I'm looking for a cheap video card between $50-100, but I'm willing to spend over $100. The main reason for this upgrade is to play a game (see below).
Current system specs:
- AMD Athlon 2400+ XP
- MSI K7N2 motherboard (http://www.msicomputer.com/pro...model=K7N2_Delta2-LSR)
- Radeon 9700
- 1 GB memory
- AGP x8 and PCI 1.0 (no PCI 2.0)
- 350 watt power supply
- Windows XP SP 3
I would like to be able to play the game Demigod. The (pertinent) system req's and recommendations are (http://www.demigodthegame.com/faq/):
* 2.4 GHz Processor
* 128 MB 3D Video Card (ATI Radeon X1600 / Nvidia GeForce 6800 or better)
* 3 GHz Processor (Multicore Supported)
* 256 MB 3D Video Card (ATI Radeon 2600 / Nvidia GeForce 7600 or better)
Here are some of my questions/concerns:
- I read the other thread on upgrading an old system and somewhere it was said that PCI 2.0 is backwards compatible, but I would still get better performance with a AGP card, right?
- Would an upgraded video card potentially cause power problems (suspect issues in the past with not enough power going to the CPU)
- On a side note, what are the odds my CPU can handle the game? I know my CPU is incredibly old, but I don't use this box for much besides internet/video, word processing, Warcraft 3, and possibly Demigod. So an upgraded system is out of the question (it's pretty much either upgrade the video card and run Demigod vs. no Demigod and squeeze out the last bit in this PC till it dies)
I've been looking at the Radeon 3650 or 3850, but I'd really appreciate any recommendations and expertise I can get. Thanks a lot!
Current system specs:
- AMD Athlon 2400+ XP
- MSI K7N2 motherboard (http://www.msicomputer.com/pro...model=K7N2_Delta2-LSR)
- Radeon 9700
- 1 GB memory
- AGP x8 and PCI 1.0 (no PCI 2.0)
- 350 watt power supply
- Windows XP SP 3
I would like to be able to play the game Demigod. The (pertinent) system req's and recommendations are (http://www.demigodthegame.com/faq/):
* 2.4 GHz Processor
* 128 MB 3D Video Card (ATI Radeon X1600 / Nvidia GeForce 6800 or better)
* 3 GHz Processor (Multicore Supported)
* 256 MB 3D Video Card (ATI Radeon 2600 / Nvidia GeForce 7600 or better)
Here are some of my questions/concerns:
- I read the other thread on upgrading an old system and somewhere it was said that PCI 2.0 is backwards compatible, but I would still get better performance with a AGP card, right?
- Would an upgraded video card potentially cause power problems (suspect issues in the past with not enough power going to the CPU)
- On a side note, what are the odds my CPU can handle the game? I know my CPU is incredibly old, but I don't use this box for much besides internet/video, word processing, Warcraft 3, and possibly Demigod. So an upgraded system is out of the question (it's pretty much either upgrade the video card and run Demigod vs. no Demigod and squeeze out the last bit in this PC till it dies)
I've been looking at the Radeon 3650 or 3850, but I'd really appreciate any recommendations and expertise I can get. Thanks a lot!