Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Graphics card help

Hey guys, could use some help/advice.

I've got an old (~7 years) Dell desktop. Still working fine, but we got a new monitor for it recently and I think the poor little nVidia GeForce2 graphics card (so outdated that nVidia's latest driver bundle won't even recognize it) is having a little trouble keeping up. It wasn't built for this kind of high resolution, and it's not entirely sure what to do with the widescreen format.

So I'm thinking upgrading the graphics card is the way to go. Unfortunately, it's been a long time since I've done anything like that.

Dell's website is giving me some refurbished options, but they look overpriced. I could get it elsewhere, but I'm not entirely sure what the old motherboard is designed to handle.

From what I can see on the motherboard and Dell's online documentation for the system, the current graphics card is plugged into an AGP 2x slot.

The thing is that the card options it's offering me for the system (specifically marked as compatible with a Dimension XPS tower) say "low profile," and I think they're PCI.

I do have an open PCI slot or two, but I'm not really sure if that's the best option (or even really a workable one).

I also don't really know much about the performance specs of, say, the Radeon 9800 vs the GeForce FX 5200. They've both got 128 megs of RAM, but Dell wants $400 for the Radeon and $80 for the GeForce. (And is either one really going to be able to do much for/with the outdated motherboard?)

I'm not particularly picky. I'm not doing a lot of high-performance gaming on this thing or anything. Pictures, web surfing, etc. I just need something that's compatible with this old comp and yet can handle the resolution and formatting of this new monitor (which Dad picked out while I was away). Is that even possible?

Any suggestions?

Paul

Question from my techie husband (who says stay well away from Dell's website): what model Dimension is it? He thinks he can come up with some options for you, all of which would be around $100-$130.


Wendy

It's an XPS B .

$100 is more than I've been seeing for the various plausible options. They seem to run in the $30-$80 range. (Various versions of the GeForce 5200 AGP, for example.)

There are, of course, better/more expensive options, but I'm not sure that something like that would do any good. Sure, maybe you could plug the card in, but what's the point when the motherboard can only take 133mhz 32-bit input?

The monitor, BTW, wants to run at 1440 x 900.

Meantime, I've asked the question over on the nVidia.com user boards, so maybe they'll be able to come up with something.

But thanks for the help. And any advice you may have to offer would still be appreciated.

Paul

*sigh* Hit a new snag. I was just settling in on a possibility when I noticed the system requirements included a minimum wattage for the power supply. Checked Dell's info and it turns out the XPS B has a 200 watt power supply... And all the nvidia stuff I've been looking at requires at least 250 (some 300 or more).

There are some ATI cards that look possible... but I haven't seen power supply requirements listed at all for them. Most sites don't seem to want to bother to include that sort of thing.

Guess I'll have to do a bit more research.

As old as your computer is and as expensive as the graphic cards are... why don't you consider getting a refurbished computer instead? A lot of those run around 300-400 bucks now with out a monitor.

Example: http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2.cfm?Product_ID=5149
http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2.cfm?Product_ID=5148

There may be a better site for the refurbs... I know my boyfriend has gotten people some really good deals off one site but until he wakes up I can't ask him for that one.

Hmm. It's a thought. But I swore I'd never buy from Compaq/HP again.

Besides, by that same argument... why spend $400 when I can get a brand new system that will last years longer for $1000 or less? Dell's got some basic systems that start under $400. (No monitor or AV software, but I've got those already...)

I don't know. The graphics cards I'm looking at aren't that expensive. The problem is that even the super cheap ones ($50 or so) seem to want more wattage than the comp is prepared to give. Which is what makes me think that maybe it is time to replace the thing, after all. But if I did, seeing how long it took to replace this one, I think I'd buy using the same principles as I did last time: go for something high performance (not bleeding edge, but not more than a couple of notches from top of the line), get the most for the $, and keep it going for as long as I can before it needs replacing. Spend an extra few hundred now, save myself $1000 or more down the line.

Well, I got a "new" one. New to me, anyway. Old and slow enough to handle the limited power from this comp, but with twice the memory and a considerably better processor than the old one. Comp works much better now.

(My 100 year old grandfather, after seeing me install the new card: "I see you can fix the internet, too. And all by yourself!" If only I could put that on my resume... )

So now the question is... what do I do with the old one? It's a 64MB nVidia GeForce2 GTS. Pretty good (if not top of the line) 7 years ago. Now... there are a bunch of them listed on eBay for about $10 each, and only one actually has a bidder. There are plenty of sites willing to sell them for more (I got my new one for $40), but none that I can find willing to buy just one graphics card.

I don't want to just toss it in the trash if I can avoid it, but I'm running short on alternatives.

Any suggestions?

Anyone need a really old graphics card? Know someone who does? Know of a place that buys them? Anything?

Paul

You might be able to donate it to a cause like CommuniTech . I worked with them a few years ago; they refurbish or build basic, inexpensive computers and give them to families in the area. They might be able to use a random part like that, or there might be similar programs at other schools...

Kaylle

Hmm. Cool. I'll drop them a line, see what they say. Thanks, Kaylle.

If not... You wouldn't happen to be on any of the reuse lists, would you?