video card upgrade question

kaleidoscopelex · 10-19-2006, 08:44 PM

im not a techie, and my boss wanted to upgrade his old P4 into a gaming PC. the Specs follows:

DELL Desktop
Pentium 4 1.6Ghz
256MB DDR266 RAM
40GB Seagte Hard disk
Geforce MX400 64MB Video Card (AGP)
Windows XP Home

Ive been researching on video cards and i found out that there are different agp slot available (agp1 , agp2 etc) which i dont really understand.

guys, what is the best video card upgrade for this system (will be used for gamin specifically)?
Im planning to upgrade the RAM to 1GB (two 512MB DDR 266 module)

below are list of video cards available to me locally, are these compatible with the specs above? pls give me a review on these, which should I choose or u can suggest vcards that are not listed below...

1.Inno3D 7800GS 256ddr3 dvi 256bit
2.Inno3D FX6800LE 256ddr3 tv-dvi
3.Inno3D FX6800LE 128ddr tv-dvi 256bit
4.Inno3D FX6600 256ddr tv-dvi
5.Inno3D MX440 128ddr tv-out 8x128bit

I want an AGP vcard upgrade not PCI...
thank you, hope to get a reply from you guys soon.

**pharoah** · 10-19-2006, 11:45 PM

from the ones you have listed the 7800 would be the best.i would also look at a radeon 850 series for agp as well.when ya do this upgrade i would also seriously consider a better power supply. a computer of that age p4 1.6 its stock supply might not cut it.

kaleidoscopelex · 10-20-2006, 12:26 AM

thanks pharaoh.

assuming i have a good power supply, do u think the 7800 wouldnt crash my system? isnt it too fast for my processor? i read about agp 4x, 8x.. though i do not really understand that...

thanks again.

**Fr4665** · 10-20-2006, 01:20 AM

the 7800GS wont crash, the only thing that could happen is that the computer doesnt start cause it doesnt have enough power.

The p4 1.6ghz is another thing id look at possibly upgrading as that will bottleneck performance in the gaming department.

what to upgrade:
1.video card (Uthe best you can get is a 7800GS for agp)
2.PSU (not less then 500 watts)
3.Ram to atleast 1 gig

what exact model number has the dell ? maybe a cpu upgrade is possible to something faster like a pentium D

**Cellus** · 10-20-2006, 11:11 AM

I would, without a shadow of a doubt, upgrade the RAM first and foremost considering you are using Windows XP - XP is using the majority of what little RAM you have, leaving precious little to everything else. While there is Virtual Memory, keep in mind it is literally thousands of times slower. Having sufficient RAM is a performance increase right there.

**UncleMacro** · 10-20-2006, 11:46 AM

If it was me, I'd explain to your boss that nothing about that Dell qualifies as a gaming PC. There's more to gaming than just the video card. Both its RAM and CPU are going to be serious bottlenecks. This page gives some somewhat outdated info about CPU speed on games. That page is a little old. Your CPU would actually rate lower on current games (a 1.6 GHz P4 is already near the bottom). That CPU would be able to play some older games but newer games expect more of a CPU than that. You could replace the motherboard/CPU/RAM/video card but at that point you're basically looking at a whole new computer. If you decide to replace the video card anyway then this page explains the details about AGP slot compatibility.

kaleidoscopelex · 10-21-2006, 12:26 PM

this is great, im actually learning from u all. ill certainly take the advises u gave me...

i agree that the P4 1.6Ghz is certainly on the low-end of the P4 series, im pretty sure my boss will not consider in upgrading the CPU, he might as well buy a new one. he just wants to make that old pc a little bit more faster, so his son can atleast play those games.

ill be checking on the power supply if it has enough wattage specs to support the video card. im still open for more suggestions, all help is very well appreciated.

thanks again.

10-19-2006, 08:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
kaleidoscopelex Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3 OS: XP	video card upgrade question im not a techie, and my boss wanted to upgrade his old P4 into a gaming PC. the Specs follows: DELL Desktop Pentium 4 1.6Ghz 256MB DDR266 RAM 40GB Seagte Hard disk Geforce MX400 64MB Video Card (AGP) Windows XP Home Ive been researching on video cards and i found out that there are different agp slot available (agp1 , agp2 etc) which i dont really understand. guys, what is the best video card upgrade for this system (will be used for gamin specifically)? Im planning to upgrade the RAM to 1GB (two 512MB DDR 266 module) below are list of video cards available to me locally, are these compatible with the specs above? pls give me a review on these, which should I choose or u can suggest vcards that are not listed below... 1.Inno3D 7800GS 256ddr3 dvi 256bit 2.Inno3D FX6800LE 256ddr3 tv-dvi 3.Inno3D FX6800LE 128ddr tv-dvi 256bit 4.Inno3D FX6600 256ddr tv-dvi 5.Inno3D MX440 128ddr tv-out 8x128bit I want an AGP vcard upgrade not PCI... thank you, hope to get a reply from you guys soon.

10-19-2006, 11:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
pharoah TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,188 OS: vista business edition My System	from the ones you have listed the 7800 would be the best.i would also look at a radeon 850 series for agp as well.when ya do this upgrade i would also seriously consider a better power supply. a computer of that age p4 1.6 its stock supply might not cut it. __________________ Follow These Steps First Power Supply Selection Posting System Specs Oblivion Tweak Guide Video Drivers& Information TSF folding at home team 85015

10-20-2006, 12:26 AM	#3 (permalink)
kaleidoscopelex Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3 OS: XP	re: thanks pharaoh. assuming i have a good power supply, do u think the 7800 wouldnt crash my system? isnt it too fast for my processor? i read about agp 4x, 8x.. though i do not really understand that... thanks again.

10-20-2006, 01:20 AM	#4 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	the 7800GS wont crash, the only thing that could happen is that the computer doesnt start cause it doesnt have enough power. The p4 1.6ghz is another thing id look at possibly upgrading as that will bottleneck performance in the gaming department. what to upgrade: 1.video card (Uthe best you can get is a 7800GS for agp) 2.PSU (not less then 500 watts) 3.Ram to atleast 1 gig what exact model number has the dell ? maybe a cpu upgrade is possible to something faster like a pentium D __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game

10-20-2006, 11:11 AM	#5 (permalink)
Cellus Moderator Networking Team Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 2,664 OS: Windows Vista Business SP1, Windows XP Professional SP3 My System	I would, without a shadow of a doubt, upgrade the RAM first and foremost considering you are using Windows XP - XP is using the majority of what little RAM you have, leaving precious little to everything else. While there is Virtual Memory, keep in mind it is literally thousands of times slower. Having sufficient RAM is a performance increase right there. __________________ TSF Networking Team Virus/Trojan/Spyware Removal Help Donate!

10-20-2006, 11:46 AM	#6 (permalink)
UncleMacro TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,133 OS: Vista SP1 My System	If it was me, I'd explain to your boss that nothing about that Dell qualifies as a gaming PC. There's more to gaming than just the video card. Both its RAM and CPU are going to be serious bottlenecks. This page gives some somewhat outdated info about CPU speed on games. That page is a little old. Your CPU would actually rate lower on current games (a 1.6 GHz P4 is already near the bottom). That CPU would be able to play some older games but newer games expect more of a CPU than that. You could replace the motherboard/CPU/RAM/video card but at that point you're basically looking at a whole new computer. If you decide to replace the video card anyway then this page explains the details about AGP slot compatibility.

10-21-2006, 12:26 PM	#7 (permalink)
kaleidoscopelex Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3 OS: XP	re: this is great, im actually learning from u all. ill certainly take the advises u gave me... i agree that the P4 1.6Ghz is certainly on the low-end of the P4 series, im pretty sure my boss will not consider in upgrading the CPU, he might as well buy a new one. he just wants to make that old pc a little bit more faster, so his son can atleast play those games. ill be checking on the power supply if it has enough wattage specs to support the video card. im still open for more suggestions, all help is very well appreciated. thanks again.