Do I need a new graphics card/which should I buy?

[Tormentormike]

Got a 22" Samsung 220WM for Christmas which was a God send compared to the 15" I was playing on. Wanting to see the game at 1680x1050, I maxed it out, draw distance, weather, shadow etc.

When I first got the computer, I could have everything on (bar shadows; I don't think any computer can handle shadows on everyone still >_>) and not drop below 29 anywhere in whitegate even. However, I would see some graphics look like they were shaking/spazzing out here and there, which leads to the first question; is it burning out/dying? This is with a Radeon X1950 CrossFire Edition.

If it is dying, what's a good card on the market these days? I don't really know what to look for, so I come to you BG.

Praying there's something to fix it/it's not dying, cause I'd really like to get another Samsung 220WM cause it's beautiful.<3

Edit - Also, what do I need to hook up say, a PS2 to a monitor? Are there certain monitors I could look for that have the R/W/Y connectors?

[Olo401]

X1950 Radeon cards are an older design but are still good. The problem here is you've got a new pimpin' monitor now and that card is bottlenecking your graphics. It's not dying - it's just overwhelmed by the monitor's graphical demands and that's causing the on-screen barf.

Edit: http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonx1950/specs.html - that's your card's spec sheet btw. It's actually a newer design than I thought. It should support that monitor w/o a hitch. What am I missing here....

[Epical]

I'm still running a X1950XT (PCI-E) on this machine and I'm able to run XI maxed out at 1600x900(3200x1800 bg) without problems unless it's Odin or something. However, if you're really into getting a new card (feel like a broken record here), get a 4850 (or 4830 if you want to spend less).

[Tormentormike]

Okay if the graphics card is fine, that's good to hear. It's only occasionally glitchy so I guess that's okay.

I wanted to find an adapter for the monitor (male VGA --> female RCA) but the few I've found say they're not meant to hook up anything to the screen. (i.e. PS2 --> Monitor)

Where do I go to look for monitors with the R/W/Y adapters built into the monitor? My father has one with the R/W/Y adapter on the sides and you just press a button to change to different input to see the game, however, the store he bought his at closed down. Any ideas?

[levish]

Where do I go to look for monitors with the R/W/Y adapters built into the monitor? My father has one with the R/W/Y adapter on the sides and you just press a button to change to different input to see the game, however, the store he bought his at closed down. Any ideas?

you are talking about monitors with built in TV tuners