Increasing monitor size, do I have to get a better graphics card too?

[racer hero]

Hi, I am getting fed up on playing on this some what small, square screen and am thinking of up sizing to a bigger screen.

What I have now:

Dell 19" Monitor.
Intel Integrated Media Accelerator 950 GFX card.

I am thinking of upgrading to around a 28" monitor.

My question is,
Do I have to upgrade my graphics card to upsize my monitor?

Thanks for your help,
Kenneth

[thisnameistaken]

If you're going to a considerably higher resolution, and you've got a marginal graphics card, then yes, probably.

Look at the benchmarks for your card though. Some achieve pretty similar performance across a wide range of resolutions.

Edit: Ah. Just saw you're on integrated graphics. Get with the times, dude - that's not a gaming computer!

[racer hero]

Can you update an integrated card with a non integrated card? Sorry I do not know anything about hardware :)

[scoobyrbac]

Can you update an integrated card with a non integrated card? Sorry I do not know anything about hardware :)

Yeah you can buy another graphics card and add it. Your intergrated card will no longer be in use while you have your graphics card in.

[racer hero]

Will a Nvidia 6600 GT with 256mb of VRAM work? Here is a link to it for sale and with more specs:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1642902&sku=TC3H-1032&srkey=Nvidia%206600%20GT

Thanks for your help,
Kenneth

[Shotglass]

Can you update an integrated card with a non integrated card? Sorry I do not know anything about hardware :)

generally yes
although it largely depends on whether your motherboard provides a slot for a normal card and if your psu can take it (unlikely on a oem pc with integrated graphics)

[scoobyrbac]

Will a Nvidia 6600 GT with 256mb of VRAM work? Here is a link to it for sale and with more specs:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1642902&sku=TC3H-1032&srkey=Nvidia%206600%20GT

Thanks for your help,
Kenneth



That there should work..

As Shotglass said..Make sure your mb can support the type of card it is and you will also need a new PSU...I would suggest a 500watt psu should do the job.

[Jakg]

500 Watt is mega overkill - a 300 Watt will work fine.

28" monitors would be a TV, which has a low resolution so it won't actually have that bigger effect on your FPS.

[mcintyrej]

That there should work..

As Shotglass said..Make sure your mb can support the type of card it is and you will also need a new PSU...I would suggest a 500watt psu should do the job.

500W PSU for a rediculously overpriced AGP card? Are you joking? I use a 550W power supply for my CPU (overclocked) and 8800GT and my PSU can supply well over what i'm using.

[Nathan_French_14]

If your looking for a good budget card, then something like a 7600GS would be a good move. I have one on my other machine, and its never took a foot wrong, and can handle plenty of AA/AF.

[Stigpt]

500 Watt is mega overkill - a 300 Watt will work fine.

28" monitors would be a TV, which has a low resolution so it won't actually have that bigger effect on your FPS.



Not quite, JAkg, not quite. Some "300W" arent really 300W - thats just the power of all the lines added. Then somehow it cant keep up with most stuff.
Case in point: I made a computer for my 6 y old, so he could play and not pester me. Hes got a 300W PSU, powering an old CD-RW drive, PIV 28GHZ, a mobo with a soundcard and onboard lan, AND... a ATI Radeon 9800 PRO.
Should be enough to play TF2 (he loves that) LFS,.. any decent game really -at 1024*768.
But it doesnt. Every now and then it just restarts - my guess is the GFX card is killing the PSU.

Either go for an expensive 300W psu, or for a cheaper 500w one. Its kinda like the speaker wattage idiocy... Remember the mega-super-duper 800W speakers that just suck? and the awesome 15w ones that are just brilliant?

[Stigpt]

double post? ergh I hate net problems...

[racer hero]

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2835740&CatId=2775

What you guys think of that one? If I were to get it, I would probablly take it off the stand and maybe even hang it on the wall :)

[NikLaw]

Nice. But I should rather get a 22 " TFT and a decent graphics card, 8800 GT, than getting a 24 " 1920x1200 display which resolution I cannot use fully.

A friend bought a dell notebook with a nice 1920x1200 display, coreduo but a 8600M graphics card and is happy now to play COD4 in 1024x768 low settings.

Nice way to throw your money away...

[Shotglass]

there absolutely no way your card will do 1920 at any kind of bearable framerate

[AndroidXP]

But since he's content with spending $600 on a monitor, I doubt a gfx card that can handle the resolution would be outside of his budget.

[Shotglass]

true but for 1920 youre probably looking at more than just a monitor and a car... with that card i highly doubt his cpu is any good and either way to play modern games in 1920 youll have to pay for some serious hardware

[dougie-lampkin]

1024*768 FTW :D

Although I don't see what's wrong with a 19". Considering that most ready-made PCs you buy come with a 15-17", 19" ain't bad. I use my 19" TV as my monitor, works a charm :shrug: Only problem is it won't do high resolutions :schwitz:

[Crommi]

Nice. But I should rather get a 22 " TFT and a decent graphics card, 8800 GT, than getting a 24 " 1920x1200 display which resolution I cannot use fully.
Problem going from 19" 4:3 screen to 22" 16:9 is that what you gain in width, you lose in height. Keeping in mind that all documents and webpages are browsed in horizontal fashion, it makes very little sense to pay for that extra width that is mostly wanted for displaying movies.

[pb32000]

Problem going from 19" 4:3 screen to 22" 16:9 is that what you gain in width, you lose in height. Keeping in mind that all documents and webpages are browsed in horizontal fashion, it makes very little sense to pay for that extra width that is mostly wanted for displaying movies.

But you can have multiple windows open, which can be very useful (that said 16:10 still isn't wide enough for that really, unless you have a large resolution).

I think also wouldn't a 22" widescreen be about as high as a 19" 4:3 screen?

[Jakg]

22" Widescreen - 1680*1050.

19" 4:3 - 1280*1024.

You gain 26 pixels in height...

[racer hero]

Alright, I am going to buy a Nvidia 8800 GTS 640. Now I need to decide what monitor I would like. I was thinking a Acer 25.5". But I think there is better stuff out there. What do you guys think? Does the picture get distorted the bigger you go?

[Jakg]

What's the rest of your PC specs? What's your PSU? How much is that card costing?

[racer hero]

The Nividia 8800 GTS is $250-350 here. Depends where I buy it, and if they have it on sale or not. Sorry, but what is the PSU and where can I find this?

I am going to Future Shop soon and they are going to check my computer to make sure its ok. Then, if all is ok, install the card.

[Jakg]

The 8800GTS 640 MB is old and is NOT worth $250. You can get an 8800GT for around about $200 here, so you should be able to get one cheaper there.

What are the rest of the specs of your PC?

[racer hero]

Jack, your talking about the 300 mb one...the 640 is better than the GT.

I have...
Intel Pentium 4 (mhmm sucks)
Windows XP

and I dont know from there.

[Jakg]

No, the 320 and 640 MB 8800GTS' are using the older G80 core which makes more heat and runs slower. The 8800GT (using the G92 core) is faster than the G80 GTS, and the "new" 512 MB 8800GTS (also a G92) is faster still.

If you have a P4 that will be the limiting factor - theres no point in spending so much on a GFX card to have it bottlenecked.

BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING do you know if you have a PCI-e or AGP slot? Do you know if you even have a graphics slot at all?

[racer hero]

I know I have a graphix slot, and I am checking that today :) At the store, I was told Black is good Brown is bad...This is true?

hmmm, I think it might of been the 512 mb one then...
Thanks,
Kenneth

[Jakg]

Black is good, brown is bad?!

WTF.

My PCI-e slots are white and blue.

Ignore the fools.

You ideally want a PCI-e 16x slot - if it's an older AGP slot then the cards are slower and more expensive. You also need to make sure you don't have a VIA KT800 chipset if your going to get a PCI-e 2 card (like the G92 8800's or the 3850/3870).

Once again - you need to make sure your PSU is up to scratch.

[racer hero]

For some reason I am getting the feeling I am going to have to replace the whole computer to get a better graphix card and monitor :) Oh well, I guess I keep saving.. :)

[racer hero]

OK, so you say that its not worth buying anything with Pentium 4?

Thanks for your help Jack.
Kenneth

If you have a P4 that will be the limiting factor - theres no point in spending so much on a GFX card to have it bottlenecked.

[Jakg]

Well if it's onboard, then an 8800GT will never really be able to use it's full power as it will always be waiting for the CPU (sort-of)

a 7600GT / 7600GT would be a nice cheap upgrade though.

[racer hero]

Ok, I have to go to school now. I am going to open up my computer after school and take some pictures. I will post them when I am done. THe computer is two years old. Do you know from the age what it might be?

THanks,
Kenneth

[tongey]

Ok, I have to go to school now. I am going to open up my computer after school and take some pictures. I will post them when I am done. THe computer is two years old. Do you know from the age what it might be?

THanks,
Kenneth

Not really.. If you have the make & model of your PC, we would able to check your specs online...

But it sounds like Jakg is right, it would be pointless wasting money on a serious gfx hard with your setup.

[Nathan_French_14]

I think that if your desperate for a new monitor, then i would suggest getting the monitor, and coupling that with a budget card like a 7600GS/GT. These are still good cards, and are enough to play a game life LFS at a nice resolution and detail. But anyway, i think it would be best doing that, then maybe replacing the entire computer at a later date.

[Crommi]

22" Widescreen - 1680*1050.

19" 4:3 - 1280*1024.

You gain 26 pixels in height...
I ment physical display area and 1280:1024 ain't 4:3 :smileypul
You can put 22" wide and 19" 4:3 next to each other for comparison and see for yourself.

[Forbin]

But you can have multiple windows open, which can be very useful (that said 16:10 still isn't wide enough for that really, unless you have a large resolution).

I think also wouldn't a 22" widescreen be about as high as a 19" 4:3 screen?
One of the main selling points of the Sony FW900 was you could view two full-size 8.5x11 pages side-by-side on one screen. That and it had a max resolution that has only recently been beaten by 30" LCD's.

[Shotglass]

Black is good, brown is bad?!

WTF.

My PCI-e slots are white and blue.

Ignore the fools.

theyre right though... the standard colour for agp is brown and black for pcie

That and it had a max resolution that has only recently been beaten by 30" LCD's.

although tbh the most sensible setting for it is 1600*1000@100hz

[Forbin]

1920x1200 @ 85Hz worked fine for me. :)

[dougie-lampkin]

theyre right though... the standard colour for agp is brown and black for pciealthough tbh the most sensible setting for it is 1600*1000@100hz

My AGP is green, and my PCI is white :nod:

[racer hero]

Alright! Its a PCI-E :) I am probablly going to get a Nvidia 7600 GT. Now to just go buy it :)