video card help newbie

[SynysterShadows]

I was would like to know what kind of pci card that will play counter-strike source and war rock.I was thinking maybe a ATI x700 pro,It is only 50.00 bucks and is 256 mb 128-bit GDDR3.Dont know if it can play both.I have a sony vaio pcv-rs412 w/ kingston 512 mb RAM, pioneer dvd burner,celeron 2.0 ghz, sound blaster 5.1.I,m a noob i know but i'v only had it for a week and i already 4 upgrades.So if u can help???please do!!!!

[joshuarepko]

When buying new hardware, you must determine a goal.

If you want your 3D games to run faster and smoother,
you should get a video card (or "GPU") with more MB of RAM than you already have. If your current GPU has 512 MB of VRAM, look for a card that has more MB of VRAM than that. Though, it might be more effective to get additional RAM for your CPU. If you want to do that, take your computer into a shop and talk to the techies. They'll tell you how much more CPU-RAM your computer can take and install it for you. I'm not sure how expensive CPU-RAM and service-fees are these days...

If you want your 3D games to have better quality graphics,
you should get a GPU that has specific capabilities. Assuming your GPU doesn't already have these features, look for cards that support DirectX 9, Shader Model 3, HDR-rendering, anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, and other key capabilities. You will notice a distinct visual difference. If you're really excited, get a GPU that supports DirectX 10, though they're aren't any games currently available that use it.

Does that clear things up?