Best "PCI" Video Card?

esmoore81

Honorable
Dec 1, 2012
4
0
10,510
Im upgrading my dell optiplex 520, and was wondering what the best pci card is for it, yes i know its old, and out dated, but I only need it for minor things, and A little minecraft on the side, so whats the best?
 
Solution


Or you can get PCIE X1 look at your motherboard below PCI slots (if you have Mini Tower)

lrgscalePicture%20056.jpg


If this is correct - Zotac ZT-60607-10L GeForce GT 610 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500299 seems to be better choice.

From Optiplex GX520 manual
Bus type
PCI 2.3
SATA 1.0a and 2.0
USB 2.0
PCI Express 1.0a
Bus speed
PCI: 33 MHz
SATA: 1.5 Gbps and 3.0 Gbps
USB: 480 Mbps
PCI Express x1: 5 Gbps I...


Or you can get PCIE X1 look at your motherboard below PCI slots (if you have Mini Tower)

lrgscalePicture%20056.jpg


If this is correct - Zotac ZT-60607-10L GeForce GT 610 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500299 seems to be better choice.

From Optiplex GX520 manual
Bus type
PCI 2.3
SATA 1.0a and 2.0
USB 2.0
PCI Express 1.0a
Bus speed
PCI: 33 MHz
SATA: 1.5 Gbps and 3.0 Gbps
USB: 480 Mbps
PCI Express x1: 5 Gbps I don't think it is correct but still faster than PCI

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_optiplex_desktop/optiplex-gx520_user%27s%20guide_en-us.pdf PAGE 106

Anything else I can help you with?
 
Solution
GT520 and GT610 are exactly the same card. There is no difference at all except a new name. And the 9500GT PCI cards that Sparkle and Jaton were making still run rings around both of them. 9500GT doesn't support DX11 but at the speed that GT520/610 run at, neither do they really.
 
The Zotac GT 610 is pretty good for old PCs. I've got a 2004 Packard Bell, and the GT 610 has really given a dramatic speed boost in various games - especially Minecraft. It now runs at minimum 50 frames per second (fps), although I did have to get Optifine (http://www.vgchartz.com/article/1001495/optifine-for-174-172-164-162-152-minecraft-mods-and-downloads/).

It connects with PCI (no extra cables needed) and has a HDMI, a VGA and a DVI out port, but VGA is most common for most displays. 512MB of ddr3 RAM is plenty for most games.

I bought it from amazon.co.uk for £42 (or $60 from amazon.com) and it came with a manual, a driver and software disc and a warranty. But I bet you could find it cheaper from eBay.
 


In this case the bandwith of the slot is irrelevant. GT610 isn't even going to come close to saturating a PCIe x1 slot so it may as well be in a PCI slot.