Graphics card
Graphics card
I'm looking for a new graphics card for my Windows box.
The basic requirements are:-
- Must be low profile
- Have a DMS-59 socket (to support my dual DVI monitors)
- Have 256Mb of memory and any other requirements for the game below
I recently acquired Half Life 2:Episode 2 and my graphics card is not up to scratch to play it.
My current card does everything else with respect to dual screens and such delights but game-play support is rather poor. My current card is an Nvidia Quadro NVS 280.
Ideally I'd like to get an ATi card next as these have had good reviews when it comes to Half Life
I cam across the following card
http://reviews.dell.com/2341/A0655899/reviews.htm
which seems ideal but haven't been able to come across any sources to make a purchase.
All help appreciated
The basic requirements are:-
- Must be low profile
- Have a DMS-59 socket (to support my dual DVI monitors)
- Have 256Mb of memory and any other requirements for the game below
I recently acquired Half Life 2:Episode 2 and my graphics card is not up to scratch to play it.
My current card does everything else with respect to dual screens and such delights but game-play support is rather poor. My current card is an Nvidia Quadro NVS 280.
Ideally I'd like to get an ATi card next as these have had good reviews when it comes to Half Life
I cam across the following card
http://reviews.dell.com/2341/A0655899/reviews.htm
which seems ideal but haven't been able to come across any sources to make a purchase.
All help appreciated
Kieran
"Indeed!"
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- Shotokan101
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Yes, needing low profile makes it almost impossible to go for dual-dviShotokan101 wrote:Kieran - why not go for a dual-dvi card - is it the low-profile issue ?
Thanks for the heads-up; I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to hardware.Shotokan101 wrote:I'd have thought that an X1300 would be underpowered for HL2....
Kieran
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- Shotokan101
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Its a PCIe slot, low form factor restricted because of the case.
With the exception of the hard drive and current graphics card the PC is unchanged from an out of the box Dell Optiplex GX280. Not sure of the precise spec, but I currently have a 3.2Ghz P4 in there and 1Gb of RAM (told you I was bad with hardware ).
With the exception of the hard drive and current graphics card the PC is unchanged from an out of the box Dell Optiplex GX280. Not sure of the precise spec, but I currently have a 3.2Ghz P4 in there and 1Gb of RAM (told you I was bad with hardware ).
Kieran
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- Shotokan101
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Not too shabby Kieran apart from the graphics it should be fine - I'm running HL2 on an Athlon 3000+ CPU with 2 Gig Memory and an nVidia 7600GT and it runs fine so a graphics card upgarde should be fine for you - I'll have a hunt around and check out what might do the trick at moderate cost - any particular budget you've set ?
Jim
.....I'm Sorry But I Can't Do That Dave.....
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- Shotokan101
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Check this out Kieran
http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php ... s_id=29450
The XT1300 Pro should run HL2 at reasonable rates at 1024x768 and possibly higher - although it's a bit pricey for the spec these days but you're pretty constrained by the low profile requirement.....
http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php ... s_id=29450
The XT1300 Pro should run HL2 at reasonable rates at 1024x768 and possibly higher - although it's a bit pricey for the spec these days but you're pretty constrained by the low profile requirement.....
Jim
.....I'm Sorry But I Can't Do That Dave.....
.....I'm Sorry But I Can't Do That Dave.....
Looks goodShotokan101 wrote:http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php ... s_id=29450
It is a bit pricey but as you say, its so difficult to find a card with suitable capabilities that will fit in a low profile slot. I'll see if I can find one on eBay....Shotokan101 wrote:The XT1300 Pro should run HL2 at reasonable rates at 1024x768 and possibly higher - although it's a bit pricey for the spec these days but you're pretty constrained by the low profile requirement.....
And I have. Has a starting price of £30. 5 days left to run yet though so it will most likely go up in price. Still shouldn't be as expensive as the shop you linked to.
Thanks for your help
Kieran
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- Shotokan101
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Could well be, if I wasn't bothered about playing the game this side of ChristmasShotokan101 wrote:Just had a look on eBay and theer are some USA/CANADA sellers with these cards and some are selling them at around $19 + shipping so might be worth looking into them perhaps ?
Seriously though, you usually have to pay upwards of £15 delivery charge if you want products shipped from the US to arrive within a week or so which hurts a bit.
But obviously if the maths works out favorably I'll take these sellers up on their offers
Kieran
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- Shotokan101
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Indeed - but even if you can't find the postage cheaper then it's still likely to be sub-£30 total which was why I mentioned it (but I know that you know that)Kieran wrote:Could well be, if I wasn't bothered about playing the game this side of ChristmasShotokan101 wrote:Just had a look on eBay and theer are some USA/CANADA sellers with these cards and some are selling them at around $19 + shipping so might be worth looking into them perhaps ?
Seriously though, you usually have to pay upwards of £15 delivery charge if you want products shipped from the US to arrive within a week or so which hurts a bit.
But obviously if the maths works out favorably I'll take these sellers up on their offers
Worth bearing in mind that there do seem to (bizzarly ?) be some "not low profile" XT1300's out there - don't know if it's older cards or what.....
Jim
.....I'm Sorry But I Can't Do That Dave.....
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I have noted this too; I'll make sure the one I buy is definitely low profile before I splash outShotokan101 wrote:Worth bearing in mind that there do seem to (bizzarly ?) be some "not low profile" XT1300's out there - don't know if it's older cards or what.....
Kieran
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This one seems to be good but all these listing keep mixing up DVI and DMS so I'm never sure what they mean.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=013
Are there any low profile XT1300's that only have one DVI port?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=013
Are there any low profile XT1300's that only have one DVI port?
Kieran
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- Shotokan101
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There seem to be some with one DVI and one VGA so you'd need a dongle.
BTW that's one of the cards I spotted and and NOTE that the piccie is an MSI AGP Card so ignore the picture - I'd always get the seller to confirm the details anyway....
FWIW - the original XT1300 (non-pro) should also be fine at least up to 1024x768 res.
BTW that's one of the cards I spotted and and NOTE that the piccie is an MSI AGP Card so ignore the picture - I'd always get the seller to confirm the details anyway....
FWIW - the original XT1300 (non-pro) should also be fine at least up to 1024x768 res.
Jim
.....I'm Sorry But I Can't Do That Dave.....
.....I'm Sorry But I Can't Do That Dave.....