Well, I got a new video card, but am in a dilemma now...

drdoug99 · Post by **drdoug99** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:16 pm

I ordered a plain Leadtek 6800 AGP 128mb card, to upgrade from my Radeon 8500. Read good things about the card, and seems you can unlock the extra pipes fairly well too....

Well I got the card today, but what was inside the box was a Leadtek 6800GT 256mb PCI Express card!

which is awesome, since I paid $179 for it, but now I either have to get a new motherboard and processor, or sell the card, and get the same card and have a few extra bucks.

I don't really want to sell it, since it's a really nice video card, but I don't want to spend the extra money on a mobo/proc...I only wanted to upgrade my vid card...not a whole system upgrade...

My system specs are:

AMD Athlon XP 2500
1gb 3200 DDR
Radeon 8500
Thermaltake 430watt PSU, Thermaltake Soprano case
IDE hard drives

Another thing with the video card too, will my power supply be enough?
So would it be better to get a plain 6800 agp, or just get a new mobo/processor? Thanks for your time.

zooner · Post by **zooner** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:22 am

your powersupply will be enough.

go for a cheap amd64 3000 with an epox nf4 ultra motherboard. The total cost will be about $200. I imagine you'll be able to offset the cost by selling your current setup.

good luck! I had a 6800gt agp card for a while, totally kicked arse.

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 3:41 am

I've got a DFI NF4 Lanparty SLI-DR board i'll sell ya if your interested..its brand new used it for maybe 3-4weeks? It just didn't like my ram so I got a asus board instead. 160$ sound ok? I think I paid like 205$ for it after shipping costs.
This board is must better than a epox.. 939socket though so not sure what your current CPU is or what your wanting to get?

drdoug99 · Post by **drdoug99** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:01 pm

thanks guys...

well i guess i need to get a 939 board, as that's going to be teh standard for AMD for a while now....though I guess if I get a new mobo/processor I could get Intel..never used Intel though.

I'm looking for refurbished boards on newegg....looking to spend $150-200 total...so sorry sava i'd love to buy it but my budget is already at the breaking point

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:35 pm

drdoug99 wrote:thanks guys...

well i guess i need to get a 939 board, as that's going to be teh standard for AMD for a while now....though I guess if I get a new mobo/processor I could get Intel..never used Intel though.

I'm looking for refurbished boards on newegg....looking to spend $150-200 total...so sorry sava i'd love to buy it but my budget is already at the breaking point

no prob..going to stick it up in the for sale forum perhaps in a few days but saw your issue and figured i'd offer

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:04 pm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813135177

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103537

TheyCallMe____b · Post by **TheyCallMe____b** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 7:10 pm

This mobo will save you a few $$$$.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081

It got a pretty good review at THG

mountainman · Post by **mountainman** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 10:40 pm

Getting that vid card sounds like an omen to me. Time to upgrade.

drdoug99 · Post by **drdoug99** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 8:10 pm

I think i've decided on the Shuttle SN25P, nForce 4 ultra chipset...with a venice 3000 AMD 64....

now should I go with 1GBof RAM or 2? I have 1 GB now and it's really more then enough....I don't play battlefiled 2, which seems to be one of the only games that really benefits....I just figure since I'm upgrading I might as well get 2GB of RAM too, but heck why waste the money if I won't use the extra memory..unless you guys think that 2GB will be needed in the next couple years.

This computer I plan on lasting 2-3 years before I upgrade again....

Also question if you can help me....

with switching to a new computer....bringing my hard drives over with Windows XP...I'll need to reinstall XP on the new system right? What can I do to save all my programs and everything without reinstall my games and programs...the XP file and settings transfer wizard? I've never had to worry about keeping all my data before, I've always just done a clean install. Thanks for your help.

striker8000 · Post by **striker8000** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 8:58 pm

I just dealt with an upgrade to A64

all that's really needed is the repair option in windows setup and a product key, you don't need to do a complete reinstall.

note: you'll need to reupdate windows after doing this

zooner · Post by **zooner** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:56 am

you're going to have to reinstall all of your programs, it's that simple.

you will be able to run it without reinstalling, just install the drivers. However, that'll be a temp fix because you'll be shorting yourself on speed.

best to just back it up and reinstall, less issues.

striker8000 · Post by **striker8000** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 8:57 pm

back up everything before you do anything

plan on reinstalling windows from scratch.

as with any switch between motherboards, if you don't reinstall, something is not going to work perfectly, and you'll find you are missing some speed

bottom line...for best performance and operation...follow Zooner's advice

striker8000 · Post by **striker8000** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 9:04 pm

just reread the question

different games store data in different locations...usually, you'll find this in the game's install folder in a [save, saved, saved game...] folder, others will have a file with your game name.

note: file and settings transfer does NOT transfer program files, if you have a program that you really love...either have an install disk or do not format.