United States of America
Hey folks,
I'm looking to upgrade the video card on my Dell 4600 and am looking for some advice on finding a card that will work with what I've got and give me what I want. I recently bought a Nvidia 7600 gt (AGP 512) which worked well but Nvidia has recently discontinued the Full Screen Video Mirror ability from its 7 series and later cards (Sucks) so this card will not work for what I need it for. It's getting returned soon. (Heads up for anyone considering getting a new Nvidia card.)
I've got a humble HTPC (which doubles as my regular desktop), so I'd like a card that can stream high quality video. I wouldn't mind being able to play the few video games I've got but mainly I need a solid card for my home theater system. It doesn't need to be fantastic, just good enough to play without artifacts and stuttering.
My system specifications (I'm not working with much):
Budget:
About $150. including any other necessary upgrades (like a power supply)
I'd rather not upgrade the power supply if I can avoid it. The 7600 GT worked fine except for the lack of full screening (grrrrrr).
So I'd love any recommendations you guys have. I'm gonna stay away from Nvidia as I have heard that they have disabled this full screen mode on all of their newer drivers/cards. I guess that means I'm looking at an ATI. I heard the ATi Radeon X850 XT AGP was pretty solid (and in my price range) but I'm not sure that it will fit in my case (It looks like it requires 2 spaces--one for the card and the other for the fan).
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Elliott
I'm looking to upgrade the video card on my Dell 4600 and am looking for some advice on finding a card that will work with what I've got and give me what I want. I recently bought a Nvidia 7600 gt (AGP 512) which worked well but Nvidia has recently discontinued the Full Screen Video Mirror ability from its 7 series and later cards (Sucks) so this card will not work for what I need it for. It's getting returned soon. (Heads up for anyone considering getting a new Nvidia card.)
I've got a humble HTPC (which doubles as my regular desktop), so I'd like a card that can stream high quality video. I wouldn't mind being able to play the few video games I've got but mainly I need a solid card for my home theater system. It doesn't need to be fantastic, just good enough to play without artifacts and stuttering.
My system specifications (I'm not working with much):
- Dell 4600
- 250 watts
- 3Gb Ram
- Pentium 4 2.4GHz
- APG (8) or PCI connectors
- Though I will be getting a HDTV within the year as of right now my TV only has component or S-Video imputs
Budget:
About $150. including any other necessary upgrades (like a power supply)
I'd rather not upgrade the power supply if I can avoid it. The 7600 GT worked fine except for the lack of full screening (grrrrrr).
So I'd love any recommendations you guys have. I'm gonna stay away from Nvidia as I have heard that they have disabled this full screen mode on all of their newer drivers/cards. I guess that means I'm looking at an ATI. I heard the ATi Radeon X850 XT AGP was pretty solid (and in my price range) but I'm not sure that it will fit in my case (It looks like it requires 2 spaces--one for the card and the other for the fan).
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Elliott