Member Avatar for lovesexy

Hi all

I currently have an Asus p4p800se motherboard with a Radeon 9800xt graphics card. However, as I want to be able to play some of the newer games such as Pes 2008, Crysis, Bioshock etc... I need a card with shader model 3.0. I'm thinking of a Radeon X1950XT 512mb or Radeon X1950pro 512mb. I know they are not DX10 cards but I don't think we're actually gonna benefit from DX10 support for quite a while - I'm still using XP anyway!


Which one should I go for and would the cards work ok with my ageing Asus p4p800se. I'll probably replace the motherboard (and cpu etc) soon but don't have the money to buy everything at the moment.

Thanks in advance for any help

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

Dani AI

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— good question. and have flagged the two most common blockers (physical fit and system power). Below are practical, experience-based points that go beyond those basics and help pick which card makes sense as a short-term upgrade for an older P4 platform.

First, match the card to the whole system, not just the GPU. On older single-core Pentium 4 boards the CPU and memory subsystem often cap real-world frame rates. If the plan is to keep the current board/CPU for many months, a more modest X1950Pro-style card typically delivers better perceived value: lower heat, quieter operation, and fewer compatibility headaches while still improving visuals. The higher-end X1950XT only pays off if the rest of the system (or an imminent upgrade) can feed it properly.

Checklist before you buy and during installation:

  • Measure clearance and cooling space. Some high-end coolers are two slots wide and long; ensure the card fits and case airflow is adequate.
  • Inspect the PSU beyond its sticker rating: age, single vs multiple +12V rails, and available auxiliary connectors matter. A stressed, old PSU can cause instability even if its nominal wattage looks OK.
  • Update the motherboard BIOS if a stable update exists, uninstall existing video drivers cleanly (use a driver-clean tool or safe-mode removal), then install the correct vendor driver for your OS.
  • After install, run an in-game demo or benchmark and monitor both CPU and GPU utilization and temperatures. If CPU sits at 100% while GPU is low, the system is CPU-limited and a bigger card won’t help much.

Practical recommendation: if this is a stop-gap until you replace motherboard/CPU, go with the Pro for lower risk and better value. If a platform upgrade is immediate or imminent, the XT is defensible. Buy from reputable sources and keep the old card as a fallback during testing.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Serunson

As long as the graphics card you are looking at is the same as the slot on your motherboard then you can use any Grpahics card you like. Check wether you have AGP or a PCI-Express slot first. Otherwise go for a card that has the greatest onboard Memory.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Power Supply. You will need one with AT LEAST 450w (550w is better) and you MAY need one that features special additional connectors for powering good graphics cards

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