AGP & Vista

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housetrained

I have an AGP 64mb card. If I upgrade to, say, a 256mb AGP card will I be
able to boost the Vista rating from 1 to above 3 so all will be revealed?
TIA
 
Probably, but keep in mind that you need to get a fairly current video card
since all the major manufacturers put in cutoff points for support of older
cards. For example, any nVidia card in the 5xxx series will not "reveal
all" even if it has 256mb of onboard memory since these cards are not
supported for Aero under Vista.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
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I believe the 256MB AGP card I just got from tigerdirect for $49 will, it's
a Biostar with the NVidia 6200 chip.

Richard G. Harper said:
Probably, but keep in mind that you need to get a fairly current video
card since all the major manufacturers put in cutoff points for support of
older cards. For example, any nVidia card in the 5xxx series will not
"reveal all" even if it has 256mb of onboard memory since these cards are
not supported for Aero under Vista.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


housetrained said:
I have an AGP 64mb card. If I upgrade to, say, a 256mb AGP card will I be
able to boost the Vista rating from 1 to above 3 so all will be revealed?
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Probably so for the individual subscore for the graphics ability. However
the overall "Experience Index" is taken from the lowest of all individual
subscores and therefore may not raise to your expectations. As an example my
overall "Windows Experience Index" is a modest 3.4 on this computer I am
typing on while the graphics subscore is a blistering 5.9. My ram speed
subscore of 3.4 dictates that my Windows Experience Index is also 3.4.

BTW We have 4 computers here on Vista Home Premium with various graphics
cards and they all handle Aero fine the cards are all Nvidia
and are
1. 6600gt/128M/agp /system ram 1G
2. 7600gs/512M/agp/system ram 1G
3.7800gs/256M/agp/system ram 2G
4. FX5500/256M/pci /system ram 1.25G

Charlie
 
Richard said:
Probably, but keep in mind that you need to get a fairly current
video card since all the major manufacturers put in cutoff points for
support of older cards. For example, any nVidia card in the 5xxx
series will not "reveal all" even if it has 256mb of onboard memory
since these cards are not supported for Aero under Vista.
Click to expand...

That's not quite true. I'm running a geforce 5200 128 and Aero runs just
fine.

"The minimum requirements for graphics cards from the major vendors include
the Radeon 9500 from ATI Technologies and the GeForce FX 5200 from NVIDIA."
 
Yes, but you are stuck using only the original Vista-supplied WDDM drivers.
Newer ones from Nvidia will not work, and if there comes a point where you
need to update them for some compatibility issue with an update or some
installed software you will be out of luck. I suspect there is more to
Nvidia's decision not to support the 5xxx cards than has been told to the
public.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Using a driver file that is not supported or distributed by the manufacturer
is not recommended for most users. For those that are knowledgable enough to
understand what they are working with it may be fine, but for the majority
that is not a good idea. Plus, as I stated, there is probably a reason that
a decision was made not to support that card series that may very well be
due to a physical limitation that will eventually cause issues. If Nvidia
truly wanted to just sell more cards then they would have developed a whole
new product line and not supported existing ones under Vista.

I used an older 3dfx voodoo card for several years under XP even though
support from their buyer, Nvidia, was dropped before XP ever got out of
beta. I used third party modified drivers (and even modified some myself)
for a long time, but it didn't get better. It got worse and eventually I
gave in to the inevitable and purchased an ATI that was supported. Haven't
had any problems with that system since.

For now, the WDDM drivers in Vista or from a third party may suffice, but
you may find eventually (and sooner than you think) that they will not.
Should OP decide to purchase a new Nvidia card, it would be in their best
interest to ensure they purchase a supported card.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
--


Rick said:
Using a driver file that is not supported or distributed by the
manufacturer is not recommended for most users. For those that are
knowledgable enough to understand what they are working with it may
be fine, but for the majority that is not a good idea. Plus, as I
stated, there is probably a reason that a decision was made not to
support that card series that may very well be due to a physical
limitation that will eventually cause issues. If Nvidia truly wanted
to just sell more cards then they would have developed a whole new
product line and not supported existing ones under Vista.
I used an older 3dfx voodoo card for several years under XP even
though support from their buyer, Nvidia, was dropped before XP ever
got out of beta. I used third party modified drivers (and even
modified some myself) for a long time, but it didn't get better. It
got worse and eventually I gave in to the inevitable and purchased an
ATI that was supported. Haven't had any problems with that system
since.
For now, the WDDM drivers in Vista or from a third party may suffice,
but you may find eventually (and sooner than you think) that they
will not. Should OP decide to purchase a new Nvidia card, it would be
in their best interest to ensure they purchase a supported card.
Click to expand...

I've been running the modified Nvidia driver for an FX 5200 for 2 months now
on Ultimate without any problems. It works and sets up perfectly and it
includes the Nvidia desktop with the 3D setup.

You shouldn't be advising people unless you have experienced it and know
what you're talking about.
 
The fact you used it and claim no problems is absolutly irrelevent. You can
safely say that it caused no problems with your other hardware and software,
at least for the features you use, for a period of 2 months.

That is the only conclusion that could be drawn.

Sample is too small to generalise.
 
-. said:
The fact you used it and claim no problems is absolutly irrelevent.
You can safely say that it caused no problems with your other
hardware and software, at least for the features you use, for a
period of 2 months.
That is the only conclusion that could be drawn.
Click to expand...

LOL .....

I can safely say that using it successfully for 2 months is much more
"relevant" than never using it at all.

You obviously haven't been around in the Vista forums very much or you would
know that it is the driver everyone is using with the 5xxx cards. :)
 
I've been running the modified Nvidia driver for an FX 5200 for 2 months
now on Ultimate without any problems. It works and sets up perfectly and
it includes the Nvidia desktop with the 3D setup.
Click to expand...

It would be irresponsible to recommend an unsupported solution to someone
for whom you have no knowledge of their skill level.
You shouldn't be advising people unless you have experienced it and know
what you're talking about.
Click to expand...

No where did I state that it won't work right now. I reiterated that the
card is not and will not be supported in the future by the manufacturer. If
there is a compatibility issue with any of the hundreds of future updates,
they end user is out of luck if the third party decides to stop modifying or
offering driver downloads. I offered my experience with 3dfx so that you
would understand that I do speak from experience, and as well I did run a
5500 series Nvidia card early on in the Vista beta and it worked fine.
However, Nvidia has removed support for that series, and to recommend it in
spite of this is not a good solution when there are supported cards
available for the same price.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Rick said:
It would be irresponsible to recommend an unsupported solution to
someone for whom you have no knowledge of their skill level.


No where did I state that it won't work right now. I reiterated that
the card is not and will not be supported in the future by the
manufacturer. If there is a compatibility issue with any of the
hundreds of future updates, they end user is out of luck if the third
party decides to stop modifying or offering driver downloads. I
offered my experience with 3dfx so that you would understand that I
do speak from experience, and as well I did run a 5500 series Nvidia
card early on in the Vista beta and it worked fine. However, Nvidia
has removed support for that series, and to recommend it in spite of
this is not a good solution when there are supported cards available
for the same price.
Click to expand...

How can anyone be so dense. I suspect that your signature "nutcase" is an
adequate description. I'm helping people overcome problems with
Vista.....what are you doing? Don't answer that.....I've had enough of you
and I got my message across.
 
The moniker comes from doing things like intentionally installing viruses to
see what they will do to a system, and then to figure out how to clean the
mess. Stuff most people wouldn't get anywhere near.

Your message is loud and clear. If you wish to continue recommending that
users waste time and money on unsupported hardware, please continue to do
so. Just don't be surprised if I'm not the only one that gives the end user
different advice.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Incorrect.Using a 5500 and a 5700 both run aero


Richard G. Harper said:
Probably, but keep in mind that you need to get a fairly current video
card since all the major manufacturers put in cutoff points for support of
older cards. For example, any nVidia card in the 5xxx series will not
"reveal all" even if it has 256mb of onboard memory since these cards are
not supported for Aero under Vista.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


housetrained said:
I have an AGP 64mb card. If I upgrade to, say, a 256mb AGP card will I be
able to boost the Vista rating from 1 to above 3 so all will be revealed?
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
housetrained said:
I have an AGP 64mb card. If I upgrade to, say, a 256mb AGP card will I be
able to boost the Vista rating from 1 to above 3 so all will be revealed?
TIA
Click to expand...

You should be able to. I run an AGP x8 ATI radeon 9800 pro. It's a few
years old, but my rating is a 4.

--
Priceless quotes in m.p.w.vista.general group:
http://protectfreedom.tripod.com/kick.html

Most recent idiotic quote added to KICK (Klassic Idiotic Caption Kooks):
"poor little MADAM albright still got your knickers twisted. how are we
supposed to believe you know anything about computers when you cannot
even dress your self. oh and pull that skirt down."

"Good poets borrow; great poets steal."
- T. S. Eliot
 
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