upgrade from GeForce2 to...?

[schmirk]

Hello all, I am trying to find a list of video cards that support DirectX 9.0b so I can choose one that fits my budget and get on with the gaming. I am currently running an old Geforce2 MX 400 compatible to DirectX 8. Any specific card suggestions or sources of info for me to check out?

Brandon

 

[tifc8lraz]

It depends on whether you have PCI Slots, Agp 2x/4x/8x Slots, or a Pci-Express x16 slot. Also post a list of your system specifications, and tell us what you're going to use the card for, and list your budget price.

 

[schmirk]

Sorry, I thought the fact that I have the Geforce2 would mean there is an AGP slot. How do I tell if it is 2x/4x or 8x? I will be gaming with it. With enough magnification I can detect faint traces of my budget. It may end up that I watch dvds on the computer in the future but I do not need to. No video capture or fun stuff like that.... yet.

 

[schmirk]

system specs

 

[Tedster]

GEForce 2 will definately NOT have PCI-E, however more than likely it has AGP. It certainly has PCI. Use CPU-Z to determine system specs.
If you open the case and one of the slots has a space or wedge between it, it's AGP. You may be able to tell the speed in BIOS.

AGP is backwards compatible, so an 8x card will work in a 4x or 2x slot.

 

[tifc8lraz]

The best agp card out right now is the GeForce 7800gs. Although, it willl cost you about $250 Us Dollars. The one thing I am concerned about is your power supply. Open the side of your computer and look for a box usually located on the top left hand side of the case. It will have a sticker on it that gives you a lot of confusing numbers. Look for where it says Max Output, and record down the number. Also, look where is says 12v (rail) and look at the number/s below it and record those down as well. Post that info back here.

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/detail_spec/K7Tturbo2.htm - Here is your motherboard. You have an agp 4x slot.

 

[wolfram]

Your power supply looks good, it's from FSP Group (quality brand )

 

[vegasgmc]

I think the 7800 is overkill for your system. A 6800GT or Ultra will work great, especially if you upgrade your processor to an XP 2500 or higher.You can find both on eBay at good prices.

 

[tifc8lraz]

Your power supply looks good, it's from FSP Group (quality brand )

I didn't see his whole signature (lol).

I think the 7800 is overkill for your system. A 6800GT or Ultra will work great, especially if you upgrade your processor to an XP 2500 or higher.You can find both on eBay at good prices.

I wasn't suggesting that he get that for his system, although does the 6800 work backwards compatible with his 4x slot? It seems like it would be worth getting a new mobo, or else his gpu will be very, very bottlenecked.

 

[MetalX]

Running the card on AGP4X wouldn't bottleneck the card that much. The only cards that actually use even the equivalent of AGP4X bandwidth are the 7900GT, 7900GTX, 7950GX2, 7800 GTX, X1900 series, and X1800XT, and XL.
So in other words the card will not be bottlenecked at all (at least not by the speedof the AGP slot. However, it might be time to upgrade that MoBo and CPU as well... they are both very old. I recommend upgrading to a Athlon 64 or a Core2 Duo.

 

[tifc8lraz]

If you buy a new motherboard, be sure that you make the leap to pci x16 as well. Newegg has cheap motherboards and cpu's.


For Athlon:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157093 - Motherboard (Socket Am2) - $61.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103633 - CPU (Socket AM2)(AMD Athlon 3200+) - $91.00

For Intel:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135223 - Motherboard (Socket T)(ATI Radeon X200 Gpu) - $57.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116014 - Processor (Socket T)(Pentium 4) - $92.00

For the price, this is what a decent graphic card would cost, but you would get more for the money, and personally I would go with this, because the Intel Mobo comes with a Radeon, so some games permitted, and the Athlon Mobo comes with none though. You can always hold off on graphics, or get a cheaper one that will keep you in your budget.

 

[schmirk]

thanks, that's a lot to chew on!:slurp: One other comodity I deal in is 'time'. I will check in on the prices see if I really do have to tear my whole computer apart. (I do this sort of thing slowly.)

Cheers.

 

[Tedster]

XP 2500s are very rare on ebay due to their overclockability. Especially the older chips. The newer ones are locked. His best bet is to find an XPM 2500+

 

[sellmesanity]

Yeah man you need a new comp if you want new games. It all is severly bottlenecked. AGP cards are not even worth buying IMHO. I might just be repeating myself though haha.

OH yeah and that Duron's L2 cache really screws it over. Ok see ya.

WHY do you still have Windows 98? Haven't you heard of that critical security flaw that MS will not fix? Get xp already its only like 80 bucks on newegg.

 

[tifc8lraz]

thanks, that's a lot to chew on!:slurp: One other comodity I deal in is 'time'. I will check in on the prices see if I really do have to tear my whole computer apart. (I do this sort of thing slowly.)

Cheers.

I know exactly what you mean. Although, in the long run, it will be worth it. Good luck!

 

[MetalX]

XP 2500s are very rare on ebay due to their overclockability. Especially the older chips. The newer ones are locked. His best bet is to find an XPM 2500+

If he lives in Canada, I have one of the ultimate OC'ing chips... A BARTON XP-M 2800+!!!!!!! that he can buy

 

[schmirk]

Ok Ok, time to upgrade more than just my vid card. Like maybe I should start with the wooden case. And I really dont need all that mummy wrapping either, fire hazard. As far as the CPU goes the folks over at MSI tell me I have maxed it out for my board tho that was 2 years ago. The way it works over here is this: I'm not alowed to do more than one thing at a time when upgrading and when I do it it has to be absolutely necessary....and only once a year for personal satisfaction and once per year because something broke (Anti computerism runs deep in my better half:evil: .) and if upgrades take too long.... watch out.... I hear about it for a year. So I figure, fix the missing links minimaly and I can actually play a game or two without suffering too harsh consequences. Throw in trying to swing for a large lcd monitor and things can get a little complicated. Thanks all for pointing out some of my priority issues, I will do what I can.