upgrading video card

right now i have a
Asus Radeon A9200SE, 128Mb, TVout

i can upgrade this to a
Asus Radeon A9550, 128Mb, DVI/2xVGA, TVout

for a couple of euro (like 10)

or to a
Sapphire Radeon 9600 Pro 256Mb DDR,DVI,TVo,Retail

for 30-40 euro

(a euro is like a worth bout the same as a dollar)

right now im thinkin of the 9550, though ive never heard of it (not really into graphics cards)........ since itll be nearly free, and it will give me a DVI->VGA adapter which i ll be needing soon since im getting a second monitor..... (ill prolly do at least this since the adapter im getting is worth more than ill be paying for the upgrade ;) )


i dont really play games, so the only reason im thinking of upgrading is the 2nd monitor........ though i have no idea how much that will ask of my card........

EDIT: my question kinda is which upgrade i should go for........

If you really don't play any games then if the 9550 saves you money go for that.

What is the specs of the rest of your system?

Asus a7n8x-e deluxe mobo
AMD 2600 XP "barton"
512 MB kingston ram (CAS 2.5)
coolermaster Aero 7 lite cooler
1x seagate 200 GB HDD
1x WD 200 GB HDD
1x DVD-ROM
1x DVD +/- RW
4 case fan (and ill prolly be adding a ccfl tube to light it all up :P )

and right now the asus A9200 SE


a friend of mine told me to go for the 9600........ and i would like to (especially since the other card is suposed to be kinda funky), but only if this doesnt mean that i have to upgrade my PSU as well (for which i dont really feel like spending about 75+ euro's on)

EDIT: spec update, forgot my cooling

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Storm

Asus a7n8x-e deluxe mobo
AMD 2600 XP "barton"
512 MB kingston ram (CAS 2.5)
coolermaster Aero 7 lite cooler
1x seagate 200 GB HDD
1x WD 200 GB HDD
1x DVD-ROM
1x DVD +/- RW
4 case fan (and ill prolly be adding a ccfl tube to light it all up :P )

and right now the asus A9200 SE


a friend of mine told me to go for the 9600........ and i would like to (especially since the other card is suposed to be kinda funky), but only if this doesnt mean that i have to upgrade my PSU as well (for which i dont really feel like spending about 75+ euro's on)

EDIT: spec update, forgot my cooling

---

whats the point of having 4 case fans if ur not overclocking...just creates more noise :\

go for the 9600pro..

yeah, i took out 2 last week........ im gonna overclock this thing as soon as i get everything in the new case (well same case, but the windowed version).......

does anyone know the url for that site where you can calculate how much power you need??? ive been lookin all over for it, but the thread i remember it being in was deleted in the crash before the last one :( (i know it was mentined again though)

I would suggest the 9600 Pro but you might not really use the extra performance if you don't play games. Your PC is certenly powerful enough to take full advantage of that card.

Btw... I just purchased a Sapphire Radeon 9600 Pro 256 MB card today. I'm in the process of setting it up.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Storm

yeah, i took out 2 last week........ im gonna overclock this thing as soon as i get everything in the new case (well same case, but the windowed version).......

does anyone know the url for that site where you can calculate how much power you need??? ive been lookin all over for it, but the thread i remember it being in was deleted in the crash before the last one :( (i know it was mentined again though)

---

For what it's worth heres a site . But you'll see that if you have at least a 300 w psu ,your fine. ;)


http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

YAY!!!! thats the one!!!!!

and you're right, according to this site ill prolly even have room to OC my black beauty :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Storm

YAY!!!! thats the one!!!!!

and you're right, according to this site ill prolly even have room to OC my black beauty :D

---

Good , don't know how accurate that site is tho! :lol:

well it its prolly not 100% accurate, and it also differs alot with brands, but if i need under 280w if everything is fully loaded, im guessin ive got a lil margin ;)