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Help with Upgrading Graphics Card

Damon

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I’m looking for advice for a video card upgrade.

First off I know my main problem, I have an old pc and need a new one:banghead:!
However, a pc upgrade is not in my near future, so I am just trying to get the most out of what I am stuck with.

I would like to upgrade my video card, I would like to hear recommendations on both Nvidia and ATI cards.

Here is some of my current set up

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3

Motherboard: Intel Desktop D875PBZ

CPU: 3.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Hyper-threaded (2 total)

Ram: 4G DDR

420-Watt Power Supply

Current Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP

So, with the above dinosaur system what, Nvidia and ATI cards would be the max that I could run?

Thanks
For any and all help!
 
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+1 the 4670 is maybe the last throw of the dice for agp. Its cheap and is decent too.
 

AlienIsGOD

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agreed 4670/50 is the best thing going for AGP.
 
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I actually think the 3850 AGP got slightly better numbers, but it also used more power and had less features. It would also be fairly impossible to find.

Seriously, I say don't do it. Save your money and plan for the new system man. A $100 AGP card will just give you one more piece that will be completely useless when you do overhaul your rig.

Save the money and start planning for the new build. If you tough it out with your current monitor, whatever that may be, and don't worry about a gaming mouse or keyboard, the base should only be $450 to $800 depending on the power you want.
 

Damon

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Thanks everyone for the help!

? about the POWERCOLOR PCS Series AG4670 1GBK3-PV2 Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 AGP 8X Video Card.

I cant seem to find the minimum reqs listed anywhere??

I just wanted to be sure my cpu was enough to go with this card and not bottleneck me anywhere along the line.

Any clues on where I can find the min reqs? No luck on the manufacturers page..

Thanks again!!
 
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Graphics cards do not list minimum requirements. If your mobo has a AGP slot the card will function with any setup. Working at full potential is a different story.

Your CPU will bottleneck it at resolutions higher than 1024x768 with medium to high settings in most games. If your system runs at 1024x768, then you will be just fine.
 

Damon

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Well what had me thinking was the fact that a Radeon HD 4650 listed the following in its manual

Minimum System Requirements
Hardware
- Intel® Pentium® 4/CoreTM 2 or AMD AthlonTM /PhenomTM
- 1 GB or more of system memory for best performance
- Optical drive for software installation (CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive)
- A power supply that provides at least 400-watt and with one one 4-pin power connector
is required. The power supply should be with a known brand and certified to conform to
safety regulations. (For the list of certified power supplies, go to http://ati.amd.com/
certifiedpsu.)
Operating System
- Windows® 7
- Windows® Vista
- Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
- Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition

and I just wanted to be sure that my cpu was up to dealing with a 4670, but unlike the 4650 I cant find a manual online for the 4670? Just my luck! LOL
 
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Well what had me thinking was the fact that a Radeon HD 4650 listed the following in its manual

Minimum System Requirements
Hardware
- Intel® Pentium® 4/CoreTM 2 or AMD AthlonTM /PhenomTM
- 1 GB or more of system memory for best performance
- Optical drive for software installation (CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive)
- A power supply that provides at least 400-watt and with one one 4-pin power connector
is required. The power supply should be with a known brand and certified to conform to
safety regulations. (For the list of certified power supplies, go to http://ati.amd.com/
certifiedpsu.)
Operating System
- Windows® 7
- Windows® Vista
- Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
- Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition

and I just wanted to be sure that my cpu was up to dealing with a 4670, but unlike the 4650 I cant find a manual online for the 4670? Just my luck! LOL

That is honestly a first for me. I am use to the OS, power, drive, and all that. But I honestly don't remember ever seeing a minimum processor listing on a GPU before? Learn a little something new everyday.
 
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Might want to consider this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...p?EdpNo=2918625&sku=V261-4040&srkey=x1950 pro

Last ATI designed native AGP card. With an older CPU you probably wouldn't notice much of a difference between it and the newer bridge-chip cards and might avoid "potential" problems with driver installation and older motherboard incompatibilities that have been noted in the 2000, 3000 and 4000 series ATI third party cards.
 
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Might want to consider this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...p?EdpNo=2918625&sku=V261-4040&srkey=x1950 pro

Last ATI designed native AGP card. With an older CPU you probably wouldn't notice much of a difference between it and the newer bridge-chip cards and might avoid "potential" problems with driver installation and older motherboard incompatibilities that have been noted in the 2000, 3000 and 4000 series ATI third party cards.
As far as I know the X1950 Pro is not native AGP either :ohwell:
It does require a bridge chip, so it is a moot point. :respect:
The last native AGP card from ATi, I believe is the X800 series.
 
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Damon

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Great info!

Thanks Everyone!

BTW
TheLaughingMan, that line in your sig "I am a Geek. That means 2 very important facts. I do enjoy anime, video games, and computer tech. It also means I can build a flame thrower with parts from Home Depot."

cracks me up every time I read it! LOL
 
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one more card to consider, its about $75 and should be a pretty good upgrade.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150433

yea its ddr2 not ddr3 but with the system you have you wont notice much difference. either of these cards that have been mentioned to you will be a substantial improvement over your 6200. (after all those come on-board on some motherboards now)

edit: btw, you may want to check out the For Sale threads in these forums... there are often decent AGP cards that go on sale $40 or less here
 
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one more card to consider, its about $75 and should be a pretty good upgrade.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150433

yea its ddr2 not ddr3 but with the system you have you wont notice much difference. either of these cards that have been mentioned to you will be a substantial improvement over your 6200. (after all those come on-board on some motherboards now)

edit: btw, you may want to check out the For Sale threads in these forums... there are often decent AGP cards that go on sale $40 or less here

+1:rockout:
 
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As far as I know the X1950 Pro is not native AGP either :ohwell:
It does require a bridge chip, so it is a moot point. :respect:
The last native AGP card from ATi, I believe is the X800 series.

Learn something new everyday! Looks like the X800/X850 series had the RIALTO bridge chip too. The last "native" AGP cards were the 9000 series. For whatever reason the HD 3000/HD 4000 series have always been problematic as far as drivers go (look at any of the user reviews for those models in Newegg - they're littered with complaints about installation). I had an ATI brand X800 XL and X850 Pro (flashed to an XT) and they never gave me any driver issues. Don't know what happened to the newer cards save for the fact ATI didn't design them.
 
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The newer cards actually have better drivers than the older cards.
The thing is there are much more people owning dedicated graphics cards nowadays and the internet really help information get arround.

Also very often time these "driver issues" are not really driver related, just that many smart-asses assume they are driver issues.
A good example is the problem with the HDMI Sound on these cards, older bios have problems with multiple device on a single expansion slot it seems.
 
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