Help: NVIDIA FX 5900XT on an AGP4 mobo?

[ernani]

Hello all,

I would appreciate some advice. I'm thinking in upgrading my graphics card (GeFroce 2MX) and replacing it with an MSI FX 5900 XT with 128MB of RAM. My problem is that my motherbord supports only na AGP4 bus and the card I'm looking forward to buying is AGP8.

Do you recommend this upgrade? As for the rest of my system, it is an Intel P4 at 1.8GHz with 512MB of RAM. I understand it's not the state of the art, so I'm thinking of upgrading it too, but not in another six months. Is it possible that the card I want will not be compatible with the rest of my system? Is there any possibility of stability problems?

Thank you in advance,

ernani

 

[sparky853]

The card will run at AGP 4x, and realistically, there is very little to no difference between 4x and 8x AGP.

That card should keep you going for a while longer. I wouldn't spend too much money on it as your computer will need to be upgraded if you plan on running HL2 or D3 with good framrates.

Spec:
Intel P4 2.4B
MSI 645E Max-U Mobo
1GB DDR333
R9600XT 128MB
SB Live 5.1
WD 60GB
Maxtor 120GB
LG DVD+-R/RW
WIN2K PRO SP4

 

[Guest]

If you can get it pretty cheap its a rather good buy. Flash the bios to a 5950U and youll get a fast card for pretty cheap.
Tell us what price your payin for the card tough, maybe we can provide better alternatives...

Asus P4P800DX, P4C 2.6ghz@3.25ghz, 2X512 OCZ PC4000 3-3-3-8, Leadtek FX5900 w/ FX5950U bios@500/1000, 2X30gig Raid0

 

[ernani]

Thanks for the immediate reply .
I've found it at 180 Euros. I'm afraid though I have a more worysome question: I read a reply post in a forum somewhere, to a question similar to mine that prompted the buyer to pay attention to the voltage of the AGP slot of the motherboard. He claimed that the standard has changed and all graphic cards run now with 1.5 Vcc ad not with 3.3 Vcc.

Is this true? (Please please say no ). I'm afraid that my motherboard (P4VXASD form Elite Group) supports 3.3 Volts. Should I expect any problems? If I should, what compatible graphic card would you recommend?

As for the BIOS upgrade, forgive my childish question, but isn't it a little dangerous and... how should I put it... illegal if it changes it to the BIOS of a newer model

Thanks again,

ernani

 

[Crashman]

LOL, it's true, it's true! No, it's not true, and even if it was, you wouldn't have a problem.

Your board support BOTH 3.3v and 1.5v cards. It switches automatically. Your card supports ALL 3 STANDARDS and switches automatically to the highest one supported by your board!

ATI's 9600 series, 9800XT, and X800 support 1.5v and 0.8v only. nVidia's 6800 series probably supports 1.5v and 0.8v only. But older AGP8x cards support 3.3v, 1.5v, and 0.8v signals. That includes the 9800 Pro and earlier, as well as the FX5900 and earlier.

So what am I saying? I'm saying your board is compatable with ALL cards, and your card is compatable with ALL boards that have AGP slots. The newer standard is not a limit for you.

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