upgrade graphic card for old computer

[wtts0]

i have a PII 266Mhz,128Mb RAM, 20G HDD,4MB video card.My motherboard is EP-KL11.Could you recommend to me which card i should buy that supports by my motherboard?I hope to play Counter-strike/Half life type of games.?Thanks.Hope to hear from u soon.

 

[Nights_L]

Get a Radeon Series..even the old Radeon, get AGP card, if not, get PCI..if those are the only games you want to play, otherwise, upgrade your whole system

 

[baldurga]

If you have AGP, get a GPU with AGP, but BE CAREFULL because sometimes these cards requiere high power, and maybe your mobo is unable to support it.

Suggestions:
- make sure you can change your card if it doesn't run due to power problems.
- even an old ATI 7500 or GF2 MX can run your games AS FAR AS you play at low resolutions (like 800x600), no FSAA, etc. I suppose it's the case.
- Finally, a PCI based card will work for sure, but IMO it's a second option, because PCI has its limitations.

Hope this helps.


Still looking for a <b>good online retailer</b> in Spain :frown:

 

[wtts0]

Thanks baldurga for your reply. I got 2 choices for now, a Riva TNT (I guess is 32MB??) and the a gForce2 MX 400(I guess its 64MB??). My motherboard say it has 3 x 32-bit PCI Slots and 1xAGP Slot.So does it means that my computer can support these two graphic cards?
If so, which card do you recommend? What are the pros and cons?
Here is the web site for the board http://support.enlightcorp.com.tw/ep-kl11.htm
Hope this helps!.Thanks in advance.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by wtts0 on 03/13/03 07:58 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Ghostdog]

Might aswell reply directly to this thread instead of to your PM.

If your main goal is to be able to play Half-Life and CS, a GeForce2 could be something for you. They should be very cheap these days. I wouldn´t get a TNT, it quiet old by now. I would also recomned a "regular" GF2 instead of an MX.

<font color=red>I´m starting to feel like a real computer consultant.</font color=red>

 

[wtts0]

could you explain the difference between the 'regular'(which one?GTS?) gforce2 and the MX?
(8 marks)

Thanks.

 

[baldurga]

Hi again.

Take the GF2 MX 400. It's enough. This comment is based in this <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1346" target="_new">article</A>. Read it, very interesting. Even you don't have a K6-2, Pentuim II 266 should be around the K6-2 300Mhz.

Look especially at <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1346&p=11" target="_new">this page</A>. Here you see the great jump going for a GF2 MX instead of the TNT option. And GF2 MX don't need a lot of power from AGP, so it shouldn't give you any problems.

Also GF2 MX will increase FPS if you ever upgrade your Pentium II as you can compare in the same page.

As ghostdog has said, a GF2 MX is old currently so it should be really cheap. A new one can be found for $35-$40. See as an exemple what can be found in <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=1" target="_new">newegg</A>. I would even visit eBay for some bargain or your local dealer, maybe is solding out this card (or similar).

Hope this helps!


Still looking for a <b>good online retailer</b> in Spain :frown:

 

[wtts0]

Hi baldurga,

Many Thanks for your all your infos. I really apreciated.I will get the card soon cos there will be a PC fair in town this month.Thanks again.

 

[wtts0]

i manage to borrow from my friend a gforce2mx 400 32mb card.
I have installed it and it works fine.I would get this card at the PC fair.By the way, i did notice that once i installed the card, my computer taken longer to finish loading windows 98.Also the card generates more heat. Is these normal?
Many many thanks guys.!