Which Graphics Card

I have configured a custom system on the Watford Electronics website based on an Intel P4 3.0GB or possibly 3.2GB. processor with 1GB of PC3200 DDR400 RAM.

I cannot decide between a Radeon or MSI/NVidia card? I have picked the cheapest 256MB card in each.

Question one: Which is the best card, Radeon or MSI/Nvidia?

Question two: Is a top quality 128MB card better than the cheapest 256MB card?

Question three: do I need a 256MB card if the only fast graphics game I play is MS Train Sim and then only very occasionally? My main reason for choosing a big card is that I do a lot of digital photography editing in PSP8 or Photoshop Elements and I also draw fractals, these are very memory intensive as they are mathematic art. I do a fair bit of photographic scanning too. I hope to be getting a camcorder in the future for which I have already added a DVD write drive so I can make DVDs of footage.

Since you arent playing games much, get the one with more memory. And unless you want drivers headaches get an Nvidia

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Originally Posted by Radical Dreamer

Since you arent playing games much, get the one with more memory. And unless you want drivers headaches get an Nvidia

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I agree. My radeon has had a lot of driver problems and I have never once had a problem with any of my NVidia Cards. If you are not playing heavy games then it really doesnt Matter. I find the extra video memory (above 64 -128MB) comes in handy when doing stuff like video rendering and such. And it all comes down to how much you want to spend.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Radical Dreamer

Since you arent playing games much, get the one with more memory. And unless you want drivers headaches get an Nvidia

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Ditto.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2006/04/1.gif

Why is it that I have had more problems lately with Nvidia drivers than Catylist?
Jim

Don't know. Have you tried rolling back? Listen: it all depends on your system specs. And, I think I know what you are saying. Nvidia has gone backwards and ATI have made progress. So typical of the PC world. That is why places like WD are so important. The XP here makes all the difference.

Never had problems with the NVIDIA WHQL drivers. And I use the ATI for my laptop, no probs there too.

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Originally Posted by TechZ

Never had problems with the NVIDIA WHQL drivers. And I use the ATI for my laptop, no probs there too.

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I have to agree with you TechZ I use both companies cards and I really havent had a problems with either, Unlike Diamond Multimedia cards which I wouldnt even send to my worst enemy.

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Originally Posted by MorseLady

I have configured a custom system on the Watford Electronics website based on an Intel P4 3.0GB or possibly 3.2GB. processor with 1GB of PC3200 DDR400 RAM.

I cannot decide between a Radeon or MSI/NVidia card? I have picked the cheapest 256MB card in each.

Question one: Which is the best card, Radeon or MSI/Nvidia?

Question two: Is a top quality 128MB card better than the cheapest 256MB card?

Question three: do I need a 256MB card if the only fast graphics game I play is MS Train Sim and then only very occasionally? My main reason for choosing a big card is that I do a lot of digital photography editing in PSP8 or Photoshop Elements and I also draw fractals, these are very memory intensive as they are mathematic art. I do a fair bit of photographic scanning too. I hope to be getting a camcorder in the future for which I have already added a DVD write drive so I can make DVDs of footage.

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hi morselady
go with Nvidia they are great cards and as everybody say's the drivers are easy to update

I play MS Train Sim on my 128MB card and it runs smoothly with all the graphics turned on. And with the kind of CPU/RAM that u have configured(hopfully you went with 512x2 for Dual Channel Memory) your system will do fine. 256 is still better for the requirements you have. Its gonna be a sweet system.

Dont forget a speedy HDD. Most performance is lost there.

Thanks everyone and having considered your comments and also that I have always had Nvidia and never had problems :) yet I will go for a 256MB Nvidia card. As far as price goes, twenty quid or so between a 128MB or 256MB card is not going to make much difference in a system which is going to cost me over seven hundred quid without monitor :eek2: and that will come when I can afford a decent flat panel monitor. I have a very good digital CRT I am quite happy with for the time being.

Yes, I have chosen dual channel memory 512MB in each slot and the HDD is a Seagate Barracuda at 7200. I am not sure yet if I will go for the 3GB or 3.2GB Intel processor, both have HT etc and I have chosen a m/bd with on board network and 5.1 sound so I don't need to add those cards. Here is the full spec with the Radeon I had chosen replaced by Nvidia. Vendor is Watford Electronics Savastore using the start from scratch configurator.

http://www.savastore.com/pc/default.asp

Price total £652.80* ex. VAT
£767.04 inc. VAT

PC description:

Processor P4 3.2GHz 800 512k CPU
Motherboard 848P Neo LS 800MHz Motherboard S478
Case SunTek TH-654 ATX Case 300W
Memory 512Mb PC3200 DDR RAM
512Mb PC3200 DDR RAM
Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 160Gb 7200rpm
CD/DVD Drive MSI 52x24x52x IDE CDRW (Black)
NEC ND3500A Black Dual Layer DVD+/-R/RW 16x DVD IDE Driver
Floppy Drive 1.44Mb 3.5" Floppy Drive (Black)
Graphic Card MSI FX5700LE-TD 256Mb AGP + DVI/TV Out
Mouse Aries PS/2 Mouse
Warranty 1yr On-Site Service Contract
Modem Creative Modem Blaster 56K V.92 PCI Int Modem
Other Adaptec AFW-4300 Firewire PCI Card
O/S MS Windows XP Professional OEM Preload


* price includes a one-off £30 assembly/QC/packaging charge.

You may want to rethink (or at least double check) the motherboard. The 848P chipset does not support dual channel memory - you need the 865P or 875P.
http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/linecard.htm

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Originally Posted by hudsonsmith

You may want to rethink (or at least double check) the motherboard. The 848P chipset does not support dual channel memory - you need the 865P or 875P.
http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/linecard.htm

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The Watford Configurator would have prompted me if any of the components were incompatible like it did when I selected a mini tower. First you choose the processor and then the board, then the case, then the memory and it let me add two of. Just accessing my configurations now...........it is the only motherboard on offer for the processor I chose, oh well back to the drawing board and maybe I should buy from Dell or Mesh and least know that the system has been well thought out.

But hang on, I have just found this in the spec 2 ( 2 ) x memory ( 2.5 V ) - DIMM 184-PIN

Here is the full spec of the board I have chosen and now I am totally confused :confused:

Product Description MSI 848P Neo-LS - mainboard - ATX - i848P

Form Factor ATX

Dimensions (WxDxH) 30.5 cm x 21 cm

Processor 0 ( 1 ) - Socket 478

Networking Network adapter - Realtek RTL8100C - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet

Product Type Mainboard

Chipset Type Intel 848P

Max Bus Speed 800 MHz

Compatible Processors Pentium 4

RAM 0 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max)

Storage Controller Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-150 )

Audio Output Sound card - Intel 848P - 5.1 channel surround

Storage Controller (2nd) IDE ( ATA-100 )

Supported RAM Technology DDR SDRAM




Extended Specification


General

Form Factor ATX

Width 30.5 cm

Depth 21 cm

Product Type Mainboard

Compatible Processors Pentium 4

Chipset Type Intel 848P

Max Bus Speed 800 MHz

Processor Socket Socket 478

Memory

RAM Installed ( Max ) 0 MB / 2 GB (max)

Supported RAM Technology DDR SDRAM

RAM Features Unbuffered

Supported RAM Speed PC2100, PC2700, PC3200

Expansion / Connectivity

Expansion Slots Total (Free) 1 ( 1 ) x processor - Socket 478
1 ( 1 ) x AGP 8x ( 1.5 V/ 0.8 V )
2 ( 2 ) x memory ( 2.5 V ) - DIMM 184-PIN
5 ( 5 ) x PCI ( 3.3 V/ 5 V )

Interfaces 2 x storage - Serial ATA-150 - 7 pin Serial ATA
2 x storage - ATA-100 - 40 PIN IDC
1 x storage - floppy interface - 34 PIN IDC
1 x serial - RS-232 - 9 pin D-Sub (DB-9)
1 x parallel - IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP) - 25 pin D-Sub (DB-25)
4 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
1 x audio - line-In - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x audio - line-out - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x microphone - input - mini-phone 3.5mm
1 x mouse - generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style)
1 x keyboard - generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style)
1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45

Processor

Installed Qty (Max Supported) 0 ( 1 )

Miscellaneous

Compliant Standards Plug and Play

Software Included Fuzzy Logic 4, MSI Live Update, PC Alert

Storage Controller

Storage Controller Serial ATA

Controller Interface Type Serial ATA-150

Storage Controller (2nd) IDE

Controller (2nd) Interface Type ATA-100

Audio

Compliant Standards AC '97

Audio Output Sound card

Sound Output Mode 5.1 channel surround

Signal Processor Intel 848P

Audio Codec Realtek ALC655

Telecom / Networking

Networking Network adapter - Realtek RTL8100C - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet

Features

BIOS Features ACPI support, APM support, DMI support, Hyper-Threading Technology

Hardware Features MSI CoreCell

Very strange this Watford Configurator and not the first time it offers different options than before when you start from scratch. Now the original processor I chose is not available so I chose a 3.2GHZ Prescott I was not offered before and now I have five boards to choose from non of them the one I chose before :confused:

I am going to configure a new system based on the P4 3.2GHz 800 Prescott CPU and MS-6728 865PE Neo2-PFS P4 S478 Intel 865PE board which of the five boards on offer is the most expensive at £91.59 incl VAT reduced from £120 and has WINNER - Toms Hardware Guide's Best of 2003 Award! "It is the fastest board overall in the test field."on the info page. It supports Dual Channel Memory and has onboard network and 6 channel audio - very nice motherboard indeed! :) but maybe just a bit too sophisticated for my needs? Or is your system only as good as the motherboard? It is going to put the system above my budget a bit.

Moderators - Should this thread now be moved to Tech to Tech? If so, please feel free to do so :)

I think the extra money for the dual channel support is well spent. It literally doubles the speed of your memory throughput. I recently built a new system w/ an 875P board and 2.8GHz cpu and the difference is quite noticable. Keep in mind that you need to buy the memory in matched pairs.

Check to see if the 865PE has built in firewire - you might be able to save some money by dropping the pci card.