MY dream system.. well, not dream, but.. you'll see.

[ĄƦçɧąɳɠҾԼ]

Well here's a case that comes with a power supply in it, http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=88000

You don't want to overdo the video card in that system anyway, one of these will suffice, http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=12536780262&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=97708

[X'tyfe]

ya 5200 are pretty decent if your on a budget

but if you really want 256mb
you could try this which is slightly better

5500 with 256mb
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=12537108988&action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=66309

[[BTF]adam]

I think that card solo linked is better actually, i only noticed that it was actually 40 quid with VAT so ill have to go with the card solo linked, why wouldent i want to overdo it though? that case would be decent for me, i have to save up some though! It is july the 29th when my birthday is though, so its a while away, (good cos I can save a good amount of money ) so at the time it might change a bit, in which case ill know for definite how much I can spend, no doubt ill be reviving this thread for that! thank's for your help so far guys! - Xtife, thats the one i originally wanted! but solo said that I shouldent over do it on that system, also it might be over budget

[X'tyfe]

i think solo is right too might be overdoing it a bit

wait a min, if you said you were gunna give your old comp to your siblings
wouldnt you need a new hard drive aswell 

[ĄƦçɧąɳɠҾԼ]

[quote author={SX}AdAm

[PANTONE 7717C]

hey, found this bit of info on the 4u2 boards posted by Squirrel:

Well, there is much more to graphics cards than clock speeds and memory totals.
[takes deap breath]
Memory: There is more to memory than just "the more the better." There are 4 things that matter regarding memory:

*Type: (DDR, DDR2, DDR3) DDR3 is the newest and typically the fastest.
*Interface: (64bit, 128bit, and 256bit) Higher bits equals more bandwidth, which means more performance
*Speed: (frequency in mhz) Speed is sortof critical, as it too, translates into bandwidth
*Quantity: (in MB) Generally speaking, more is better. HOWEVER (huge however), many manufacturers will offer a card with more memory, only to have it crippled with lower bandwidth attributes like having a 64bit interface over 128bit, or running at 200mhz instead of 300mhz.

Of all the above choices, type is the least important, but the other 3 are critical. If you skimp on memory speed or interface, you will be hugely disappointed in your purchase.

NOW, on to the actual Graphic Processing Unit (GPU). Again, speed isn't everything. GPUs have increased substantially in complexity over the past few years, and with all the model numbers, it can get very confusing telling them apart. However, each GPU contains certain basic units to render scenes. I won't go into great detail on what each component does, but know that they are 2 kinds of general "pipelines" that work to render a scene. A pipeline is just a dedicated channel that does work, so theoretically, the more pipelines a GPU has, the more work it can do. The 2 kinds of pipelines are "pixel" and "vertex." Vertex handles geometry, while pixel handles rendering. In combination, they determine the speed at which the scene is rendered. The other way a GPU can do more work is by increased clock frequency.

As the above GPU grows in complexity (ie, more pipelines and faster core speeds), it requires both more memory (to hold textures), but more importantly, more memory bandwidth. This is achieved through the 4 memory variables mentioned above. If the GPU doesn't get the bandwidth it needs, it simply underperforms. This is why you can't buy a card based soley on the amount of memory it contains.

One last thought: GPU frequency is not the biggest difference maker regarding performance. While it certainly helps for a GPU to operate at a faster clock, it is more beneficial to have more pixel and vertex pipelines.

To better explain this, I'll use a few graphics cards to sum up what I just said:
We'll take the 9550(256mb) card vs the 6600GT(128mb):

Memory comparison:
Radeon 9550: 256mb, 128bit, 200mhz DDR = 6.4GB/sec bandwidth
GeForce 6600GT: 128mb, 128bit, 500mhz DDR3 = 16.0GB/sec bandwidth

GPU:
9550: 250mhz core, 2 vertex, 4 pixel
6600GT: 500mhz core, 3 vertex, 8 pixel

What does all that translate into? My rough estimate would be that the 6600GT is easily 2x better than the 9550.

So I'd say if you're still in the middle of comparing numbers keep some of this in mind.

[X'tyfe]

whoa

thank you pan for the explaination i knew some of this already
but this will really help me buy my next video card

i can see why people buy radeons over geforces :p
they are much cheaper, yet  people dont look at whats under the hood
they just see more mb = better
 
this why i will only buy geforce cards
its like amd and intel - rdram and ddr ram

i want to get the 6600gt 256mb but they are super hard to find  where i am
iv only seen the 128 version

[[BTF]adam]

Aww its only a low end processor aw well lol, i guess i knew that but over looked it since its amazing compared to this p2!! but arent games like q4 needing 256 cards these days? thanks for that info pan! brill

[X'tyfe]

it doesnt require it, it says it supports geforce 3 cards haha
and those only have 64mb

now games like ut2007 will most likely require 256 cards :p

[[BTF]adam]

I am wondering though, what does 4xAGP mean?

[X'tyfe]

its the speed of your apg slot
agp 4x is what most geforce 4 cards run at
agp 8x is what geforce fx and some 6 cards run at

if your getting a geforce fx card, id try and get a motherboard that supports agp8x
to get full performence out of the card, but if your going a low end cpu
your choices might be limited

[[BTF]adam]

Aha! So the card solo suggested, would be suitable for that motherboard right? so will, the (2.4 ghz ((if i upgrade to that, if not, 2.2)) ) athlon 2400+ processor, 512mb ddr kingston memory and the 128mb card solo suggested run quake 4!?

[X'tyfe]

i cant say that it will be very fast, but yes you shouldnt have any problems

[ĄƦçɧąɳɠҾԼ]

[quote author={SX}AdAm

[X'tyfe]

i run doom3 on high on 1024x768 without alot of lag i have around the same system as you solo
except my geforce 4600 is probably a bit faster