upgrading videocard, what to get...

knightofnee1112 · Post by **knightofnee1112** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 10:20 pm

I want to upgrade my videocard i have a TNT/2 32MB right now but it's power is too limited, getting frame rates of 7FPS seems to occur right when im being shot at, and need my 30FPS the most. i am thinking of perchasing a 550Mhz k6/2 for my system to boost the performace a bit, but im not really sure if that will have great effect. i at one point bought a TI/500 and my mobo didn't have enough voltage (thanks for the help flying penguin). so i am in fear that a geforce 2 pro will complain on the voltage as well

what would be a good replacement for my trusty TNT/2?

here are my systems specs:

generic midtower AT case w/200W PSU
DFI K6BV3+/66 socket 7 mobo
333Mhz AMD K6/III @ 400Mhz
160MB ram
TNT/2 AGP vidcard
SB live 5.1
ISA creative modem blaster 56K
Linksys LNE100TX Fast Ethernet Adapter
8X8X32 burner and 48X cdrom

dadx2mj · Post by **dadx2mj** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 10:44 pm

Dude I would say it is time to do a major upgrade not just a vid card. Get yourself a new mobo and cpu in the 1 gig range. Anything else will just be putting a bandaid on something that needs a lot more. Just my 2 cents

Post by **sbp** » Fri Mar 08, 2002 12:32 am

http://www.pcabusers.net/forums/showthr ... post105499

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Fri Mar 08, 2002 12:30 pm

You're CPU limited with a K6 generation CPU. It's a dog by today's standards and it was never any good for gaming even it it's own time. A modern card would run no faster than what you have already on such a system.

If money's tight, you don't need bleeding edge technology. You can get something in the 900 - 1200 MHz range for cheap (I see combos of 900 Mhz Durons with mobos for under $100 all the time).

Even a second hand P3-500 would be FAR better than a K6-550 - it's one generation beyond. The speed in MHz is meaningless - a P3-500 would give you almost double the performance of a K6-500.

knightofnee1112 · Post by **knightofnee1112** » Sat Mar 09, 2002 12:23 pm

I know that i sould get a new sytem, i am, i just want this thing to have a little more power for games. i guess i could get a origanal athlon mobo and CPU (700Mhz) that would give me some nice frames what you guys think?

Jethro Bodine · Post by **Jethro Bodine** » Sun Mar 10, 2002 8:30 am

For a "hardcore newbie" you have some odd ideas. A K6 anything?! That is not a "bit more power". That is like a man sticking a 2X4" board in the middle of the river with the intent to dam it, seeing it's not working, and grabbing a 2X6" to replace it.

If you had more than $300 to buy a Ti500, you should be buying something more along the lines of a TBird 1.2GHz/256MB SDR/Radeon 8500OEM/GF3 Ti200.

You could get all this stuff for approximately the price of a GF3 Ti 500.

knightofnee1112 · Post by **knightofnee1112** » Thu Mar 14, 2002 10:12 pm

K, well ive decided to go for IWILL XP333 mobo w/ athlon XP 1700+ 256Mb of ram and of course a new case. I will use all the rest of the hardware from this system and sell my old mobo & CPU on ebay. i still plan to buy a whole new system (IWILL XP333 AthlonXP 1900 1024MB GF4 4400 60GB HDD) and with useign the same mobo for both the computers that will save me about $10 in shipping to buy some phatty thermal paste

thanks for your insight all!