Best XP Graphics cards for Retro PC

[Greenslade]

I have just bought this Pc for cheap on eBay *Retro Arkel Gaming PC - Core 2 Duo E7500 @2.93GHz, 4GB, 320GB FZCOOL 500W. I have not received it yet .I have never seen an old PC so dust free.?

I asked the seller what graphics card is in the i dare say it want be any good.Other people have said the power supply is not good ,and they doubt if it is 500w .What old school Graphics cards would you sugest bering in mind the power supply.It does not look like it has any power lead for a graphics card.I understand that the 750 is one of the newest ones that sopport XP.It looks very sparse in the case.I bought a lot of old Pc games pre 2007..I don,t to pay a lot for a card the 750 for 50 pounds would be the upper limit ,i don,t call the 750 a Retro card.A lot of those older cards have high power draw. All in all the PC looks in very good nick as you can see from the pictures.

 

[qubit]

GTX 285 would be a good fit, I reckon. Any card of that era, late naughties should do. I'd replace that PSU with a quality unit though, as a cheapie like that can destroy your PC when it fails. A good 400W or 500W needn't cost that much, either.

I've still got my E8500 based PC from the same era as yours. Alas the mobo just beeps when I turn it on and I still haven't gotten round to troubleshooting it. I think the mobo has some bad solder joints on it.

Why did you buy it, was it to have an older PC for that retro feel maybe?

 

[Tetras]

If you have a look at the last nvidia and amd driver for XP, it should tell you what cards you can choose from. Not sure if there are any unofficial drivers. Generally speaking the newer the better, because you'll get more performance for less power.

Intel desktop board, cool, still have one of mine

 

[Shrek]

I use a fan-less GT 1030 on my Core 2 machine; but it is my main machine, I don't think of it as retro.

 

[QuietBob]

You have a capable CPU and the maximum amount of RAM for Win XP. The graphics card, on the other hand, is a budget model. It's capable of running games, but you'll be mostly limited to the lowest resolution and detail settings for playable framerates. Even something as low as the GF GT 430 has four times more processing power.

But I'd be more worried about the power supply. If you intend to keep this PC as a retro XP gaming machine, I'd strongly recommend finding a replacement. You PSU isn't from a reputable brand and appears to be 14 years old. It would be a shame to lose the entire rig to it.

EDIT: These cards (and anything slower) are supported under Win XP:

 

[Shrek]

That power supply looks like it has no SATA connectors (all I see are converters) so it may not be so strong on the 12V line.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

I use a fan-less GT 1030 on my Core 2 machine; but it is my main machine, I don't think of it as retro.

Are you sure it has drivers for WinXP?

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Something G92-based.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

6800 Ultra!!!

 

[Simpleris]

GT 710 is pure love

 

[WhitetailAni]

6800 Ultra!!!

IMO that makes more sense for a P4/AGP-based system. I'm gonna agree with with @qubit here and say a GTX 200 series, why limit the limitless power of 2 cores?

 

[qubit]

IMO that makes more sense for a P4/AGP-based system. I'm gonna agree with with @qubit here and say a GTX 200 series, why limit the limitless power of 2 cores?

And none of that hyperthreading rubbish!

 

[FreedomEclipse]

IMO that makes more sense for a P4/AGP-based system. I'm gonna agree with with @qubit here and say a GTX 200 series, why limit the limitless power of 2 cores?

G92 8800GT/GTS?

 

[WhitetailAni]

And none of that hyperthreading rubbish!

My P4: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...echnology-3-40e-ghz-1m-cache-800-mhz-fsb.html

G92 8800GT/GTS?

Don't know enough about that era of hardware as I don't have any to play with yet. My experience goes Slot 1 P3 -> S478 P4, then cuts off and jumps to C2D/Q LGA775 and continues on. My XP machine runs a Prescott 3.4E HT w/ BFG 6800 Ultra AGP. The chip can do 4.4 GHz when cooled enough according to the previous owner (and I believe him), but the P4C800-E Deluxe that it came with has bad caps and I haven't had time to fix it up yet

 

[Audioave10]

So far on my XP PC i have used - GTS 8800 640MB - GTX 275 - GTX 285 - all of these were great.
I do use the Corsair HX 650 (54 AMPS on the 12V rail)

 

[Jacky_BEL]

Looks like PCIe and not AGP?

 

[Greenslade]

HD 7770would be a good fit, I reckon. Any card of that era, late naughties should do. I'd replace that PSU with a quality unit though, as a cheapie like that can destroy your PC when it fails. A good 400W or 500W needn't cost that much, either.

I've still got my E8500 based PC from the same era as yours. Alas the mobo just beeps when I turn it on and I still haven't gotten round to troubleshooting it. I think the mobo has some bad solder joints on it.

Why did you buy it, was it to have an older PC for that retro feel maybe?

This guy reckons AMD are better for XP

In this video he says AMD cards are best for XP lots of advantages over NVIDA

this guy mentioned the HD7770.So the PSU is not good like people have said MSI R7770-PMD1GD5 Radeon.They have a FD7770on eBay for 35 pounds.sadly not available on CEXAny make you would recommend under 30 pounds?I don,t want to spend to much as it would defeat the object.Yes it was after all the videos the Aussie who did the videos i put on here. I better wait and see what it is like before i spend money on it.It should be with me by Monday.

​

 

[Audioave10]

TPU here has a great list of older cards.
Just check these when you find one for sale...

ATI Radeon HD 4670 Specs

ATI RV730, 750 MHz, 320 Cores, 32 TMUs, 8 ROPs, 512 MB GDDR3, 1000 MHz, 128 bit

www.techpowerup.com

 

[qubit]

@Greenslade what was the point of editing my post in your quote?

 

[Greenslade]

@Greenslade what was the point of editing my post in your quote?

I am sorry i did not know i did?

 

[qubit]

I am sorry i did not know i did?

lol no problem.

 

[eidairaman1]

TPU here has a great list of older cards.
Just check these when you find one for sale...

ATI Radeon HD 4670 Specs

ATI RV730, 750 MHz, 320 Cores, 32 TMUs, 8 ROPs, 512 MB GDDR3, 1000 MHz, 128 bit

www.techpowerup.com

HD 3850/70 or 4670.

 

[Shrek]

432W on the 12V line; not bad.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I have just bought this Pc for cheap on eBay *Retro Arkel Gaming PC - Core 2 Duo E7500 @2.93GHz, 4GB, 320GB FZCOOL 500W. I have not received it yet .I have never seen an old PC so dust free.?
View attachment 220008View attachment 220007I asked the seller what graphics card is in the i dare say it want be any good.Other people have said the power supply is not good ,and they doubt if it is 500w .What old school Graphics cards would you sugest bering in mind the power supply.It does not look like it has any power lead for a graphics card.I understand that the 750 is one of the newest ones that sopport XP.It looks very sparse in the case.I bought a lot of old Pc games pre 2007..I don,t to pay a lot for a card the 750 for 50 pounds would be the upper limit ,i don,t call the 750 a Retro card.A lot of those older cards have high power draw. All in all the PC looks in very good nick as you can see from the pictures.







View attachment 220005

With that socket, I'd grab a Core 2 Quad and a GTX460. Both can be had for cheap and you can keep the E7500 and GT8400 as spares if you ever need them. I'd also throw in an inexpensive SSD in addition to the HDD it already has. You'd have a solid retro XP system after that.

Just my 2 cents though..

 

[sam_86314]

Got a Quadro FX 3400 256MB (equivalent to 6800 series) in my nostalgic build (Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2GB DDR1). Granted, I am running Windows 7 on it. Originally had a Radeon X1950 Pro, but driver support for Win7 is nonexistent. Funny how an older card from Nvidia does have proper Win7 driver support.