whats the point of getting a good video card? compared to a average one? on the dell site it says it makes your computer faster and makes watching videos, viewing pictures and playing games more enjoyable? how so, is this bullcrap?

No. Games and other things like that demands more and more from your PC. Same for some websites. I intend to get a new PC with a lot of muscles of this kind.

it improves picture too?

Well, yes. Photos and processes like editing them will benefit form it. But it needs company like a faster processor and lots of RAM.

It's also about being ready for the future. My PC started having issues with capacity after just 3 years. That's just not good enough. I want the next to last for 5 or 6 years.

ok what if i got a video card that was only for xp or earlier while i have a vista will it work. I assume yes but not sure

Frankly I would not invest in XP or Vista related stuff. I assume that Windows 7 will take over once it's out. How old is you PC?

Here's the scoop. Video cards handle all the display stuff when it comes to your monitor. From games, videos, the Aero feature in Vista and 7, and newer functions. There are programs that are using it to convert videos between formats. Most newer cards will work between XP, Vista and 7. Basically, it's if the drivers support the card for the system. There's a whole range of cards on the market, from low end that are barely better than integrated graphics that are built on to motherboards, to some that are will play the majority of the games on the market at the highest resolutions with every other setting cranked up, at a high FPS. There are cards from $30, to $350+, and everywhere in between. You have to know what connection your motherboard has for the card, and if you have any spare power connections depending on what card it is.

So first off, list what your computer hardware specs are, and what resolution your monitor currently is at. Or are you configuring a machine and want to know how much you'll need?

AJ

Here's a great little tool that will show you what a video card can DO... My rig runs this benchmark (when first opened default settings) around 400fps (frames per second) what are you getting?

.rar link removed by moderator.


Antec 1200
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Intel Quad Core i7 920 @ 2.66ghz
Coolermaster V8 Cpu Cooler
Western Digital x2 500gig 7200rpm in Raid 0
8 Gigs DDR3 RAM @ 1600mhz per stick
XFX GTX 285 @670core/2500mhz memory <<<<<<<<<<<<<My high end gaming card.....

I don't know any of the tools you're refering to, peck1234. Where do they come from?

all freeware...

That wasn't really what I asked. Where do they come from? Who made them? Do they have a homepage?

sure 1 sec, I kinda forgot where i got this one...

http://www.daionet.gr.jp/~masa/rthdribl/index.html

got it

I'd like to know about the other one too. Some AVs flag them as malware althought a few things indicates it's a false positive. The other one is here: http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=149995

http://www.hdtune.com/


http://www.virustotal.com/analisis/6e132dd...f336-1255031179

looks clean to me...? the one I posted is pro portable... no install...

peck1234 as you can see from ePosts questions it is a good idea to give a link to the homepage where the info can be viewed.

There is no way people are going to download .rar files from a fairly new member anyway.

Please just link to the homepage in future where the info can be read and the download can be done from there.

Do not post anymore .rar links please.

gotcha...

Thank you for finding the homepages, peck1234. I must say I strongly agree with Hazel. We need the source of origin. Besides there could easily be legal problem. I don't know who uploaded HD Tune's product to a file host site and started to give other peoples products away but it's not the way things are done. Freeware or not. Only HD Tune can give it away. They own the freeware.

Perhaps they permitted it. But I doubt it...

Peck. You have a similar system to my build. Except, you don't list your motherboard. That makes me question why you have 8 GB's of DDR3, versus 6 or 12. The majority of Core i7 motherboards have 6 slots, unless you bought one of the lower tier boards with four slots and you just populated all 4 with 2 GB sticks. If you have 6 RAM slots I'd suggest taking out one stick cause you are pulling it out of triple channel mode by doing so.

AJ

Article about triple vs double.... http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Memory/Int...emory-Mode.html


My Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128375

My memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRevie...rds)&Page=6

I was quite unaware of this at the time of my build... But as you can see above the diffrences are minimal... so i think ill stick with the extra 2G....

BUTTTTT.......Is this bad for the motherboard? : ? I see the under my specs it states only triple channel support? BUT that is probally just refering to DDR3 memory...

If not... I think im going with the 16 GIG KIT! : P

Update (prob not) price is crazyyyyyy

phhf, look at my rig. guys. totally Epic! yes, i am getting two 5850s later on but not for awhile.