New AGP card for a 3 year old machine.

Achilles

One of Freddy's beloved
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
480
Hollah. My Medion Radeon 9800 XXL 128mb AGP 8x has finally gone kaput. Dowloaded all new drivers for it and tested it in another machine, all which point to it being burnt out. Here are my PC specs:

Processor: Intel (R) Pentium (R) CPU 3.00 GHz (Northwood)
Mobo: MS-7012 (Micro Systems)
RAM: 2.5 GB DDR-SDRAM (2x 256 siemens, 2x1gb crucial)
Gfix: Medion Radeon 9800 XXL 128mb AGP 8x

Mobo only supports AGP
Here is the card i am looking at buying:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-026-CO

Dont really want to spend more than £50, but this one looks nice as well:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-119-SP

What does the extra £20 get me in the second card? And to what extent will the specs of the rest of my system limit the performance of new card, considering it is almost 3 years old? Is it worth spending more than £60 on an older machine?

Thanks for your time.
 

Boni

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Messages
1,607
Not very sure on the difference, hopefully an ATI guru can help you. Basically graphics cards only really vary in performance, a good look at a benchmarking sight that lists both cards would be your best bet. I use 'toms hardware benchtests'.
That sight kinda skimped on the spec listings on those links else I could tell you more. From the look of it the saphire has dual monitor support, TV out etc, more 'stuff', its probably a bit faster too, though they are both 128bit bus, 256 MB cards so in the same 'ballpark'.

I dont think your machine will let them down much, youve got more then enough ram and an ok if not brilliant processor speed. Your AGP bus will restrict you, but I woudnt scrap that machine unless you got the bucks to make a new PCI-E machine.
 

Ballard

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
1,711
OK first up, the 9550 is a not a good card at all. Your existing 9800 is faster infact.. Despite what that review say I certainly cant recommend the x1300 either as it is very much a 'mass consumer' card and struggles with decent rendering requirements.

The 9800 is one of the best cards ever released ( on a cost / date released / performance basis). It should still be able to run the vast majority of games today 'ok', I use one on my backup system and that runs alot of 3D games ok.

If you do really want to upgrade, the only ati AGP cards I would seriously recommend would either be a X800 (which still offers very nice performance) or the soon to be released 1950PRO AGP. The 1950PRO AGP will most likely be the fastest (and last) AGP card ever released. Pricing will be about $NZ400-450 (about 130-150 quid).

The rest of your system is fine, the CPU will limit some games however.

If i had to recommend one card for your system it would probably be the X800. The 1950 Pro is the fastest but is more expensive and will possible be slowed downa little by the rest of your system.
 

Marchus

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Feb 15, 2004
Messages
716
Guys, can u help me too? :) I would like a new video card too that can use dual monitor, what u suggest?

My comp atm:
AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3000+ (2 ghz)
2*512 mb Ram

I had a 9700 pro 128 mb, and I can't use his dual monitor stuff + sometimes it gets crazy...
I am not rly playing, only sometimes. The dual monitor would be nice for working.
 

Achilles

One of Freddy's beloved
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
480
Thanks for well informed replies Ballard and Boni. Yeah the 9800 is a really nice card, just the shitty fan Medion stuck on it let it down. If i had paid more attention i could have changed the fan and still have it. Just ordered the 9550, it will have to do as a filler card for a while.

@Marchus, i am definitely not a pro when it comes to video cards, but what sort of slot is you mobo compatable with? AGP or PCI-E
 

Tesla Monkor

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Messages
1,452
Marchus said:
Guys, can u help me too? :) I would like a new video card too that can use dual monitor, what u suggest?

My comp atm:
AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3000+ (2 ghz)
2*512 mb Ram

I had a 9700 pro 128 mb, and I can't use his dual monitor stuff + sometimes it gets crazy...
I am not rly playing, only sometimes. The dual monitor would be nice for working.

Getting a dual-monitor card shouldn't be all that hard. My old X850 had it build in. Most videocards come with two DVI connectors (Not the same thing as Dual DVI! - you only need Dual DVI if you run on silly large resolutions. (1900+)). In the end it really depends on your budget, but anything that comes with 2 DVI connectors can do the dual monitor trick. :)
 

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