First of all, this is my first post so hi to everyone! This place looks very cool and I think I'm here to stay .

Okay, so I do possess knowledge in computers, but in hardware stuff I am really bad. I would like to upgrade my NVIDIA Gefore FX 5200 video card (it was included with my computer when I bought it a few years ago ) to a better one. I do not necessarily want the latest uber 500$ technology piece of hardware, I'd only like to get smoother FPS on my games. For example, I currently run World of Warcraft at around 25 FPS outdoor, and I am sure it could be further increased.

Any advice would be helpful, such as what brand, or help about compatibility issues (how can I be sure a card will fit in my computer?).

Thanks!

well u dint mention whether AGP or PCI Express...anyway if u want to improve ur gaming experience the video card does play a major part but RAM too plays an equally imp part...a good graphics card with powerful RAM will work wonders...i suggest u get ur RAM upgraded to 1GB or more...if u still insist on buyin a graphics card go for nvidia geforce 7 series...u can hav a look at some of them in this site :

My computer spec is in my profile. I have 1.5 GB of RAM so I should be all right.

I think that it is AGP... I am not sure though. Isn't Geforce FX 5200 an AGP card?

checks out 5200 FX is infact an AGP card...well ur RAMs ok no doubt....but i cannot pin point u a pecific card..u hav to gimme more details...lik u prefer geforce or u wldnt mind ATI n rest of the counterparts...n yes 1 more thin wats ur budget u said u dont want a state of the art one wid a $500 tag...so wats ur base line

The maximum I would pay for a video card would be around $300.

I did a little search... and I came up with these two (AGP 8x):

• $164.99 BFG GeForce 6800 GS OC
• $299.99 BFG GeForce 7800 GS

I would like to know if there is a big performance difference between both, big enough for the GeForce 7800 GS to be worth $135 more...

yes there is a big difference....the memory bandwith of the latter is way high...also the resolution is higer too...plus the geforce 7 series are latest in the market...jus 1 thin m not sure abt is BFG...though XFX n Nvidia r no doubt the best but BFG iv nevr heard of..y dont u go for this instead

XFX Geforce 7800 GS



This post has been edited by Knight_Wolf: Oct 1 2006, 11:27 AM

BFG is excellent, Great products for excellent prices, I can highly recommend them!

--bmwboy

Hmmm... So now I have to choose XFX or BFG.

They look pretty much the same !

Fx5200s are both AGP and PCI so you are going to have to check use CPU-Z or Pcwizard to find out or just take a look inside your PC.

Well, it said AGP 8x on CPU-Z and I looked on my motherboard box and on their website and it says AGP 8x on both... So I guess I need an AGP 8x .

go for XFX

Thats fine as long as you are sure as otherwise itll be a nasty surprise it happens more often than you might think that people think they have AGP and dont or only have 2x or something like that. They are both the same i would probably go for whatever is cheaper but BFG are very well known and have a good warranty service so i would lean to them bu whatever is cheaper is the best choice.

Remember its not all down to the graphics card it might be worth considering getting a cheaper card like the 6800 or noe of the 7600s and upgrade something else in your system. Its unfortuante as well you have AGP because DX10 isnt that far away and as far as all the indications go its not going to be made for AGP but you never know it might.

I am not sure at all now... I read a bit here and there and it looks like AGP will become obsolete in no time in favor of PCIe. I am not very confident with my "PC building skills" , and the thought of replacing my motherboard with a PCIe one scares me a little ...

if you are not interested in playing the newest game you can get a nvidia geforce 6600gt for around 70-90 dollars. I play far cry good on it on my computer and you have a gig more ram and an equal quality CPU. so with a 6600gt you could play most things and it is a cheaper upgrade allowing you to save to buy a new PC later with PCI-E

I would go with BFG also. I own there 7900gt card and there 650watt power supply.