html?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_3264&langx=en&a= I don't have the most recent version, but it shouldn't matter. There should be a Hardware-Information tab with a Computer-Overview button within. It should list sufficient info about your Processor, Mainboard and Chipset (including RAM) straight away. There is a button to copy the info into the clipboard.
Mainboard Bus(es) : X-Bus AGP PCI IMB USB i2c/SMBus MP Support : 1 Processor(s) MP APIC : Yes System BIOS : Dell Computer Corporation A05 System : Dell Computer Corporation Dimension 8300 Mainboard : Dell Computer Corp. 0W2562 Total Memory : 1023MB DDR-SDRAM Chipset 1 Model : Dell Computer Corp 82875P,E7210 Memory Controller Hub Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 200MHz (800MHz data rate) Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM Memory Bus Speed : 2x 200MHz (400MHz data rate) hehe thanks for the help :D Is that sufficient information?
Well you lucked out and didn't get gimped with RDRAM in there. Im thinking you want some PC3200 (400 mhz) DDR-SDRAM. Be careful though, different brands of ram sometimes don't like to play nice together.
Yeah PC3200, but it looks like you've got Dual-Channel. You'll want to look into a 2x512MB Kit (effectively 1024MB) but you will most likely not have any problems with your current 1GB. http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114481 for example, but it's Value RAM, too. Basicly the RAM should work fine, but sometimes there are compatiblity issues, happens with non Value RAM too, though. http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/search/?qfind=+DDR++PC3200++1GB++Kit This appears to be all ebuyer got, if you want to search somewhere else try searching for DDR PC3200 1GB Kit Doesn't hurt to buy RAM with a name on it (Samsung, Corsair, OCZ, Kingston, ..) Btw., you can technically fit every DDR RAM into the board, while you shouldn't put slow RAM in (<400MHz) faster RAM isn't a problem. I've seen cases where 533MHz RAM was cheaper than comparable 400MHz modules.
I've only got one slot left though (I currently have a 512 and 2x 256) ... :S plus what do i ask for in terms of MHZ and DDR and all that?
That undermines my Dual Channel theory slightly. Have a look at your board, do you have just 4 similar RAM Slots or do you have two groupes either spaced apart or in a different color? Additionally your BIOS should tell you while booting up (while "counting" the RAM, or afterwards, for example). You're Processor still isn't clear, I guess it's a 800MHz FSB Pentium 4? Have a look in My Computer -> Properties or My Computer -> Hardware -> Device-Manager. If you have a 800MHz P4 you might not be running in Dual Channel mode, severly imparing the processors performance. #Edit: Hmm i875 Chipset, should be Dual Channel. It's quite important to have your modules evenly spaced over the 2 Channels and if possible the same modules. I guess you currently have 768MB in the first and 256MB in the second channel. You could try buying a single 512MB module for the second channel but chances are low that it will work properly.
This site regarding sup com. Its not that good of a tech page, but its all I could find.http://www.gamespot.com/features/6166198/p-5.html
"Just remember that when buying this card, you have a suitable power source for it. There are quite a few people running into problems because their PSU is underpowered. I's not all about the Watts of the PSU, its how many Amps on the 12v Rail. You need a minimum of 30A on a single 12v Rail Unit to run this card. (22A per rail on a dual rail PSU)" I read about this in many customer reviews on the X1950.. How can I find out if mines a dual rail PSU and watts on it and all that?? @Decemberscalm = thanks for the techpage, that was helpfull
By having a look at it. There should be a big label on it. Watts should read something like "450W (2x240W combined power)" It will also list the different Voltages and corresponding Amperes. i.E. +3.3VDC 30A +5VDC 40A +12VDC 25A -12VDC 0.8A -5VDC 0.3A +5VSB 2.0A
The case of the PSU, where the label is located. :p You could also look at the PSUs box, if you still have it.
for me, the power supply came in a big box with a fan, and is attatched to the top of my rig, and had a big sticker on it (450 WATT). i don't know about you, but i heard that for a good graphics card you need atleast 400 WATT.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6372/untitledzl9.jpg I copied this off what I believe is my PSU. I hope you can read my scrawly writing :D (It isnt normally good anyway, didnt help I was lying down, my head in my computer case ) Does this mean my PSU can handle the X1950? (Note - a post of mine a few back: "Just remember that when buying this card, you have a suitable power source for it. There are quite a few people running into problems because their PSU is underpowered. I's not all about the Watts of the PSU, its how many Amps on the 12v Rail. You need a minimum of 30A on a single 12v Rail Unit to run this card. (22A per rail on a dual rail PSU)")
