What graphics card is best for older AMD Athlon XP?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
L

Lurker No More

Distinguished
Jan 22, 2011
7
0
18,510
Hello,

I have an older PC with only a meager 32MB of integrated graphics. Browsing Flash-heavy websites such as ign.com and cnet.com really bogs down said PC via Firefox. I've researched high and low, and have gotten some answers but nothing definitive yet. I first thought adding more system memory would do the trick (currently at 2GB PC2700), but that barely made a dent. So what would should I look for in a dedicated graphics card for an older PC?
Specs below:

Biostar M7VIG Motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (1.67GHz)
Kingston 2GB PC2700 of system memory installed
Generic 250 Watt Power Supply Unit (not considering upgrading)

After some research, I've come across maybe Nvidia Geforce 5200 or ATI Radeon 9600 series. Any more I should be looking into? Since this is an older PC, budget is for no more than $20-$30. Thanks for any advice!
 
Solution
purple stain
All you need is a new card.You currently only have 32mb of video memory,which is why your getting stuttering and lag.Just get a card with at least 128mb of ram and you should be fine.Preferibly 512mb to run some 720p but that should also make it last another 3 years.
Sort by date Sort by votes
Thanks for the quick replies guys! I'm typing at work atm, so my replies might be a little late.

With regards to the 512MB 6200, will my 250 watt PSU be enough to safely power that card with no problems? I forgot to state I'm not looking into gaming with this PC (as you've probably noticed). I just want to bring it somewhat into today's standards when I'm browsing the interweb through Firefox (maybe even 720P HD video as well). As I said, the heavy Flash websites are murder on this PC so I think the low-integrated graphics memory may be the culprit. I hope.

As for the monitor, it's a Samsung 19" non-widescreen with a max resolution of 1280 x 1024 at 60Hz and VGA input only. Hope that helps.

Oh one more thing, will DDR2 or DDR3 graphics memory be compatible with my AGP 4X/8X slot I have?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote



*The 250w power supply certainly should power the 6200.
*When you say gaming, what do you mean?
*Also, the 6200 won't do HD. Sorry
*DDR2 RAM is compatible with AGP slots, do you have DDR2 sockets on your motherboard?
*Yes, integrated graphics dooms us all, 32mb :pt1cable:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You might try to bid for This card. The 6800 Ultra is a very nice card for an older system, but maybe too power intensive. The GeForce 6800 ultra uses about 80 watts normally, but it can use about 120 watts when taxed. A 9800 XT uses 45 watts normally to about 90 watts when taxed. The passmark score of the 6800 ultra is 466. the Passmark score of the 9800 XT is 308. The GeForce FX 5200 might use a maximum of 50 watts or so, but its passmark score is 43.
Passmark

You really have to be careful about power consumption. Your processor + cpu + ram is going to use about 70w based on this discussion:
Energy Consumption discussion

I can't really tell what the power consumption of your other components is. Usually, for a computer of that era the hard drive and other components could be anything from 40-120 watts.

I would recommend you be conservative. If you think you can get by with a $12 FX5200, then go for it.

You might check out this discussion about the best card a 240 watt power supply can handle.

If you just want 720P videos to not be choppy. You might consider media player classic. I was able to play 720P videos smoothly on an AthlonXP 1800+ with an ATI MX440 video card. I upgraded my computer a few weeks ago.



 
Upvote 0 Downvote

I'm sorry, I said I wouldn't be gaming on this PC. It's much to slow for that. :cry:

I'd have to recheck my motherboard to see if it has compatible DDR2/3 slots. Although, after contacting Biostar via email, they claimed that it can run those cards. I will have to find out.

Regardless of all, upgrading the video card on this system should improve performance when browsing the web correct? Because maxing out my system memory wasn't enough.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I've been looking around for a newer, low power consumption card for your system. They seem to be making low power consuming cards for pci-e, but not for AGP. You really are taking a risk with anything. Even the GeForce 6200 (Passmark 57) recommends a 300-watt power supply. A 250-watt power supply is really designed for a PC without an add-on video card.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If it were me, I might try a geForce 5200. It wouldn't make his system up-to-date, but it would probably give his old system a huge boost. It sounds like his built-in video card is so poor, he can't even browse the web. The geForce 5200 would give his system the power to do that. I was able to browse the web just fine with an ATI MX 440 and I think the geForce 5200 is a little faster. Do a search on ebay. I saw one for $15 with free shipping. It is still a risk. With a 250-watt power supply, anything is. But I think it is the safest bet to make browsing work.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote

I currently have 2GB PC2700 DDR memory (Kingston) installed. And that's really what I'm seeking, smooth web surfing for once! Just like in my sister's old-ish HP laptop that has a 1.6GHz Pentium Celeron M processor with only 128MB of integrated graphics memory. That thing does just fine for smooth web browsing and I don't believe her processor is any better than my Athlon XP.

@marktwayne, I don't believe you're entirely correct (no offense). Because the 512MB 6200 that was suggested in this thread by Omnisome seems to run fine with only a 250w PSU installed, according to the comments left on Newegg. Maybe because it's only 64-bit as opposed to 128-bit?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
No offence taken. I was looking for something under $30 for you, so I was looking at used cards on ebay. That's going to cost you $37 plus shipping, but you get the rebate. If you can afford it, I think that would be a better card than the old GeForce 5200. It probably has similar power requirements. I think they will probably both run on less than 40-watts.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
All you need is a new card.You currently only have 32mb of video memory,which is why your getting stuttering and lag.Just get a card with at least 128mb of ram and you should be fine.Preferibly 512mb to run some 720p but that should also make it last another 3 years.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Thanks mark! You're right on the pricing, as I should keep this purchase well under $30 if I can. Maybe I can look into 128MB or 256MB versions of the 6200 as well, aside from the 5200.

Just to throw some ATI love out there, it's a shame that I can't even run the old warhorse 9700 Pro in my antiquated setup. It would probably melt it! Either way, I have even more knowledge now than ever after joining this forum.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote

Or at least until Microsoft stops supporting Windows XP Home Edition once and for all! 512MB does sound enticing though.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom