Question:
Help!! Need to upgrade an old computer Vid Card
After running Everest turns out that this old computer:
Motherboard:
CPU Type: Intel Pentium 4, 1300 MHz (13 x 100)
Motherboard Name: Intel Garibaldi D850GB (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 4 RIMM)
I want to know what kind of graphics card I can shove into this...gaming purposes? Age of Empires...Counter Strike 1.6....Starcraft...Sooner or later this computer is going to be donated to my young cousin, as an internet tool :D
I called up Gateway and they told me to get the "Jaton NVIDIA GEFORCE 6200 256MB DDR Low Profile Dual DVI&VGA "
Help me out! Whats the best graphics card I can install!!!
(Oh BTW...that price just got slashed on my Dream Build....3,000 to 2,500)
Answer:
Re: Help!! Need to upgrade an old computer Vid Card
It depends alot on the power supply. The newer cards need alot of power. If its 350W or more I would recomend something around a Geforce 6600GT or Ati x800. You can get lots of used AGP cards on ebay for cheap.
How much ram does it have? It sucks that you have Rambus ram. It will cost too much to upgrade it.
Answer:
Re: Help!! Need to upgrade an old computer Vid Card
dont get the 6200.... bad choice
your best choices for those games with a 250-350watt PS are, imo (in order of performance, but also price):
6600GT *most expensive
Radeon 9800 PRO
Radeon 9700 *cheapest
and if you search around, you can find them used for ~$40-70
i have the 9800 PRO with my old AGP Athlon system and 250watt PS and it runs CS:S on high, age of empires 3 on medium to high, farcry on medium to high, company of heroes on low-med, half life 2 on high, and doom 3/quake 4 on medium just to give you a reference point and 1024x768
running athlon 2600+ and 1gb of snail ram.
Answer:
Re: Help!! Need to upgrade an old computer Vid Card
Ahem....1.3Ghz P4? Forget gaming, unless he means games from literally 4 or 5 years ago. The power supply in that system is also most likely something like 150w as well, given its age.
As for the games you've listed - they'd run on any piece of junk really. A 10 dollar Geforce 2 would run those games at high settings without breaking a sweat, there's no need for a 6200 which, as weak as it is, would be overkill for that setup.
I have to say lately there's been an overwhelming load of replies that have no relevance to the questions asked. I mean, recommending a 9800 pro, x800 and 6600gt to someone who has...
1) a 1.3Ghz Processor
2) Wants to play starcraft
I reckon a Geforce 2/Radeon 9200 etc would do him fine, in fact, a TNT2 would probably suffice without any problems either.
What video have you in there at the moment?? Intel Extreme? I'm quite sure that regardless of what it is, it should run those games anyway.
Answer:
Re: Help!! Need to upgrade an old computer Vid Card
Current Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 2 MX400
The power supply is: Newton NPS-250CB A
- "The power supply is designed to operate at both high and low line AC input voltage 100VAC to 240VAC"
-The voltage and current ratings printed on the power supply label are shown below:
3.3V at 20.0 amps
5V at 25.0 amps
12V at 13.0 amps
5Vstandby at 1.7 amps
-12V at 0.8 amps
Max combined power on 5V and 3.3V output is 145W max.
Max combined power on 5V, 3.3V, and 12V output is 232W.
Right now I think the video card is dead, bought the computer in 2001, overclocked it a few times. At the moment it is struggling with Starcraft and Age of Empires when more than 500 units come across the screen. In CS 1.6 I remember getting about 50 fps running 1024x768. I am willing to spend 100$ for this old machine for a card that won't burn out.
I know this machine is crap, that is why I am going to buy my new one in a month or two
Thanks again guys.
Answer:
Re: Help!! Need to upgrade an old computer Vid Card
If that's the case, I say just suck up the current badness of the video card, and save up some more money to get a better computer a month or two from now.
I know but putting in 100$ to beef up isn't really much. This computer isn't going to be mine once I get my new build
Answer:
Re: Help!! Need to upgrade an old computer Vid Card
I disagree :(
An extra $100 into your new system is the difference between an extra hard drive in RAID, or a better PSU, or the difference between an 8600GTS and 8800GTS, or the difference between an E4300 and an E6600.
If you're going to upgrade to a new system so soon, I don't think it makes much sense to pimp out the one you currently have. Here's an example:
I own a pretty terrible laptop currently. It's a Toshiba M55, 1.73 Ghz processor, 512 MB RAM, 100GB 5400 RPM drive, GMA900 graphics card. I was going to upgrade the RAM a month ago so I could stop screaming my head off when the computer froze after I minimized a window, but then I caught myself. I'm going to get a new laptop in two months after Santa Rosa comes out, I told myself, so the $60 I would put into the RAM wouldn't be worth it at all, because then I'd have an extra $60 to spend on the new laptop. Now the $60 is the difference between 1 GB and 2 GB of RAM on a laptop like the Asus V2Je, which is what I currently have my eye on.
I am already set for an E6600, 8800GTX and all of the extra goodies.
But seriously, what can you put into it, cause running Starcraft I see some artifacts now....Its scaring me
Answer:
Re: Help!! Need to upgrade an old computer Vid Card
GeForce4 Ti 4400 or 4600 or 4800. 4800 ofcourse is the fastest.
I have an older P4 1.6Ghz with a GF4 4600 and it is a good match. It can even play HL2 at low settings. The ATI alternative would be the Radeon 8500.
Should be able to get a used GF4 for 30$ or so on ebay. I would consider buying a 350W powersupply. They are cheap too and it would give the computer greater stability.