upgrading graphics card on a P2-450

[GlynDwr]

Being the dutiful friend, I'm upgrading my buddy's P2-450 Dell desktop. He's an architect, and back when he bought the system he got it with the NVIDIA RIVA TNT 2 16MB graphics card, which was the sh*t at the time. I've already maxed out the memory at 384MB. Can anyone please help me decide which current graphics card I should upgrade to? I'm concerned about spending too much on an overpowered card, considering the limitations of the system (P2 architecture, 100MHz FSB, 2X AGP (if that)). Is spending $100 on a GeForce 3 Ti 200 complete overkill? Thanks in advance! - Matt

 

[acidvoodoo]

i'm in the same position as that but with an amd k6-2 450 in my second rig. From what i've been told, is that older motherboards AGP slots can not supply enough power to the AGP so the card won't work (system will crash or won't even turn on). i was told that the rule of the thumb is that anything with a fan on is overkill. if u have the time and can be bothered then, if u have a more modern card u don't mind trying in his system them do. if it does not work either go with a low voltage AGP card, or do what i'll probably do and get a geforce 2 mx 400 PCI

if any card WILL work in the slot, then i do think a g3 200 ti IS overkill, unless he wants hardware DX 8.1 support. otherwise go with something like a geforce 2 gts or geforce 4 mx 200.

 

[GlynDwr]

Thanks for the advice! Going with a GeForce 4 MX sounds like a good idea... - Matt

 

[Rand]

unless he wants hardware DX 8.1 support. otherwise go with something like a geforce 2 gts or geforce 4 mx 200.

Neither the GF2 GTS nor the GF4 MX series offer hardware DX8 support. Both offer only full hardware support for DX7.

 

[Oreo]

I'd go for the GF3 ti200 or if you're on a budget a GF2 GTS or Pro. Forget about the GF4MX.

 

[jiffylube1024]

GF3 Ti200 is WAY overkill for that processor. Even a GF2 won't see near its whole potential on the 450. Personally, I'd recommend upgrading the CPU/motherboard first, especially if most/all of that 384 MB of RAM is PC/133. You can buy a Celeron 1.0A or 1.1A and a compatible motherboard for well under $200 now, and they overclock to 1.4 GHz easy.