Testing a new video card

[AndyBogard]

Well I'm building a new computer and my video card should be arriving tomorrow, the only problem is I still have about 1 month to go before I have all the parts and can put the computer together. The card I bought is a Sapphire (ATI) Radeon X800XT AGP.

Is there anyway to check in the meantime to make sure my video card is working? Can I take out the 9700 pro in my current computer and put in my new video card, and if I can do I need to anything special?

Sorry for the noob questions, this is only going to be my second time building a computer, and the last time was a year and a half ago.

 

[SirOblivious]

If you have a 4x/8x AGP slot in your computer (since you have a 9700 PRO i assume you do heh) There should be no problem, other than you not wanting to take it back out maybe.

 

[AndyBogard]

I think I might need to update my drivers though. I'm still on Catalyst 4.4, I haven't been able to game on this computer for some time because of heating issues and other hardware problems. I haven't felt the need for a while to update my video card drivers because of the fact that I'm not gaming on this computer anymore.

The heat issue I was referring to is from my processor, I was using an Athlon XP 2600+, but then one day when I wasn't even putting a load on the processor, I found out it was idling at 60 C. I switched that for a Athlon XP 2200+ I have and thats idling at 50 C, thats still to high for my liking.

Thanks for the help SirOblivious.

 

[2Xtreme21]

As far as the heat issue is concerned, 60C isn't all that high... definitely not something to worry about. As for 50C, that's close to normal idle temps I believe. Have you tried changing your HSF?

On the video card issue, make sure that before you swap any card with a new one you uninstall the video card drivers and run Driver Cleaner before installing the new card... even if the drivers are for the same card. That way you're sure to have a clean install and greatly reduces the risks of VGA Driver conflicts.

 

[AndyBogard]

2Xtreme21:

I looked for another HSF and really didn't find much, I also didn't want to waste the money. I want to play some of the newer games also, DOOM 3 and Half-Life 2, and on my current system my DOOM 3 framerate would probaly be about 3-5 fps, thats why I'm building the new computer.

Thanks for the advice on the video card drivers.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: AndyBogard
2Xtreme21:

I looked for another HSF and really didn't find much, I also didn't want to waste the money. I want to play some of the newer games also, DOOM 3 and Half-Life 2, and on my current system my DOOM 3 framerate would probaly be about 3-5 fps, thats why I'm building the new computer.

Thanks for the advice on the video card drivers.

Hmmmm... actually, a Athlon 2200+ paired with a 9700Pro is no slouch of a PC. It isn't state-of-the-art, but not bad either. I would drop that new card in there until you get the rest of your rig, you should be fine. As far as temps go, if you are running at stock speeds with no errors/crashes and your HSF is installed and working properly, why worry about them? Your framerates for HL2 and Doom3 should be fine on that rig. My roommate is currently playing FarCry on a 2200+ with an FX 5900. It plays fine at 1024x768.

Why let a nice piece of hardware like the X800XT sit around and collect dust, provided it isn't PCIe? With video cards, they become closer to obsolete everyday.