How to play games on TI-89 Titanium?

Seeking Video Card advice for new Win2K (maybe WinXP?) system

• I'm buying a computer from ibuypower.com today and need some help picking a video card. I really don't know squat about video cards. Here is the list, I've weeded out the cards that are out of my budget: NVIDIA RIVA TNT-2 M64 32MB 4X AGP VIDEO NVIDIA GEFORCE-2 MX-400 64MB 4X AGP (+ 16) NVIDIA GEFORCE-4 MX440 64MB DDR TV-OUT 4X AGP (+ 35) NVIDIA GEFORCE-4 TITANIUM 4200 128MB DDR TV-OUT + DVI-OUT 4X AGP (+ 129) ATI RADEON 9000 PRO 64MB DDR TV-OUT + DVI-OUT (+ 59) ATI RADEON 9000 PRO 128MB DDR TV-OUT + DVI-OUT (+ 75) ATI ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 7500 64MB W/ TV TUNER (+ 99) [8X AGP] NVIDIA GEFORCE-4 MX440 64MB DDR W/ DVI + TV OUT 8X AGP (+ 69) [8X AGP] NVIDIA GEFORCE-4 TITANIUM 4200 128MB DDR TV-OUT/DVI-OUT 8X AGP (+ 149) My gut feeling is to just go with the most expensive card I can afford (bottom). But I thought I'd get your opinions first. Here's what I care about: - dual head capability - option to upgrade to a very nice LCD display somewhere down the line (at least 17in) - I'm currently using a samsung syncmaster 17 flat screen crt - probably won't play games much, but nice to have the option - TV out might be used down the line, but unlikely to supplant my DirecTV w/Tivo If the most expensive card is overkill, let me know. I'd like to save $ and spend it on more RAM if possible. Don't send me to a site with 1 million reviews like tomshardware! I'm looking for your informed recommendation here! Thanks for your help! Phil

• Answer:

  Greetings phil, I'm happy to help you with you new video card purchase. Having gone through many different cards myself, I feel that I can give you a good honest opinion on which card may best suit your needs. Based on the things you want in a card, I can immediately narrow down your list to the following: NVIDIA GEFORCE-4 TITANIUM 4200 128MB DDR TV-OUT + DVI-OUT 4X AGP ATI RADEON 9000 PRO 128MB DDR TV-OUT + DVI-OUT [8X AGP] NVIDIA GEFORCE-4 MX440 64MB DDR W/ DVI + TV OUT 8X AGP [8X AGP] NVIDIA GEFORCE-4 TITANIUM 4200 128MB DDR TV-OUT/DVI-OUT The only reason I left out the All-in-Wonder Radeon 7500 is that you don't mention wanting to use the card as a TV-Tuner or doing video capture, which is really the main thing you're paying for with this particular card. It's slower than the others I have selected in graphics output and I wouldn't select it unless you specifically have a need for video-in. Now, narrowing down the list from the remaining possibilities is going to depend on which of your "wants" are more important. Each of the cards I have listed will give you dual-head capability (at least they should according to the way you have them listed here and according to their design specs). Each of these cards will allow you to upgrade to a nice LCD display down the line as they each have DVI-output (necessary for DVI-based LCD panels). Gaming is where the cards start to separate themselves somewhat. Each of these cards will play games "well" (depending on the types of games you will be playing). The Geforce4 MX will perform on the lower end of the scale compared to the others. The Radeon 9000 is next in line, then the Geforce 4 Ti4200 is at the top of the pile. If you think that you will be playing games on this machine and you like to play 3D-based games specifically (Like Quake3 or Unreal Tournament), the GeForce Ti4200 is probably the best bet as it will give you a good performance boost over the other two cards, especially at higher resolutions. Each of the cards I selected also have TV-Out, so you're covered there as well. All of these cards will supply you with a relatively high refresh rate, which is also important when choosing a graphics card. Personally, I think if your budget allows, the choice should be between two cards. I chose the 4X AGP card versus the 8X AGP card as I don't think these cards will really benefit that much from a jump between 4X and 8X AGP and you must also have the motherboard hardware to support 8X in order to take advantage of it. I would save 8X for the faster, more hardcore cards. NVIDIA GEFORCE-4 TITANIUM 4200 128MB DDR TV-OUT + DVI-OUT 4X AGP ATI RADEON 9000 PRO 128MB DDR TV-OUT + DVI-OUT In my opinion, each of these cards will give you excellent picture, fits the needs you asked for and will carry you into the future as you purchase LCD-based monitors down the line. I think the primary difference you're going to see between these two cards is the gaming performance. If you truly don't play games that much and don't feel like you'll be playing a lot of games in the future, I would save the $50 and go with the Radeon 9000. If gaming is important to you, the Ti4200 is the clear choice between these two. I personally own a Geforce 4 Ti4400 and love it. But, I am also a gamer and gaming performance is important to me. I also really like NVidia's drivers and the way they make use of dual-monitor systems. Their most recent driver revisions will let you do some pretty amazing things with dual monitor setups. I don't have one of the new Radeon cards, so I can't speak personally of their drivers, but I've heard nothing but good things. The bottom line is that you won't go wrong with either of these two cards. I think you'll be happy with either one as they are both high quality. I hope this helps with your video card purchase. Please don't hesitate to "Ask for Clarification" if you need further assistance with this question. Sincerely, PWizard