Which PCI Graphics Card?

[marlyred]

I managed to get a cheapy dell with no agp or pci-e slot, therefore I want a pci graphics card that is better than the onboard intel extreme 2. Does anyone know if there is a pci card available to play the latest games?

[skuzgib]

The best you'll get its a 9200/5200 i'm afraid.

They'll play the latest games, but only at low res and/or low detail.

[exAndrzej]

Skuzgib is correct, your choices on PCI card will be pretty limited - but there is another choice available to you (depending on which system you have purchased)...

...you could buy a new motherboard with integrated graphics and play most games with that !

I have just checked back on our reviewer's guide for the Radeon Xpress 200 series boards and it looks like you will get playable frame rates at 800x600 in the following games:-
- Comanche 4
- Counter Strike: Source
- Doom 3
- FarCry
- Half Life 2
- Splinter Cell
- Unreal Tournament 2004

There will be others - but these are the ones that I have seen numbers on and can be pretty confident that you will hit something like a 30fps average

It will be 'close' on some games - but you can play with the quality settings on those

Some games will give you great rates - e.g. your average rate on UT2004, FarCry and Splinter Cell could be closer to 40fps
(you will not be running with 4xAA and 8xAF at high quality settings - but you should hit playable frame rates)

Our test rig will normally comprise a +3Ghz CPU and 1GB memory - which is pretty accessible these days... plus I just checked Dell's site and they seem to have 3GHz systems from around £500 and an additional 512MB of memory from most stores will set you back around £65 inc vat

If you wanted to try this route - then you get eval versions of the games from magazine cover disks and make sure all is well before investing in the full game itself

The other advantage of buying a modern PCI-Express board is that you will then be able to upgrade your graphics again in the future



DOWNSIDE

In bold/caps type - just in case you miss it... you need to be aware of any warranty issues involved in changing your system - some manufacturers are OK with changes while others may cancel your warranty if you upgrade key components - PLEASE make sure you investigate all of the risks involved before undertaking any upgrades and be aware that most upgrades are done entirely at the owner's risk

[nvening]

Dell PSUs only work with dell motherboards so you would need a new PSU as well.

[exAndrzej]

...only work with...

Serious ?

[nvening]

ye, Dell says its cause they do not support motherboard upgrades, u cant get dell to put a new one in.

[exAndrzej]

OK - in that case - Marlyred has less options

[skuzgib]

AFAIK not ALL dells have funny PSU's, and you can buy an adaptor from somewhere (can't rremember where tho unfortunately...).

Andrzej: are there no decent PCI cards because the PCI bus doesn't have enough bandwidth, or because there isn't a market for them?

[exAndrzej]

...PCI cards...

I'm no expert - but I think that it has something to do with the on going increase in component performance - combined with a reduction in price

Producing an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit - the 'chip bit wot we create') costs some money - no matter how old/slow/small it is

The PCB (Printer Circuit Board) also adds some cost

Memory needs to be purchased as well

The the whole thing needs to be assembled and made ready for sale (this bit is sometimes called the 'turnkey' cos it turns a bunch of parts into a 'turn your key and off you go' solution that the customer can actually use... i.e. a card !)

Given that there is this bunch of costs that you can't get away from - there is always a 'minimum price' for a card

You need to look at that price - and cconsider the opportunity cost (i.e. what else could you have bought for the same amount of cash)

I just did a quick check and it seems that a 5200 PCI card from PC World costs about £60

An ATI Radeon Xpress 200 board would give you an onboard X300 class graphics processor + the foundation for building a great new PCI-Express system for either AMD or Intel

Then you have to consider the size of the market

I spoke with some of the major manufacturers at CeBIT - including Intel - and the general consensus was that around 100% of new systems from the majors are now PCI-Express

The figure from smaller/local builders was lower - but the overall trend is toward PCI-Express and that the market is now around 50:50 AGP: PCI Express

The figure for PCI is tiny in comparison

The aim is always customer satisfaction - so it is normal to focus the majority of your effort and resources to the largest number of customers

The benefits of PCI-Express over conventional PCI are many and varied

Customers who are interested in faster/more powerful graphics performance will already be gravitating toward PCI-Express...

...so the demand for high end PCI cards is minimal

[skuzgib]

Cheers for the informative answer

[exAndrzej]

...informative...

We likes to help

[marlyred]

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I will put in a 5200 as I dont play that many games anyway....I get too much grief from the gf.

[chez]

Did you do this Marlyred? Did it work?

I need to know as i got some of the cheap dells for friends...

[marlyred]

I haven't done it yet as I am considering putting in an asus mobo and get a agp card.

[Agent]

Serious ?

You think thats bad ?
Some Dell's dont even have standard cases. No ATX for you, sunny jim.
So buying a new PSU with the mobo may not even work.

Oh, and while im at it, you may want to check that your copy of windows isnt locked to the machine it was purchased with. Chances are it is

[directhex]

Oh, and while im at it, you may want to check that your copy of windows isnt locked to the machine it was purchased with. Chances are it is

the EULA on OEM windows states that this is the case anyway, so it shouldn't make any difference whether it physically is or not