Graphics card upgrade

nicknick109

I have a Shuttle AK32A m/b Win XP 2gb 400 DDR memory and a Radeon ATI 7000 AGP 64mb sdr dram 2nd vga+tv out AGP 2x/4x.Athlon 1.7 processor.
I have just got MS Flight sim X and notice the graphics are not too sharp.
Radeon have suggested that the card will not do justice to the flight sim but failed to advise an alternative card could anybody help on that problem please. I have read the graphics card questions of a couple of days ago and noted Gib_Gib's reply if you read this could you advise please.The m/b is about 3-4 years old so not sure if I should upgrade the internals or go for another have loked at Novatech they have a m/b package with Athlon 3800 and fan with onboard graphics, would like to stay with DDR memory having just replaced mine with the 2gb.
Many thanks if you can.

webhamster

stay away from anuthing with onboard vga , your system is pretty done for modern games but you might get a lease of life with a half height 9800 pro if you can find one.Turn most of the visuals to low even with a new card

epz_2

thats a boat load of ram and no real reason to change it since ddr2 aint that much better (higher latences etc).

i dont know that much about flight sims apart from a vauge recollection that though dull they use some pretty high end 3d graphics engines so for the love of god avoid integrated graphic.

it really depends upon what you are looking to spend but the best agp graphics cards are the ati x1950, the nvidia 7600 and 6800gt in decending order you will probably get a 6800 off ebay for about £70 (make sure its a gt or ultra version) with x1950s starting about £120

your system will still be cpu constrained but cheap socket 756 amd64s with 3000+ cpus shouldnt run you much over £60 these days

if you are certain about upgrading both the cpu and graphics at the same time i would get an amd 939 sli motherboard and nvidia pci-express card, that way you can double the graphics card capability later on and go dual core with the cpu when cheaper as well.

Gib_Gib

I agree with EPZ

apart from the flight sims being dull bit

The best buy for £47 is scan is offering a 6600gt, its not the best, but it is cheap and new and its a lot better than you have now.

Personally I would try to look for 2nd hand graphics cards such as EPZ suggested.

This article might interest you. from tomshardware

But if you are considering buying a new mobo, processor and graphics card, then there is one great option.
The Asrock 775DUAL-VSTA Socket 775 PCI-E & AGP
ASROCK WEBSITE £36 from ARIA

This motherboard can take ddr and ddr2, agp and pci-e graphics and best of all it will also work with the new core2duo while working with your memory.

As for processors....If money is tight you can use a 3ghz socket 775 pentium 4 for around £55, or if you are a little more flush an e6300 for £110

You still need a graphics card on top of that.

Gib_Gib

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mrmuesli

i picked up a 2nd hand 7900gt off ebay for £90 + p/p and its done me good so far, you would need a board that supports pci-express for this though

i wanted a graphics card that supported hdcp (if you are future proofing you might want this if you plan on ever buying a blueray or hd-dvd writer/player) but I couldn't fit anything bigger really in my shuttle sn-25p

if you are looking for cheap upgrades, single core socket 939 athlon64 3200 (venices) are cheap (£35 ish) and they are supposed to overclock well, i wouldn't go lower than that in amd

definitely stick with your 2gb ram