Video card upgrade: need to know if PC can handle it ..

[aN00Bis]

Hi guys,

Im new to this forum and would like some advice on whether or not my current (ageing) PC will be able to handle a video card upgrade to a Radeon 9800XT.
If not then any recommendation would be most welcomed.

My current PC setup is as follows:

Power supply: 320 watt ( unsure of make and model )

CPU: AMD Athlon XP2500 (barton core @ 1.8 Ghz roughly )

Motherboard: Albatron KM18G nforce 2

Videocard: Radeon 9600pro

RAM: 2x 512MB PC2700 Memory

Audio: Audigy Soundblaster (very first version)

Hard Drive: 2x Seagate Barracuda 80 gig IDE HDD

Monitor: Viewsonic 17" Monitor

Case: Thermaltake Skull case ( not sure of actual model but it has a LCD display that monitors both the CPU and Case Temp )


I know it is an old system but I would like to be able to play Battlefield 2, F.E.A.R, Quake 4 at 1024x768 resolution with some decent frame rates.
Any help with this would most appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[pauldh]

That's not a bad system. Your XP2500+ may be good for 2.2GHz if you want a little speed boost. Plus you have a gig of RAM.

I'd think that system would even benefit from the $135 (shipped) refurbished X800XL or the $139 shipped new X850 pro on ATI website. If it's a generic power supply with less than 16 amp on the 12v rail, I doubt it would handle these cards though.

http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.asp?dept_id=39

 

[aN00Bis]

Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately ordering online is a no-no for me cos I stay in the middle of the South Pacific and shipping/freight is ridiculously expensive so I got to stick with what I got. However if youre saying that my power supply needs an upgrade, I can get an Enermax 400Watt PSU off a mate, Will that be enough for the Radeon 9800XT ??

 

[maury73]

Your system will support this card w/o problems. I'm still using a 5yo taiwan no-brand 350W PSU (20 pins, where mobo has a 24 pins conn!) with this OCed system:

A64 3500+ (Claw) @2.475GHz (225x11), stock voltage, stock AMD fan
Asus A8N-E
2x512MB Kingston ValueRAM @225MHz (DDR450 2-3-2-6-1T), stock voltage
Saffire X700 Pro PCIe
2xWD740 Raptor
CD-RW TDK CDRW321040B
DVD-RW Samsung TS-H552U

No problems at all in 6 months running 24/7.

 

[enforcerfx]

a upgrade from a 9600XT to a 9800 isnt much of a jump unfortuantely, try and go for a X800 series or a nvidia 6 series or better, otherwise, everything else looks good, and shuld be able to handle either 1 of those cards.

 

[aN00Bis]

Oh well, think I'll just go ahead with the Radeon 9800XT since I'm getting it for $100, should last me until I get my brand new Gaming PC which will hopefully be next year.
Thanks for the advice guys

 

[pauldh]

That's a good price for a 9800XT. It's almost up to 6600GT standards, and they cost more than that. Good Luck!

 

[enforcerfx]

you could probably get a x800GTO for around the same price but not bad overall.