I'm an engineer but not a techie and need video card suggestions

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beer

Lifer
Jun 27, 2000
11,169
1
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I go to the gym. Come back. Blue screen and I'm like....wtf?

So I reboot, and when I get back into Windows, I have lots of video glitches - pixel lag when I maximize or minimize windows, move a cursor, etc. Plus there's input lag when there shouldn't be. Within 15 minutes I BSOD again.

Since I'm a software engineer I load windbg and take a look at the dumpfile, and it's a double-fault unexpected kernel mode trap. Yet my nvidia drivers are WHQLed, so there's slim to zero percent chance that the nvidia drivers themselves are to blame, and the stack trace shows only windows code, nothing from any driver, even the nvidia driver.

So I assume that I have some sort of hardware defect, either bad memory on the card or a programmable state machine glitch or something.

So I went and got a friend's extra AGP card, popped it in, and it works, no more BSODs ro Windows glitches.

So I need a new video adapter. My PC is a 2.5 year old P4 (yay) and I want to keep it to about $100.

I can get an ATI 9600XT for $100 at Fry's. Is this a good adapter? How much better is this than a 9550 for $30 less (both after MIR) or a 6200-series nvidia adapter.

I don't play games....
 
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ShadowOfMyself

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2006
4,227
2
0
Hmm I would go for a x1300 since you dont play games an it has all the nice AVIVO features for 2d image quality and video etc, and its well below 100$ :)

Edit - Oops jumped the gun, is there an agp x1300? if not a x1600 would do.. if you can find one for less than 100# ( I have no idea on AGP pricing)
 
Bateluer

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
I'd go for the X1300 AGP myself too, its a decent card for the money.

There are a lot of cheap AGP cards floating around as well, with all different feature sets, but if you're not a gamer, then likely any one of them will work fine.
 
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ShadowOfMyself

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2006
4,227
2
0
Originally posted by: unfalliblekrutch
Originally posted by: beer
Originally posted by: CKXP
X1300 AGP

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814103006
Click to expand...

in a few sentences, what makes this better than a 9600xt? In which ways is it better, or worse, and what are the tradeoffs, given they are the same price?

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

AVIVO, SM3, basically stuff you don't need if you're not gaming.
Click to expand...


Actually its quite the opposite, the only thing he doesnt get more of with a x1300 is performance, which he doesnt need in the first place... But if he wants the best 2d and video quality, x1300 is leaps ahead the 9600, considering they're the same price its a no brainer
 
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aka1nas

Diamond Member
Aug 30, 2001
4,335
1
0
As you mentioned you don't play games, I would suggest a Geforce 6200 AGP.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130008

They run about $40, and for your needs willl fit the bill and still have respectable budget 3d capability if you should need that. Technically, you could also get another FX5200 for around that price range, but the 6200 is so much better than a 5200 it wouldn't make sense to do so.

That X1300 is not a bad card for the price at all either, but if you aren't going to play games, the performance difference is pretty worthless and you might as well save some cash.
 
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TanisHalfElven

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
3,512
0
76
x1300 is tooo expensive. for a 100 buck you could get a 7600gs and that blows the x1300 away. a cheap 6200 TC would probably serve you well.
 
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avi85

Senior member
Apr 24, 2006
988
0
0
Originally posted by: unfalliblekrutch
Originally posted by: beer
Originally posted by: CKXP
X1300 AGP

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814103006
Click to expand...

in a few sentences, what makes this better than a 9600xt? In which ways is it better, or worse, and what are the tradeoffs, given they are the same price?

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

AVIVO, SM3, basically stuff you don't need if you're not gaming.
Click to expand...

SM3 is required for windows Vista
 
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gxsaurav

Member
Nov 30, 2003
170
0
0
SM3 is not required for Windows Vista, SM2.0 is

just get a 7300 AGP or 6200 AGP, since u don't play games, i would say u concentrate on the non-gaming features such as Purevideo or Avivo
 
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Bobthelost

Diamond Member
Dec 1, 2005
4,360
0
0
Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
x1300 is tooo expensive. for a 100 buck you could get a 7600gs and that blows the x1300 away. a cheap 6200 TC would probably serve you well.
Click to expand...
 
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Ulfhednar

Golden Member
Jun 24, 2006
1,031
0
0
Turbocache (TC) is horrible as it leeches from system memory, do yourself a favour and get a 7600GS.
 
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LW07

Golden Member
Feb 16, 2006
1,537
2
81
7600GS is a PCI-Express card. He has AGP. So the best he can get for around $100 is the 6600 I recommended.
 
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Mavrick007

Diamond Member
Dec 19, 2001
3,198
0
0
Originally posted by: Crusader
$40 AGP 6200
To simplify matters, the real deal is linked above.

Originally posted by: Ulfhednar
Turbocache (TC) is horrible as it leeches from system memory, do yourself a favour and get a 7600GS.
Click to expand...
AGP cards dont use TC
Click to expand...

For what you need, the 6200 is a good value and will save you lots of money. I would suggest this as well.
 
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LW07

Golden Member
Feb 16, 2006
1,537
2
81
I would agree with that 6200 if you're not going to play games, so forget about the 6600 I recommended and get the 6200.
 
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Acanthus

Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
19,915
2
76
ostif.org
Originally posted by: gxsaurav
SM3 is not required for Windows Vista, SM2.0 is

just get a 7300 AGP or 6200 AGP, since u don't play games, i would say u concentrate on the non-gaming features such as Purevideo or Avivo
Click to expand...

Neither of those is required for vista... Only for the vista aeroglass enhanced desktop...

Any 16MB+ Graphics card will run vista just fine.
 
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