jtseaman Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I need a reccomendation for a good video card. I just purchaced a Dell Dimension 3100 with a Pentium 4 - 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 Gigs of ram. Currently I'm using the integrated Dell video card. I use 3DS Max, Rhino, AutoCAD, Photoshop, and Illustrator extensively and eventually would like to get into some video editing. I have a budget of $75-$100. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hess Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Agp or PCI-E? If its agp, I'd get a 6600GT. That'll set you back about 150. If its PCI-E you've got a broader range of choices. Depends on how new the computer is. I hope its not brand new, because then I'd have to slap you for not spending an extra 60 bucks to upgrade to the 3.4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtseaman Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 Thanks! That was quick. It is PCI. Guess I'm getting slapped...it is brand new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtseaman Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 Any more reccomendations anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 One of my studio mates has that box. Inexpensive but hard to upgrade. I'm afraid these aren't very good for 3D work - you'll need to use the integrated (Intel with shared memory... ugh) video or find a PCI (not Express) card. Newegg has these in up to a 128MB Radeon 9250, or 128MB GeForce FX5500, and there are some workstation boards out there but they're not very good by today's standards. I'm not sure any of these options would be much better than the onboard video in DirectX mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hess Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Doh . For future reference, always buy the fastest processor prior to the price hike. Gives you the most bang for the buck, especially since the cpu determines the speed of all the other systems. As for cards...if you wanted a decent midrange card, I'd recommend the 7600GT nvidia. They go for around 180-200. If you want to bump it up a bit, the 7900GT is around 300ish and considerably faster. There is also a 7600GS, but i haven't seen any comparable reviews of that card yet. Its closer to 100 dollars. Below 100 dollars, you really aren't getting much of a video card, unless its downclocked, or a previous generation. (First number in the nvidia card is the generation...so a 5500FX would be a 5th gen card, while a 7300GS would be a 7th generation) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtseaman Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 Are these cards you're reccomending PCI or PCI-Express? I have a feeling that the Dell Dimension 3100 only has PCI from AJLynn's post...does anybody know if this is correct? AJLynn posted that the PCI video card may not be better than the on-board video. I'm not looking for the best of the best just a relatively inexpensive ($75-$150) solution that would make it perform better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Wait, I'm a bit confused. I might have been wrong. The one my friend has is an E310. I am 80% sure that the 3100 also does not have an AGP or PCI-E slot but you may need to check this. The ones I mentioned are the best ones I saw that are PCI (not PCI-E, which stands for PCI Express and is different - PCI is the oldest of the technologies we've mentioned, PCI-E is the newest; AGP replaced PCI for video card use in the late 90's, and PCI-E has started to replace AGP). The Intel GMA900 you have is very bad, but the reason I say the replacements might not be faster is that they're a couple generations old and PCI is pretty slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hess Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 According to the dell service manual, it has 2 pci slots, and 1 pci-e slot (only a 1x pci-e though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtseaman Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 I'm sorry I'm kind of new at this stuff...I really appreciate your help though. If I have one PCI-E slot that is only (1X), can I use any of the cards that you suggested before? Also, what does the (1X) mean? Is it even worth it for me to upgrade the card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 You can't use a video card in a 1x slot, video cards need 16x slots, so you'll need a PCI (no E) card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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