Tv Tuner and Graphics Card

[Exp44]

Hey everyone. I'm kind of new here, as I've been browsing 1emulation for awhile, but this is my first topic. I was just wondering if you guys had any recommendations on tv tuner cards and graphics cards. I have a Windows Xp 2.4 ghz Pentium 4 processor with 512 megs of ram. I am on the computer a lot and would like to watch some tv programs without leaving it. My computer says it has a tv tuner installed, but I did some research on it as well as talking with a friend and apparently it only takes RCA input. So I am looking for a cheap, decent quality tv tuner card. I am used to regular analog tv signals, so as long as the picture is pretty good than I'm ok with it. I have searched online and found a Leadtek card that has pretty good reviews and is only $30 from Newegg. Do any of you have any recommendations as to any specific cards I should get? Keep in mind Id like it to be around $30, have decent quality, and if it only has one cable analog input, Im ok with that. I transfer all my digital camera footage to my computer through firewire, so I don't need the S-Video port.

Also, I am looking for a new graphics card. Right now I have an Nvidia Geforce2 Mx 400. Apparently (according to the internet) the mx series is not very good. It does not have pixel or vertex shader support, and its pretty slow. All of my games' quality are limited by the card. I know the fact that I have a 3 year old computer with 512 ram doesn't help, but a new graphics card will still make a difference, won't it? If you guys think I just need to buy a new computer, let me know. Otherwise, you guys have any recommendations on this? I'd prefer it be an Nvidia card under $100 unless you can convince me otherwise. Thank you so much for the help, I really appreciate it!

 

Also, feel free to call me Jake

Edited October 31, 2007 by iluvds

[Ahmad89]

Alright jake, all i can say in terms of your computer is that i dont think you need a new computer. Buying yourself a larger amount of ram would be a good think to do though. 2 or 3 gb would be good for games now a day since most require at least 2. As for the other stuff, wait until the more skilled people reply. By the way, state wether you want something in the 7 series or the 8 series (if you want dx 10 for the future).

[Exp44]

Ok, I can definitely put RAM on my wishlist. At thsi point, I don't really care about getting Vista, so I don't really care about dx 10. As for the 7 and 8 series, what are the main points for each? I haven't done so much research in that area, so I dont know exactly what to look for.

[Ahmad89]

well, i dont know much about hardware but this is what i do:

 

I look at this site:http://www.nvidia.com/object/graphics_cards_buy_now.html

I then look at the stuff that pretty much is in my range in this case for you it would be either the 7900 GS or the 7800GS. If you go to Newegg.com you'll see much better prices like:http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;Order=PRICE or http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;Order=PRICE (i like this one since originally it was at 200 then dropped alot but im kind of crazy like that).

 

By the way, I dont know anything about TV tuners since my computer came with it and never needed to buy one. I dont know much about which is better and why but from nvidia's site you can tell pretty much what is good and bad.

[Exp44]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, I might not be able to use either of those cards. I know I cannot use the 7900 GS because those cards only have DVI outputs, and I have a VGA screen. The 7800 GS cards use AGP slots, and I'm not sure if I have any in my computer, unless my GeForce2 MX 400 is currently plugged into it. As for RAM, does this look like a good deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820134045? Because for only about $25, turning my computers 512 ram into 1.5 gigs of ram sounds pretty good.

[Ahmad89]

As for the DVI output on graphic cards, pretty much all of them come with this:

 

It will convert the DVI to VGA as stated in the pic. Most give you 1 DVI to VGA and an S-video cable. The ram sounds good but im not too experienced to tell you much. Though it will run fine for alot of games.

[Exp44]

Alrite, well the video cards look good then but they're over $100, which will take me awhile to save up. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go ahead and order that extra RAM, assuming I will be able to simply open up my computer (after being turned off and unplugged), stick in the RAM card, turn on my computer, install any drivers needed, and be able to notice almost immediate differences. After all, what's the point of spending 25 bucks if I won't notice any differences? Also, for those types of cards, do they go in PCI slots, or attach directly to the motherboard in another way? I've never had to install hardware by opening my computer, so this will be a new experience.

[Ahmad89]

This makes two who dont know how to install hardware. Ive never done it, a friend of mine usually does it.

[Exp44]

Well im sure i could do it easily if i tried, i just don't want to order only to find it requires something to be installed that i don't have.

Edited November 3, 2007 by iluvds

[Ahmad89]

Well im sure i could do it easily if i tried, i just don't want to order only to find it requires something to be installed that i don't have.

Before you go crazy and start yelling, when my brother needed to install is Hard drive they (as in circuit city) told him that thier might be a chance that he shocks his system and brick it (or something like that). They either offered him that they install or or buy these gloves that negate the effects of him possibly bricking it. So i would just tell you to be careful.

 

PS: he let our friend do it and nothing happened.

[Exp44]

Well I've opened up my computer before and I've taken out my graphics card and video capture card and put them both back and have had 0 problems. So if all I have to do is put the card in a PCI slot, close my computer up and start it, then I'm perfectly ok with doing that.