My PC specs

[Me__2001]

if you want to know the RAM make it will either have it printed on it or you can look up the FCC id that is printed on it, i dont know about the prices on the X800GTO but the ebuyer link looks reasonable i wouldn't think they would be anymore than that

 

[stuartw101]

When buying RAM all i need to know is that its DDR 3200 RAM, is that right?

 

[Me__2001]

it needs to be PC3200 aka DDR400 and a reasonable make like corsair, crucial, geil, OCZ, kingston

 

[stuartw101]

If im gonna get that graphics card you you advise getting another 512mb? Are there any good deals about?

 

[Me__2001]

512MB of RAM costs about £30, i dont think theres much of a deal to be had as it all seems to cost about the same

 

[stuartw101]

I have just been offered the X800XT for £130, its a year old, do you think its worth it?

 

[Me__2001]

depends on its specs, but that might be worth getting

 

[stuartw101]

Here they are:

GPU: Radeon X800XT
Rendering capability: 16 pixel pipelines, 6 vertex shaders, HD technology
Core clock: 500mhz
Memory clock: 500mhz (1000mhz DDR)
Memory bus: 256bit
Bus type: PCI-E 16x
Memory type: 256MB GDDR3

Not sure if you need to know more? Its a year old so not sure if its still worth £130?

 

[henkjan]

To let everyone know, i think i have decided on the X800 GTO. Unless anyone can talk me out of it How much do you think i can get the card for?

are you sure the x800 GTO fits into your computer?

 

[stuartw101]

Why wouldn't it? Does it need 2 PCI-E slots?

 

[stuartw101]

I just emailed acer for my specs as i dotn have the user manual, they email me this but i dont think its specific is it?

CPU
Processor Type:
AMD Athlon 64 FX 53 to 57
Athlon 64 3000+ to 4000+
Athlon sempron CPU.
Support 266/333/400MHz CPU FSB.
Support up to 2.4GHz.

Chipset
NVidia CK804 Ultra(Single chip solution)

Memory
Socket Type: 184-pin socket.
Socket Quantity: 2
Memory Type: DDR-SDRAM 400/333/266 DIMM
Support 128MB, 256MB and 512MB DDR memory technologies
Max Cpapcity:Up to 2.0 GB
Support STR(Suspend to RAM)
Support for non-registered, non-ECC RAM

PCI Express/PCI Slots
One PCI Express x1 slot
One PCI Express x16 slot
Two PCI 2.2 5V Slots

FDD
One FDD slot supports 1.44MB 3.5" devices

IDE
Slot Type: 40 pin PATA IDE slot
Slot Quantity: 1
support ATA 66/100/133
support PIO 0/1/2/3/4
Device type support: HDD/CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM/Combo/DVD burner
Connector Type: SATA IDE connector
Connector Quantity: 2
Storage type support: HDD

Audio
Chip : Realtek AL655
Type : RealTeck ALC655
Channel : 2
Support UAJ
LAN
Chip : Marvell Alaska 88E1111-CAA
Supports 10/100/1000MB ethernet environment

 

[Adywebb]

Yep, it will fit OK as you have a PCI Express x16 slot - but you will need someone else to tell you whether its a bargain or not.

 

[stuartw101]

My pc or the card? Also what expansion slots are there notmally and how many?

 

[Adywebb]

I was talking about that card fitting your MB.

PCI Express/PCI Slots
One PCI Express x1 slot
One PCI Express x16 slot
Two PCI 2.2 5V Slots

Your PC expansion slots are listed above from the specs you got from Acer

 

[stuartw101]

I can only see 1 PCI-E slot (Black) and 2 PCI slots (White). Why is this? I thought it said there should be 4 in total. Would teh 4th be somewhere else?

 

[stuartw101]

Oh the PCI-E 1 is the reall small one?

 

[Adywebb]

The small one is the PCI Express x1 slot, the bigger black one will be the x16 slot.

As regards the second hand graphics card - I confess I don't know alot about graphics cards or their relative differences, but I see a few similar ones new on overclockers for around the same price.
Maybe someone who knows a bit about graphics cards can confirm whether its a good deal or not.

 

[Me__2001]

i dont know how much they were brand new but if it hasn't nee OC'd and is in good condition i think its a good deal

 

[stuartw101]

Personnally i would go for the Sapphire x800 GTO2 because as tomsega said, it will unlock and overclock to nearly x850 speeds from stock if you are lucky.

Also you can unlock the Connect3d x800GTO to 16 pipelines as well, but as it uses slower memory chips it will not overclock as well.

I can get the Powercolor X800GTO 256MB DDR3 card for £105 or do you think i should get the Sapphire version for £118? Is there really such a big difference in performance and ability to unlock and overclock teh card?

Also how long do you think i could use the card until i would have to upgrade?

 

[PotGuy]

You do not want the Sapphire GTO, but the GTO2.

That is the unlockable version, and it is £140 odd.

i think it is a no brainer to get the sapphire gto2 if you can. The overclocking potential is enormous, and while you are not guarenteed to get x850 speeds, you are just about guarenteed to reach at least x800xl speeds, which is a £200 card.

however like all the x8xx series, it does not support shader model 3, and so the image quality will not be as good as an nvidia 6 series card.

but the 6 series cards are beginning to struggle with new games that are very intensive anyway, and with the gto2 at least, you will get good framerates for a good while still.

I don't think you can get a better value card than the x800gto, but it is up to you whether you want to spend the extra £35 on the unlockable gto2.