Member Avatar for CandyanPeanuts

Good day to you...
I am looking into a newer video card but unfortunately my pc only has pci slots so I am looking at the Gforce 5200 256 meg pci. There are not a lot of choices when it comes to pci slots. I am a recent grad with no job so replacing the pc is not an option at this time. Any suggestions?

XP Pro
Intel PIII, 1GHz
382MB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420-64meg
SB Live
No AGP

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Dani AI

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Agree with and that a cautious approach is the smartest move here. A PCI graphics upgrade rarely transforms an older system because the PCI bus and an aging CPU often become the bottleneck; the PCI bus has far lower sustained throughput than AGP or PCIe so a newer GPU cannot be used to its full potential. See background on the bus differences here: Peripheral Component Interconnect and Accelerated Graphics Port.

Practical, low-cost steps that usually give more visible benefit than a modest PCI video card:

  • Increase system memory to the board limit if possible; more RAM reduces paging and helps games and Windows responsiveness.
  • Update motherboard/chipset drivers and the latest legacy GPU drivers for any candidate card before purchase.
  • Tidy the OS: remove unneeded startup items, use classic visual theme, defragment (if HDD), and lower in-game settings for resolution/texture detail.
  • If you still shop for a PCI card, compare real-world benchmarks for that card on similarly aged CPUs and look for seller returns—TechPowerUp is a reliable spec/benchmark resource for old GPUs: GPU Database.

If budget allows, a used motherboard/CPU upgrade (AGP or PCIe platform) or a cheap used system will usually be a better value than a new low-end PCI card. Quick pre-purchase checklist: confirm the exact slot type, verify driver availability for your OS, check physical clearance and power needs, and buy from a seller who allows returns so you can test in your machine.

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Member Avatar for Coconut Monkey

To be honest, I'd just stick with what you've got and wait until you can get a job. The FX5200 isn't that much of a jump and the rest of the system is still a bit of a bottleneck. And 256Mb of onboard memory on a video chipset like that? What a waste!

Member Avatar for rcrevolution

yeah man, if you want to upgrade, wait and just get a new pc, P3 will be obsolete in a few months the way games are going these days.

Member Avatar for CandyanPeanuts

Thanks for the info and Ill just sit tight for awhile....

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