Upgrading GFX help?

[watforddude]

I have a Geforce 2 at the minute and i have 512MB of RAM and 2.0 Pentium 4 The system is a Dell Dimension 4300 and ive been asking my friend who is a hardware geek if i can upgrade from a GF3 to a &600GT APG x4/x8 i know it will be bottlenecked by will most certianly improve my fps my games and i will be able to play more games and was wondering if i baught the 7600 would it run on my computer

btw i have (just to recap) Dell Dimension 4300, 512MB RAM,
2.0GHzP4, Nvidia Geforce 2 64MB 128BIT, supposely(ive search it) i have a 450WATT peak power supply

id be glad if anyone could tell me if it would work

Thanks Tom

[OilSheikh]

I have similar specs. I run a 6200 PCI. And all I can say it's disastrous.

[watforddude]

so i assume thats i no i doubt it will work?

[Budding]

If you upgrade your graphics card, your gaming performance will definitely improve.
However, it will not improve to the full extent possible from the card, as you will be heavily bottlenecked by the RAM and CPU.

[No.72]

Tom
it probably will work, you say that your power supply has a peak output of 450w, but that does not mean it is a 450w psu, something nearer to 300w sounds about right. It also depends on how many rails you have (i think thats right ). But upgrading an old system like that 'dunno', you might as well just get new computer, unless other factors prevent that, in which case buy something like a 7600gt.

But it may not work

experts?

[Templar87]

I would say the upgrade would be well worth it for you (assuming you can get a 7600 cheap). Even if your cpu was the bottleneck, the system would still be massively improved.

As for your PSU supplying enough power, the only thing you can do is try and monitor the rails for any major deviations in voltage (more than +-5%).

[watforddude]

hmm im not very good with "rail" and things like that, but when i get it and istall it(if my computer boots that is) is that some type of program i can moniter my hardware with to see like u said if any major deviations accour

Thanks, tom

[kalniel]

The 7600GT AGP would be a great choice. It's a good little performer, and you wouldn't be 'wasting' too much performance with the rest of your spec. It's a very efficient card and hardly needs any power - you will be fine with your power supply.

[Templar87]

hmm im not very good with "rail" and things like that, but when i get it and istall it(if my computer boots that is) is that some type of program i can moniter my hardware with to see like u said if any major deviations accour

Thanks, tom

speedfan is the program i normally use, it lists the various voltages your psu is putting out. So if your 12V rail is fluctuating a lot, it's likely your new gfx card is drawing too much power. That said, you should be ok with it.

[azrael]

In my experience I don't think it will be bottlenecked too muc, should be a great jump in performance plus the extra supported graphical effects. In short, faster and prettier. If you can push the boat out and find a 7900gs or a 7800gs AGP card.

[The Hand]

I have similar specs. I run a 6200 PCI. And all I can say it's disastrous.

I still think an upgrade to an AGP card like the 7600gt should be a good move. AGP though old, walks all over PCI cards in performance.

[watforddude]

The program speed fan, does it tell me my PSU wattage so like i can put it on here with a 100% knowledge that my PSU is what i think it is

thanks, tom

[DarthTedious]

Yes, as others have hinted, your system is most likely AGP so make sure you check that and get an AGP card not PCI-E if that's the case.

I'd think the GeForce 2 will be a major bottleneck. I remember upgrading from one on a 1gHz Athlon and it made a difference. So get the best AGP you can find.

Scan do an AGP Radeon X1950 for 130 - might be worth looking at as well, not sure how it compares to the Nivida ones...

[kalniel]

Scan do an AGP Radeon X1950 for 130 - might be worth looking at as well, not sure how it compares to the Nivida ones...

The x1950pro 512?

It's roughly between the 7900gs and the 7950gt.

[Pob255]

I'd advoid the x1950pro simply because that card is rather power hungery compaired to the 7900gs and could push your PSU over the edge.

A quick price check and you're looking at around
£130 x1950Pro 256mb AGP
£135-145 x1950Pro 512mb AGP

£135 7900GS 256mb AGP
£65-75 7600GS 256mb AGP

Could find a 7600GT available in AGP, However another low cost option is
£55-65 7300GT 256mb AGP
the 7300GT is not supposed to be that bad for a low cost card, especially if you don't run high resolutions (make sure it's DDR3 not DDR2 memory)

For the PSU, it gets a bot tricky, best bet it to look at the sticker that'll be on it (normally side but some times top or bottom) that should tell you wattage, amps on the voltages, ATX version, make and Model number.
The make and model number are often the most important things as the other data is not always trust worthy esp on cheap brands.

One other thing I'd consider for gaming is to stick some more memory in there, another 512mb in there to bring you up to 1gb will help with games.

Ok just spotted a 7600GT 256mb AGP on scan, £78