Urgent suggestion needed !!!

[SPEED94]

Hello Guys,
I have asked this many times but not got any suitable answer. This is my last request. Please help.Thanks in advance.So,lets cut it straight......

I want to give a video upgrade to my old mobo AsRock P4I45GV R3.00 /Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz/1 Gb RAm so as to enable it to play games till 08-09 (Farcry2/COD4/5/6/Prototype/etc) in medium settings (800*600 also acceptable) but it should run smooth.1 AGI slot (only suitable 4x/8x AGP accepted and the list is outdated),no PCIe or PCIx slots. Just 3 PCI 2.2 slots. I want a moderate 3.0/4.0 shader with 256/512 mb ram.Please suggest something.

One more question.....mine is a 32-bit interface. Won't a 64-bit or 128-bit fit ? Would a PCI 3.0 GPU fit ? For E.G PNY GeForce 8400GS 512MB DDR3 PCI DVI+VGA+HDMI Low Profile Graphics Card VCG84512D3SPPB

Not to be Rude with all respect Do not please suggest Mobo or system upgrade because I do have bought a i7 core laptop. This ones for my brother.A gpu is all I can afford.Please reply.

 

[ko888]

You say you have an ASRock P4i45GV R3.0 but that model doesn't have an AGI slot.

You, more than likely, have the ASRock P4i45GV R5.0

The ASRock Graphics Interface (AGI) is a proprietary variant of the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) standard. Its purpose is to provide AGP support for ASRock motherboards that use a chipset that lacks native AGP support. However, it is not fully compatible with AGP, and several video card chipsets are known not to be supported, hence the reason why ASRock published a list of supported AGP cards here:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/P4i45GV%20R5.0/?cat=VGA

Whether or not you can still find any of the cards on that list is left up to you.

When a standard isn't supported anymore there isn't much you can do about it.

 

[SPEED94]

mine is a 32-bit interface PCI 2.2 slot. Won't a 64-bit or 128-bit fit ? Would a PCI 3.0 GPU fit ?
I want to buy 512 MB His Radeon 5450 HD silent PCI 3.0 EDITION. It has all the qualities that I want. Will it fit in my slot ?

 

[Supernova1138]

It will fit, but the game performance will be abysmal. PCI is way too slow of an interface for a gaming graphics card. PCI is only fast enough to provide basic display, and nothing else. The best AGP card in existence in the Radeon HD 4670, and it may or may not work on that proprietary AGI slot.

I know you don't want to hear this, but you aren't getting that rig running modern games, it just can't be done. That motherboard is not compatible with graphics cards that can run modern titles, and the CPU is too slow to run modern games anyway.

 

[ko888]

mine is a 32-bit interface PCI 2.2 slot. Won't a 64-bit or 128-bit fit ? Would a PCI 3.0 GPU fit ?
I want to buy 512 MB His Radeon 5450 HD silent PCI 3.0 EDITION. It has all the qualities that I want. Will it fit in my slot ?

Your motherboard's three PCI 2.2 slots will only handle 5 Volt 32-bit PCI add-in cards. The maximum transfer rate on your PCI 2.2 Local Bus is 133 MB/s. Your AGI slot, on the other hand, has a transfer rate of 2133 MB/s, that's 16x the bandwidth of any of your PCI 2.2 slots.

There have been posters on this forum that have complained about poor graphics performance when they purchased and installed a PCI graphics card.

You seem to be confusing PCI Local Bus Interface Width with GPU to Graphics Card Memory Interface Width.

The 64-bit and 128-bit, that you mention, is only the GPU to Graphics Card Memory Interface Width.

The discrete PCI graphics card may have a 32-bit DDR/DDR3 or 64-bit DDR/GDDR2/DDR2/DDR3 or 128-bit DDR/DDR2 GPU to Graphics Card Memory Interface Width.

 

[SPEED94]

Oh no no ! NOT At all modern games. Just games released till 2008-2009 and that too in medium settings even in 800*600 Resolution. Thats why I am asking for a GPU which should have 512 mb RAm and at least 3.0 shader. Won't it be enough for running COD4/5/6/FARCRY2/PROTOTYPE/... in medium detail in 800*600.
Have a budget of around 65 $- hopes gets a card that runs smoothly in my old rig.

 

[SPEED94]

If thats the reality that AGI is that faster than PCI I should be buying an AGP Card. But is there any way to examine the compatibility of any new AGP 4x/8x card without exiperimenting with my system ? Also to mention , I heard that a guy had this same board and bought a AGP 512 mb good GPU and it didn't work as (according to him) the AGI supported only 256 Mb card. So to check I went to chipset configuration in BIOS- The AGP aperature size maximum was 256 mb. Please help.I can not decide anything .

 

[Supernova1138]

Even 2008/9 games won't run on a Pentium 4 system. All 2008/2009 games need more than a Pentium 4 2.4GHz. The only game on your list that you might be able to run is CoD4, and that will only just barely run.

The only cards that you can guarantee will work on your motherboard are the ones on the GPU support list. Any other AGP card is a crapshoot, it might work, but odds are it won't. I'd just give up on this venture, that system is not running 2008/9 games, period.

 

[SPEED94]

Well don't know so much but Pentium 4 2.66 Ghz/1 Gb RAM/512 Mb 4.0 shader GPU is the system that one of my friends use for playing COD4/COD6/FARCRY/FARCRY2 in medium details in 800*600 quite nicely. But still If you are saying there must be some reason. But you know, any card is better than INTEL 845G card. Isn't it ? So which would be the best PCI card for my system ?

 

[Supernova1138]

If you consider running those games at 15 to 20 Frames per second at best as 'running nicely'.

In this case, because you don't have a proper interface for a graphics card, no graphics card is going to be a real improvement over the integrated graphics. The PCI interface is too slow to provide the data to and from the card for a good gaming experience. You can throw a PCI card in there, but your game performance will be at best marginally better than your integrated graphics.

The best AGP cards your motherboard supports are the GeForce 6600GT and the Radeon 9800, which barely meet the minimum graphics requirements for CoD4/5, and fall below the minimum spec for Far Cry 2 and Prototype. Any cards newer than that may or may not work, there is no way to know for sure.

 

[SPEED94]

Well then I guess its of no use to decide on a graphics card with this system.And I can not even buy a new system as I only have 65$ and with a couple of month's saving maybe it would be at max 140$. I don't know whether I would be able to buy a DDR2 mobo(with a nice interface for new cards),a good dual core CPU (for games till 2008-2009),and a decent 2 gb ddr2 ram in that money.If not then maybe its over.

 

[Supernova1138]

You likely won't be able to buy all that with only $140. DDR2 memory modules are getting expensive because they have been discontinued for some time, DDR3 is the current standard. A decent dual core CPU will start at $50 on its own. Maybe if you scrounge around eBay for second hand stuff you might get lucky and be able to get an old LGA775 motherboard with 2GB of RAM and a lower end Core 2 CPU for that price, or an older AM2 platform with an Athlon 64 x2. Keep in mind neither of those options would run modern games all that well, it would just get you up to meeting the minimum requirements.

If you are really that strapped for cash, your best option might be to see if you can find a used XBox 360 or PS3 and play those games on a console instead. PC gaming does have a higher cost of entry in terms of hardware.

 

[SPEED94]

Here in India I guess I can

DualCore 3.06GHz Rs.2690 (almost 50$)
Intel DG-41CN/RQ Rs.2700 (almost 50$)
Kingston 2GB-DDR2-800MHz Rs.1500 (almost 27.5 $)

Total Rs.6890 (almost 127.5$) AnD first hand of course !!!

 

[Supernova1138]

That would work, if you can also spring some more cash for a graphics card. Intel X4500 integrated graphics will not run those games. That board does have PCI Express so it will support modern graphics cards. It's a starting point at least for getting modern games running.

Just make sure that the CPU you select is on the motherboard's CPU support list before buying, though I don't think that will be a problem, it seems to support just about the entire Core 2 lineup.

I would also look at pricing for a more modern platform. LGA1155 is the current Intel socket, and even the cheapest CPUs on that platform would likely outperform most of the Core 2 CPUs. That may or may not be more expensive though, you might be getting good prices because the retailer is trying to clear out old LGA775 parts.

 

[SPEED94]

thanks so much.I would be looking forward to buy this hardware. is there any mobo that supports dual core/core2duo as well as quad core processers.so that in future i have chance to upgrade ?

 

[Supernova1138]

If you want to move up to quad core in the future, I would suggest investing a bit more money into an LGA 1155 platform. LAG 775 CPUs are starting to get harder to find, as they have been discontinued for a while now. You may have a hard time finding a Core 2 Quad in the future.

The motherboard you have already selected does support most of the Core 2 Quad CPUs, the only problem would be finding one at a decent price. The LGA 775 Quads tend to be very expensive.

 

[SPEED94]

Yes but you know the prices of Quad cores. They are like fire. Everyone aren't made of money.I decided to buy the DG41CN-OEM board / a 3.06 Ghz Dual core CPU / a 2 GB DDR3 Ram module. All others I have. Now since I know very little about hardwares I am confused about the PSU. God knows whether it will support the board and the other thing I doubt is the chassis size. The DG41CN-OEM is of approx 9.6*7.8 inch squares. And this current P4I45GV 3.00 board is perhaps 9.6*8.6 inch sqaures (as given in manual).Once they are sorted I can do a assured planning.Can you help ?

 

[Supernova1138]

Power supplies are standardized, as are motherboard form factors. You should have all the connectors you need to get the system up and running, even with a very old power supply. Depending on how big your PSU is, you may want to get a new one if you get a higher powered card, though that is unlikely given your budget. The new motherboard will also fit into your case fine.

 

[SPEED94]

Thanks so much once again. That should be all.