XP Video card suggestions

[fruitpithemagician 0]

I have a old 450mhz, p3. Running 2k then xp (both fresh installs) i have had nothing but driver problems with an ATI Rage 128 and an ATI allinwonder pro 128 cards. I have tried all the updates and different versions of drivers in the last few years, and now I am just done with it. I am looking to buy another card somewhere in the $80 to $125 range. (non-ati) I would like a 64mb ddr as I play a lot of games. Any suggestions on which card works best with a XP machine are greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Joseph

[DosFreak 2]

At my local Best Buy Geforce 4 MX 420's are selling for $99. Bought one of those for my parent's Compaq replacing an ATI 3D Rage LT Pro.

 

(Any Nvidia card with the designation "MX" is pretty much relegated to 1024X768 and lower gaming on the latest games coming out today.)

 

The GF4 MX is basically a more advanced GF2.

 

The GF3 is better than the GF4 MX.

 

The GF4 is not that much different than a GF3 except if you turn on AA which is where the GF4 really pulls away from the GF3.

 

Not sure about the 2D Quality of the MX series of GF4 cards but since your using an ancient ATI card I'm betting the GF4 2D Quality should be superior. You may want to check some reviews on the net about low-end graphics cards.

 

ATI/Nvidia are really the only players in the graphics card market right now. As for driver suppport Nvidia's has been producing higher quality drivers for NT os's far longer than ATI has and it shows.

 

 

*Does anyone else find it odd that every time a new ATI driver is released they ALWAYS say there is a 20-30% performance increase and quality improvement? Geesh. By now they should be up to 600% increased performance over release and the quality should be infinite. ;(

[fruitpithemagician 0]

thanks for the info. I did go to best buy and that card was on sale for $99 so I got it. Unfortunately, the BSOD I was getting with an ATI dll file went away, now the computer just shuts off with no message. looks like rebuild time.

[sapiens74 0]

Just reinstall, and you should be good. SHould be able to play games fine with what you have. Thos you could spend about 400 and get a rather nice setup

[Sampson 0]

Good card selection. Reinstall as Sapiens says and you should be good to go. But, since you like to play games, and if you've grown fond of your p3 mobo (and don't want to get a new mobo), you might also consider stuffing it with as much memory as it can hold, and if the budget will allow, making a CPU upgrade with something like a PowerLeap product to go from 450 to 850 or 1GH. These products are a little pricey and probably not as cost effective as a new mobo, etc., but for the little time it takes to install them and the results that you get, you will be able to tap a little more of the power of your new video card since some things are still CPU intensive. It's just a thought since you've taken the plunge in upgrading your machine.

[Palos 0]

What card did you buy again?