help a poor newbie

[sophiasdad]

I am stuck with PC that has no AGP slot. It is a P4 2.4 with 512 megs of RAM. I have a 64 meg integrated graphics card (Intel 82845G). Would I be better off with a PCI graphics card or sticking with this poor excuse of a card? What is my best option besides starting over ? What card is out there in PCI form...hell do they even make them anymore?

Thanks so much...please go easy on me, I am a newbie.

 

[dhlucke]

I don't know the exact answer, but yes you can get a PCI card that will be much better.

Hopefully this bump will spur someone to tell you which cards are good. It's possible that in the Buyer's Guide thread you might find the answer. I'm not sure if they addressed PCI cards.

_________________________________________
<font color=red>12 bit... The way games are meant to be played!</font color=red>

 

[spitoon]

It depends on what you want to do with it.

A PCI card will be much better than your integrated graphics, but relatively speaking there aren't any PCI cards that will hold a candle to an AGP card. Having said that, I was stuck in a similar situation for a while and was quite happy with my FX5200 128MB PCI card (let the flames fly ). I overclocked it a bit and it played everything but the newest games.

<A HREF="http://www.sudhian.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=445" target="_new">HERE</A> is a really good PCI card review. It's a bit dated, but I don't think much has changed in the PCI video card market lately . It shows a GeForce FX5600 with 128MB and clocks of 325 core and 550 memory, which should be a pretty good PCI performer.


I don't have any experience with ATI PCI cards, so maybe someone else can fill in here...


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by spitoon on 12/11/03 10:17 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Hey I know that review. Maybe it's just Dan Akroyd I remember, he's like famous or something.

The thing that was impressed on me in that review is that the FX5200 and FX5600 were so close in the benchies. And they are so close to the R9XXX series of cards. I think this is the era when truely all the cards are so hampered by PCI that there is little room to improve. I's think an FX5200 or an R9XXX might save some coin (I have a feeling they'll want more for an FX5600 than for a new AGP FX5700 or R9600Pro. Perhaps a solution is a CHEAP AGP card and a new MOBO, instead of a top of the line PCI card which likely costs as much. Just a thought. And the FX5200 in this field is just as good as the rest it seems so no reason to flame.

The thing is to try and make the best out of a bad situation.

The only ATI PCI card I have ever owned (in the THGC picture album) was the All-in-wonder128 16mb. It did well for me (I'd still be using it if it's AIW functions weren't disabled by having an AGP card).

The main thing is what do we expect out of it. The PCI card will be better than the onboard graphics, but it can't work miracles. .


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

<b>-NEW PIC IN THGC ALBUM-</b>

 

[kinney]

I usually stick whatever cards I can get my hands on in PCI only boards. Last system I worked on (it was a relatives) I put a 3dfx Voodoo 3 2000 I had laying around in.
Almost anything would be an improvement.
I would use a GF4MX PCI card, they are cheap and good. I wouldnt spend anymore than those cards cost because to do the cutting edge games your going to need to upgrade your system, then whatever you spend on the PCI card is wasted.. so I'd keep it minimal as far as pricing goes.
There isnt a large difference between PCI cards, the market is stagnated.
Heck, AGP8x is going out the door soon.

Check newegg.com they might have some.

----
I just tell it like it is and some can't handle it. If your experience is different, well congratu-fukulation.
<b>I’M NOT A ATI FANBOY, I’M NOT A NV FANBOY, I’M A STABILITY FANBOY</b>

 

[kinney]

Hey found you a <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-260-031&catalog=48&depa=1" target="_new">card</A>. Thats the cheapest GF4 PCI card on newegg. I wouldnt spend any more than that ($50 shipped).
While that card will pale in comparison to the latest $300 ones (like the one I just sold on ebay because I dont need the excessive speed/price it offers), its actually not a bad card at all.
As long as your system isnt subpar (below 500mhz cpu), you will be able to play mostly anything on the market.

They design them to scale down if needed.
Most ppl are still using GF4MX cards, and probably even lesser. Developers wouldnt alienate something as popular as those era of cards.

----
I just tell it like it is and some can't handle it. If your experience is different, well congratu-fukulation.
<b>I’M NOT A ATI FANBOY, I’M NOT A NV FANBOY, I’M A STABILITY FANBOY</b>

 

[georgebeee]

actually depends on what the system is planning on being used for. I tried to purchase the game prince of persia: sands of time for my AMD2000+ system which has a geforce4MX440 video card but the game doesn't support those cards. it supports any geforce3 cards and anything after but not any geforce4MX cards at all.

 

[spitoon]

Whew, not flamed, thanks GGApe

Having owned both a GeForce2 MX440 64MB PCI and a GeForce FX5200 128MB PCI, running with a 566MHz Celeron (at 850MHz thanks to Crashman) I can tell you without a doubt that the 5200 performed MUCH better.

With the 5200, I was able to play the following (at med to low settings):
Mafia
Splinter Cell
MOHAA
Madden 2003/4
NHL 2003/4
High Heat Baseball 2004
Max Payne
Hitman 1/2

Most played fairly well considering the setup.

 

[shadus]

I'll second the vote for a new mobo + cheap agp card, but if you don't wanna do that then I'd suggest a ATI Radeon 9100 64MB PCI card.. run you bout 50$ off price watch.

Shadus

 

[Mloot]

Actually, the best PCI card is the 9100 PCI w/128mb. You can get it for ~$50 after rebate at Tigerdirect.com. It costs about as much as a new MX440 PCI, but is much faster. And it's alot better buy than a $80-100 FX 5200 PCI, or the $150 FX 5600 PCI. The 64mb 9100 PCI is a good deal, also, but there are a couple of instances where the 128mb 9100 performs better.