fitting graphic card to a p3 500mhz

[Dakre]

hello,
my CPU is a bit outdated like you noticed so i'd like to give him a little extra boost via the graphic card... currently i use a geforce1 with 32MB DDR Ram and i'd like to buy a graphic card for about 50$ but don't know what would fit best the speed of my CPU, which sureley will be the bottleneck then... or do you think, it already is with my current graphic card and that a new one would not increase my performance? :/

i thought of a radeon 9000 or 9200 or a geforce4, but would like to hear the advice of some pro's
thanks in advance

 

[shadus]

Honestly, my opinion would be: Build a new pc. That pc ain't gonna game for sh!t no matter what you put in it...

How about this (quite a nice little pc for quite a while):

Processor - AMD Ath XP 2500+ Retail - $ 83.00
Motherboard - Asus A7N8X-X - $ 79.00
Ram 1 - Corsair CMX256A-2700C2 - $ 53.00
Ram 2 - Corsair CMX256A-2700C2 - $ 53.00
Video Card - RADEON 9600 XT 128MB - $161.00
Case - Antec Lanboy w/350w PS - $ 80.00
CD-RW - Lite-on 52x32x52 - $ 34.00
DVD - Lite-on 16X Dvd Drive - $ 28.00
Hard Disk - Western Digital 8mb 7200rpm - $ 80.00
Sound - Onboard - $---.--
Floppy - Use Current - $---.--
Speakers - Use Current - $---.--
Keyboard - Use Current - $---.--
Mouse - Use Current - $---.--
Total - $651.00 (Inc/S&H - www.pricewatch.com)

Alternately, you could go with this (but it wont last as long)...
Motherboard - MSI K7N2GL - $ 98.00
Processor - Athlon XP 1700+ - $ 45.00
Ram - Samsung 256MB PC2700 - $ 27.00
Hard Disk - WD ATA/100 40GB 2MB 7200RPM - $ 53.00
CD-RW - Lite-on 52x32x52 - $ 34.00
Case - Raidmax Model 208 10 Bay 350W PS - $ 43.00
Video - Onboard (GF4 MX440) - $---.--
Sound - Onboard - $---.--
Floppy - Use Current - $---.--
Speakers - Use Current - $---.--
Keyboard - Use Current - $---.--
Mouse - Use Current - $---.--
Total - $300.00 (Inc/S&H www.pricewatch.com)

With the second pc you could later add a rad 9600 xt or any other decent agp video card and a second stick of the samsung 256 ram and go dual ddr for a performance increase.

Shadus

 

[Dakre]

thank you for even showing me up two different system configurations you are right... it still is a big investion, but it will last longer then spending those 50$ on a new graphic card... :> and that'd be a lot more power... :>
and hey... it's christmas...
thank you

 

[shadus]

and Hey! You just GOTTA get yourself SOMETHING for christmas ~

Nod, it is a big investment, but either of those systems would do you a world of good. Heck you might be able to turn around and sell the old one used in the paper for $50-$100 and that would be 1/6th-1/3rd of the cost of the cheaper system above (It's amazing what people pay for used very low end computers, boggles my mind.)

Shadus

 

[Crashman]

9000 Pro would be OK, or a 9200. Or better yet, a 9100 or 8500. Ti4200 would be OK.

But you're looking at $50, I'd say find a cheap GeForce4 MX440, or GeForce2 GTS or Pro.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[silverpig]

He's already got a GF DDR. Going with a GF2 GTS isn't worth it at all. I was able to o/c my old GF DDR to be 95% as fast as my GF2 GTS years ago. Too bad that card got stolen

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[Crashman]

Well, the 4-MX440 is basically an overclocked 2-GTS, and you can find them for around $50.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>