Buying new GPU, need advice.

[Kaworu]

Well, it's time too look into replacing my outdated, underpowered, generally useless graphics card. since I have no experince in this, I need to know a few things.

A. What is the difference between AGP and PCI? Which is better? Which do I need?
B. Which brand is most reliable?
C. Is there any stores in the Midwest United States that are better to buy from? (Ex. Best Buy, CompUSA, etc)
D. Which cards in the $100-250 USD range are best for high quality gaming? I don't need anything crazy good, just better than now.
E. How do I find out about the power supply in my pc, and the power needed by the card.

Thanks!

[ozzy72]

a) http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2005/techtips-031005.htm
b) I'm an nVidia man myself but a lot of people like ATI as well. nVidia seems to work better with FS.
c) No idea I live in Europe!
d) Best to shop around there can be a large variation in price. Shops tend to be more pricey.
e) Your PSU will have its ratings as a sticker on it. You can look up the the specs on the manufacturers website. You'll also need to know the rest of your system specs to calculate exactly.

[Kaworu]

Thanks for the quick reply, Ozzy! Things are making a bit more sense now.

[DizZa]

B: Nvidia seem to have more stable drivers but I hear Nvidia get out of memory errors in fsX.
C: www.newegg.com
D: Nvidia 7900GS, 7900GT, 7950GT, Radeon X1950pro, x1950GT.

[JLCGull]

"I need to know a few things.

A. What is the difference between AGP and PCI? Which is better? Which do I need?"

They are two different physical sockets for adding expansion cards. Check out here:
http://www.si87.com/Products/Videocards/agpvspci/
There is also a PCI express standard that is different from PCI

"B. Which brand is most reliable?"

[Kaworu]

Thanks for the help! I already love Newegg.com. The only reason I like the stores I can walk into is that I want to be able to talk to a expert, and bombard them with questions. I just like talking in person with people who want me to give them a lot of $$$$$!

[ctjoyce]

Thanks for the help! I already love Newegg.com. The only reason I like the stores I can walk into is that I want to be able to talk to a expert, and bombard them with questions. I just like talking in person with people who want me to give them a lot of $$$$$!

Let me tell you that about 90% of the people you meet in sales can sell you sand in the desert. They barely know what they are talking about, they are just good at bullshitting.

Now I am an exception to this, but walk into any BestBuy, Circut City, or Comp USA and you will find this the case.

Cheers
Cameron