Upgrading my computers video card?

I have a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-core Processor 3800+, 250 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive, 2048 MB DDR Dual-channel memory, NVIDIA GeForce 6100 video card.



I am not super good with computers and don't have much experience installing new components into the computers and so I wanted to know if any NVIDIA GeForce 7800 video cards (Under $400) will be compatible with my computer, and if so what else do i need to run it, such as power supply that meets the cards needs, or any cooling devices, or more memory or anything like that.



Thanks|||It really depends how much you are wanting to spend and what sort of PSU you have.



For under 200, you're probably better off with the radeon x1600 series or the geforce 7600 series.



For 250 to 300 I'd go with the 7800 GT or 7900 (7900 GT runs more or less equivalent to 7800 GTX) or the x1800.



If you want to buy the farm, go for the x1900 xt or the 7950 GX2/7900GTX.



Beware that a lot of these take up a good amount of power (seen below):



http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/7900%…



Your processor will take up about 170W at load itself. So you're probably looking at wanting at minimum a 400W power supply for the midrange of these cards and maybe more for the big guns or SLI/Crossfire caliber solutions.



As for the choice between ATI and Nvidia, well right now the prices are very similar and the performance is also quite similar. I don't want to say one is better than the other, because really they are not. Right now though the ATI cards tend to take a little more power on average and run at higher temperatures.



If you want to buy a cheaper last generation card, the geforce 6600/6800 models or the radeon x800 aren't that bad depending on what you want to play.



Ask yourself the following before you decide:



1) How much am I willing to spend?

2) Do I have loyalty to Nvidia or ATI?

3) Do I want to buy a new power supply?

4) Do I really need this upgrade at all for the games I play?

5) What performance card do I need?



It really comes down to what you play and what you want to spend.|||Just about any video card, I assume you have a pci-x slot, will be compatible. If it needs additional cooling, it will come with it on board.



But you will be fine, you won't need extra memory or anything like that.|||Sounds like you have a hefty machine there, I don't think you will have any problems with the video card with that processor and speed, along with that much memory it should handle anything.|||That depends, does your computer have a PCI Express slot?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en…



Download this file to see what you have...

http://files3.majorgeeks.com/files/92876…|||wait a month or so ATI's new cards are coming out and the prices will be better, And the old cards will be cheaper, just google what card you are interested in and read the reviews.|||i suggest you get a nvidia card because you have a nvidia motherboard and nvidia motherboards and ATi cards don't go well togethers (system crashes) .

i suggest you get the 7900gt.

you can find loads on www.tigerdirect.com|||Yes