Please help an older mobo owner...

[doceye]

Hi, everybody

Brand new here, appreciate the patience if I bone out a bit.

Here's my question:

I looked at vid card reviews 'til I was blind and decided on the MSI NX6600GT. Well, as well-rated and beautiful as this card was, it wouldn't even boot past BIOS. Did everything I could to make it work: called MSI's tech, surfed board after board for a solution, nothing worked. Did some research, found thousands of complaints with this series card. I sent it back.

I found that a lot of vid cards are real particular about mobo chipset, power, etc. I don't have the time or inclination to make this any tougher than it's been. So, what I'm looking for is anyone's suggestions about what vid card will work with my setup. I'd appreciate it if the folks who have a very similar setup to mine could let me know what I should narrow my search to when picking a card.

Setup:

WinXP Pro, Service Pack 1
ASUS P4S333 with ACPI BIOS Rev. 1007 (which is the latest for this board)
And the mobo does have the SiS645 chipset
2x/4x AGP
Intel P4 2.60Ghz proc.
Kingmax SuperRAM 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (PC 2700) Unbuffered (the highest speed the board will take)
Antec 350watt PS (one of their best units)
Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS
The rest is pretty common: coupla HDs, coupla CD players/writers

If anyone _knows_ or has first hand experience with what vid card would work in this system, I'd be forever grateful. I've done my homework, honest. I'm not trying to waste anyone's time, but I'm stuck here.

I game a fair bit, but it really must be a great all-around card.

Thanks in advance, you guys are great!

DocEye

 

[Herbster63]

Hi Doceye,
My bro in-law has a similar setup to you but only has a 2.4 chip, he is running a 9700 pro on his and has no probs playin HL2 with it but you have to have a spare molex to plug into the board itself for power,but if you want to spend a few more dollars maybe 9800 pro would be better check the reveiws and see what u think.
p.s You should get service pack two on your system as the new ati drivers require it not sure on the nvidia
Hope this might help as i have not had anything to do with the latest cards on the market . Cheers Herb

 

[doceye]

Thanks for the reply...

Herb,

Appreciate the quick input. I really was hoping to stay with Nvidia. Never used any ATI stuff. It's becoming clear to me that if I want to run a mid-level Nvidia GPU (say, a 6600GT) that I'll probably have to upgrade the mobo and PSU.

Thanks again, I appreciate the help!

Best,

DocEye

 

[vegasgmc]

You can get s 6600GT in AGP. But a Radeon 9800 Pro or 9600XT would be a better match for your system. Newegg has 256mb 9600XTs for $94. Or you can check Ebay for 5700 Ultras. Ive also seen FX5900s and 5950s really cheap.

 

[doceye]

VegasGMC,

I'm curious as to why you think the ATI stuff would be a better match for my system. Got any specific reasoning?

And thanks for the input, it is much appreciated.

Best,

DocEye

 

[vegasgmc]

Not specifically ATI but that generation of cards. With a 4x AGP slot and a sub-3 ghz processor you would be throwing your money away on a newer card. I dont have a preference for brands. Ive gone back and forth. I just got an FX 6800 GT to replace my Radeon 9800.

 

[doceye]

Interesting thought...

VegasGMC,

Thanks for your insight. Is it strictly my P4S333 and P4 2.6 proc holding me up then? I guess it is from what you and others have said. But the bleeding edge has never appealed to me from a price/performance standpoint. I get a bigger kick out of waiting 3-5 years and then doing a big upgrade. Looks like I either go with one of the older cards you suggest or bite 'da bullet and do a big upgrade now.

Oh, well. Thanks to you and all who've responded. I do appreciate your time very much.

Best,

DocEye

 

[vegasgmc]

I think you'd be very happy with the cards I mentioned. There is alot going on in the computer world in the next 6 months. Thats why Im waiting until next year for my big upgrade.

 

[akvirgo_75m]

Hmmm...

I posted this message earlier tonight in response to another post... may not be what you want to hear, but we both may be able to figure something out, clunking heads together... the link to the thread is here:
https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic22223.html

Btw, Radeons are great video cards too... the 7500 worked in his comp just fine... Im almost 100% sure the 8500 will also.... mucho better than the 7500, but not as good as the 9600...

Good luck,
AKVirgo

P.S. There is a newer BIOS version out, but I still don't think that will solve the problem... :giddy:

ABIT KD7/KT400 Mobo, AMD Athlon XP 2500+ overclocked to 3000+ specs, 1 Gig 333mhz DDR RAM, Gainward Ti4800 Vid Card w/128 Megs RAM, 40 Gig Internal 7200rpm HDD, WD 80 Gig External USB 2.0 HDD