donmagel

Hey guys (& gals),
I'm an old computer hand with shaking hands and less patience than my old college days. I used to manage an IT Help Desk for a phone company but I've been retired now over 10 years.
I gave up my old computer a year ago and just went to the basic local BestBuy store, just blocks away, and purchased a Compaq Presario 3.0 (800MHz front side bus with a 775 socket). It came with an 256MB ATI onboard. I have 1GB PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM stick and I'm planning to place another stick in there for 2 GB total (the box's max).
After a year with of playing with MS's FS I decided to purchase a video card. The box comes with a PCI-E x16 slot. I want to get a 512MB video card but don't want to spend 400 USD for it, though 300 USD is OK.
I haven't purchased computer hardware pieces in a good many years and haven't kept up on the latest benchmarks, etc. I just dont have the interest, anymore, after those many years of doing it almost religiously out of necessity.
I should be able to install the card myself; my hands shouldn't shake too much that I should be able to install a vidcard without a problem. (But handling a HDD looks like a monkey trying to eat with chopsticks.)

Can any of you give me advice for a good card that won't blow out my power unit, won't make a racket when the system is on and will allow me to play flight simulator and maybe view some good videos once in a while (just AVIs, nothing through my HDTV)?

In my previous self-made systems I've had a love affair with NVidia cards. I DO NOT OVERCLOCK & my eyes require 1024x768 rez on an old Viewsonic 21" CRT monitor, which for the moment works perfectly.

I really dont trust those bozos at the dumbed-down computer stores (like BestBuy), but I can order stuff through them and, for the limited getting around I have, they are just down the street.

Thanks in advance,
Don

jula182

Can you give a full spec about your system...

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donmagel

Sure enough. Here you go:
Compaq Presario SR2170NX Desktop PC
Product number RK549AA
Introduction date 28-Jan-2007
HARDWARE
Base processor Pentium4 631 (C) HT 3.0 GHz
800 MHz front side bus
Socket 775
Chipset ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 for Intel Processors
Motherboard
Manufacturer: ECS
Motherboard Name: RC415ST-HM
HP/Compaq motherboard name: Alhena5-GL6

Memory
Memory Installed 1 GB
Maximum allowed 2 GB (2 x 1 GB)
Speed supported PC2-4200 MB/sec, Type 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM

Hard drive 160 GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec) 7200 rpm
(I've added (1) 320GB2 separately partitioned as (2), so the system recognizes 3 HDDs)

16X DVD()R/RW RAM ()R DL LightScribe drive

Modem 56K bps data/fax modem

Video Graphics Integrated graphics

Sound/Audio High Definition 5.1 audio ALC 888 chipset
(I usually use a Plantronics DSP 500 USB Headset with its own sound-card)

Network (LAN) Integrated 10/100 Base-T networking interface

External I/O ports
I/O ports on the front panel: USB (2); Headphone Jack (1)
I/O ports on the back panel: PS2 (kbd, mse) 2 (1 each); VGA 2; USB 2; LAN 1
Audio (line-in, line-out, microphone) 1 each
Expansion slots: PCI (2), PCI Express x16 (1)
Drive bays are (1) 5.25" & (2) 3.5"

Thanks for asking

Regeneration

If you're playing games, then you should go for the GeForce 8800GT. If you're not playing many games, then Radeon HD 3850 would be enough.

donmagel

That's the one I've been slobbering over, the GeForce 8800 GT.
BB has this for 299 USD:
PNY - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Graphics Card

I don't know PNY. I've used EVGa from NewEgg in the past, but BB says they can get it to me in a day, versus a few days from NewEgg.
And yes, the only games I play are the graphic intensive Microsoft FSX and that pixel-retarded Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08.
My wife still plays MS Solitaire.
As I said, I'm an old coot.
Thanks for your advice there, Regen. Much appreciated.
Donald

xiaomhome

If you're planing to buy a 8800 GT avoid the Palits.
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=252381

Dont get scared sometimes its just bad luck that some people have. And about the PNY it looks like a good brand.

I really recommend you to get the 3850 ATi card. You're gonna need to overclock your processor if you want to get most of your card, even though thats not a must to have a reasonable performance with your graphic intensive games.

donmagel

Thanks for your advice, xia.
Why do you recommend the ATI 3850? And I thought it was 256MB.
A shop I used in the past was selling the Visio 3850 for 89 USD, brand new! That was a few days ago. They had 3 in the beginning of the week, and a customer was expected earlier today, so those might be gone.
But I just am a fan NVidia. Never been an ATI fan, probably because every made-to-order box I ordered for the company where I worked had ATI's either onboard or as the default addon card. Nvidia just seems to be 'prettier' for me; but that's my eyes and mind working with one another.
No accounting for tastes. Right?
I should have mentioned earlier not only do I not overclock cards I dont overclock anything. I used to overclock a lot when I was doing corporate computer graphics, some 20 years ago on, maybe, but I dont do on my home machines.
Shoot, some of this off-the-shelf is so crappy any more that to overclock, to me, just takes months off of the life of the card.
So I just want to pick up the card from the store, install it, and do some minor tweaks within the game to make it play the way I want. My eyes are too bad and I'm too darn grouchy to be bothered with changing pins & configuring with numbers for a game. It's not like I'm doing brain surgery or trying to comprehend peptide structure for some cure or something important like that.
By the way, I dont know who that company, Palits, is, but its always good to hear an alarm about this company or that. Every one makes their own decisions, and a caveat is just telling us to be aware. Good neighborly stuff, that is.

I'm editing this post because I initially stated my eyes, heart & money was on 8800GT but the 20 reviews I've read, so far, haven't dispelled one of my greatest fears with optimal graphics cards: the power needed to run it. It seems this 8800GT runs hot and needs some heavy CPU power, which I doubt these home-style Compaqs have. I think Compaqs are sucker computers and I wouldnt have this one other than my wife wanted to pay for the whole thing, including this addon card, if I allowed her to pick out the system. I dont know the reasoning behind her semi-charity but I allowed a Compaq in my house and I said I'd keep it for another year before paying someone to make a new system for me, just as soon as I can figure out what Vista will end up as.

The suggestions are truly appreciated everyone. Thank you.

jula182

What is wrong with Palit 8800 GT card? I'm using that card and I'm having no problem using it...

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Unixlord

Sorry but that thread about Palit cards is absolute thrice enriched concentrated bullshit.

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Regeneration

Agreed.