Advice needed about upgrading graphics card

muffler

This was partly discussed here originally but as we were going way off the original topic I decided to start a new thread.

The kids have a PC which plays most of their games but some of the newer games have to be played on my PC as it has a higher spec.The young lads are not huge gamers but would spend an hour or so every day on the PC.
In order to get full use of my PC again I would like to upgrade the kids PC and I would be grateful for any advice that you can give. Im not too PC literate so dont getting all technical on me

Heres a brief spec of their PC:

Dell Dimension 4550
Pentium 4 – CPU 2524 Mhz
768 Mb RAM
64mb NVIDIA GeForce MX420 graphics card (The letters PCI appear in display description)
80 gig hard drive
DVD/CD -RW combo drive
Windows XP home ed.

PogMoThoin

This is is a card similar to what you have in the kids pc:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006IZBC/202-2191992-2944645


All i can do is refer you to this thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054944301

sock puppet

PogMoThoin wrote:

This is is a card similar to what you have in the kids pc:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006IZBC/202-2191992-2944645


All i can do is refer you to this thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054944301

I think the dimension 4550 has an agp 4x slot. If its pci maybe an fx5200?

Anti

If you have no agp expansion slots there is very little point in upgrading just a graphics card, It would be worth getting a whole new motherboard and cpu ram and a graphics card. If you want to keep the pc, PcWorld have ati 9250 256mb cards for 90€ and are pci

PogMoThoin

muffler wrote:

64mb NVIDIA GeForce MX420 graphics card (The letters PCI appear in display description)

He said pci. Really need to open it and check

muffler

Heres what I've done - Clicked on system properties - hardware - device manager - display adapters - NVIDIA GeForce MX 420 - properties.
In there opposite Location it says PCI bus 1

Hope that helps

Cuddlesworth

Heres what you can do, open the case, on the motherboard there are pci slots, if there is no slot that is a different size than the rest you are limited to pci and its not worth your while upgrading it. If there is a different slot you then have a choice of Agp cards, mainly old ones but still a step up from pci.

SouperComputer

The 4550 has AGP. The existing card may not be in the slot, but the board has AGP

Get a used ATI 9600Pro or Nvidia 5600. id say you could get one for around €45. Comparing it to your existing card is like comparing chalk with cheese!

You could run into PSU issues with a 9800Pro or similar as it uses a lot more juice than the 9600. Have a look on the web for more opinions

muffler

krazy_8s wrote:

Heres what you can do, open the case, on the motherboard there are pci slots, if there is no slot that is a different size than the rest you are limited to pci and its not worth your while upgrading it. If there is a different slot you then have a choice of Agp cards, mainly old ones but still a step up from pci.

I probably wouldn't even know what I am looking for or at. Would anyone have a pic of what the slots on the motherboard would look like

SouperComputer

muffler wrote:

I probably wouldn't even know what I am looking for or at. Would anyone have a pic of what the slots on the motherboard would look like

PCI will be white\beige in colour and AGP will be brown. Also the AGP slot will be in the middle of the board and offset a little to the right\front.

In any case, you have one, so all is well

AGP slot pic

muffler

SouperComputer wrote:

The 4550 has AGP. The existing card may not be in the slot, but the board has AGP

Get a used ATI 9600Pro or Nvidia 5600. id say you could get one for around €45. Comparing it to your existing card is like comparing chalk with cheese!

You could run into PSU issues with a 9800Pro or similar as it uses a lot more juice than the 9600. Have a look on the web for more opinions

So I would be better looking for a ATI 9600Pro or Nvidia 5600. Would ebay be the best place to look or here on the boards?

Would you know if there would be any other problems if I got one of these cards and had installed/fitted. I mean would it conflict with any other PC parts (I read somewhere that you need to always make sure that the right things are installed otherwise it can affect the PC)

Sorry, one last question, if I get a card is it difficult to intall.

lundar

hi all, if u want to test what cpu and mainboard and so on , try out cpuz give u all the details u need. heres the linky:http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
its to the top left hand side of the screen
hope this helps

TerrorFirmer

Card is very easy to install, just be careful. I would advise getting a card thats powered entirely form the agp slot, like maybe a 9600XT/9550 or similar, so you won't put any strain on your psu which is probably not great. I think the nvidia equivilent cards need power from the psu but I'm not sure on that, never owned any of the FX series of cards (thankfully )

9600xt is an old card now but it still runs even the newest games on lowish settings so it will run anything from >2003 on full easily, and should tear into any kids game

8T8

Stay clear of the GeForce FX 5xxx series not worth it, better choices out there.

What sort of games do the kids play is also worth noting as if they are 2D mostly then it doesn't really matter too much what you get.

muffler

8T8 wrote:

Stay clear of the GeForce FX 5xxx series not worth it, better choices out there.

What sort of games do the kids play is also worth noting as if they are 2D mostly then it doesn't really matter too much what you get.

A couple of games that they have at the moment and are unable to play are:
The Godfather
Freedom Force (I think)

They were going to buy a couple of games recently but didn't as the grahics requirements were higher than what they had.

Is the 9600XT the same as the 9600Pro?

8T8

Same GPU just the 9600XT is a faster variant.

If you want to buy new a €99 GeForce 6600 or €125 X1600 Pro should do nicely the X1600 Pro is the fastest of these three.

All of the above should handle Freedom Force no problem, never played the Godfather game so no idea of it's requirements.

Personally I'd go with X1600Pro for €125 that isn't a lot and should handle more current 3D games a bit better as well if the kids want to try more 3D intensive games like Half Life 2, Splinter Cell etc..

muffler

Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated

muffler

Sorry for dragging this up again but I never got round to getting a graphics card.

Does anyone have any opinions on this - would it be a worthwhile buy

8T8

muffler wrote:

Sorry for dragging this up again but I never got round to getting a graphics card.

Does anyone have any opinions on this - would it be a worthwhile buy

It's a basic low end GPU fine for simple 3D games & such, it is however PCI-Express just so you know.

K.O.Kiki

Komplett have AGP Radeon 9600's for €60, which is a fair deal;
you could also (if you have patience) wait until they have AGP nVidia 7600GS' in stock -- €120-137, or a Radeon X1600Pro for similar.