good cheap video card

[Labaar]

Is the Nvidia 6200 video card a fairly good card for this game? I want to play this game but am limited in funds. At Walmart the card is fairly cheap. Will it work okay?

Labaar

[Keith]

What do you consider "cheap"? How much?

[Pat D.]

Labaar, you probably don't want to hear this but my experience is that the vid card is the one area in a system that you want to get as much as you can for your $$$. But I also understand finances (kids anyone??:eek: ) so you can only get what you can afford, for sure....

pat!

[Labaar]

A card under $100. And yes I have 7 kids (the oldest 13).

Labaar

[Keith]

Check out these cards at Newegg.com for $100 or less:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2010380048+4027&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=48

[PCDania]

Aargh, Keith beat me :D

[Keith]

Fastest fingers in the west. ;) :p

[just some kyle]

You can't buy a cheap video card and expect to be able to play Caesar IV or any of the newer PC games coming out. I suggest slowly saving your money towards a very nice graphics that will last you a long time. Direct X 10 is almost out, and along with it will be new, very powerful graphics cards. Save your money and get a DX10 compliant graphics card and upgrade to windows vista.

Try to understand that video games are a hobby, You are only going to get out what you put into them, and to get the most out of them you have to be willing to spend a lot of money. If you go for a cheap graphics card then I guarrentee you will not be happy with the performance and you will just be wasting money. If you can't afford a nice card, you cant afford a nice card, no big deal really, there are more important things then games. Like I said, save your money and go for something really nice, these cheap graphic cards are not meant for video games, they are just basic cards for people who only do internet stuff or play very old games.

[Jeff Fiske]

(Bear in mind I recomended the 9600 pro back in CotN days, and that card seems to be a lightning rod of problems these days, not just for C IV btw.)

What I have found-
First make sure you purchase AGP vs. PCI-E based on what your motherboard is. IF you have AGP, and you can wait to upgrade your machine, you might want to concider it. I just picked up an insane Conroe2 (4mb of Cache) for $900 including shipping, with an upgradable PCX slot. Anyway, that is a different conversation.

The X1600pro is a very nice card for the money. You get the latest pixel and vertex shader on a low heat card. The 7600gs is a phenominal card for the money for the same reasons as the x1600, but slightly more expensive, and I believe exclusively PCX. Far cheaper is the 7300 and are happy with it, but be careful as it shares RAM with your system. For the money, a great deal.

Wherever you shop, read the reviews. Spend the extra $10 for cards with well known brands. I have stopped buying from the lesser known brands because having your card cook due to a cheep fan is really annoying. (Or haveing to purchase a $12-$20 fan to replace one because the OEM is too loud.)

G/L. I don't think you want a 6200, not just for CIV, but just in general.

One more thing. DEFINATELY shop online. If you don't know where to start, well I shop the same place many techies shop, newegg. There was one day where an X850PRO died the same day we were doing a demo. I had to run to CompUSA and pick up a comperable card. Luckly they were have a $120 off sale on the card I needed, which came to the same price as what was on NewEgg. (Not an official endorsment, btw, just a story.)

(edit- I correct PCX to PCI-E)

[PCDania]

Sorry but if he starts looking for PCX he will get quite busy as the most used term is PCI-E.

There is a nice article at Tomshardware about the best currently best graphics cards for the money. He covers both PCI-E and AGP, unfortunately he doesn't note what cards require more then a 300 Watt power supply.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/26/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/

[Keith]

Also, if he starts looking at highend cards like the 7300 or the X1600 he may have to upgrade his system power supply just to run it....more expense.

When shopping for a video card know what your systems power supply rating is and then keep that in mind when you look at a new card.

I just replied to someone that was considering a new card for his computer, which only had a 250W power supply. The card he wanted required a 350W system power supply.

[Jeff Fiske]

Also, if he starts looking at highend cards like the 7300 or the X1600 he may have to upgrade his system power supply just to run it....more expense.

When shopping for a video card know what your systems power supply rating is and then keep that in mind when you look at a new card.

I just replied to someone that was considering a new card for his computer, which only had a 250W power supply. The card he wanted required a 350W system power supply.

Right and wrong. 7300 is PCX which I doubt he has( OOps I mean PCI-E, as corrected by PCDania), but it is a low power card using only what is needed from the PCI-E slot- as is the 7600. But, if he has a PCIE slot, he probably has the power to run the card- I guess that would be my point.

If he is still on AGP, then definately, watch out for the power, and there is no GF7 option.

[Pat D.]

A card under $100. And yes I have 7 kids (the oldest 13).

Labaar


Sweet Merciful Crap!!!:eek: :eek: As a father of two boys seven and three, all i can say is....Sweet Merciful Crap!!!

pat!

[Keith]

This is the info I found on the 7300GS 256MB PCI-e (http://sewelldirect.com/pny-nvidia-geforce-7300-gs-256.asp):


NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS Specifications

550MHz Core Clock
64-bit Memory Interface
533MHz Memory Data Rate (effective)
4.26 GB/Sec. Memory Bandwidth
2.2 Billion Pixels/sec. Fill Rate
413 Million Vertices/sec. Setup
4 Pixels per clock (peak)
Dual 400MHz RAMDACs
Minimum System Requirements

Intel Pentium III, AMD Duron or Athlon class processor or higher
256MB system RAM
A minimum 300W system power supply
A PCI Express compliant motherboard
50MB of available hard disk space
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
Microsoft Windows 2000, XP
VGA or DVI-I compatible monitor
Package Contents

NVIDIA 7300 GS PCIe Graphics Card
Quick Installation Guide
CD which includes:
Detailed Installation Guide (PDF file)
NVIDIA Forceware Drivers
Microsoft DirectX 9.0c
NVIDIA GeForce Demos
PNY and NVIDIA Desktop Wallpapers
DVI-to-VGA Adapter
S-Video Cable
HDTV Break-out Pod
Warranty and Service

One year (plus an additional 2 years upon completion of a registration form on PNY's website)So he should just keep that in mind.

[Labaar]

Thanks for all the responses. For my situation there isn't a option save up money for a real good card. I realize I may have to buy a low-end graphics card. However the game can still be worth it right?

I have a hp pavilion a320n, 2800 processor, 512 memory, NVIDIA GeForce 4MX graphics with 64MB DDR shared video memory.

Phil is right, thanks.

How do I find out what my power supply limits are?

Also, I am sure this is a dumb question but how do I get the dxdiag.txt?



Thanks

Labaar