Video Card Compatibility/Recommendations

[Joli B]

Hi, I've have recently upgraded my RAM to 2GB (my first ever pc upgrade yay! :D ) and now i want to upgrade my graphics card.

I have a Sony Vaio VGC-RB38G, pentium 4 3.4ghz
Currently w/ Ati Radeon x300 128mb

specs link http://www.docs.sony.com/release/specs/VGCRB38G_mksp.pdf

There are so my graphics cards to choose from and it gets me so confused.
But importantly i want to know which cards are actually COMPATIBLE with my computer and which card it could actually handle (power supply etc.)
Finding and putting in the new RAM upgrade was "easy" since finding a compatible one was fast (thanx to Crucial), I was only worried about the installation/static etc.
Now it's even harder to find the "right" graphics card and hope that it wouldn't destroy my pc.

My comp is almost 3 years old and im just looking to upgrade my RAM (just did) and Graphics card so I could make it "last" a couple more years and keep up with the latest programs and games. It's tough having to play some of the newer games (company of heroes, oblivion) at the lower rez (800X600 :( ) higher than that gets laggy

I'm also on a tight budget so maybe no more than $150 will be fine.
Any suggestions/recommendations will be greatly appreciated. ThanX!:D

[Jamie Nixx]

First of all, if i am reading the spec sheet right, you do have a PCIe x16 slot, which is great as almost all graphics cards around now are PCI express.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133186

This card will play anything (really it will play anything), most recently i have played Bioshock, Stalker, CB Jericho all on max with this card, i also played the Crysis demo to see if it would play and it did.

If you want a bit more bang for your buck, the ATI x1950 pro is also great.

[Joli B]

Thanks for the tips Jamie. Now im getting a better idea of what graphic card to get.

Thoug im still wondering about the recommended or required power supply. most of the ones i see, thinking of getting "require" 350w
But i dont know how much my system supplies and IDK where to find it.

btw thats a nice list of games you got there ^

[The Wise Monkey]

You should always buy a decent PSU as it is the cornerstone of your system. Jamie always recommends the Corsair HX520, but I prefer Hiper or Antec. You should be lookng at around 450W for the specs that you have.

[Jamie Nixx]

Corsair PSU's are quite expensive, but you get what you pay for (they are currently the best in the world in their price range), Hiper only have one good PSU and thats the Hiper type R, all others in the range are shocking and even the type R has exaggerated capabilities put forth by the manufacturer as was discovered in a review by toms hardware.

Antec do make great budget PSU's but avoid the earthwatts range, terrible PSU's.

A decent 400w is all you will need, Akasa probably do the best 400w PSU's around followed by Antec.

I won't mention the big guns such a Tagan and Seasonic, they are extremely pricey.