pci video

[cazador]

I have an old i200mmx with 64mb ram and a 4mb s3 video card. Since new the thing just hasn't been right and it's real hard to explain. The best I way can think of is to say sometimes the screen will look like all of the graphics and text were ink and some water got on it and smeared in some places. I have turned it down to 256 colors. It does it in several different apps...some web pages, and power point presentations. I've run the same thing just fine on a p90 w/16mb ram.

So I need to get a new video card and need some suggestions. I want to spend around 50 bucks or less.

I've found this:
Product Code : VIATXP@P8PCI
Description : ATI:XPERT @ PLAY,ATI XPERT @ PLAY 8MB PCI,TV OUT,OEM
for $44.95, BUT...I can't even tell if it's a video card like I need or just some kind of add on thing...
Below is a link to what I'm looking at. If you know of a better idea please let me know.
Help would be Greatly Appreciated.
Dave
PCI video cards

 

[Noriaki]

The Xpert @ Play is a video card, but a bad one

If you want a PCI video card just get a V3-2000 you should be able to find it for about that same price and it's a pretty good video card even in the newer games.

 

[cazador]

Thanks for the advice. This may sound stupid, but would the voodoo III put a drain on my already weak cpu? Someone told me a powerful video card like that can slow down an old system, almost like a win modem does. Sounds like B.S. to me, but then again I'm a bit out of touch these days, to say the least. They have a voodoo III w/16mb for 99.95 that's really more than I wanted to spend on this old thing, but if it would work I might be willing to do it, since I'll be handing it down to my kids or parents in a few months. The reason I'm sticking with the same distributor is, I've already got an order started with these folks so there will be no shipping.

 

[Oyeve]

That ATI card should be just fine for that system as anything better probably wont even be utilized being that the system is slow. Actually, from the problem description in your post it seems like you already have some kind of ATI video chipset. In lower res modes the ATi lower end 3d chipsets seems sort of fuzzy and washed out.

 

[cazador]

would the following card be any better than the ati?

Product Code : VIEV16NV0801
Description : E-VGA:016-P1-NV08-01,NVIDIA VANTA CHIPSET,16MB,PCI,OEM
Manufacturer : E-VGA
$53.95

The link on the first post lists the pci cards these people carry...is there a better choice for this old thing?

 

[Noriaki]

No a V3 won't put any extra strain on your CPU, I'd be interested to hear what the arguments for that would be...

Yeah the Vanta would be a better card than the ATI.
But Oyeve is right, anything you put in there is going to be CPU limited.

I suggested a Voodoo3 becuase it's nice and fast even in my Athlon 550 it's pretty good, and if you ever upgrade you still have a decent video card to use. That and I've never had any problems at all with my V3, it just works..plain and simple. That may not seem like a big deal, but the ATi cards especially and to a lesser extent the nVidia's I've worked with have been a hassle. The V3, I plugged it in installed the drivers and haven't had a hitch with it.

I did not however expect it to be $100...I though you could get them much cheaper than that. No it's probably not worth it, especially if you don't really intend to upgrade the CPU in that machine.

 

[cazador]

I found, on the opposite corner of the country, this for $51.50 including shipping:
Monster 3D II Voodoo2 8MB PCI
???

 

[Oyeve]

Yeah, but the voodoo II wont help him with his problem, being that that card only provides 3d funtionality. The Monster 3D II Voodoo2 8MB PCI is an addon card you slap to your existing 2d card. So he will still exhibit the same problem with the s3.

 

[cazador]

is the vanta card listed above a video card? Is that what I should get?

 

[frover2000]

I think the vanta would be your best bet, it would perform adequatly
i'm sure you could even play q3 acceptably, i did on my old p200mmx and 16meg banshee, it ran surprisingly well.

 

[ndee]

Get a Elsa Erazor X PCI or a Voodoo 5 5500 PCI

 

[BA]

I'd go with a voodoo3. It's leagues beyond a vanta or xPert, and you should be able to find one under $50 without too much trouble.

ndee-I hope you're not serious. Those things are complete overkill, and would cost more than the system's worth.

 

[Rigoletto]

The Voodoo3 is now a cost effective lowish end card that has very good image quality, fuss free installation, and very good legacy game performance. I've had... oh... four cards in my system and the V3 is my favourite. If you get a PCI V3 then it'll be a useful carryover into a later system too (not being superceeded by a crazy 4x AGP T+L card).

 

[cazador]

Thanks!! I ordered the vanta. I don't play games on this thing....that's why I haven't bothered to upgrade it before. We have 3 working computers in this house and the person that pays the bills has the lousy one! Funny how those things work....

 

[novice]

Too bad you already ordered the Vanta, as I think that a Voodoo Banshee card would have been a good upgrade for your system and processor. You probably could have found a used one on E-Bay for around $35 or so with 16 mb of ram and glide, etc. Good luck with the Vanta, as I haven't heard too much good about them as regards their 2D performance. There were good reasons for 3dfx previous domination of the industry, and their Banshee card was a decent performer for the price.
Chuck

 

[jaredm77]

Go Voodoo3 2000, great PCI Card!

 

[BFG10K]

Thanks!! I ordered the vanta. I don't play games on this thing

Oh, that's a shame. I give another vote for the 3dfx Voodoo 3 2000 PCI. Even if you don't play games you'll still get stable hardware/drivers and excellent 2D image quality.