Graphics Card for an Old System

D

Discouraged

New member
I am looking for a low to medium power graphics card. I'm guessing it would have to be quite an old card and I have not set my sights too high because I am running Windows 2000 with an Intel Pentium III Processor ~450MHz. :p

It has 320MB RAM and is a relatively old system that I was given by a friend. I am unsure where to start looking for a compatible graphics card that will do the job. It does not have to do it well, but any help you might be able to give me would be greatly appreciated. Even just a point in the right direction.

I don't know what information you might need either, so tell me if there's anything else you need to know about it.

Thanks.
 
Whats your Motherboard model?

Then we can help!! :)

We need to know what graphic slot we are working with.. Probably AGP.
 
Probably an old PCI card would do the trick like an old Ti400 or something.

It's really not worth buying a mid-low range modern GPU for that heap of junk :p
 
Ah. The only source of information I have about the computer is the trusty DirectX Diagnostic Tool. I can't see anything about the motherboard. I don't think. Where would I be able to find this information for you?
 
I've used the CPU-Z thing. This is what's listed on the 'Mainboard' tab under 'Motherboard.'

Manufacturer: Compaq

Model: 041Ch

Chipset: | Intel | i440BX/ZX Rev: C1

Southbridge: |Intel | 82371EB/MB (PIIX4E/M)

No AGP or PCI. :(
 
I think the board has AGP. :)

Maybe a Gefore 6600?

What are you wanting to do on the machine? ;)

EDIT: It must have PCI.. ;)

But from what i have just read it has AGP!
 
I'm looking to play games that are pretty low spec. 'Retro' as well as any modern games that I can get away with, using such a low spec tower.

I laughed in my friends face when he told me to get a new graphics card so I could play World of Warcraft with him. I can't see that happening. But right now, it's equipped with a 2MB S3 Trio64V+. Which is, well, terrible.

I'm confused though now. From what I gather, you're saying it's PCI, right? So, if it is, that would mean I couldn't use the Geforce 6600?

Thanks for the help. I'm barely literate when it comes to computers. :p
 
Im pretty sure it has AGP.. meaning you could get up to a 7800 or a x1900.

But it would have an PCI slot too..

Every motherboard has one or two! ;)
 
Oh ok. Well, the guy in my local PC shop told me that it wouldn't be any good for gaming, and that there was nothing in the way of a graphics card that he could give me to get it playing games.

Thanks for the suggestions, and all the help. If there's anything else that you think of after, feel free to add it. More suggestions are also welcome if you're feeling generous, because I have little knowledge of what to look for.

Thanks again. :)
 
If you have an AGP slot (have a look on your motherboard LOOKS LIKE THIS) then choose an AGP card. If it doesn't then choose some sort of PCI card. AGP has a better transfer rate than plain PCI.

If you can get an AGP card the 6600gt would be fine as long as the power supply in that case is up for it.

EDIT: Just found the one I used in my Socket A Athlon system, and is still in my brothers 3200 Socket 939 system. HERE Awesome card :)
 
Ok, well, I've opened up the tower and found the brown slot like in the picture above. This, I assume, is the AGP slot. There is nothing in there at the moment.

There is, however, something pretty big sticking out of the white slot (PCI I'm guessing?) nearest to the brown one. Would I be right in guessing that this is the S3 64V+ that I mentioned earlier? If so, would I still need to remove it, in order to install an AGP card?

I'm planning to get the card bought today from a local store, and hopefully I'll get around to fitting it. I've read instructions on it, and it seems pretty simple - the main concerns being static and grounding myself. Just trying to clear things up here so I know exactly what I'm doing. Thanks for any more help. :P
 
S3 Virge 64 gfx card ?? The likes of those were PCI I thought.

Chances are the brown slot u mention is AGP, ISA slots are indefinately black, tho I`ve seen some cut down ISAs in brown for just comms stuff.

I`d be happier seeing a photo to say what the mobo definately has. Some of these, from that era, boasted AGP - which would be the bus, and u`d need some whacked-out looking bridgeboard to fit them.

Be an idea to check what rev of AGP u have too, if it`s 2x/4x/8x. I`m not too confident an 8x card would work well in a 2x, not tried it.
 
It's a Trio S3 64V+. An awesome 2MB in size. =)

The Rev of AGP - would that be the 'Clocks multiplier?'

If so, then it's listed on here as 4.5x, courtesy of CPU-Z. Do you think that could prevent me from using an 8x card? Or will it just mean lower performance?
 
If it`s 4x, u probably won`t have an issue. It`ll obviously perform lower than an 8x board, but hey, not alot u can do about that ;)

I was thinking down the lines of really old 2x agp boards either being too low a power for the slot OR the newer card not liking the old tech.

4.5x ??? hmm

EDIT: U`r gonna want 128m and above on the gfxcard too, anything below and I think it`ll lean on the mobo too much, with textures and screen stuff - and I don`t think the mobo would like that. Preferably 256+
 
This is what I've decided on. It's the only thing I've been able to find locally. They're holding one at the shop for when I go down in a bit to pick it up.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=37346&doy=3m6

I've basically had a crash course in the very basics of Graphic Cards within this one thread, and by going on the information I've been given, I would assume that this card would be compatible. If I'm wrong then by all means let me know. :p
 
name='Toxcity' said:
Im pretty sure it has AGP.. meaning you could get up to a 7800 or a x1900.

But it would have an PCI slot too..

Every motherboard has one or two! ;)
Click to expand...

a 7800 or a x1900 in a P3 450 would be sheer crazyness, best bet if you have this much to spend would be to pick up components as cheap as possible and build a new rig then just get a smaller graphics card.

i've seen opty 144's for 20 quid, decent enuogh 939 boards for 25 and ram is falling like paris hiltons skirt.

although i would love to see the picture of a 7800 in a P3, and benchmarks.

btw Discouraged your link dont work mate
 
Heh, the link doesn't work anymore because I just grabbed the last one from the site, so it's no longer in stock.

It's a Geforce FX5200 AGP 128MB DDR plus a few other things that I can't remember. =o

Anyway, I have it all installed and stuff. My first ever PC mod. So proud. ^^

Thanks for all the help guys. Couldn't have done it without you.
 
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