[garybergmann]

So, all I really use my home computer for is DVD (windvd/zoomplayer), basic home computing, and kids games/educational software so I'm probably just looking for the best 2D performance I can get. The PC is a 650 Athlon and, unfortunetly, cannot be replaced due to the financial constraints put on my by the children playing the afore mentioned games/educational software...that being said, I can easily jump into one of the lower end cards on the market today.


Since I'm sure I must be able to get better PQ out of a newer card over my 4 year old geforce256, I'm asking for ideas. I've poked around here but, the only conclusion I've come across is that the fx5200 probably doesn't give much better 2D than my old geforce.


So, the basic question is; will any of the lower end cards (fx5200, 9200, mx440, etc) give better 2D performance than my current card or do I have to jump up to a 5600 or 9600? Also, when a card manufacturer says that a card requres a P4 or Athlon XP do they mean it or do they assume we've all thrown away our old boxes...if I should have no trouble running a better card in my sub 1 GHz box, I will exersize patience.


Thanks


Gary

 

[sotti]

The cards will work on older boxes, for the most part. Although it is possible that the voltage on the card may not match that of the motherboard, in which case the card won't even go in.


The nothces on the card, and the bars in the AGP socket will tell you if it's compatiale or not.



PQ hasn't gotten much better, but there have been improvements.


Neither has 2D speed has been ignored, they've been focusing on video processing power and 3D speed.


Getting something with a DXVA and that is DX9 compatiable will let you use windows VMR9 overlays and hardware acceleration for mpeg2.


All of the Geforce5 (fx) or Geforce6 cards as well as the ATI 9600, x300 cards have these features


My guess is if the games are starting to run slow, it's not the video card.


I seriously doubt you'll see any perfomance improvement from upgrading unless you play 3d games, and the cpu is so outdated that the video card won't make much difference at all on newer games.