How obsolete is the Radeon 9200 series?

[wltdnfaded]

Hello All. I just purchased a new computer, a Frakenstein, Asus A8V-VM
motherboard, AMD Athlon 64 3500 CPU, 1G DDR 400 RAM, VIA/S3G
Deltachrome IGP chipset. Now I discover that the online game I so enjoy
doesn't support S3. I have an old Radeon 9200 128 bit vid card in the
old machine that still works swimmingly. Can I use that old card with
the new machine? I have all the updated drivers. I don't like the
thought of cracking my new machine open (voiding warranty), but neither
do I like the thought of having to lug it all the way back to the
dealer to have them install it. I could always buy a new card, but I'd
rather save a little cash if I don't have to. Suggestions?

Ivy

 

[DRS]

Hello All. I just purchased a new computer, a Frakenstein, Asus A8V-VM
motherboard, AMD Athlon 64 3500 CPU, 1G DDR 400 RAM, VIA/S3G
Deltachrome IGP chipset. Now I discover that the online game I so
enjoy doesn't support S3. I have an old Radeon 9200 128 bit vid card
in the old machine that still works swimmingly. Can I use that old
card with the new machine? I have all the updated drivers. I don't
like the thought of cracking my new machine open (voiding warranty),

You do not void you warranty by opening your PC case to install or change
components since PCs are designed for precisely such user intervention.
This has been tried and tested in US courts.

but neither do I like the thought of having to lug it all the way
back to the dealer to have them install it. I could always buy a new
card, but I'd rather save a little cash if I don't have to.
Suggestions?

The 9200 is quite old. Your motherboard has a single PCIe x16 slot so it
will take any current PCIe video card. If you hunt around you can find a
Geforce 7600GT for around US$150. That would be a huge improvement over the
9200.

 

[DRS]

Oops, my bad. I thought you had the 9200 already installed. The short
answer is no as the 9200 is AGP and your motherboard doesn't have an AGP
slot.

 

[wltdnfaded]

Thanks so much for your quick response. Yes, now that I actually LOOKED
at the mb layout, I see that installing my 9200 would be impossible.
What do you think of the GeForce 5500 series? I can get a card for $60.
And its PCI.

Ivy

 

[DRS]

DRS wrote:
[...]

The 9200 is quite old. Your motherboard has a single PCIe x16 slot
so it will take any current PCIe video card. If you hunt around you
can find a Geforce 7600GT for around US$150. That would be a huge
improvement over the 9200.

Thanks so much for your quick response. Yes, now that I actually
LOOKED at the mb layout, I see that installing my 9200 would be
impossible. What do you think of the GeForce 5500 series? I can get a
card for $60. And its PCI.

PCIe (PCI Express) is not the same as PCI. PCI cards are about the slowest
still out there. AGP was brought out primarily because of PCI's
deficiencies as a bus for video cards. PCIe is different again, more
capable than AGP in certain respects, although you'll get arguments about
how useful they are in the real world. 99% of PCIe video cards are what's
known as PCIe x16. You have a single PCIe x16 slot.

Most people regard the entire FX range (5 series) as an embarrasment to
Nvidia, although some will argue the later FX 5900s weren't too bad. A 5500
would be a noticeable improvement over the S3 but it would still be a long
way behind where video cards are at today. I'm not saying you need to buy
an 8800GTX because you don't, but you need to be aware you'd be going from
absolutely awful to barely acceptable. If you are on a budget then if you
hunt around you can find a 7600GS PCIe for around the US$100 mark that would
be head and shoulders above any FX card.

Leadtek have a nice looking factory overclocked 7600GS for US$105:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...10380048+1069609641&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=48

 

[wltdnfaded]

OK, that would explain why the 5500 is so cheap.

Thanks a lot for your advice. My old system was about 7 years old
(yikes), but was a good machine until recently. I know how to get
around a computer, but I admit I haven't been keeping up on a lot of
the new technology, so I don't really know what's good and what isn't
that great.

I'm going to miss my Radeon 9200. It was a good card.

Ivy

DRS wrote:
[...]

The 9200 is quite old. Your motherboard has a single PCIe x16 slot
so it will take any current PCIe video card. If you hunt around you
can find a Geforce 7600GT for around US$150. That would be a huge
improvement over the 9200.

Thanks so much for your quick response. Yes, now that I actually
LOOKED at the mb layout, I see that installing my 9200 would be
impossible. What do you think of the GeForce 5500 series? I can get a
card for $60. And its PCI.

PCIe (PCI Express) is not the same as PCI. PCI cards are about the slowest
still out there. AGP was brought out primarily because of PCI's
deficiencies as a bus for video cards. PCIe is different again, more
capable than AGP in certain respects, although you'll get arguments about
how useful they are in the real world. 99% of PCIe video cards are what's
known as PCIe x16. You have a single PCIe x16 slot.

Most people regard the entire FX range (5 series) as an embarrasment to
Nvidia, although some will argue the later FX 5900s weren't too bad. A 5500
would be a noticeable improvement over the S3 but it would still be a long
way behind where video cards are at today. I'm not saying you need to buy
an 8800GTX because you don't, but you need to be aware you'd be going from
absolutely awful to barely acceptable. If you are on a budget then if you
hunt around you can find a 7600GS PCIe for around the US$100 mark that would
be head and shoulders above any FX card.

Leadtek have a nice looking factory overclocked 7600GS for US$105:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...10380048+1069609641&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=48