ATI Radeon X1300

[StillLife]

Yeah, plugged in and all that...board supposed to support up to AGP4 I think, if that's what you mean by standard.

 

I'm looking for the MB drivers and such, maybe they need updating.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hmm. What is the AGP speed of the card? Even if it's X8, it should be backwards compatible with your AGP slot(if it really is X4). I've never had trouble with a card that I can recall though, so I'm not entirely sure what the problem could be. Not to sound like an ass, but did you make sure the card was firmly seated in the slot?

 

Found this on another forum, could be relevant:

 

That high pitch noise or siren you hear is your card telling you that it's not getting enough or not a consistent enough supply of power, if you read the min requirements for the 7800 gs it says 400watt 12v 20a power supply minumum.

 

So, could be you don't have a good enough PSU.

[LadyCrimson]

Yes, that's plugged in, and actually, the 6200 had one too.

The 7800gs box says 350W or greater, not 400...but I suppose that's still possible, especially if they mention that noise.

[LoneWolf16]

That would be 350W

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That high pitch noise or siren you hear is your card telling you that it's not getting enough or not a consistent enough supply of power, if you read the min requirements for the 7800 gs it says 400watt 12v 20a power supply minumum.

 

****. I'm sorry...

 

Well, look, scroll down on this site for some power supplies...they're really cheap. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Ca...c.asp?CatId=106

[LadyCrimson]

Heh...yeah...I suppose it'll be easier to buy a power supply first and see if that works. With that quote it's a good possibility...too bad the stores are closed now, lol.

 

Hubby says I could unplug everything else in there just to see if that made the card go to get a clue if that was really it or not.

[LoneWolf16]

Well he's right, always test everything before you go out and buy new parts.

[LadyCrimson]

I only have the sound and HD in there tho, besides the case fans. Unplugged, still noise. Oh well, I'll get a PS tomorrow and see if that works. Cross my fingers for simple solution.

[StillLife]

Yes, that's plugged in, and actually, the 6200 had one too.

The 7800gs box says 350W or greater, not 400...but I suppose that's still possible, especially if they mention that noise.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hmm, well if the box says that it could very well be that the guy I quoted is wrong about that part. Might still be a problem with the voltage and amps but I'm clueless when it comes to power supplies. Good luck though!

Edited May 18, 2006 by StillLife

[mkreku]

The Geforce 7800GS is perfectly capable of running Oblivion in 1280x1024 with "middling settings". I have one myself and I run Oblivion in 1024x768 with everything on maximum (except grass, which I keep at around 50%).

 

Hope that's some consolation at least.

[LadyCrimson]

Just in case my experiences with this helps anyone else...reading the evga forums it appears it does want an 18 amp actually supplied on the 12V rail (tho you might get away with less if you're lucky) and looking under my PS again, it appears it's only 16. Thus that's likely the problem, since all the plugs are plugged. However, a lot of people seem to be having problems with display and drivers not intializing at all or inconsistently, while evga keeps harping it's the power supply (even if yours is good enough) or a bad card (when people exchange the cards 3 or 4 times...).

 

Also, I have an MIS Neo type motherboard and some folks with those seem to have a lot of problems as well (one person said those moboards tend to undervolt the prcoessor/memory/AGP & he reset them higher which improved the cards performance/artifact problems for him a lot - I don't think I'll bother with that, but I did find it interesting.

 

My husband says installing a new PS can be kind of a pain (30 minutes for him maybe, 3 hours and a lot of desk pounding for me, maybe) and he looks a little grumpy about doing it himself (hehe) and started grumbling how it might be less hassle to just build a new PC w/ a new MB etc. Anyway, I'm now completely undecided what I'm going to do. It's all about less hassle for us, more than anything else.

 

-----------

 

Oh and about the 1280 resolution - that's just a personal preference. I found once I started playing in that for a while, I just couldn't go back...1024 looks washed out & less 'clean' looking to my eyes now, AA/AF or not. I mean, think about how once 1024 became standard, no one wants 800x600...same thing. If you're used to 1024, looks great. If you're use to higher, it doesn't.

[Shadowstrider]

I have an eVGA 7800 GT (PCI-E version) at home, and I run Oblivion with pretty much everything max. I get anywhere from 15-40 FPS with not terrible slow downs.

 

The problem with forums is that they are there for people to bitch. When everything is going right you don't hear a peep from them, so it often seems like all products suck if you just read forums.

 

I don't recommend getting a Power Supply before 400W. I use a 420W. You can skimp on some things in a computer, like RAM or sound card, but Power Supply and motherboard are 2 things you do not want to be cheap items.

[Judge Hades]

Um... I hope it works out.

[LadyCrimson]

Yeah, hubby says 500. Agree on the forum thing too. I'm here whining, after all. Hah! But on the other side, sometimes advocates of something can be a little overdone too. It's a balance.

 

Hubby's the one that buys the core PC stuff, and so far it's always been fine, he does well at price vs what you get for it for our usually modest needs. But he's a mass network/office/giant hub type guy - game-minded home machines are outstripping his knowledge on what's good for the price now, I think.

 

Anyhoo...judging from Hades's googly eyes, that's enough from me on this one. Just frustrating, when ya wanted to be playing your game etc.

[mkreku]

I have the XFX Geforce 7800GS eXtreme (ridiculous name) and a really cheap 400W PSU that sounds like a vacuum cleaner. It has never given me any problems though and I don't even know what kind of amps it gives. I guess I am lucky..

 

I have been thinking about buying a new, silent one for a while though, but they're damn expensive! It's $120-150 if you want a good one.

[Spider]

I have been thinking about buying a new, silent one for a while though, but they're damn expensive! It's $120-150 if you want a good one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

But they're so worth it. I have a Antec Phantom 500 hybrid (it has a fan, but only starts it when needed, which so far has been never) and it's completely quiet. I couldn't live without it, easily the best piece of hardware in my comp.

 

Expensive though, I paid 1500 SEK for it (which is roughly

[mkreku]

But why are they really worth it? I mean, when I buy a new monitor, I get (hopefully) a better picture and a nicer design on the desktop. When I buy a new GPU I get better looking games and more bragging rights. When I buy a soundcard I get more functions, better sound and a nifty sticker to put on the case. But when I buy a new PSU I get.. what exactly? Sure, the noise will be reduced slightly (for me), but is that really worth

[metadigital]

Oh...I considered a ge7800GS but I thought I read some big debates on that one here vs. the 6800, or something...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

7800GS is the better card.

 

I went with the ge7800GS.

That's an excellent card Lady. The X1300 is a low-end card targeted at basic PCs, and is comparable to a GeForce 7300. The person who was telling you that it is comparable to a 6800 didn't know what they were talking about, really.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Oh, there's an equal possibility that he just wanted to make the sale and knew the details.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

 

 

 

But why are they really worth it? I mean, when I buy a new monitor, I get (hopefully) a better picture and a nicer design on the desktop. When I buy a new GPU I get better looking games and more bragging rights. When I buy a soundcard I get more functions, better sound and a nifty sticker to put on the case. But when I buy a new PSU I get.. what exactly? Sure, the noise will be reduced slightly (for me), but is that really worth

[kalimeeri]

FWIW, I recently installed a 6800 with 512mb in my daughter's machine and it would not work until we adjusted the graphics aperture in the bios. Not one of the places I would normally think to look, but... finicky thing. User forums are a good place to look before you buy, too (although I usually don't remember).

[Cantousent]

Oh, if I'm going to buy something, I'm asking around beforehand. I don't go out and buy any big items spur of the moment. However, I usually act on a decision very quickly. Unfortunately, that decision, at this point, means waiting until the new video cards hit the shelves so I can compare them to the old ones.

 

Also, I usually take the money to buy a decent PSU. I'm going to go crazy about it, but I will drop the cash for a good one.

[Judge Hades]

Is it worth getting a PSU under 500 today? Also what brandd of PSUs are worth buying anyway. PSUs is one of the areas my knowledge is lacking when it comes to PCs.

[Fenghuang]

I've got a 'modded' PowMax power supply that's done me good. 500 watt, got an 80mm fan on it. Hard to fit in some cases though. ^_^

[LadyCrimson]

The problem w/researching computer hardware for me is that I don't understand what I'm reading, so I have little comprehension about why one is is better than the other even with the researh. I usually just look at 'ratings' or read what's popular/liked on forums, grab a list of the middle-priced ones that are well-liked and try those.

 

Vid card reviews are like reading professional physics reports.

[angshuman]

IMO when shopping for a PSU the things to look for, in order of importance, are (assumption is that you've narrowed down your selection to a set that satisfies your minimum wattage requirements):

 

1. Brand Name (brand = quality, reliability, stability)

2. Amperage Rating on +12V rail(s)

3. Wattage (beyond your minimum requirement)

4. Features like Active PFC etc.

 

You essentially get what you pay for. PSU's are very un-glamorous products, so they can't be surrounded by marketing hype. If a PSU is expensive, it's probably because it has a bunch of expensive components inside.

[LadyCrimson]

We have liftoff...cards in and working. I'm still getting lowish FPS in the game (20-25) but it's not chugging at all and 'feels' smooth, w/all the settings etc...so I'm happy.

 

Oddly at first I didn't think it looked any better, and almost thought it looked worse in certain aspects...probably because it's more detailed/sharp? and thus what looked smooth before looks fuzzy or jagged instead, I dunno. I will admit that it makes high AA feel a lot more neccesary, cause the jaggedness is more noticable/distracting, at least in Oblivion. Strange. I had to mess with the settings for a long time before I found something I liked.

[mkreku]

For me it was like going from crystal sharp to slightly blurry when I switched from my ATI Radeon 9800 Pro to the Nvidia Geforce 7800GS I am currently using. I got much better performance, but I still think the image quality was superior with my old ATI card.

[LadyCrimson]

I don't like Bloom w/this card. It looks much better/clearer without soft-lens lighting effects.