Cheap Video Card...
 

Currently using a 8600GT, 512RAM
Pci - Expess x 16 slot.

I am running this with a Dual Core 3.2ghz,
with 2 gigs of RAM.

My motherboard: Here Asus P5NSLI

http://www.asus.com/websites/global/...zLL2/P_500.jpg

The system is an older one for sure, looking at upgrading
the video card. Any thoughts? Believe it or not
the above ran SH5 ( fairly well ) before I did a reformat
of the computer.

I am struggling a bit installing and uninstalling
various drivers to get the game to run like it did.
I forget what driver was installed. Thinking
instead to just update with a cheaper type card.

Don't want to spend to much as the system
I have does not warrant this. Any suggestions?

Nvidia 9800 or better card will work great. Fortunate you have PCI. Finding AGP is very hard. Your rig has plenty of life left!

Thanks AVG, I'll have a look at it.

Is it a standard or low profile machine?

You can get a good PNY Geforce 430 in either profile for well under 100 bucks. Its not a screamer card, but a solid one for most games. Even though its not "hardcore" - it doesn't require a PS plug, and its fast enough that it won't be the bottleneck in your current rig. You would need a MB/CPU/Ram upgrade before you throttle the card, so for the price its worth it depending on your long range plans.

$63 bucks here:
http://www.amazon.com/PNY-GeForce-PC...9276890&sr=8-1

I have used the card and recommend it highly for the use your looking at. I actually put this in my Low Profile machine at work (its my "test" machine that has a few games on it - for BENCHMARKING purposes only, I assure you!) and it handles games like World in Conflict, Dragon Age /DA2, etc without issue. Not on highest settings or max rez, but still looks really good.

What is the main difference between standard and low profile?
Amount of space available.

Also is Pci-express x 16 the same as 2.0?

Thanks for the reply CH :yep:

Standard vs low profile - cases come in various "sizes" - business ones usually are smaller "boxes" - the components are packed in a lot tighter. These use the "low profile" style card - its about half height of a standard sized card. This is because the box they fit into is not as high (or "thick") as a standard XT case. Basically your normal is 4.2"and a low profile is 2.1" height.

Standard is what you normally would get with a regular size pc case. If your existing 8800 is a regular card, then you need a standard sized card to fit.

The thing about the PNY I linked - is it is a smaller card but comes mounted on a standard size end - so it fits a standard pc. If you need it for a low profile machine - there is a "shorter" faceplate that you switch out - so it fits in the smaller machine. Really nice design to work in either "size".

Now - PCIe. "x16" - It has 16 "lanes" for data to travel back and forth. More lanes = faster data transfer.

But the version is important. V1 or 1.1 can transfer stuff at 250MB/s - while V2 doubles that rate. This means that the version is a multiplier for the lanes. They have a x32 card - and running at v1.1 would be the same data transfer rate as a x16 card running v2.

Basically - as long as its a V2 capable card, and most are - your fine. Even if your running v1 - its backwards compatible.

V2.1 breaks that - but not many cards/boards are 2.1 for that very reason. 3.0 was released, but it is not readily available either.

Just stick with a x16 card - v2 preferably and you will be fine.

Same one from Amazon.ca: PNY VCGGT4301XPB GT 430 1024MB DDR3 DVI-I+VGA+HDMI 2.0 PCI-Express Graphics Card

This is where I would order.

I would have a Standard Case, thanks for the explanation :up:

How do I see where it is a V2 Card? Can't tell from the link I posted or yours? Or does the 2.0 mean V2.

For XP, 32 bit, is 3gig of RAM the max it can use. I have 2, 1 gig sticks in. I have two empty slots left. The Mobo I have can handle DDR2, 667, Dual Channel.

Thanks again :yep:

I believe 2.0 is V2. The card you selected is nice. Price is awesome to boot! Needs 300w power supply

Product Specifications
Core Clock 700 MHz
Processor Cores 96
Processor Clock 1400 MHz
Texture Fill Rate 5.6 Billion/sec.
Memory Amount 1024MB DDR3
Memory Data Rate, effective 1600 MHz
Memory Interface 128-bit
Memory Bandwidth 25.6 GB/sec.
Power & Thermal 49W - Active
On-board Outputs VGA, DVI, and HDMI
Bus Type PCI Express® 2.0

Key Features
Full Microsoft DirectX 11 Support
Blu-Ray 3D Support
NVIDIA CUDA™ technology Support
Microsoft Windows 7 Support
DirectCompute 5.0 Support
OpenCL Support
NVIDIA PhysX™ Technology Support
Hardware Video Decode Acceleration1
TrueHD and DTS-HD Audio Bitstreaming Support
Dual-Link HDCP-Capable2
OpenGL 4.0 support3
Minimum System Requirements
PCI Express® or PCI Express 2.0-compliant motherboard with one x16 graphics slot
A minimum 300W or greater system power supply (with a minimum 12V current rating of 22A)4
Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon XP class processor or higher
200MB of available hard disk space
1GB system memory (4GB recommended)
Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 Operating System (32 or 64-bit)
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive for installation
DVI or HDMI or VGA compatible monitor
Package Contents
NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 Graphics Card
Quick Installation Guide
Installation CD, which includes:
- Detailed Installation Guide
- Microsoft DirectX 9.0c
- NVIDIA Graphics Drivers
- PhysX System Software
- 3DVision Software
Low-Profile bracket kit

Yeah, it does look like a good one. I think I have a 300 or 400w power supply. Also thinking about adding one more gig of RAM to give me 3 gigs.

Looking at this RAM, trying to get one stick, but no luck, I may have to buy PNY MD2048KD2-667 Optima 2GB 2x1GB Dual Channel Kit DDR2 667 MHz PC2-5300 Desktop DIMM Memory Modules

A little different that what I have. Corsair Dual Channel 6400, 800Mhz, DDR2, 2 one gig sticks.
but should run fine I think. My goal here is to get a couple of more years out of the rig, then build a mid to high range machine at that time.

Thanks Chris :up:

You could also get 2 512mb sticks - it would likely be cheaper - and would add up to the max 3G that xp can use.

I'll try that. No way of changing XP to see more is there?

Edit: Just placed the order. The VC and the ram, the latter was only 35.00, so I got the two. No big deal.

Thanks lads :yep::up:

I see no reason you could not get another 2 years out of your billy goat. I still have my emachine 550 my girls play games on. Same rig I played SH4 on without issue. Works just fine and will for a few more years. I think I got it in 2003. The machine does not have quite the power your machine does. All the same, very lively and worth keeping until it absolutely does not play a darn thing.

Yeah, I agree.

Just as a footnote. I will be putting 3, 1 gig sticks in, I have 4 slots to do this. Any particular way they should go in?

2.1 isn't compatible with 1.0? I was told in another thread that I'd be fine with a 2.1 card in a 1.0 slot. :o