You can get that card cheaper check it out

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...Y5X0FY8DZBMKRS

Holy crap, thank god for this thread. Here's to having old Dells!

Okay, so I was wondering that if I buy the card that godson linked, will I be able to play all of the Orange Box games (specifically Portal)?

My specs
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
System Model: Dell Dimension 3000
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A02
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 510MB RAM
Page File: 434MB used, 812MB available
Current Card: crappy integrated Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller

I can currently run HL2 on medium settings, but the flashlight has issues. Also, DX9 games like Portal definitely don't work, so I was wondering if the geforce 6200 card will work for me.

Oh yea, and I know that I should probably upgrade the RAM to at least 1 gig.
Thanks in advance!

Yeah, Portal and all the other Orange Box games will work with that card.

If you are interested in ocing the 6200 card check this out

http://silentdevelopment.blogspot.co...6200-nv44.html

6842 to 7597 on 3dmark01, I just increased my memory from 532 to 770, it could go further but the mark didn't seem to raise and when I hit test at 800 it said it failed. Eventualy Ill follow that complete guide, but Iv heard using the old drivers even with the core overclock is the same as the new drivers with only a memory oc. Iv read flashing your drive is risky thats another reason I might not use that guide. Im happy with this safe increase in performance. 16719 to 18642 aquamark3.

By the way I am using a very small quiet external fan on my open computer case, so if you decide to do this watch your heat.

I believe there are 2 pci slots and one agp slot....the agp specs are 2x/4x I think...

Im wondering would this video card be better
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...1644&CatId=319

Or would this one be better
http://www.amazon.com/Bfg-Geforce-62...892160&sr=1-11

I dont know which one to buy they are both good cards?

Im falling towards the x1550..would it run CSS and HL2 good?

will any of these cards be much better than what I have already?

godson, it seems like the x1550 would run CS:S and HL2 reasonably well.

jim, I don't think either of those cards are better than the 9700 Pro. The X1550 seems similar to the 9700 Pro, in fact. Even so, not enough difference to replace the 9700 Pro unless it died on you.

will a 7600gt work on this old computer ?...

I don't know for certain but probably yes. One of my older PCs is a Dell Dimension 8250 and it came with a Radeon 9700 Pro. Recently the 9700 Pro died and I had trouble finding a upgraded replacement card from ATI. The ones I tried didn't work out. I don't know if it was a compatibility issue with Dells or if the card was faulty because I didn't have a suitable AGP PC to test it with. In researching I read that AGP Nvidia cards were not as prone to incompatibilities with older Dell PCs as ATIs were. I don't know if that is true or not but I did have trouble.

Nonetheless, I stuck with ATI and since I don't game on this older PC much anymore, I successfully installed a Powercolor Radeon 9600 Pro, a slight step backwards. But as I said, the 7600GT would probably be ok.

Hi, all.
The research/comparison work on this thread has been very helpful, so I thought I'd give back to the community.

eBay item # 180200411764
NEW EVGA GeForce 6200 PCI 256MB DDR2 Video Card

only $50 with free shipping from a highly reputable seller.

I actually bought the same card from newegg for $50 plus $5 shipping (but with a $10 rebate).

newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130289
(I can't post clickable links cuz don't have enough posts, so just copy/paste)

Also, it works well enough when playing HL2 with the drivers that come on the CD. However, Episode 1 requires the latest drivers from nvidia, which has caused the computer to crash occasionally. I've gotten BSOD claiming that something was wrong with the "n4_disp" file, which according to google is a known error with nvidia drivers and XP.

So, if you plan on buying this card, it'll be fine with the drivers on the CD, but once you get to Ep1, you'll have to update the drivers, or you can't play it. Just be prepared for crashing every once in awhile. (It's tolerable as long you don't mind restarting occasionally as a preventative measure.)

Here's another option if you can find one:
Sparkle 8500GT

http://www.sparkle.com.tw/product_de...=69&sub_id=160

This application has encountered a critical error:
ERROR #132 (0x85100084) Fatal Exception
Program: C:\games\world of warcraft\WoW.exe
Exception: 0x0000005 (ACCESS_VIOLATION) at 001B:6F9C3F5A

The instruction at "0x6F9C3F5A" referenced memory at "0x721CE2C4".
The memory could not be "written".

This application has encountered a critical error:
ERROR #132 (0x85100084) Fatal Exception
Program: C:\games\world of warcraft\WoW.exe
Exception: 0x0000005 (ACCESS_VIOLATION) at 001B:6F9C3F5A

The instruction at "0x6F9C3F5A" referenced memory at "0x721CE2C4".
The memory could not be "written".

This application has encountered a critical error:
ERROR #132 (0x85100084) Fatal Exception
Program: C:\games\world of warcraft\WoW.exe
Exception: 0x0000005 (ACCESS_VIOLATION) at 001B:6F9C3F5A

The instruction at "0x6F9C3F5A" referenced memory at "0x721CE2C4".
The memory could not be "written".

Hi supercoffe,

With which GPU, you got this alert?

So has anyone tried the Sparkle 8500GT ? I know it's crazy but I could probably raise half it's cost by selling my 6200 PCI on ebay. Just wondering if it's a card too far .....

Here is a link to the 8500gt in stock 5 right now, its in another language then english but im sure one of you can figure out the specifics, looks like it cost 60$ euro, or maybe thats american idk.
http://www.epcbuyer.com/product/Spar...tail_6027.html

no- that appears to be 60 pounds sterling. hence this is $120.

I'm interested in anyones experience, I saw in another thread that this card implements some kind of PCI to PCIE x 1 bridge and some games may not work well with this config. I'd like to know before trying ...