ATI Radeon 9600SE/128 meg DDR work on a Dell 866?

X

xxxBogusemail

Saw this card at Best Buy yesterday for $129 w/o messing with rebates
or ground delivery. Bought it on impulse tho confirmed with 2 sales
people that I have 30 days to return it.

Bought the card to try to extend the gaming life some of a Dell 866
(Dimension 4100)/512megs/XP Pro SP1, but I really don't know what I am
doing. Currently have an nvidea GeForce2 GTS (from OEM) in the
machine.

Qs:
1. Is this ATI card compatible with the 866? E.g., Power supply & CPU
handle it?

2. Will I notice any enhanced performance with it on this machine?

3. Your opinion of this card with a new computer (if I go that route
in a month or two)?

TIA.
 
D

Dark Avenger

Saw this card at Best Buy yesterday for $129 w/o messing with rebates
or ground delivery. Bought it on impulse tho confirmed with 2 sales
people that I have 30 days to return it.

Bought the card to try to extend the gaming life some of a Dell 866
(Dimension 4100)/512megs/XP Pro SP1, but I really don't know what I am
doing. Currently have an nvidea GeForce2 GTS (from OEM) in the
machine.

Qs:
1. Is this ATI card compatible with the 866? E.g., Power supply & CPU
handle it?

2. Will I notice any enhanced performance with it on this machine?

3. Your opinion of this card with a new computer (if I go that route
in a month or two)?

TIA.
Click to expand...

1. Depends... on the AGP interface, if the card is dual it can take
both 3.3 ( AGP 1x ) and 1,5 ( AGP 4x 8x )

If though the card only takes 1,5 volt and your motherboard only
provides 3,3 volt... it won't work. A red light show burn if this case
is true meaning "this card is not AGP 1x"

2. Probably..yes... though the 866 is a bit limited and the FSB of the
motherboard is not really high the card self will be able to play
games with.. Anti-aliasing. I'm sure you now play games and alike
without it because else the speed craps in. I tell you, the ATI card
will ensure you a nice FSAA ( fullscene antialiasting ) in almost
every game you play, everything you do.

3. The card will operate nice in a new computer, the SE series are not
superfast...but definitly have potential. Ofcourse a PRO version or an
XT version would be very much faster...yet...also more expensive.

You have there a nice card that IF it works in your mobo you shall
definitly enjoy!
 
X

xxxBogusemail

Thx -- appreciate your thoughts and will pop this puppy in the slot
and see what happens!

=====
 
X

xxxBogusemail

Got the 9600SE installed Fri night and put the latest drivers on.
Maybe I'm staring at it too much but seems like Counterstrike is a
little more jerky now with the ATI than it was with the nVidea
GeForce2. The Call to Duty Demos look good with the ATI tho (Had not
tried them with the old nVidea).

=====
 
D

Dark Avenger

Got the 9600SE installed Fri night and put the latest drivers on.
Maybe I'm staring at it too much but seems like Counterstrike is a
little more jerky now with the ATI than it was with the nVidea
GeForce2. The Call to Duty Demos look good with the ATI tho (Had not
tried them with the old nVidea).

=====
Click to expand...

nvidia cards have more stable FPS, but once you crack open Aniso at
16x you probably enjoy counterstrike much better.

There is a world of difference between the ati and the nvidia card and
both have their weaknesses and stronger points.
 
X

xxxBogusemail

One of my sons is home for the holiday. He thinks that the new ATI
Radeon 9600SE improved the over-all video quality in Counterstrike,
but I noticed that Best Buy is running a sale on the ATI Radeon 9600
for less than what I paid for the 9600SE. Worth the effort to return
the SE, buy the 9600, and uninstall/reinstall? The 9600 use the same
drivers as the SE? Still get a boost on this ole Dell 866 machine? Thx
much.

=====
 
D

Darthy

One of my sons is home for the holiday. He thinks that the new ATI
Radeon 9600SE improved the over-all video quality in Counterstrike,
but I noticed that Best Buy is running a sale on the ATI Radeon 9600
for less than what I paid for the 9600SE. Worth the effort to return
the SE, buy the 9600, and uninstall/reinstall? The 9600 use the same
drivers as the SE? Still get a boost on this ole Dell 866 machine? Thx
much.
Click to expand...

See if the store you bought it from will possibly match the card
price... if you want... depends on how much they are willing to do
this and if they have the 9600 in stock.

The 9600 is a lot faster than the SE version... but it won't be much
faster on his current 866 system.
 
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