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video card suggestions

cloudaznman361

Junior Member
I need to upgrade my video card on my desktop. Its getting out of date and playing graphics at a lower quality than i like it to. I plan to get an ATI 9600 but i was wondering if it can work with my desktop since i only got one AGP slot at 4x. I am currently using a 4x AGP nvidia TNT2 with 32 mb of sdram. Also will a video card with 8x agp and DDR ram on the card work on my computer that still uses SDRAM?

using a 1.5 mhz p4 with win xp and 512 Sdram
 
I think it'll work, but not too sure.

As for the DDR VRAM on the graphics card, it will still work.
 
The 9600 series only works in AGP4x/8x slots. It may work with your MB, but I'm not entirely sure. Maybe someone else can confirm.

FYI, you're running a very slow CPU/RAM combo, so upgrading that would be worth your while for games, if you have the money.
 
i would like to upgrade my RAM, but its at 512 max. I don;t think my motherboard could support DDR ram because it came with 256 sdram already installed when i brought it back in 2001. Its a sony rx-550 desktop
 
Yes, the 9600 will work fine on that Sony, and will give you an increadible boost in 3d performance.
No, you can not use DDR Ram, but you can get 512mb of PC100/133 for it.
That MB should allow you to upgrade to a P4 2.4 400, that would be a decent box.
 
Originally posted by: robcy
Yes, the 9600 will work fine on that Sony, and will give you an increadible boost in 3d performance.
No, you can not use DDR Ram, but you can get 512mb of PC100/133 for it.
That MB should allow you to upgrade to a P4 2.4 400, that would be a decent box.

agreed

 
By upgrade I didn't mean add more, but move to DDR. I was thinking of moving to an Athlon XP 2500+/nForce 2/512MB PC3200, probably around $240. That might not be a better upgrade than a $140 P4-2.4GHz and a $100 9600, though--the onboard GF4MX might hold the XP system back more than the SDR RAM would hold the P4 system.
 
A P4 2.4 400/512mb PC100/ ATI 9600 will be way faster than a 2500+/512mb DDR 3200/on board GF4MX in 3d gaming by quite a bit. The only good thing about the XP/NF2 upgrade is that you will have an empty AGP slot ready for a future vid upgrade. But the first option is still a pretty valid box for gaming. Decisions, decisions....
 
why get HP? just get a dell, at least they give you SOME options. If you aren't going to make it yourself, dell or abspc are a safe bet.
 
Dell "traps" you with a custom powersupply and MBs that don't allow OCing. OTOH, at least you get a quiet system. I don't know what HP does.
 
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