Topic: Question for my cousin (Read 3022 times)

Dash Jones · « **on:** October 03, 2005, 02:45:43 pm »

My cousin is trying to get an older computer, but wants to replace the card in it.

He's wondering which is better for him to get and if it would run.

The Computer will be an Old Emachines with a 600 mhz processor, with RAM SSD? upgraded to 128 mb, upgraded HD to 40 gig,
and currently an old Intel 810R chipset.

We are looking at getting either a Geforce MX 440, a Geforce FX or a GeForce 6200 for the old machine.

However we are wondering if it could even run any of those cards and how it might work.

It would probably need to fit into an AGP 4x slot or PCI slot (I believe the machine has both, one brown slot and one white slot).

Which would work in it and how would it run...he just is looking for it to be a dedicated NWN machine perhaps...

IAF Lyrkiller · « **Reply #1 on:** October 03, 2005, 03:15:25 pm »

All AGP slots are brown in colour. and are off set from the PCI slots which are white.

Now it depends if you can determine if the card or cards are AGP or PCI.

You cannot fit a PCI card into a AGP slot and vice versa. The copper leads are the key.

Look real close and you will see that the PCI copper leads are thin and very close.

and an AGP card will look like.

(these are just Examples of course)

otherwise they should work. just need to get the drvers for them.

Nemesis · « **Reply #2 on:** October 03, 2005, 06:13:40 pm »

One problem with upgrading a computer like you describe is the powersupply. Quite often the powersupply is only adequate for the system as delivered, expansions may require a powersupply upgrade.

The Postman · « **Reply #3 on:** October 03, 2005, 07:01:41 pm »

Quote from: IKV Nemesis on October 03, 2005, 06:13:40 pm

One problem with upgrading a computer like you describe is the powersupply. Quite often the powersupply is only adequate for the system as delivered, expansions may require a powersupply upgrade.

BINGO, give the man a cigar. The intel 810 chipset I have is diquised as an IBM and came with 100 watt power supply. It does not have an AGP slot so I added a PCI video card and a wireless G card. Right now I am down a BOINC machine until I can get a new power supply.

Nemesis · « **Reply #4 on:** October 03, 2005, 07:09:48 pm »

Quote from: The Postman on October 03, 2005, 07:01:41 pm

BINGO, give the man a cigar. The intel 810 chipset I have is diquised as an IBM and came with 100 watt power supply. It does not have an AGP slot so I added a PCI video card and a wireless G card. Right now I am down a BOINC machine until I can get a new power supply.

My supervisor had me go over his (IBM) machine several years ago to see about upgrading it. The PSU was undersized, so I've seen it before. The combined cost of upgrading was enough that he said to heck with it and had a custom system built while giving the old one to his father. Now his father is hooked too

a digital photography nut.

Mr_Tricorder · « **Reply #5 on:** October 03, 2005, 10:28:32 pm »

The PSU is probably one of the most overlooked parts of the PC. I almost fried my computer a few months after I first built it because it had a piece of crap for a power supply. After replacing it, I gave it to a friend who likes to work with electronics. He opened it up and found the problem. Whoever designed that PSU decided to put the capacitors right next to the vent (the hottest part of the PSU) instead of the fan (the coolest part of the PSU) where it should be. There were schorch marks on the board underneath the capacitors from where they had been constantly overheating and shorting out. Fortunately, the rest of my hardware didn't suffer any damage.

Tus-XC · « **Reply #6 on:** October 03, 2005, 11:11:51 pm »

the other problem is what type of agp adapter you have, 2x/4x/8x. you must have a minumum 4x for any of the agp cards you are thinking about. so i would double check to make sure on that first, then go from there.

Dash Jones · « **Reply #7 on:** October 04, 2005, 06:00:09 am »

I'm pretty certain they are 4x, but just to make sure, how do you check to make sure you have a 4x AGP?

Tus-XC · « **Reply #8 on:** October 04, 2005, 08:13:56 am »

you probably could do a search for it online (motherboard) however i'm not sure if it might say it somwhere on the mb.. i never noticed

SkyFlyer · « **Reply #9 on:** October 05, 2005, 05:43:29 pm »

Quote from: IKV Nemesis on October 03, 2005, 06:13:40 pm

One problem with upgrading a computer like you describe is the powersupply. Quite often the powersupply is only adequate for the system as delivered, expansions may require a powersupply upgrade.

I had a 633mhz Celeron E-Machine. I ran a PCI GeForce 4 mx 440 in it. It ran fine... it ran quake 3 on high gfx around 70fps at 1024x768 after tweaking the drivers.

I would go for the GeForce 6200 however.

~~Or even an ATI Radeon 9550.~~

Scratch the 9550. It won't perform better than a 9000 on that system.

Dash Jones · « **Reply #10 on:** October 05, 2005, 08:11:36 pm »

Does the 6200 have higher requirements though and does it react differently for a machine that behind the times?

From the sounds of it, it seems you have a machine that you ran the GeForce 4 in which was very similar to his.

SkyFlyer · « **Reply #11 on:** October 06, 2005, 11:53:55 pm »

Yes. It was very similar... except I didn't have an AGP slot.

I would say go for a 128mb video card... preferiably a Radion 9550, the 5600 or 6200.

http://www.shopgenie.co.uk/UK_listing/gen/J000079808.html

This would more than max out his CPU... But its fairly cheap.

One advantage with the 9550 is you can flash the bios and make it think its a 9600.

From what I've read the Sapphires are the best at this. I haven't been able to do it from my generic one (the box only said ATI... not Sapphire or anything).

Javora · « **Reply #12 on:** October 07, 2005, 03:34:08 am »

Can you still find 9550's? I thought they stopped production?

IMHO I would go with the 6200 and be safe. No Bios tweaks or anything, it is just a safe bet in my mind.

SkyFlyer · « **Reply #13 on:** October 07, 2005, 10:32:44 am »

Quote from: Javora on October 07, 2005, 03:34:08 am

Can you still find 9550's? I thought they stopped production?

IMHO I would go with the 6200 and be safe. No Bios tweaks or anything, it is just a safe bet in my mind.

Maybe they did but they had like four of them at Best Buy (more than any other card there), two of them 256mb versions and two 128mb versions.

For that PC the 128mb version will run perfect, you won't really get any additional frames by overclocking or flashing the bios.

E_Look · « **Reply #14 on:** October 08, 2005, 11:10:19 am »

Boys, it's not the 9550 that you can flash up to 9600, unless there's another case; it was the 9500 that you could flash up to a 9700, except that only one type I heard can respond to that, the one in which the DRAM chips are soldered on in an "L" pattern on the card.

SkyFlyer · « **Reply #15 on:** October 09, 2005, 04:45:50 am »

Quote from: E_Look NCC-9091 on October 08, 2005, 11:10:19 am

Boys, it's not the 9550 that you can flash up to 9600, unless there's another case; it was the 9500 that you could flash up to a 9700, except that only one type I heard can respond to that, the one in which the DRAM chips are soldered on in an "L" pattern on the card.

Yes you can flash the 9500 to the 9700 but you can also flash the 9550 to the 9600.

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/107

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=9550+flash+9600&btnG=Google+Search

The Bar-Abbas Anomaly · « **Reply #16 on:** October 14, 2005, 10:00:42 pm »

Quote from: Dash Jones on October 03, 2005, 02:45:43 pm

My cousin is trying to get an older computer, but wants to replace the card in it.

He's wondering which is better for him to get and if it would run.

The Computer will be an Old Emachines with a 600 mhz processor, with RAM SSD? upgraded to 128 mb, upgraded HD to 40 gig,
and currently an old Intel 810R chipset.

Upgraded to 128Mb?!? What was it to start with, a C=64? Please worry less about the video card until you get it up to at least 512Mb or better.... You'll thank me.

E_Look · « **Reply #17 on:** October 15, 2005, 12:07:59 am »

LOL!

Great sig cartoon, 'Rabbas!

Dash Jones · « **Reply #18 on:** October 15, 2005, 01:11:50 am »

Quote from: Obi-Juan Barabbas on October 14, 2005, 10:00:42 pm

Quote from: Dash Jones on October 03, 2005, 02:45:43 pm
My cousin is trying to get an older computer, but wants to replace the card in it.

He's wondering which is better for him to get and if it would run.

The Computer will be an Old Emachines with a 600 mhz processor, with RAM SSD? upgraded to 128 mb, upgraded HD to 40 gig,
and currently an old Intel 810R chipset.

Upgraded to 128Mb?!? What was it to start with, a C=64? Please worry less about the video card until you get it up to at least 512Mb or better.... You'll thank me.

It originally started as a 32 MB RAM with a 10 Gig hard drive. He's looking for an older computer to run older games and doesn't want to sink more than 159 to 180 into it...as he would just go and buy a cheap new computer if he was going to spend that much. He isn't going to replace the motherboard, but the computer itself supposedly takes 256 RAM...but it didn't accept the sticks that we put into it. So he went with simply putting in one of the 128 MB sticks which for some reason worked, even if the other one didn't.

The most expensive part is going to be the card, but he's decided on the GeForce MX 440 as all he needs the card to be able to run is a game like NWN...

Other than that it's going to run older games, and run the Older Windows programs either Win98 or WinME...it's up to him.

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