A question about an older graphic card.

[thesithman]

I have an old Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 Pro 2MB graphic card. There a four or five slots on the card. I am wondering if I can find some more chips or what ever you call them, And add them to the card or if I can add any at all? If someone can tell me how to put pic of the card on the forum ill put one on.

 

[jmitchell]

dont bother.... buy a new card. 2 extra megs of ram wont make much of a difference for that card, unless you need it to display at a higher resolution

 

[thesithman]

ok thank you. Just figuring out what card I need is joing to be hard. I am upgradeing and old system for the fun of it. the cpu is and Pentemun 233 MMX Socket 7 So I probly wont be playing games on it unless
I can find a better cpu for it. I do have 160 MB of ram on it though and I still have 2 168 pin slots free.

 

[Basie]

You have plenty of Ram for that system. I think you could get a fairly good 16-32mb pci graphics card. That would give you a big boost. Take a look at Pricewatch.com under Video Cards.

 

[thesithman]

I have looked at pricewatch. I have also found an Nvida G force 2 ti 200 32 MB at wally word for $62.00 bucks. Also there was a radian or however say that. 8500 at 32 Mb. For $67.00 bucks. I also found a voodoo 3 64Mb card at a local parts store for $35.00. I really need to get a new cpu sometime if i want to play anything other that HALF LIFE or STARSIEGE.

 

[FenrisUlf]

Stay away from the GF2 MX-200 if possible. The RAM on it is usually slow and the data path constricted. For only a few bucks more the MX-400 is a much better option. Look in the hot deals forum or on some of the deals sites, I think there's a GF3 for about $100. I used to have one of those Stealth 2000 cards years ago. I think I had the 4mb model and the optional video in/out daughter card. At the time it was pretty sweet, but I would definitely recommend an upgrade. BTW, is this an AGP or PCI card? If it's PCI your upgrade choices will be limited. It might be a good idea to upgrade your MB/CPU as well if you're planning on playing any newer games.

 

[thesithman]

The question is will a newer MB fit? I have always wondered why you have to get a new case if you get a new MB. Anyone know? Ill post on the MB forum.

 

[FenrisUlf]

Two potential issues:

1. Is your case AT or ATX? If AT, then you'll need a new case because the connectors in back don't match. ATX cases should be upgradable to a new MB

2. Power supply. Don't try to run an Athlon on less than a good 300 watt PS. If you have a lot of accessories, drives, etc., think about a 350 or 400 watt AMD approved PS. After many troubles caused by poor power supplies (since it's usually the last thing you think about), I only use 350 or 400 watt name brand power supplies now. The lack of hassle and wasted time is worth the extra few bucks.

 

[thesithman]

HMmmm where do i look to see what type of case i have? All I know is that I have looked a an At 300 wat Power suply and the 1 I have and there different. Like way different.
Any way I might just give up on upgradeing my old system and get a new system. Like an AMD XP 1600
then ill worry about getting a new video card, If not Hmmm you might be hearing from me again.

 

[FenrisUlf]

Simplest way to tell - look at the back of the computer. AT has a large keyboard plug (about 1" diameter). ATX has a smaller keyboard and mouse plugs next to each other and all the other plugs are grouped together. Look at the arrangement of connectors on new motherboards to see if they are similar. Do you have a major OEM case like Dell, Gateway or Micron? Some of those large manufacturers used proprietary components and connectors and had non-standard plug arrangements making upgrading difficult.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

<< Simplest way to tell - look at the back of the computer. AT has a large keyboard plug (about 1" diameter). ATX has a smaller keyboard and mouse plugs next to each other and all the other plugs are grouped together. Look at the arrangement of connectors on new motherboards to see if they are similar. Do you have a major OEM case like Dell, Gateway or Micron? Some of those large manufacturers used proprietary components and connectors and had non-standard plug arrangements making upgrading difficult. >>

keep going also explain the PSU connectors ....just because its AT doesn't mean its an AT keyboard( have 2 here w/ PS/2 ports...one has USB..they dead machines don't ask....lol.. people send me junk...I tell them its junk...save your shipping money..but nooo...they send anyway)

 

[thesithman]

Ummm hmmm, ok, All the back plugs are spead all over the back of the board.I added usb and other plugs after i got the pc. I might be getting a voodoo 2 or 3 16 MB, If I cant get a new system. Man I hope i can get a new syatem!!!!
O yeah is it hard to change video from on the M/B to a card? cause the system im looking at has all the grapgics shared with the RAM, its like 64 MB of graphics. And only 256 MB of ram.