9600XT died on GF's WoW computer - please help find sensible replacement

xboxist

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2002
3,026
1
71
Card died after 4 years of use:

Radeon 9600XT
128M
AGP

parameters for replacement card:

1) AGP
2) at least 128MB (preferably higher)
3) has fan (not heatsink only)
4) does not require its own power connection
5) < $75

Does anything out there fit the bill? Having a hard time finding something that meets all these specs.

ALSO, I don't remember a bunch about AGP cards... but the card here that died has two segments of contacts on the card:

http://images01.olx.com.pk/ui/1/60/67/41815367_1.jpg

And when shopping for a new card I see that many of them seem to have three segments of contacts on the card, like this for example:

http://upload.ecvv.com/upload/Produ..._256MB_128BIT_DDR__VGA_Card20085301727025.JPG

Will the latter card fit into the same AGP slot that housed the card in the first link? Or is that an entirely different AGP slot type?

Hope this made sense, and thanks in advance for recommendations!
 

Ayah

Platinum Member
Jan 1, 2006
2,512
1
81
The 2-segment card is an older version of the slot.
The 3-segment cards are the "newer" version which are also backwards compatible with the older version.

I think a 4650 might be the fastest card that doesn't require additional power.
 

xboxist

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2002
3,026
1
71
Thanks for fast responses.

I don't know the MB... it's a prebuilt HP. I'm guessing something proprietary. Is there a way for me to find out what MB it uses? What exactly wouldn't be compatible with new cards?

PS: the card above requires power connection. I don't want to risk it in this crappy computer of hers. I have no way of knowing if the 200 or 300W stock PSU will handle it.
 
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happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
Heres a 3650. It only requires a hard drive molex connector for power.

I'm 99&#37; percent sure that any 250watt power supply will handle it just fine.
It would have to be a real piece of crap not to run that card.

Edit 2: Read the review on Newegg it says works easily with a 300 watt psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131173

It still will be twice as fast then the 9600xt.

Edit: My Dell 250 watt psu handled my 7800gs AGP card.
 
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xboxist

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2002
3,026
1
71
Heres a 3650. It only requires a hard drive molex connector for power.

I'm 99% percent sure that any 250watt power supply will handle it just fine.
It would have to be a real piece of crap not to run that card.

Edit 2: Read the review on Newegg it says works easily with a 300 watt psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131173

It still will be twice as fast then the 9600xt.

Edit: My Dell 250 watt psu handled my 7800gs AGP card.

Thanks much. Yeah, time to roll the dice. I'm gonna peek inside her computer just to make sure there is an extra HD power plug in there somewhere, and then I'll order the card. Seems like it should work fine.
 

xboxist

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2002
3,026
1
71
There is power plugged into her DVD drive and her hard drive, and on each of those there is another power connector that splits off and aren't plugged into anything right now. But they're only like 3 inches long, nowhere long enough to reach where it would plug into the new video card.

Can I extend these somehow?
 

SZLiao214

Diamond Member
Sep 9, 2003
3,273
2
81
A lot has changed since the 9600s series was new and thankfully there are quite a few options that would provide the performance you need like the ones listed above.

WoW seems to react much more strongly to having a faster cpu then graphics card though.
 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
9,031
36
91
If your GF was happy with the 9600XT, I'd look for an AGP replacement on ebay. Either that, or grab that $30 2600 AGP already posted. Personally I wouldn't break $50 on an AGP card anymore.
 

xboxist

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2002
3,026
1
71
I installed the 3650 yesterday and seems to be running just fine, even though her PSU is rated at 250W and the card says it requires 350W. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks again for all the advice.