video card question how do i know how good they are

i am fairly knowledgable with computers, ive built 2 and done a fair amount. but im a mechanic not a it guy. currently im building again as its time for my own personal pc at my new place.

im curious how do i know when a video card is good or not good besides going to new egg a paying alot? what are the specs im looking for?

im running a ecs 775 board. i have pci-e 16 and i wanted to save that slot for a good card with hdtv/dvi out, as in the future im looking at getting a 32 inch widescreed tv or monitor (leaning torwards monitor any thoughts) but for now i was going to run a basic mid or low level card to power a vga lcd or two for fun. (i allready have one 17, tag sale score)

i have a pci geforce fx5500 128, are pci cards even relavant anymore? and if i do use one and add a pci-e later, does it have to be compatable, same chipset or manufacturer. so it would use the same software like ati has catalyst.

if anything ive said is completely off the wall try not to slam me too hard, i not to sound uninformed

 

What are you going to use the PC for, how much do you want to spend on the card, and what size case do you have?

I would reccomend a PCI X16 card. Something like this would most likely hook you up: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...81358&sku=E145-8836&srkey=EVGA 640-P2-N824-AR It is cheaper at the egg site you mentioned, but I don't link to them. :-D

There are better cards for gaming, like the 9k series Nvidia cards. I like the ATI 3870 X2 (can run 4 monitors), but they have the 4850 and 4870 ATI cards that are better.

I like the Nvidia 8800GT for the price vs value. It will play most games at high settings, and seems to be the best 'value' card. Not too long ago, that card was major $$! There are cheaper cards, by Nvidia and ATI, but I am not familiar with them.

Some of the things I look for in a video card: 1) Size. Some of these suckers are freaking HUGE! Will it fit in your case? 2) RAM. I would not get one with less than 512MB 3) Cooling. Is the stock cooling adequate(sp) and how loud is it.

Hope that helps you a little, if you have any questions, post them up and I am sure you will get lots of opinions on the cards!

And welcome to MajorGeeks!!

E

 

HI, this card is perfect. it has HDMI out, quick memory and it's pci-16

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ATI-Radeon-H...yZ162350QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

baker89, you the man brother thats just what i need to keep me busy. i didnt know they were swaping out the 7 pin s video like that. i just didnt want to have to upgrade if i ended up with the wrong connections, that can use all 3 at once right?

well at home i had the down stairs computer (asus 64 2.4) hooked up to the old big screen a 480p 55 inch, with a ati xt 1600

i use it for compulsive information look up like this, compulsive buying, porn then entertaiment like burning dvds downloading tv shows, hulu (anyone go there?), then to occasional game in that order.

ati also seems to be getting pretty close to making a affordable tuner card that works and takes a cable card, ill hold out for price drops and second gen models, my dvr is ok for now.