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trooper1236

1 Message

10873

June 4th, 2007 00:00

Best card for a dimension 8300

Can anyone tell me the best possible video card that would be compatible with a dell dimension 8300.   I currently have a Radeon 9300 series (256K) installed.  I would like a 512K card if possible.  I checked the support center and they only seem to have 256K cards.
 
Thanks 

Bobman101

693 Posts

June 4th, 2007 05:00

I'm not aware of a Radeon 9300. Normally, the memory a card has shouldn't be an issue, but I recall claims that a 512MB card can sometimes not be recognized by the old(er) Dell models. In my opinion, the difference between 256MB and 512MB on a card that won't be bottlenecked by the Dimension 8300 won't be that big anyhow.

The real factor of a video card's performance isn't the amount of memory it has, but the GPU itself. List how much you're willing to spend (and are you willing to go second-hand, ala eBay or something), and recommendations can be given.

russell_314

706 Posts

June 4th, 2007 11:00

I agree with Bobman101, anything over 256MB's is more marketing than performance.  This is especially true for an older system with an AGP slot.   A good choice would be an Nvidia 7600GS or GT.  More would be overkill for you system and might mean a power supply upgrade.  Also if you don't play games you're wasting your money since you won't notice an overall performance increase.
 
 


Message Edited by russell_314 on 06-04-2007 07:58 AM

Rorsach

510 Posts

June 4th, 2007 12:00


russell_314 wrote:
I agree with Bobman101, anything over 256MB's is more marketing than performance. 
Not entirely true.  If you have a 256 bit or greater interface, you will get significatnly better performance out of a card with more VRAM, especially in shader heavy games.  In this case however, there really isn't a need for it.

Cypherus

2 Intern

 • 

336 Posts

June 4th, 2007 17:00

Rorsach is correct. In games like Oblivion, 512MB of VRAM is very helpful, but if your card (7600 GT) can't even run the game at max texture settings, there would be no need for 512MB.
 
In any case, the 7600 GT AGP is the best card for a 8300, and it will not need a PSU upgrade.

Rorsach

510 Posts

June 4th, 2007 19:00

Whether or not more memory is helpful depends on what sort of game you are running, but with modern games that take up several gigs of hardrive space (much due to textures) higher vram requirements are becoming necassary to keep fps high and stuttering to a minumum.  Some will argue that if you have enough RAM, there is no performance hit when video memory gets maxed out since the mobo modules can handle the rest of the load.  However, they forget the latency cost of tranferring cached texture data to the RAM, and then back to the GPU for rendering. 
 
In your particular example, I'm a little confused about what you're asking.  If you're wondering whether a PCI-E card with 128mb dedicated will be beaten by a PCI card with 256, the answer is almost definitely no.  If you're asking whether a PCI card with 256 would outperform a PCI card with 128, the answer is probably, but it depends on the card's architecture.
 
No problem with the comment about the memory above.  Your statement is absolutely true in the OP's situation.  However, it's important to note that users wanting to get a "future proof" GPU would be wise to invest in a card with a 256bit or greater bus and more VRAM than the standard 256mb.   
 
Edit: I spel gud.


Message Edited by Rorsach on 06-04-2007 04:37 PM

russell_314

706 Posts

June 4th, 2007 19:00

Sorry if I caused confusion but I was only trying to make the poster understand that just because the card had more memory doesn't make it a better card.  He didn't mention what GPU he was looking for but only that he wanted 512 MB.  I would pick the GPU I wanted and then find a card with the amount of memory and other features I wanted. 
 
Also has anyone done benchmarks on how memory affects a cards performance?  I thought Toms Hardware did one but I could not find it.  I'm just curious because I saw a PCI (not PCI-E) graphics card at Circuit City a while back and was wondering if it performed any better than one with 128 MB. 
 
 

ae38cb5bb8b0410

1.1K Posts

June 4th, 2007 21:00

This is an example of my situation: Vista Home Premium with 2GB system ram
 
with the 7300LE 256MB (128 dedicated)  512MB total
Vista gaming graphics score  3.2
 
with the 8600GT 256MB
Vista gaming graphics  5.6
 
it's all about the memory bandwidth interface
 
7300LE  64bit
8600GT  128bit
 
the best one's are 256bit +


Message Edited by kpo127 on 06-04-2007 06:35 PM

dbstjr1015

2 Posts

August 12th, 2007 05:00

Wow, this is a really helpful topic. If any of the previous posters or someone else would help clarify that if purchasing a 512 would be better, in any aspect, than a 256 for a Dimension 8300 that would be great. Thank you.


Message Edited by dbstjr1015 on 08-12-2007 01:41 AM

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