Graphics Card

[J2201987]

hello. I'm new here. I am an avid player of Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. I recently restored my computers original configuration and now it's working like brand new.

I am currently looking for a new, better performing graphics card. The system requirements in the RCT3 manual says: ATI Radeon™ 64 MB SDR recommended. I'm not exactly sure what the 64 MB and SDR is reffering to, but I know it's better than my current video card which came with the computer:

Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator Driver Report


Report Date: 07/01/2008
Report Time[hr:mm:ss]: 16:32:20
Driver Version: 6.14.10.4764
Operating System: Windows XP* Home Edition, Service Pack 2 (5.1.2600)
Default Language: English
DirectX* Version: 9.0
Physical Memory: 1014 MB
Minimum Graphics Memory: 8 MB
Maximum Graphics Memory: 64 MB
Graphics Memory in Use: 7 MB
Processor: x86
Processor Speed: 3000 MHZ
Vendor ID: 8086
Device ID: 2582
Device Revision: 04


* Accelerator Information *

Accelerator in Use: Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family
Video BIOS: 3362
Current Graphics Mode: 1024 by 768 True Color (75 Hz)

So far, I have found ATI Radeon series 2600 through 3850, that I believe contains the 64 MB, and is in my price range of $150. My question is, for anyone who owns an ATI Radeon video card with a series between 2600 and 3850, will any of these graphic cards take my Roller Coaster tycoon gaming experience from this:

to this?:

Anyone's help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Justin

[koala]

Hi Justin, welcome to TSF

Before you start looking at high-end graphics cards, you'll need to make sure your computer can handle the upgrade.

What make/model is your motherboard? Does it have AGP or PCIE slots? (Note: PCIE is not PCI) This will determine the type of card you can choose.

What make/model and total watts is your PSU (power supply unit)? You can find these details on the PSU label.

Upgrading from onboard to a proper graphics card increases your computer's power requirements significantly. You will need a strong PSU with at least 26A/+12V to run a new PCIE graphics card, or 18A for an AGP card. A PSU that is too weak can cause graphical artifacts, lag in games and overheating that can lead to permanent damage to the rest of your components.

If this is the only game you play, you don't need to go for one of the top cards. It's not one of the more demanding games, so you should have no problem with a mid-range card that supports 'hardware T&L'. I played a demo of RCT3 a few years ago on an old AGP Radeon X1950Pro and it ran smoothly on maximum settings.


AGP cards:
Radeon 9250 - 256mb 128bit DDR AGP 4x/8x - $38
Radeon HD3850 - 512mb 256bit GDDR3 AGP 4x/8x (overkill for this game) - $120 (after $20 rebate)

PCIE cards:
Radeon X1650Pro - 256mb 128bit GDDR2 PCIEx16 - $27
Radeon HD2600Pro - 256mb 128bit GDDR2 PCIEx16 - $24 (after $30 rebate)

There are also equivalent cards from nvidia (GeForce2 and above) that will run the game just as well.


EDIT: I've just noticed that you're only using 8mb of your system RAM for graphics. As you have 1gb system RAM, you can go into BIOS and allocate the full 64mb to your onboard graphics with no negative impact on Windows perfomance. An AGP or PCIE card would be the better option for various reasons, but it's worth trying this BIOS tweak to see if it allows you to increase the game's graphics settings and screen resolution.