What's going on with my ASUS GF3Ti500?-Update!Recommendations for upgrading

[dbal]

Well, I know that my card is kind of an oldie in the FX era, but I guess that many of you in the forum used to have one so any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Problem is that this specific V8200 Pure runs hot.....extremely hot...like weather in Greece 😀
The cause to find out its temps,was when I needed that extra sth in VGA horsepower to run one of my games smoothly in 1280x1024 (FIFA 2003 that is). After a thorough search in several web sites to learn about its general overclocking headroom, I tried to hit 260/560 (default values are 240/500 remember?) which is the max ASUS smart doctor utility allows (I found much higher numbers in the reviews like 275 core or even 600 for the mem but I wanted to be conservative since o/cking is never guaranteed...) but to no good...Game freezes occasionaly so I ended up in 250/550 which is a very slight o/c as u can guess.
The temps we were talking about are 145/185 mem/core in Farehneit when the card is just ready to play and rise up to 210 for the core right after exiting a 30min game without any o/c!! :Q
Are these temps normal for the specific chipset?? And what overclocking potential could be left for my card when it is so hot at default clocks??? I guess 250/550Mhz is already a miracle....By the way the GPU fan works fine in my eyes and in Smart doctor's relevant page at 4200RPM....
And let's hit another question...Could this card's capabilities be holding the rest of my platform back ??(P4@2.2 nwood,512 RDRAM, ASUS P4T-E)
Is it time for an upgrade to enjoy all gaming at 1280x1024 in full eye candy??
Thanx a lot- waiting for your input guys...!

 

[FearoftheNight]

Seems ok. Might hold back a little. But if you upgrade should be nothing less than 9700 or 5900. Bah to people who gona advise 9600 -_-.

 

[reever]

It is time to upgrade, but regarding GPu temperatures, if it doesnt interupt gameplay or make the card explode it is fine

 

[bandana163]

The first GF3s could be 100C hot, the Ti-s and later GFs are considerably cooler. The card is probably not holding back your system.
Those cards can do up to 10000 3DMarks in 3DM2001SE when OCed. Try running your card at stock speed or getting a new cooler.
In case you upgrade, get an FX5900, or an R9700-9800. Ti4200s or R9600s would not be a big improvement and AA AS can't substitute performance. GF3s can do AS pretty well, too.

 

[dbal]

Is it time for an upgrade to enjoy all gaming at 1280x1024 in full eye candy??

In case of an upgrade, how about a 2nd hand GF4Ti4600 (4x AGP) if it comes my way??Will it fullfill the aforementioned condition?

 

[GullyFoyle]

As long as Direct X 9 is not a required ingredient in the aformentioned eyecandy, you will be in good shape with a Ti4600.

 

[Pete]

I don't consider anything without AA or AF to be "full eye candy," so I can't recommend a 4600 for 1280x1024 with "full eye candy." A 9800 or 5900 minimum for a very nice boost, IMO.

But if you're looking for a decent upgrade on the cheap, a used 4600 should play games well at max settings at 12x10 without AA or AF. I wouldn't pay more than, say, $120 for it. Anything more and you're better off with a $150 9600 Pro, IMO. And, again, you're best off with a $220 5900 or $250 9800, but I understand that's getting quite pricey for "just" games.

 

[dbal]

But if you're looking for a decent upgrade on the cheap, a used 4600 should play games well at max settings at 12x10 without AA or AF.

Yes my friend that's exactly what I want and I am so happy that you were able to catch up with my curent upgrade thinking...! I would appreciate any performance comments under this gaming condition for this card