I'm looking for a new graphics card for my computer so I can play FIFA 2003 the way it was meant to be. However, I don't wanna spend too much as I saw some at Best Buy that were as much as $400. Anyone know any good ones at decent prices that will do the job? Also what's the difference between a PCI and an AGB Graphics Card? Any help is appreciated.
PCI and AGP are slot types. PCI are the same as, say, a network card or sound card. AGP ("Advanced Graphics Port") is a special slot - one per computer on newer rigs - which is only used for graphics cards. In general, AGP is the way to go for graphics. It's faster, with a dedicated bus, etc etc more technical jargon etc etc. As for specific card recommendations... well, it'd help if we had better requirements. IE, what does FIFA2003 recommend (not the required card, the recommended card)? What speed/kind of processor do you have? Hard drive & free space? RAM? (Those last two are not really related to video card specs, but will impact game performance.) What else do you use the PC for? What is your definition of "decent price"? I got a GeForce3 video card with 128MB of video RAM for about 100 clams 3 or 4 months ago. The general secret with video cards is to buy one level behind the bleeding edge, and you'll get it for anywhere from 1/4th to 1/3rd the bleeding-edge price (we use bleeding edge cards - like better than what you find at Best Buy - that cost up to $900 at my place of employment). Good advice for any computer purchase, actually. My last video card served me for two years before it fell far enough behind the curve to be a pain in the ass.
Wow, thanks for the info so far. So how do I know if my computer has an AGP slot? My computer is almost 3 years old now if that's any indication of if it has one. As for the recommended requirements, it says a 32MB Direct3D capable video card. I'm not positive what mine is and I have no clue how to find out, but I do know that numbers don't show up on the back of the players jerseys. Yes, that is the best I can describe. The rest of the requirements for the recommended I do meet such as 750MHz or faster, 128 MB of RAM, and a gig of free space. As for what kind of card, I saw a GeForce 4 for like $80 at Best Buy but that's for the PCI. For the AGP GeForce, it was $90. I guess I'm looking to spend about $70-$80. Maybe even push to $90 if the AGP is that much more better (that's if I do have an AGP slot). Other then that, I basically use my computer like any other college student: reports, homework, mp3's, video games, and porn, err I mean not porn. Hope this info will shed some more light on my machine and thanks for the help so far, I appreciate it.
Allright, now we're talking! I'd guess it does. There is no real way to know without cracking open the case. BTW, this is what the different slots look like: That's it? Oh, we are so in like Flynn. We definitely want AGP. It's much faster, frees a PCI slot for something else, and uses an otherwise useless slot on the mobo. If you've got the slot (see above), get an AGP card - or you'll regret it later when Doom3 (or your future hot-************ game of choice) comes out. I would get a GeForce series card - they are the current king of 3D. ATI Radeons are also very good, but I'm not nearly as familiar with the line. We use GeForce cards here at work, and we do real-world simulation, FWIW. Next is video RAM. I would get at least 64MB. 128MB if you can afford it. GeForce4 MX cards are, IMO, overrated. They are just barely better than the GeForce3 cards. GeForce4 TI cards are a different matter - but much more expensive. In the end, I would suggest the exact same card I got - the Gainward GeForce3 TI 200 128MB TV card. It's the current cheapest GeForce3 TI 200 128MB video card on pricewatch.com at $88 clams, free shipping from CDRExpress.com. If you have an AGP slot, of course. While you are in there, try and get the motherboard make/model. It'd be best if you could find the documentation that came with your computer, but if you can't look for a name and number along the edge of the board, that'd be a start. That'll help us tweak your system for best AGP video performance after card installation (you may have to manually set the AGP port speed, via BIOS or jumper or software).
I certainly agree with Foo but for the best bang for your buck I'd go for the MX. I just saw it for $60 (after rebate) on Tiger Direct I have its predecessor the GForce 2 MX 400 64mb and its been perfectly fine for all the games I play (though I'm not a big FPS type) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=TC3G-1001
I do a little more gaming than average for the normal computer person. I am running a Radeon 9500 Pro, which is a really solid card. I think it ran me about $170. Now if you are not wanted to spend that much money. Then you can go with the 128 mb GeForce4 Ti4200. Decent card and should easily run that game (runs about $125). If you want to go lower. The GeForce3 cards as Foos pointed out are very very good cards. They don't have all the added splash but are well worth the money. Video cards are expensive for the nicer models. I should also tell you that ATI is making a serious push in beating out NVidia for the top of the video card kingdom. I would in no way ever go with the MX440 that NVidia is putting out. They are about the same clock speed as the Geforce3 that Foos probably has. My buddy builds comps as a hobby, so this si where I get my info. Also check out forums or sites where they review cards and such. See what people that test these things out have to say. These guys push the limits on the cards and see what they can handle. Some of my favorite sites for buying parts are www.mwave.com and www.newegg.com Newegg is certainly one of the most respected sites on the internet right now. Tigerdirect is ok....but newegg's return policy and prices are awesome.
radeon 9000 solved my problem with simcity4. i think hardly anyone wants to install pci graphic card these days. i think 3-year old pc should have agp slot (probably 2 or 4x). even my old one that i bought 4yrs ago had one. anyway, forget about fifa 03. go get winning eleven on ps2. it's the only real soccer game.
Ok, I know I started this thread so I'm sorry I haven't replied. But last week me and my roomies unexpectedly had to move out of our apartment earlier then we thought so it was a hellish week, and we couldn't get cable and internet installed in our apartment till today. But don't worry Foos, I didn't get a new graphic card yet cuz I needed to know what you had to say! Yes, I have an AGP slot! Score! Alright, so I'll defiitely get an AGP card. Does the type of OS I run matter? Cuz I'm running Win 98. I know. My roomates still make fun of me. And my one roomate has GeForce 4 on his comp (which runs FIFA 2003 beautifully) and said it doesn't support 98. So maybe this whole thing could be for nothing or maybe it's time to upgrade to XP even though I really don't want to. Who knows.
Ahh, thanks for the site. I saw the one Foos mentioned and they sell it for $59. I can get a bundle pack for about $88. I'm still trying to figure out which one I should get. The guy at BestBuy was saying that ATI's are becoming much better then Nvidia graphic cards so I was wondering about those. However, I don't play many computer games so I'm thinking I really don't need something fancy. One other question. When I play FIFA 2003, the game always seems to slow down at times. There will be points during the game where it would freeze up for a split second before I make a pass or something like that. Is that because my video card is a piece of crap or because my computer is slow? And if I were to get a newer video card, would this solve the problem? And also, does my computer speed have much or anything to do with the video card performance? Ok, that was more then one question. Anyway, thanks for all the help so far. You guys kick ass.
Hrm. Good question, and one I can't actually answer, as I'm running a mixture of 2000 and XP on the computers I support. A quick search on the internet shows that there apparently are drivers for Win98 for GeForce 4 cards, but it's not clear to me how supported the driver is. I did find some stuff on Google Groups that indicated that they got the thing to work, so... Best Buy guys aren't always the best source of information. Doesn't mean the guy was incorrect, just to be sure to do your own homework. Which I suppose you are doing asking around here. A new video card may solve the hesitation problem. Difficult to say for certain, but your computer looks plenty good enough otherwise.
ATI right now has the best chipset you can get. The quality is much better. I was so much more happy with my Radeon card than the GeForce 4 4200 128 mb that I had before. What are the rest of the specs of your computer? That may help too. Sometimes a vid card upgrade can change a whole lot of ************ with your computer.
A lot of the recent news I've seen has the ATI Radeons surpassing the NVidia cards in just about every aspect. So, while I don't have much experience with them, apparently ATI has grabbed the upper hand with the latest round of cards.
Foos.......you hit it on the head.... It has only been in the last year though. But the ATI's are smooth, only problem I have heard with some of them is sometimes they have some ****************** drivers and the compatibility issues that can arise. But I have never had any issues with that.
I realize I'm late to the game here, but the "slowing down" thing could have several causes. It may be that the game is accessing your hard drive because the swap file is too small, it may be ram, or it may be your video card (likely video ram). If the new card doesn't fix it, there are tweaks you can do to improve performance. Also, you said you're processor is faster than the minimum requirements. This pretty much means nothing. If you have only the minimum requirements, that usually means you're computer will technically be able to run the game, but actually playing it won't be all that fun. Usually, a game won't run properly and look its best unless your specs significanly exceed the minimum requirements. I have a Radeon 8500 (OEM), and it runs everything I've thrown at it like a champ (UT 2003, SimCity 4, etc.). Drivers are good, but apparently they sucked when the card first came out.