My graphics card is a dinosaur. I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce 2 GTS, just from reference. Basically, I'm planning to get a new one off of Ebay. The problem is, in the meantime I can no longer play any sort of 3d game. Anything from Battlefield 1942 to Google Earth will cause my computer to freeze up. I'm assuming that it's directly related to my video card, seeing as it only happens during something that uses it.

IS there anything I can do to get mine working during the ~3 weeks until I get a new one? I'm posting this in the main forum because I don't think people ever go to the tech help one. Move it if you must.


Thanks a bunch.

First, try watching a movie. It might not be your videocard, it could just be heat.

But upgrading your video card won't hurt. However, do NOT GET ONE OFF EBAY. You have no guarantee it works, and can get easily ****ed. Get one refurbished off a licensed retailer like newegg.com or tigerdirect.ca if you're canadian. Also, give me a price range and I'll look up some good prices for you.

If nothing else, try pricegrabber.com, who usually has excellent prices.

Thanks, I'll try it. If it is heat though, then am I forced to buy a new fan?

I'm really hoping to spend less than $50, because I'm a cheap mofo. And because I shouldn't have to spend anything more. I'm not an hXc gamer, but I would enjoy being able to play BF2 and the ilk.

Holy crap, is this deal for real? Athlon 64 X2 3800+ on sale for $160? It is almost $300 on newegg, and elsewhere. I might want to buy that just to resell it.

For 50 bucks? Dude, no offense, but you can't even get a refurb'd card for 50 bucks worth a damn. This card is the closest you're going to get, and it's severely outdated.

O RLY?

psst--it's a single core proc

Ah snap it's not the same thing. I automatically assumed dual core with X2, that's what I saw on newegg.

I feel sad

Like I said, I'm looking for something functional, not something crazy.

Maybe I just don't know enough about these things, but what would be the problem with something like this?

I don't think you get it--anything functional for 50 bucks would be about equal to your videocard. That 6200 sucks hard. Quit being a cheapskate, spend the extra 30 20-25 bucks, and get a decent video card. The 9600XT isn't anything awesome or amazing, and was only mid-level two years ago. Take my advice to heart--I know what I'm talking about.

You will be far better off just saving your money. You're basically replacing a used Pinto for a new one.

If you can't spend the cash to even get a budget card in this generation of cards, then its not worth buying a card period.

I have a 9600XT in my machine and can vouch for it being decent. Must recent game I demoed on it was FEAR and it ran pretty well. Couldn't max out the settings without taking a hit to performance, but it didn't look like dog crap either.

If you want something functional and not crazy "OMGITLLPLAYEVERYTHING!" 9600XT is the way to go. Dump the extra few bucks on it like the man said.

deppb001 (5:14:22 PM): what chipset thought
deppb001 (5:14:30 PM): geforce like
deppb001 (5:14:32 PM): 5200
deppb001 (5:14:34 PM): 4000
ultimatepotatoe7 (5:14:37 PM): 2
ultimatepotatoe7 (5:15:18 PM): it's a little 32mb card
deppb001 (5:15:54 PM): oh
deppb001 (5:15:55 PM): snap
deppb001 (5:16:02 PM): then anything is gonna be better than what you have now


I'll fork up an extra $30 to get something decent, but like I said before, anything is an improvement over what I have now. My friend suggested this card. Now, i don't really know anything about the video cards, but
isn't a 256MB 64-bit card > a ten year old 32mb one?

If the card he suggested still sucks, I guess I'll go for the money.

His suggestion sucks. The 64-bit bus is the exact same as the one on that 32mb card (and, as a standard rule of thumb, never look at the RAM of such a low-end card. Anything over 128mb is overkill.), and will severely inhibit performance. Not only that, but the card I suggested was only 7 bucks more, and will actually give you gaming performance worth a damn.

Trust the people who you asked advice from.

If you're willing to go used..:

Radeon 9800 for $55

Reliable seller, too.

i have a 9800Pro i can sell for $75+shipping

but just out of curiosity... could you post the specs for your system

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]His suggestion sucks. The 64-bit bus is the exact same as the one on that 32mb card (and, as a standard rule of thumb, never look at the RAM of such a low-end card. Anything over 128mb is overkill.), and will severely inhibit performance. Not only that, but the card I suggested was only 7 bucks more, and will actually give you gaming performance worth a damn.

Trust the people who you asked advice from.[/QUOTE]

Alright Yoshi. Supposing I was willing to spend $100, what would you recommend?

My specs are as follows:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.0GHz)
384 RAM
67 Gb free space left
12x DVD-ROM drive

what an unbalanced system... your processor is better than mine your RAM is sad and pathetic and your video card is like 7 generations behind

save up some money, upgrade that RAM, then get a good video card

I'm (obviously) not Yoshi, but I'd look for a Radeon x800 or a Geforce 6600GT.

I'd suggest you get the 9800 pro from Jim and save the rest for a gig of RAM.

Seriously.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]I'd suggest you get the 9800 pro from Jim and save the rest for a gig of RAM.

Seriously.[/QUOTE]

I had a 9800 flashed to Pro..still kicking in my cousin's system -- great cards.

Here's what I bought:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150130

The price seems to have dropped since then. I'm able to run HL2EP1 at full with a 1.8ghz proc and 1gb ram.

Note that if you have a significantly slower proc you might not want to go that high, as your CPU might end up bottlenecking the card.

Also note a 6800XT is on level with a 6600GT.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]I'd suggest you get the 9800 pro from Jim and save the rest for a gig of RAM.

Seriously.[/QUOTE]

Alright. I'm starting my summer job in about a week, so my first couple of paychecks are going to go towards this system.

[QUOTE=The Mega-ZZTer]Here's what I bought:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150130

The price seems to have dropped since then. I'm able to run HL2EP1 at full with a 1.8ghz proc and 1gb ram.

Note that if you have a significantly slower proc you might not want to go that high, as your CPU might end up bottlenecking the card.

Also note a 6800XT is on level with a 6600GT.[/QUOTE]

He has an Athlon64 2Ghz...I think he's got you beat.



RAM makes a huge difference -- Oblivion sucks up upwards of 1Gb. I'm running 1.5Gb at the moment, and wouldn't want to go any lower.

[QUOTE=The Mega-ZZTer]Here's what I bought:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150130

The price seems to have dropped since then. I'm able to run HL2EP1 at full with a 1.8ghz proc and 1gb ram.

Note that if you have a significantly slower proc you might not want to go that high, as your CPU might end up bottlenecking the card.

Also note a 6800XT is on level with a 6600GT.[/QUOTE]
6800XTs are plagued with problems, and really there's no reason to go with them instead of a very capable 6600GT.


Then just wait, get 600 bucks together, and make a brand new system. Now's a good time to upgrade.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]6800XTs are plagued with problems, and really there's no reason to go with them instead of a very capable 6600GT.


Then just wait, get 600 bucks together, and make a brand new system. Now's a good time to upgrade.[/QUOTE]

Upgrade from an A64 3200+?

I'm /way/ behind the times.

well if he has an A64 chances are he could just do a mobo/RAM/GPU upgrade then get a better CPU later

Chances are it's a 754 processor which is nForce3 only. You'll want to upgrade the entire system, IMO, to AM2 so that you could, at the very least, use PCI-E. Maybe a mobo upgrade would allow it, but I'm not sure of any PCI-E 754 motherboards. I'd have to look into it.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]For 50 bucks? Dude, no offense, but you can't even get a refurb'd card for 50 bucks worth a damn. This card is the closest you're going to get, and it's severely outdated.[/QUOTE]

That will probably be more than enough for any system with a high-end Geforce 2 in it.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]6800XTs are plagued with problems, and really there's no reason to go with them instead of a very capable 6600GT.

[/QUOTE]

Except there's a possibility that the XT will unlock a tad.



EDIT: A 3200+ with a Geforce 2? Dang. I would never have thought. I recommend a 6600GT, 6800XT or a Radeon X800GTO. If you'ren ot going to play games stick what ever crap that you can find into your AGP slot.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]Chances are it's a 754 processor which is nForce3 only. You'll want to upgrade the entire system, IMO, to AM2 so that you could, at the very least, use PCI-E. Maybe a mobo upgrade would allow it, but I'm not sure of any PCI-E 754 motherboards. I'd have to look into it.[/QUOTE]

Since he already has an AGP board and an Athlon64, I would recommend buying some more RAM and an AGP card. There are plenty of fast AGP cards around...it's not dead yet. That would be significantly cheaper than dropping a few hundred on a new board/cpu, and should hold him over for quite some time.

It would, but it'd only tide him over two years, maybe three before it literally became obsolete. As in games coming out would require DX10, which isn't happening for AGP cards.

AGP is dead. The only cards left for AGP are remakes of old ones, or downgraded PCI-E cards. There's absolutely no argument for sticking with AGP. Besides that, he could sell his current system for a hundred fifty, maybe even 200, boosting his overall spenditure significantly almost immediately.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]It would, but it'd only tide him over two years, maybe three before it literally became obsolete. As in games coming out would require DX10, which isn't happening for AGP cards.

AGP is dead. The only cards left for AGP are remakes of old ones, or downgraded PCI-E cards. There's absolutely no argument for sticking with AGP. Besides that, he could sell his current system for a hundred fifty, maybe even 200, boosting his overall spenditure significantly almost immediately.[/QUOTE]

If he spends the money on a PCIE setup, he's looking at buying a new video card now, as well as another new card when DX10 comes around. If he were to buy an $80 AGP card now, he'd be set for a short while...and when he wants to upgrade to DX10, everything (motherboard/processor/RAM/video) will all be cheaper/faster.

*shrug*

Just my take on the situation. Why use the 'it'll be obsolete' argument when the main piece of hardware this discussion is about would be obsolete too?

Because you're already seeing games that the highest tier AGP cards can't handle at good qualities, therefore in the next year you're definitely going to see games that AGP users must be forced to go to "stupidly ugly" quality just to get running.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]Because you're already seeing games that the highest tier AGP cards can't handle at good qualities, therefore in the next year you're definitely going to see games that AGP users must be forced to go to "stupidly ugly" quality just to get running.[/QUOTE]

It sounds like he can't afford the hardware required to run said games in such detail regardless -- you might be surprised at what people can play with...I'm only running a P4 3Ghz / 1.5Gb DDR2 and a 128mb PCIE x800 -- far from high-end, but I run Oblivion fine..granted, I don't crank up the detail, but I don't have 600 bucks to drop on upgrades either.

If money was no object, sure...build something -- but if he's asking for a video card under $100, he obviously isn't looking to spend that much -- since even a mid-high-range PCIE card alone will run much more than that.

Your setup is far from lacking. I play oblivion with mine, which is similar to yours (1gb of DDR, AXP effectively at 3000+), and I do fine. But you must know that you're seeing slowdown.

He said he was a cheapskate, not that he didn't have the money. Besides that, my advice stands; the only really ADVISABLE course is to save your money and get a new rig at that point. Sure you could get leaps and bounds of performance with good AGP cards and more memory, but not for anything less than 250 at the point you're talking about. At 250 you already have the motherboard and the processor, and all you need is the video card, which would run you another 100 at the very least (X1600 Pro, more than a capable card), so the upgrades stand at around 350, if not less, unless you have a sub-300 watt PSU. 600 would just be a complete overhaul.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]Your setup is far from lacking. I play oblivion with mine, which is similar to yours (1gb of DDR, AXP effectively at 3000+), and I do fine. But you must know that you're seeing slowdown.

He said he was a cheapskate, not that he didn't have the money. Besides that, my advice stands; the only really ADVISABLE course is to save your money and get a new rig at that point. Sure you could get leaps and bounds of performance with good AGP cards and more memory, but not for anything less than 250 at the point you're talking about. At 250 you already have the motherboard and the processor, and all you need is the video card, which would run you another 100 at the very least (X1600 Pro, more than a capable card), so the upgrades stand at around 350, if not less, unless you have a sub-300 watt PSU. 600 would just be a complete overhaul.[/QUOTE]

I do know that I'm seeing slowdown -- but I spent more than enough on this one already, and couldn't really think about spending any more..since I'd probably need /everything/ (got a steal on a Dell, so if I upgrade more than video, I'm probably building from the ground up).

I'd recommend him snagging a bit more RAM and a R9800..should cost ~$100 or less, and provide a viable gaming system until he can afford to rebuild. Fits within the budget, fills the gap..and should hold him over long enough to save for an entirely new system, then he could have two!

Heck, my brother is running a P4 1.8 / 512mb PC133 and a Geforce2 MX...want to talk about slow....heh..

Edit: You forgot RAM in your price. Add another $100+, depending on size/speed.

Edit 2.0: I completely understand what you're saying -- but from what I can gather, it's overkill for what he's looking for. Considering that the only reason he's upgrading his GF2 is that it isn't working anymore..

I'm just advising him that he needs future proofing. Though you don't need it...at all really (PCI-E, over a gig of RAM, a decent proc), he's already got a semi-crappy system which he could easily get upgraded. Since he never indicated he doesn't have the money, just that he doesn't want to spend the money, I advised him to future-proof his system, thus negating the extra spenditure of money later on. To be honest, motherboards aren't going to get much cheaper, procs are at an ultimate price/performance rate right now (3800+ Single Core for ****ing 150), and video cards have been on a roll for being very well priced lately (7900GT for 300 at launch? I got my 6800GT for ****ing 450 at launch.), not to mention the cheapness of RAM (1 gig for 80 bucks).

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]I'm just advising him that he needs future proofing. Though you don't need it...at all really (PCI-E, over a gig of RAM, a decent proc), he's already got a semi-crappy system which he could easily get upgraded. Since he never indicated he doesn't have the money, just that he doesn't want to spend the money, I advised him to future-proof his system, thus negating the extra spenditure of money later on. To be honest, motherboards aren't going to get much cheaper, procs are at an ultimate price/performance rate right now (3800+ Single Core for ****ing 150), and video cards have been on a roll for being very well priced lately (7900GT for 300 at launch? I got my 6800GT for ****ing 450 at launch.), not to mention the cheapness of RAM (1 gig for 80 bucks).[/QUOTE]

I would imagine that processors/motherboards would continue to drop in price as they have in the past..but I can't really predict.

I'm almost in the market for an mATX setup...and yeah, it'll be S939 with PCIE.

I don't spend much on hardware -- bought this rig last August-ish for $290, added 1Gb RAM for ~$90, x800 for $62, 160Gb SATA for ~$50..:)

Why are you going for S939 when it's already dead in the water, and AM2, its successor, has come out?

And motherboards stop lowering at about 50-60 bucks. You just can't get a motherboard lower than that firsthand, and usually they suck balls at that price anyways (I got insanely lucky with my Biostar motherboard). Processors usually drop below 100 (70-100) then become obsolete in the next couple months. They're already as low as 93 bucks (on newegg).

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]Why are you going for S939 when it's already dead in the water, and AM2, its successor, has come out?[/quote]
Because I'm so far behind the times, I don't have any idea what AM2 is.
I'd probably be buying used anyway..tends to happen.



True - but the speed increases, while price remains relatively constant.

I almost never, ever buy used unless it's obvious the buyer is getting rid of perfectly capable hardware, which it almost never is. Also, AM2 is the new socket for AMD and supports DDR2. I'd look into it, especially as it will save you a good 80 bucks on RAM.

And the speed increases--in leaps and bounds. There's no constant increase of speed in the processor market (take back when the AMD64 first came out--you had the FX processor, which is roughly equivalent to a 3500+ iirc, and HIGHLY overclockable, and the 3500+. Then you had the highest ranked AMD Athlon XP at 3200+ which didn't hold a candle to the AMD64 equivalent [yay hypertransport]).