Stealth3si

Here is what I found at the ATI website:


ATI Radeon 9000 Pro (128MB/64MB DDR)
Intel® Pentium® 4/III/II/Celeron™, AMD® K6/Duron™/Athlon®/Athlon XP® or compatible with AGP 2X (3.3v), 4X (1.5V), 8X (0.8v) or Universal AGP 3.0 bus configuration (2X/4X/8X).

-OR-

Pentium 4/Celeron/III, AMD K6/Athlon or compatible with AGP 2X/4X universal slot I want to get a second opinion if the Radeon 9000 Pro is compatible and/or will fit into my AGP slot??



Features:
Catalyst™
Charisma Engine™ II
Hydravision™
SmartShader™
SmoothVision™
Video Immersion™ II
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HYPERZ™ II
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FullStream™ Hardware






Constrained on a low budget, I want to upgrade my video card for watching movies and videos, not gaming.


Just in case, here's my current setup:
CPU: Intel PIII Celeron 1.2 GHZ
Mobo: Abit VIA VT82C694X Apollo133 Chipset
Memory: 1024MB DIMM/SDRAM
Graphics: 3DFX Voodoo 3500 TV 128 bit, 16MB SDRAM AGP
1 AGP Slot: 1X/2X Speed

8210GUY

TBH I thought AGP was simply AGP, but given the age of the system I understand you want to check it, for all I know there may be variations in them, but it would help to have the model number of your motherboard, I tried searching but I found a VA6, problem is the chipset model is different to the one you list, so I'm not to sure, confirming the model of the board would help me get a manual then I can have a look for you.

Stealth3si

OK. I used your suggestion to look for the model number. First, I decided to use diagnosing programs, like FreshDiagnose (which was inaccurate,) CPU-Z, and WCPUID and since the results varied, I was presented with two possibilities: 694X-686A or 694X-686B.

Next, I physically looked into the mobo, and from my constrained point of view, I could see VT82C686B on what looks like a South Bridge Chipset. Then, I took the liberty to search the Abit-usa webpage and found that my mobo had four possible models: VP6, VH6T, VH6-II, and VH6. I compared the specifications and pictures of each to match my mobo and VH6-II is the most accurate since mine has the green square between the processor and ram slots, blue IDE slots, one processor and South Bridge Chipset Model #: VT82C686B, as mentioned earlier.

Finally, I downloaded its User Manual and according to it, it says my mobo uses the VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset. My system/memory buses and HDD transfer rates all seem to match the 133A's features. So I think my AGP supports 1X/2X/4X. That's good news! That means I may have an AGP Universal Slot (1X2X/4X), which also means my upgrade options have loosened and opened up! Nonetheless, I'm still not sure if the card will even work w/ a processor that is 1.0 Ghz, o/c'd to 1.2 GHz.

Since I want to confirm it with experts, what do you any of you think?

ebackhus

On many older boards an OC job would throw lots of things out of whack. If you install something that can't take the added stress then you're only a short walk from a disaster.

8210GUY

Try Everest in my Sig to see if that can id your board, I've found it very good and can't recall ever getting wrong info from it.

But ultimately I suspect the answer will be yes the board should be able to take the card, BUT, whether your system can handle it is another matter, what PSU are you running ? you will need to pull the side of the case to see the label for this, my best suggestion is identify the motherboard model and ask they're tech support at Abit and see what they say to maximise safety.

Definitely heed the warning from ebackhus though as he has been doing this much more than I have, and although I suspect technically the card would work, I like you would be concerned over possible failings, and I certainly wouldn't like to say yes you would be fine unless I could swear to it, and TBH I can't swear to it, and I suspect anyone trying to answer such a question would also air on the side of caution, more so if your on a budget, because if the worst should happen you can ill afford to recover from it, thats my guess anyway, hopefully this gives you something to think about anyway.

Stealth3si

I understand. I'm sure the Radeon 9250 can handle my current system. If not, I'll reset the CPU speed back to 1.0 GHz, hopefully before anything burns out, but that's unlikely for my setup because I don't over-push the computer. Thanks for the warning though.

What'ya know, the Everest worked and it's an ABIT VIA VH6-II. It was already on my computer but thanks for reminding me. Don't worry -- I've already taken the necessary steps to setup a proper cooling system and temperature checks. The Video card I'm deciding on will probably be the ATI Radeon 9250 and my Coolmax 400W PSU should be able to handle it too. Of course, caveat emptor.

8210GUY

I don't know that PSU so can't say much, but 400w is on the low side for modern systems these days and could end up maxing itself out while running your system, although you should be OK, initially at least, I do suspect you may require a better PSU in the future, so if you do go for it keep an eye on it because if the PSU goes it could take other components with it, but hope you find a balance that works for you, good luck.