Need help with a new graphics card.

**Ragnarhox** · **Need help with a new graphics card. -** 04-30-2006, 04:10 AM

Ok, im not very good with hardware(obviously thats why i am asking this) but how do i know if a graphics card supports Shader or not? I tried looking on newegg and tigerdirect but i still dont know what to get. I dont want to buy an uber driver i just wanted to get something that supports Shader 1.0 so i could play Black and White 2. How much do you think it would cost to buy a graphics card that supports shader 1.0 or one that has 2.0? Thanks for any help.

**Tool** · 04-30-2006, 04:26 AM

Have a price range? nVidia or ATI preference?

**wm_hunter** · 04-30-2006, 05:01 PM

A better question is, what are you looking for out of a graphics card, other then shader. ATI are good for movies, animation, general pc use and games, but NVIDIA are GREAT for games and just average at other uses.

**Ragnarhox** · 04-30-2006, 05:18 PM

I wanted to to try to get a new card for ~100-150, but I do not know if that is realalistic. And i really dont have a preference between NVidia or ATI.

**The Mob** · 04-30-2006, 06:29 PM

i did some reading.. and it looks like pixel shaders are now adays standard with any video card. this was with the introduction of DX8. so just buy any video card and you should be fine. try to go for the PCI 16 ones mainly because they are starting to be cheaper than your AGP ones. you can find 256mb ones that are under 150. use newegg's customer reviews.

**Tool** · 04-30-2006, 08:27 PM

If you plan on gaming on a budget - nVidia 6600 or 6800 if you wanna spend a little bit more. I use the 6600 and run BF2 on medium settings at ~50 FPS. But it gets hot just so you know.

**The Mob** · 04-30-2006, 11:58 PM

dont go with a 6600 because it runs too hot. go for 6800. they are cheaper now

**wm_hunter** · 05-01-2006, 12:00 AM

Yeah 6600 does run really hot, the 6800 are fine, or go with an ATI card instead.

**Tool** · 05-01-2006, 12:22 AM

I decided to get a new heatsink/fan for it so it runs nice and cool, now. =D

**Ragnarhox** · 05-01-2006, 04:28 PM

OK, so i should go with 6800? Does it run cooler than 6600? One newegg there like 150 i believe. Is there any real diffent between a new and refurbished one(other than ones used)

**The Mob** · 05-01-2006, 11:45 PM

yes there is a huge difference between refurb and new ones. read about it on newegg. also, the 6800's run cooler than the 6600s. before you make your purchase, make sure that you are buying a video card that will fit the correct slot. either PCI 16 or AGP

**Kingsrookie** · 05-03-2006, 04:54 PM

refurbished are returned ones and there is no way to tell if it works. and if it doesnt then u wasted ur money. and go with the nvidia. ive had bad experiences with ati noyt being com-patible with my computer but that is because i run linux lol. but its safe to get nvidia