PCI Graphics Card

[Andikins]

Hi

My old computer has died and I've come by a dell server PC (2.4Ghz, 512 RAM) - the idea being it's rock solid so I can't kill it!

Unfortunately it doesn't have an AGP slot at all so I'm going to be restricted to a PCI Graphics Card.

What do people reckon is the best PCI graphics card to get? I guess price isn't going to be too much of an issue seeing they'll all be out of date but I wouldn't want to spend more than, say,  £150. Will the card be able to support the most recent games (doom 3?)?

cheers!

[ArchAngelCD]

There aren't many up to date PCI video cards. I have seen nVidia GeForce4 MX440, nVidia FX5200, Radeon 9000 and 9200 cards and not much else. None of those cards are really current and able to play the new games coming out well. The more current cards are being made for PCIe rather than PCI bus. I think your best bet is to find a 128Mb nVidia FX5200 PCI for your system. It's not super fast but it's the only one that does DX9 from the choices I listed.

-edit
I see you are from the UK so I did some searching there and came up with this. I don't know if this is a good price in the UK or not but here is one I found:
http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/components/graphicscards/productView.htm?quicklinx=34CY

[Andikins]

Great - thanks

[Andikins]

Hi

I found a XFX GeForce FX5200 256MB PCI on ebuyer:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=1931470950&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=66312

Is this better/worse than the one you recommended? I'm only asking because I was thinking 256Mb would make it better than the 128Mb - but are there other factors?

thanks again

[secretfj]

Actually for this kind of low end card, it can't get any power gain from a lot of memory, 128 is more than enough

[ArchAngelCD]

I don't think the extra memory is worth the money and I don't know anything about the manufacturer of the card you posted. Save the money for your next system. IMHO

[Andikins]

Don't Rub it in
Cheers for all the help

[Andikins]

Looks like I was wrong about my computer. It's actually got the following slots:

2 x 64-bit/100MHz PCI-X (Supports 3.3v or Universal cards)

2 x 64-bit/66MHz PCI (Supports 3.3v or Universal cards)

2 x 32-bit/33MHz PCI (Supports legacy 5v or Universal cards)

(full spec here: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/pedge_1600sc?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&s=bsd&~tab=specstab#tabtop)

Does this make any difference? I'm a bit confused about the difference between the 64-bit PCI and the PCI-x slots.

I think I'm right in saying that PCI-X isn't the same as PCI express? But would I be able to get a better graphics card for a PCI-X slot than a PCI one?

[secretfj]

if i can remember, there is no special display cards designed for PCI-X or PCI 66
but plugging ur PCI 33 cards into the PCI 66 slot can improve it a bit (coz PCI 66 don't connect to Southbridge, instead it connected it to northbridge, so it has more bandwidth)

[Andikins]

OK thanks. Is that: there's unlikely to ever be a PCI-X graphics card or is it: there isn't one yet?

[NitroX infinity]

Unlikely.
Especially now that PCIe (PCI Express) is becoming mainstream.

[Flash]

Originally posted by Phalanx

Unlikely.
Especially now that PCIe (PCI Express) is becoming mainstream.

Actually R9200 256Mb is quite enough to play most games at 1024x768x32