purchasing a video card

[réjean]

Hi all!

I want to replace my video card which overheated a few months ago. I have 2 machines and right now I am using their onboard videocards but they are limited

My motherboards are;

1. http://www.gigabyte....spx?pid=3972#sp which for now is running Linux only,

 

The gigabyte tells me that it has a

1. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16
    
   
2. 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
    
   
3. 2 x PCI slots
   

2. http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813127017 which has Win XP and Win7 installed on.

Some reviews about the 2nd board tell me that " PCIe does support PCI 16 even though some reviews say no. I am running at PNY 6600 at 16.Only 2 PCI slots "

or

" If you need a cheap board that could be upgraded and don't mind the 1.5gb/s sata's and not true x16 PCI-E this is a board for you"

or

" Allowed me to use my new Geforce 7600GS".

etc.

 

So needless to say that I am all confused. What I need is some advice on a video card in the following price range that could work on either mother board, or a link to a place where I could find advice.

http://www.newegg.ca...NodeId=1&Page=2

I don't know what the rules are about suggesting products or place to get it but you couls PM me if it is necessary.

Edited August 5, 2014 by réjean

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Most quality video cards will be using PCIe 16.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

 

There are some things to consider when buying a card:

 

1. Price - the mo' better the card, the mo' expensive, usually.

 

2. Processor power - faster, mo' capable GPU = better graphics

 

3. On vid card memory - mo' and faster memory better = better graphics

 

4. PSU capabilities - high quality graphics cards will require separate power source from your system's main PSU. Make sure you have that ability: connections and sufficient output power.

 

5. Physical space in your box/on your mobo - some high quality vid cards are BIG. Make sure the one you get will fit in your box and on your mobo without issues.

 

Opinion follows:

 

Stick with Nvidia. It's better supported in Linux and easier to upgrade drivers. Nvidia drivers are often included in many distros' repos. Or you can install manually after d-loading from Nvidia directly. However, manual installs require you to manually check for updates and also you must reinstall any time your distro upgrades your kernel.

 

Do NOT run Nouveau open source drivers if you want the best quality. Use the proprietary Nvidia drivers for that.

 

ATi and Nvidia are both well supported in MS Windows.

 

That's about it. Others will have different and possibly better (or worse) advice. Don't rush off to buy without doing your homework.

 

https://www.ehow.com/how_2007378_new-graphic-card.html

[réjean]

Thanks a lot Eric!

No I wont rush getting the card.

I am indeed thinking of nvidia, wether eGeForce or others. I've read some good reviews about PNY.

I am aware also of the space on the motherboard ( in the case).

I still have to check the psu.

[ross549]

Are you planning on gaming?

 

Adam

[réjean]

No Adam. Nothing serious beside the Civilizations, Age of Empire games and alike when relative kids visit. I am not a shooting guy! Mind you last Holiday Season we used a one month trial-free of Netflix where I connected my computer to our television set at that time I had a Asus;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121004 and it was good to have a half decent card.

But this summer I forgot to clean the fan which has a cover and it over heated so I want to replace it with something similar, nothing fancy but there are so many choices that I don't know what is what. Like can a PCI Express 2.0 or 3.0 x16 fit in a PCI Express 1.0 slot even if I get the 1.0 quality for now until I change the board to a more modern one?etc.

Edited August 6, 2014 by réjean

[securitybreach]

Great advice Eric but ATI has excellent support for Linux on their open source radeon driver and their closed catalyst driver. It used to be that Nvidia had better compatibility but that has long since changed. ATI actually contributes to their open source drivers unlike Nvidia who does not support noveau at all. Trust me, I am on my 3rd Radeon card.

[securitybreach]

I might be able to send you a Nvidia Geforce 9500GT 1gb if you like. I have two of them and do not use them anymore. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130395

[réjean]

I might be able to send you a Nvidia Geforce 9500GT 1gb if you like. I have two of them and do not use them anymore. http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130395

If you think it would work in my machines I would purchase it from you or at least pay for the shipping.

[securitybreach]

Eh, I wouldn't worry about cost as I am helping a fellow Highlander. Just "pay it forward" when you can..

[abarbarian]

Any low end PCI-E graphics card will do you. Make sure it supports DirectX 10 or 11 if you want really good graphics for movies etc. Here are the specs for the type of games you are playing,

 

 

Age of Empires III

 

• OS:Windows XP
  

 

• Processor:Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.0 GHz
  
• Memory:2 GB RAM
  
• Graphics:64 MB NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or ATI Radeon X1300
  
• DirectX®:dx90c
  
• Hard Drive:12 GB HD space
  
• 
  

 

 

 

Sid Meier's Civilization® V

• 
  Minimum:
• 
  
  • OS: Windows® XP SP3/ Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
    
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.0 GHz
    
  • Memory: 2GB RAM
    
  • Graphics:256 MB ATI HD2600 XT or better, 256 MB nVidia 7900 GS or better, or Core i3 or better integrated graphics
    
  • DirectX®: DirectX® version 9.0c
    
  • Hard Drive: 8 GB Free
    
  • Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
    
  • Note: Optimized for the touch-screen Ultrabook™ device
    

• 
  Recommended:
• 
  
  • OS: Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
    
  • Processor: 1.8 GHz Quad Core CPU
    
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    
  • Graphics: 512 MB ATI 4800 series or better, 512 MB nVidia 9800 series or better
    
  • DirectX®: DirectX® version 11
    
  • Hard Drive: 8 GB Free
    
  • Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
    
  • Note: Optimized for the touch-screen Ultrabook™ device
    

 

Linux System Requirements

• 
  Operating System: SteamOS
  CPU Processor: Intel Core i3, AMD A10
  CPU Speed: 2.4GHz
  Memory: 4 GB RAM
  Hard Disk Space: 10 GB
  Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 6450
  Video Card (NVidia): Geforce 640M
  Video Card (Intel): Iris Pro
  Video Memory (VRam): 1GB
  

 

 

For the type of gaming you do this would be a neat buy.

 

http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121439

 

[raymac46]

A lot of what goes into buying a video card is the power supply you have. If it's 500 watts or above and has a PCIe cable available you can use a mid-range card. If not stick to a lower end one that gets its power off the PCIe slot.

I agree with Josh that the later AMD cards are working great with Linux now and you can use the open source driver. I think I'd buy AMD these days for Linux. For Nvidia, Nouveau woks pretty well with old cards but some of the newer ones give trouble and in those cases the proprietary driver gives best results.

You won't need the latest and greatest. Something like an Nvidia GT440 or AMD 6570 would be fine.

[raymac46]

Just for information here are the desktop video cards in use at my place right now:

 

Primary Linux desktop - AMD HD 7560D as part of an APU. AMD FOSS Driver. This thing absolutely rocks. I don't game with it, but it is blazing fast and handles any video I throw at it with ease.

Secondary Linux desktop - Nvidia GT 440. Nvidia driver. Nouveau didn't work very well here. It's got a 2006 era AMD dual core CPU and still is pretty fast and powerful for music and video.

Testing Linux desktop - Nvidia 8400 GS. Nouveau driver. An old junker which currently has Debian Wheezy installed. Works OK but I don't push it.

Primary Windows desktop - Nvidia GTX 650 Ti Boost. Nvidia Windows driver. This is a relative powerhouse (for me) that needs a PCIe cable attached. I need it for my Train Sim which eats GPU and CPU power. Overkill for Linux I think.

[réjean]

A lot of what goes into buying a video card is the power supply you have. If it's 500 watts or above and has a PCIe cable available you can use a mid-range card. If not stick to a lower end one that gets its power off the PCIe slot.

I agree with Josh that the later AMD cards are working great with Linux now and you can use the open source driver. I think I'd buy AMD these days for Linux. For Nvidia, Nouveau woks pretty well with old cards but some of the newer ones give trouble and in those cases the proprietary driver gives best results.

You won't need the latest and greatest. Something like an Nvidia GT440 or AMD 6570 would be fine.

One of my machines has a codegen atx 2.3 (p4) and it says that all output is extended to 500 watts Max.

The other is a COLORSit (?) but it says it is a 480 watts.

[réjean]

Thanks everyone for all the info. I think that I'll go with josh's offer, being unemployed and our gardens not doing to well this summer ( some drought and insect problems).

It's too bad that someone gave me a few machines for the parts lately.

I have a http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130278 that looks brand new but as you can see it is an AGP.

 

I also have a http://www.cnet.com/products/leadtek-winfast-px7300-le-tdh-graphics-card-gf-7300-le-256-mb/specs/ but it doesn't want to go into the slot very well and I don't want to force it and crack the mother board.

 

Then I have a http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/N6200TD128M/overview/ that doesn't want to work. No matter how long I wait the screen stays black.

Finally I have a http://www.gpuzoo.com/GPU-EVGA/GeForce_FX_5500_-_128-P1-C320-LX.html which is a PCI but doesn't want to work either.

[securitybreach]

Just PM your addy and I will get it mailed as soon as I can.

[ross549]

How would the performance of a graphics card have anything to do with presenting video? We moved well past that issue in the 90s. I remember having a RealMagic Hollywood+ card to decode DVD video, but that was aiding the CPU. I had a good GPU back then, and it did not amount to anything when it came to rendering video- which was a CPU operation.

 

Adam

[raymac46]

I suppose "low rent graphics" would be a better term than "video" in my posts. By that I mean that the system (CPU and GPU) will give decent enough 3D performance for a snappy desktop with some eye candy, and whatever is needed in (say) WebGL. 2D performance is taken for granted and has been for a long time. Any of my graphics cards can do the above, except for the very wimpy graphics in a couple of netbooks.

The higher end stuff is needed for decent frame rates and more realism at higher screen resolution. What really makes my video card work in the train simulator is getting a frame rate over 30 FPS when driving a steam locomotive at high realism through an area with lots of other trains. Smoke and steam take a lot of graphics muscle to render in a realistic manner.

 

Edited August 6, 2014 by raymac46

[réjean]

Any low end PCI-E graphics card will do you. Make sure it supports DirectX 10 or 11 if you want really good graphics for movies etc. Here are the specs for the type of games you are playing,

 

For the type of gaming you do this would be a neat buy.

 

http://www.newegg

 

Before my video card over heated I could play all the games mentioned above in either Ubuntu or Linux Mint and if my memory serves me well in Open SuSE and Manjaro when I had it installed, using WINE. Obviously I could also do so in Windows 7. Mind you I had a Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 8 GB of RAM and over 400 GB of free space.

Your video card is nice but I am reading a few bad reviews from your link.

[abarbarian]

Your right the reviews at newegg are terrible, I must admit I did not look at them originally and was basing my recommendation on Amazon reviews.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Radeon-Silence-Profile-PCI-Express/product-reviews/B004X8EO6Q/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R14YIU1UR8WNRT

 

I have not used the card but have fitted a similar low end fanless card in a friends pc and it gave sterling results for a cheap card.

[réjean]

not all reviews about the card are bad but a few would be too many for me.