Best Graphics Card on a Budget?

I've been playing with no problems for the last 9 months or so, but in the last 2 or 3 days, my graphics controller has been driving me insane, demanding updates, rotating my screen display without warning, crashing Guild Wars randomly, and demanding updates, reboots, etc.. After downloading 1 driver update, fixing the rotation issues, and two days later... I was zoning into an area I'd not previously visited, got the loading screen that informed me about 15 files were being downloaded, and then boom - Guild Wars suffered an unrecoverable error, some words to that effect (I regret not getting a screenshot). A link was provided on the error message, to this page, and I did everything that it said to do... And now every time I try to load the game, Windows announces a device failure and makes me reboot. It doesn't even make it to the login screen before the error.

I am using Intel 82865G controller, which, apparently, is utterly vile, according to the search results on the forum here. My computer is a Compaq Presario, running Windows XP, and otherwise meets the specs for the game (not sure how to check for the specific numbers).

Seeing as this is a new, sudden, and overwhelmingly irritating problem, I'm guessing that the best course of action is going to be upgrading my graphics. Sooo.... I don't have a lot of money to spare. And I'm completely an idiot when it comes to technical issues and hardware. What type(?) of graphics card could I invest in that would be a decent balance between price and performance? I don't expect or want perfect high-performance graphics (I generally play with the options turned down to low, as I am regrettably still on a dialup connection), I just want to be able to play the game without hinderance.. Around how much should I expect to have to pay?

First thing we need to know is what kind of video card slot you computer has PCI-E, AGP or just PCI. With that we'll be able to give you prices for a video card that will fit into your computer. also would help to know what power supply you have as you might need a new one actually make your video card actually works.

NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 , Cost about 29 us and you run pretty good on it

I poked around a bit and found PCI in relation to the graphics so I'm assuming that is the slot. As for power supply, I'm not sure what you mean (somehow I don't think that refers to the computer being plugged into the wall outlet!).

the best way is to open up the computer case and take a peek inside. you'll have to do this eventually anyways if you want to upgrade the video card. compare the slots to pictures found on google, and you will know what you have.

the power supply is a big box (about 3 by 6 by 6 inches) with multi-colored wires coming out of it. on the outside, it connects to the power cable and has a power switch. look for a label on it that tells you the wattage and the number of amps (A) on the +12 rail.

I wouldn't buy anything if you only have PCI slots. If you have an AGP slot, a $40 Geforce 6200 256MB card would run GW just fine. I wouldn't recommend anything better because AGP is basically dead technology and power supplies that come with pre-built computers (such as your Compaq) tend to be weak and cannot handle fast video cards. If you happen to have a PCI-E slot, then you have more choices available, but it all depends on what your power supply is capable of.

Before opening your case, check a book out of the library or buy a magazine with a good "how to build" article. That will give you some pictures to use as a frame of reference. Don't just jump in there. Some parts are super sensitive to static and you can fry em pretty darn quick.

7600gt under 100 bucks..

wait for 8600 series out in a few months spend a little extra and get a card that will last you for the next few years with its DX10 support .... it will be super cheap for dx10 cards with the 8600gt 512mb around 170

I recently got a xfx 7600gt online for next to nothing and i adore it. I highly recommend it. It plays oblivion, fear, cod2 perfectly and beautifully. In fact, it has handled any game i've thrown at it outstandingly, i really loves it

Yup, the 7600GT is just about the best bang for the buck if you're on a budget. You need to have a PCI-Express x16 slot for it, though. If you have AGP there are other options (7600GS is a good choice...the Radeon x800 series is good as well). If you have plain PCI your options are very limited. Let's hope you have AGP or PCI-Express...

What the power supply do is convert the power it receives from the power outlet to the right voltage etc required for your computer to run. The wattage actually refers to the amount of power it can supply to your's computer's components. Video cards usually are very power hungry and necessitate a good power supply for them to run properly.

The power supply wattage should be somewhere on the compaq website along with a list of the other components you have including your video card slot. For example, i have a 300Watts power supply so basically i'm stuck with my intel GMA900 until i upgrade it to something around 400W-500W.

Also if you don't want to wait for your video card, GeForce 7600GT is an excellent choice it isn't very expensive and you'll be able to run GW with all the bells and whistles on.

If you can't find you computer's hardware stats, post exactly what model u got we know it's a Presario but there should an exact model number that come with this and i'll try to find them for you.

How the hell can you recommend that POS to anyone? Hell it ain't even worth 29 cents let alone $29!

Hey,

I have a Radeon 256MB 1300 card, is this good also? (Standed PCI)

Thanks, tijo, for the suggestion of looking on the website. Here's what I can find:

AGP Graphics Support: Yes
AGP Graphics Maximum Mode: AGP 8x
Graphics Connector: AGP 8x (available)
Expansion Slots: One AGP, Three PCI, One Ultra ATA

I cant seem to find anything on the website that looks like the power supply. The computer is Compaq Presario desktop S5400NX.

And I'm curious, can a completely inexperienced person such as myself actually hope to successfully open a computer and install something without creating an even larger problem? This is starting to sound like a huge undertaking to me.

It looks like your power supply is rated at 250w. That's a bit low for newer video cards. You said you're on a budget. How much are you looking to spend?

You'd be ok with something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102043

and your power supply would probably be able to handle it, but it's older tech and wouldn't be able to do much with newer games.

For a little more you could go to something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102043

but I'm not 100% sure your PSU could handle it.
EDIT:
According to this PSU calculator your PSU should be able to handle a 6600.

You might even be able to get away with a 7600GS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150190

if you wanted to drop $120 on a pretty good AGP gaming card.

Anything up from there and you'd need to upgrade your PSU. A PSU upgrade is not terrible (a non-techy friend of mine did it just a few months ago and she managed to avoid destroying her computer), but if you're skittish about fiddling around inside your computer you might want to get help. There are a lot of wires to deal with. Also, I believe your Presario has some proprietary connectors, so you'd have to make sure you're getting a PSU that would work with your motherboard.

Its easy with a few helpful hints and pictures. The steps are below.

1) Uninstall any graphics drivers you find in add/remove programs, and restart.

2) Unplug power and turn off the comp, find a table or hard floor (not carpet), that you can work on.

3) Open your case's side panel. Usually this shouldn't be too hard to figure out. It seems to just slide backwards, maybe after removing screws.



4) This is what you should see. Disregard the red square and pay attention to the blue one.


5) The topmost slot should be longer than the rest and a dark brown color. There may or may not already be something in it, but this is your agp slot. If there is a video card in it, unplug all the cables from the back of it, and note where they were plugged in. Unscrew anything that is in it, and unclasp the clasp. Remove anything in it to get it ready for the new card. (Pictures follow).



6) Now place your new videocard in making sure the clasp is secured. You want to hold the card gently at the top and slide it in. You should not need to apply too much force, if you feel like you are, stop and look around. See if anything is in the way or needs to be moved. After putting it in, replug all the wires into it, and screw it in. All thats left is putting on the case.

7) The next time you turn your comp on, insert the cd that came with the video card and follow its instructions to install the new graphics driver