As I slide down the slippy slop of Graphic cards I came across this little nugget of info on .

So now not only do I want a new card but I need two of the buggers!!!


Maybe I could go for two less expensive ones to give a better out put than one expensive card?



Lord Abaddon of Wormwood

Quite often it is the case that two cheap cards will indeed outdo a single expensive one. So, not a bad thing to consider at all.

Ok the one on the right. What the thoughts on this one? Please note that it's in AUD and the underspeakers, keyboard/mouse plus a five year warranty comes with it.


My screen has been dying for a little while and since I have had this 19" CRT Diamon View for over five years (could be seven) I think its time to reclaim my desk!

Lord Abaddon of Wormwood

Ok ordered it!

Now - new video card and more RAM, as I will hang out for next years quad boards.


Lord Abaddon of Wormwood

Grabbed another 1gb RAM and will pop it in when my younger brother feels giving. So the final phase of my mission is the graphic card. My final choice is most likely a , this link gives a guide of my pricing here in Australia.

Now the question is are all these 7800GS listed the same - is one better than another?


Thank you all for your help so far and so forth.


Lord Abaddon of Wormwood

First, as far as the differing brands of video-cards; one is generally as good as the next. Usually within 5% performance of eachother. That said, BFG has a lifetime warranty and is, IMO, worth the slight price increase.

I don't think you will HAVE to replace it in 12 months. I actually have a 6800 standard and I can run just about every game on the market at reasonable settings...short of Oblivion. It is really up to you whether or not you want the latest. I never pay more than $150US for a graphics card because above that price, you are (often) paying just to have the latest technololgy that may or may not actually be significantly faster or even necessary for current games. Of course, if I had the money to spare, I'd be upgrading to the latest every year!

As for a new mobo supporting the old hardware; yes and no. Hard drives should be fine as well as DVD/CD drivers. As for the RAM, it depends on what you have now. Is it DDR or DDR2? Just make sure you buy a mobo that supports it. Your current chip should be okay, just make sure once again, to find a mobo that supports THAT as well. Intel sockets are a little more complex than AMD, so do a Google search on what sockets support what chips. Best place I know to find out that info would be . Good crowd and helpful, too. Someone there is bound to know the ins and outs of every Intel chip. Hope this all helps.

Yeah. Apple's reliance on IBM was hurting them quite badly.

BTW, there's an option to Boot Camp, if you don't want to reboot: allows you to run XP in a window, with hardly any performance hit at all.

Raising this thread yet again, sorry.

What are five reasons for buying AMD over Intel? (And what the general deal with the number of different Intel models! I haven't a frigging clue!)

The same for ATI over Nvida?

Are the new physics card worth the silcon their stamped upon?

And is Crossfire the same as SLi?


Uber-Gamers I summon you to aid me in my quest for the truth (and a sexier box... is that a tad rude?)


Lord Abaddon of Wormwood

quick stuff from a user, non-expert:

AMD vs. Intel is mostly personal preference or current price, perfomance is generally similar in each generation. (Models, who knows?)

AMD owns ATI now.

Nothing really gained with a physics card so far in my research.

Crossfire is ATI/AMD, SLI is NVidia, so motherboard will support one or the other, not both (yet).


Anyone feel free to jump in and correct any of this info...most of my info is based on others opinions, rumors and gossip, heh. And while most of these companies are local to me, I have to say that being close to the source doesn't improve the info available.

AMD 64x2 5000 (2.6GHz)
Motherboard : A8M2N-LA
4 x 1GB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive 300 GB SATA 7200 rpm
CD-Writer/DVD Reader
DVD r/RW (-/+)R DL LightScribe
Wireless LAN
GeForce 7600GS 512MB
Intrgrated 10/100 Base -T networking Interffece.

only one PCI Express x16 slot (in use)

Now this the the low down of a Compaq Presario Media Center (to be released) I can pick-up today for US$1,296.50. (AUD$1675) now this would cost me around AUD$2500

Sound good.... but is the RAM any worthwhile?

Also I have been informed that 10/100 LAN is a tad outdated (but I really never use LAN)

The Graphic card is not the level I would really want (higher) but with a saving of around AUD$900 it is looking quite nice. Really was looking at a 7950 GT.

My main concern is that the RAM might slow down the whole thing, do I have reason to worry?

Thank you


Lord Abaddon of Wormwood


Lord Abaddon of WOrmwood