Video Card from Athlon XP Era?

[Andrew1990]

I am putting together an Athlon XP Based computer as my first Real PC was based around one. Here is what I have so far

Athlon XP 1800, 2000+, or a Sempron 2500+
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe Motherboard
512mb DDR466 Ram
400w Quality PSU

I was wondering what video card was a must for the extreme gamer that would fit in the same time frame as the above parts? This build is just for fun and tinkering as my main PC is what I use most of the time.

 

[vj8usa]

Going with the Athlon XPs and that motherboard, I'd place it around 2002 (I'm ignoring the Sempron since that's around '04, which is rather recent). Back then, the best cards were the GF4 Ti4600 and the Radeon 9700 Pro.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: vj8usa
Going with the Athlon XPs and that motherboard, I'd place it around 2002 (I'm ignoring the Sempron since that's around '04, which is rather recent). Back then, the best cards were the GF4 Ti4600 and the Radeon 9700 Pro.

 

[ajaidevsingh]

9800 Pro.. Had that card for my 2400+

 

[Andrew1990]

Was there any certain brand of the 9800pro/XT that was sought after more than any other by chance?

 

[scheibler1]

I've got the perfect site for ya. Sharkyextreme...it used to be great back in the day, but has gone down hill. You can view their extreme buyers guide which is updated monthly dating back to September 2000.

Here is the link:
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/index.php

As of January 2003 the hottest card was a 9700pro. The following January the hottest card ot have was the 9800XT.

I remember dreaming about the 9800XT and even 9800pro...I had a 9600XT. The 9800XT was rare and that thing was damn expensive, but the KING of HL2 and the Source Engine. I'de look for a 9800XT then look for a 9800pro. The best manufacturer that I remember was the actuall ATI brand when they made their own cards

BTW, the athlon XP 2800+ was the cream of the crop...I believe I had a mobile xp 2000+ that I overclocked like mad. The best mobo from that era IMO was the Shuttle AN35N-Ultra

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

Originally posted by: vj8usa
Going with the Athlon XPs and that motherboard, I'd place it around 2002 (I'm ignoring the Sempron since that's around '04, which is rather recent). Back then, the best cards were the GF4 Ti4600 and the Radeon 9700 Pro.

:thumbsup:

 

[coolpurplefan]

I remember the Geforce Ti4200. I had a Maddog model that wasn't so bad. But, you're talking about pretty old games there.

Compuvest has had some old stuff for a long time now. I'm totally sure why you'd prefer older parts. Is it because you want to use Win98SE, old games?

I believe you could get away with using a Geforce 6600. I believe they're still available brand new. It's kind of cool to see some old hardware still being sold as brand new. I still prefered "old technology" like PATA drives and single cores for absolute reliability and backwards compatibility. But, I just built like a "test machine" with SATA drives and a dual core. So far, all I think I need to do is RMA the RAM to have it reprogrammed. It was capable of installing Windows and playing UT2004 right out of the box with integrated HD3200 on the motherboard at 1600x1200 with reasonable frame rates. Once the RAM issue is dealt with, that machine could rock (well, at least play 1080p video which I wanted to do anyway).

 

[NightBane]

I had the xp2500 barton back in the day, was a mad overclocker.
I started out with the 9800pro, and moved up to the 6800GT, they are pretty close around the same time frame.
Honestly the 6800 is still a decent card now,You can't play any of the new FPS'es or anything but anything older than say 2007 and your set with the 6800 series.

 

[Quiksilver]

Can I ask why your building a PC on old technology; even if it is your first? I mean, to get a card from that era your going to shell out serious cash unless you ebay. Why not make a fun rig based on newer parts :\

 

[edplayer]

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
I mean, to get a card from that era your going to shell out serious cash unless you ebay.

Those old cards are cheap. 9700Pro are sold for $20~30 dollars all the time.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: edplayer

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
I mean, to get a card from that era your going to shell out serious cash unless you ebay.

Those old cards are cheap. 9700Pro are sold for $20~30 dollars all the time.

Uhh.. using google shop, the lowest price I found with $60... :\

 

[DaveSimmons]

ti 4200 was fast, relaible, and had good drivers. Much better for its time than the 5-series that followed it.

 

[Andrew1990]

The reason why I am building is I am a fan of the Athlon XPs. Of course I could make a better rig that can play any game, but that is what my X2 6000 is for. I also have seen some affordable 9800s in the FS section.

Were the FX5900s popular by chance?



Also, I am actually looking for an XP2800+ as that was the processor I had before. The Barton version that ran at 2.083GHz.

 

[edplayer]

Originally posted by: Quiksilver

Uhh.. using google shop, the lowest price I found with $60... :\

first 9700Pro I found over at Hardforums for sale/trade forum has an asking price of $30

 

[Andrew1990]

Woot! I just found a 9500pro with an aftermarket cooler in my closet. Got to see if this thing works.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I think I have a 9800 XT and a FX5900 SE (XT) in some machines somewhere. I'm pretty sure both are in use, but I could always part with them in trade for a newer (inexpensive) card that's capable of web browsing / etc. I'm mainly using them because the motherboards don't have IGPs.

Just an option incase you can't find anything else.

 

[nenforcer]

As you can tell from my sig I still run this era of computer as my daily machine!

You can buy a much more modern AGP video card for these machines unless you are strictly going nostalgic here

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: edplayer

Originally posted by: Quiksilver

Uhh.. using google shop, the lowest price I found with $60... :\

first 9700Pro I found over at Hardforums for sale/trade forum has an asking price of $30

Meh. I wasn't really including used cards. Mostly retail/re-certified/or referbrished units.

 

[Andrew1990]

Originally posted by: nenforcer
unless you are strictly going nostalgic here

Thats exactly what I am doing. I am pushing my last of my paycheck a little thin so after getting my motherboard and CPU, I have to wait till friday's paycheck to carry on.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990
The reason why I am building is I am a fan of the Athlon XPs. Of course I could make a better rig that can play any game, but that is what my X2 6000 is for. I also have seen some affordable 9800s in the FS section.

Were the FX5900s popular by chance?



Also, I am actually looking for an XP2800+ as that was the processor I had before. The Barton version that ran at 2.083GHz.

No, the FX series was an abortion and that is how it went down in history. At the time the 9700pro and later the 9800Pro stomped everything else that came after it, much like the 8800GTX era.

Woot! I just found a 9500pro with an aftermarket cooler in my closet. Got to see if this thing works.

Nice, the 9500Pro could be soft modded into a 9700Pro with a Bios flash and I think you may even be able to do it via the software in windows- that enabled and extra 4 Pipelines- could be some fun .

 

[biostud]

I had a 4200Ti and 9800pro on my XP

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990
I am putting together an Athlon XP Based computer as my first Real PC was based around one. Here is what I have so far

Athlon XP 1800, 2000+, or a Sempron 2500+
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe Motherboard
512mb DDR466 Ram
400w Quality PSU

I was wondering what video card was a must for the extreme gamer that would fit in the same time frame as the above parts? This build is just for fun and tinkering as my main PC is what I use most of the time.

The Ultimate Hardware guys have tested a radeon 1950 pro with a athlon xp 3200, athlon xp 2500, sempron 2200. They have used a collection of modern (World in Conflict and Supreme Commander etc) and older games (Doom 3 and Quake 4 etc).

AMD ATHLON XP USED WITH ATI RADEON X1950 PRO GAMING PERFORMANCE

 

[dennilfloss]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990
Woot! I just found a 9500pro with an aftermarket cooler in my closet. Got to see if this thing works.

Flash the bios and overclock that sucker (if that's not already done) to near 9700Pro levels. I did that with mine back then. Still consider it the best card I ever got.

These threads explain how: read them completely as some stuff changed got improved and new links included in the course of the thread.

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33681382
http://www.rage3d.com/board/sh...33654157&page=46&pp=30

I recommand backing up your bios, checking what RAM your card has and using ATI Flash to place the appropriate new BIOS on it.

 

[v8envy]

Ah, memories. I had a slightly overclocked XP 1800+ with a 4200ti still in service until January of this year. Made a passable MythTV client box and retro gaming rig. Easily played circa 2001-2002 games under WINE until the 4200ti's fan died. Tried replacing it with a 9600XT, found out ATI drivers for Linux were still utter garbage. Had to retire the box.