Need upgrade recommendation for a old system.

[Kyn]

I have a P3 1ghz, ASUS CUSL-C mb, 384mb sd133, WD80gig 7200, and a Hercules 3d Prophet 4500. It's a 64mb Kyro 2... ( yeah I know... )

I want to upgrade for games because It won't even run today's games anymore... the last game I can play smoothly (and that's with the settings down)was Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. I'm not a hardcore gamer I don't need everything to look it's absolute best although if it allows then so be it. But I was wondering if I could get away with just upgrading my video card. If I could which one should I get? I hear a lot about the ti5200 and radeon 9600 pro... but I don't know if it's over kill for my system and the price tag is a little bit much for such an old system. also if the 8x agp would even work on my motherboard. so if someone could give me a little guidance it'd be much appreciated! i'd much rather spend 50-100 for a video card then 400-500 for a new computer... and that's worst because I dont' know which computer to get with so much available now... AMD 2200-3400+ what??? PC2100-PC3200??? j/k yeah it confuses me... I should call Call for Help or something... anywho much thanks!

 

[Zelmo3]

Yeah, I'd say it's the Prophet that's holding you back the most. I had one of those a couple of years ago thinking it was the coolest thing ever to happen to the PC, with all its tiled rendering and hidden surface removal early in the pipeline, but once DirectX 8 titles came out my poor little video card just didn't cut it any more.

 

[mikecel79]

Your video card is definitely holding you back. A 9600 Pro might be overkill for your system but it will work in a 4X AGP slot that you have. You can always buy the card now and then use it later if you upgrade your system.

After that I would upgrade your CPU but that would require a new motherboard and memory to go with it.

 

[Kyn]

Phew! Very much relieved it's just a video card! Thanks a lot for the suggestions!

 

[Crassus]

If you have very löittle money, you may also want to look into buying a used GF4 Ti 4200. They were sold in large numbers in the days, so there are many of those availible today. It's only DX8, but i doubt you'll get a seriously higher frame rate with a last generation card, and the seem to sell around $50 now.

 

[cockeyed]

The video card is the problem. A Ti4200, if you can find a bargain on one, would be a good upgrade. If you could find a good deal on a 9600Pro, then I would lean that way. You could even get a 9600XT at higher cost, then pull it and use it later or sell it. Compare all of them, then decide.

 

[dnuggett]

If you are looking to play just todays games then the 9600 Pro or 9500 Pro would be good choices. On the Nvidia Side I'd stay away from the Ti4200, and look for a Ti4600, Ti4800 or FX5700. There should be a new round of cards coming out in the next couple of months, and you already waited this long......

 

[Kyn]

$50 is well within my budget and will do me great til summer. I guess if I don't find any deals on the faster ATI cards I'll just sink in for the ti's.