what graphics card do i need?

Hi there
I am building a computer for the first time, i have a Foxconn NF4K8AC-RS motherboard (Socket 939 ) with a Athlon 64 3200+ cpu.
I would like to be able to play games on my pc but i am unshure wich graphics card to purchase.
price is no object althow i dont realy want to spend more than £200. Can any one tell me what my motherboard and cpu can handle.
the motherboard has the folowing Expansion Slots
1 x PCI-Express x16
2 x PCI-Expressx x1
4 x PCI slots
Any help would be great
thanks
l.kennedy

Nice board! http://www.foxconnchannel.com/produc...NF4K8AC-RS-1.0

You want a PCI-Express x16 card. I see a wide range of prices & also this distinction between nVidea & ATI:

Although PCI-Express x16 is capable of 4GBps bandwidth in each direction, whether a particular video card provides this performance level is determined by its internal design. To achieve the full level of performance available with PCI-Express x16, ATI believes that a video card should use a native implementation, which connects the PCI-Express bus interface on the video card directly with the PCI-Express bus. This is the approach ATI uses with its X-series line of GPUs and graphics cards. The other method is the bridged approach, which uses an AGP-to-PCI-Express bridge chip to connect an AGP-based GPU to the PCI-Express bus. NVIDIA uses the bridged approach with its GeForce 6800 GPU series.

That being said here is ATI's site for Gamers:

http://www.ati.com/products/gamer.html

thanks for the fast reply

iv had a look a the ati graphics card range and iv taken a likeing to the
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON X1800XL 256MB PCI-E
here are the specs

GPU Radeon X1800 XL
Core clock 500MHz
PixelPipelines 16
Memory
Memory Clock 1000MHz
Memory Size 256MB
Memory Interface 256-bit
Memory Type GDDR3
3D API
DirectX DirectX 9
OpenGL OpenGL 2.0
Interface
Interface PCI Express x16
Ports
DVI 2
TV-Out HDTV/S-Video/Composite Out


I have 4g 0f duel DDR400 memory, would this card be compatible with my system?
I only ask because my mate told me that if i put a card with to much power in my motherboard it could burnout and fry my whole system.

thanks again for your help
l.kennedy

I see no problem with that match.

The board & RAM & CPU appear to be quite adequate.

Your next search would probably be the best Power Supply Unit.

http://www.ati.com/products/RadeonX1800/Products.html

System Requirements
PCI Express™ based PC is required with one x16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard.
Connection to the system power supply is required (Adapter Included)
450-Watt power supply or greater recommended (assumes fully loaded system)
512MB of system memory
Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
DVD playback requires DVD drive and decoder software (not included)

You also may get some more knowledgeable advice here tomorrow. I just happen to be here now

Thanks for all your advice it's been a great help
l.kenney

Luke,

The graphics card and RAM are unrelated - there's no compatibility issues with having any particular graphics card with 4Gb of system RAM.

However, your friend has a point about high-powered graphics cards getting fried but it doesn't sound like he was particularly clear about what causes it. Jephree has identified the root of that claim - you need a power supply in the PC case that can cope with what you've fitted inside. The more you put inside your PC, the more power it will need. For example, 4Gb of RAM is a lot more than most people would have and, as such, you'll need a bigger PSU to cope with the higher power drain. A 256Mb graphics card is bigger than most people would have and so, again, you'll need more ooomph from your PSU to run it properly. Also factored into the equation are how many hard disks you have fitted, whether you have a hefty sound card, multiple optical drives (CDRW and DVDRW, etc), etc. On the assumption that you have one hard disk, one optical drive and nothing else particularly special, I'd say that you should be looking at at least a 500-watt power supply. Bigger is better in this case and it's worth holding back a bit of the money on the graphics card if necessary in order to get the right PSU .... otherwise you could wreck the whole lot.

I'm not an expert on power supplies (I just understand the principles) so feel free to get a second opinion

Also bear in mind that, if you have a whole load of money to spend on a graphics card, I would recommend that you buy a card that is actually manufactured by ATi themselves, rather than one of the dozens of far-eastern companies making cheaper cards with ATi chips (e.g. Sapphires). You'll benefit from better build quality, compatibility and support.

Hope that helps

DOH! I should have read Jephree's post more thoroughly! Looks like ATi are recommending at least a 450w PSU and they probably know better than me

I would actually recommend depending on your budget..ATI X800 Series for lower budgets or nvidia 7800 series for higher budgets. or if your on a tight budgest, 6600GT's can be found for under $150 in some places and are somewhat gaming mosters

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