Not sure if this is the right group... but..

[Talahasee]

Apologies ahead of time if this isn't the right group,
but...

I have an AMD Duron 1.8 Ghz

512 mb 3200 Mhz ram

ASUS A7V8X-X mobo

3-Fusion nVidia
GeForce MX4000
AGP 8X 128mb
275 Mhz
RAMDACS Dual 350 Mhz
Direct X9c compat Open GL
LMAII AAT
(don't pretend to know what half that stuff means)


I am a hard-core gamer, and I have a number of what *I*
would call "high-end" games,

Delta Force Black Hawk Down Team Sabre
18 Wheels of Steel
Pro Bass fishing 2003
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Special Forces America's Army
Doom III
CSI

etc.

I upgraded some time ago from a different 128 mb card
(can't recall what it was, now, sorry); but I still
have it when I can find it.

because the old card wouldn't play some of my games.

However, the old card DID play one I was just getting into,
which is Area 51.

My new card doesn't play this game; half the screen is
whited out, which it DIDN'T do before, so I know that's not
what the game's supposed to do.

Now to my question. Will an AMD Duron 1.8 Ghz
ASUS A7V8X-X mobo
and 512 mb 3200 Mhz ram

support 2 video cards?

both mine are AGP, so I would obviously have to get a PCI
card.

Is it possible to run 2 graphics cards on my board/cpu?

Is it practical ?

Or do I just need to bite the bullet and buy a $150 +
graphics card?

(I'm a fully disabled, retired, senior, so money IS a large
part of the issue)

TIA


Tallahassee

 

[Bob Knowlden]

It really isn't the right newsgroup, but....

I don't own "Area 51", so I can't comment on the basis of personal
experience.

Looking at the system requirements for the game, the MX4000 isn't listed.
(The MX4000 is basically a Geforce 2, if memory serves. Its hardware
features are DX7, whatever that may mean.) I guess that it still ought to
work, though, if not with high performance.

What operating system are you using? If you haven't already done so, you
might try downloading and installing drivers from www.nvidia.com. (Uninstall
the current drivers by using the add/remove software control panel first.)

You can probably add a PCI graphics card, but it may not be cost effective.
I suppose that a used Radeon 9700 Pro of Geforce 4 Ti 4200 would be much
better. (I've never bought anything on Ebay, but they've got a million of
'em. Personally, I'd prefer a local source.)

Good luck.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Travis King]

It really isn't the right newsgroup, but....

I don't own "Area 51", so I can't comment on the basis of personal
experience.

Looking at the system requirements for the game, the MX4000 isn't listed.
(The MX4000 is basically a Geforce 2, if memory serves. Its hardware
features are DX7, whatever that may mean.) I guess that it still ought to
work, though, if not with high performance.

What operating system are you using? If you haven't already done so, you
might try downloading and installing drivers from www.nvidia.com.
(Uninstall the current drivers by using the add/remove software control
panel first.)

You can probably add a PCI graphics card, but it may not be cost
effective. I suppose that a used Radeon 9700 Pro of Geforce 4 Ti 4200
would be much better. (I've never bought anything on Ebay, but they've got
a million of 'em. Personally, I'd prefer a local source.)

Good luck.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

I have an MX4000 card and I'm pretty disappointed with it. I used to have a
GeForce3 Ti200 card before this one, and the reason I replaced it with this
one was because the GeForce3 quit, and I was on a really tight budget. The
performance of this card isn't as high. You'd really benefit from getting
an NVIDIA FX5200 card or higher. They are not expensive. You can pick up
an FX5500 (AGP 4x/8x) on http://newegg.com/ for only $60. That would also
set up a nice foundation for your computer if you were to later upgrade to
the next Windows OS - Windows Vista.

 

[Guest]

Hello,

You will not beable to use 2 video cards with the existing hardware that you
have. The only way that dual video cards can be used presently is by using a
motherboard that supports "SLI". Two *identical* video cards are installed -
however, this is more from a performance standpoint and not for compatibility
(what you are trying to accomplish). Otherwise only a single video card can
be used at a time.

Before you spend any money, make sure there are no problems with the video
drivers. Be sure to have the latest *stable*drivers from the video card
manufactuer. In my experience, I have found the nVidia Forceware 77.77 to be
the most stable for my GeForce 6600 GToc. If you're new card is an nVidia,
perhaps updating the drivers to a 77.xx version would help.

If your new card is an ATI model, I would be sure that the previous nVidia
drivers are properly removed and the latest stable ATI drivers are installed.
A good program I use to clean vidoe drivers is "Driver Cleaner Pro" which is
free of charge. This program will completely remove any remaining parts of
ATI/nVidia comonents after uninstalling the driver. The program can be
downloaded from:

http://www.drivercleaner.net/

Give this a shot and let us know if you have any luck.

HTH,

Francis

 

[ms]

I'm pretty sure the MX series is a cut down version anyway. If I were the OP
I wouldn't go to any gamer groups and describe myself as "hard-core", you
would be laughed out of there

Sounds like your VGA card isn't DX9 compatible, so the game won't run. Some
games inform you of this when installing. Doom3 needs DX9 also, but I think
it depends on the functions that are used by a game as to whether the game
will run or not.
Try uninstalling and reinstalling the game, maybe some settings are written
into a configuration file that your card doesn't support.

Don't take this the wrong way, but you need to pay more attention to
software specifications. Some games specifically exclude budget model cards,
or only support higher end cards, usually says on the box, but game websites
can help as well as nvidia/ATI newsgroups. (before picking up a game
obviously)

Looking at your system specs, save up your pennies and upgrade your system,
as any high end VGA card will not perform to it's full potential in your
system. I know it's a PITA.

Check out places like http://www.tomshardware.com/ and
http://www.anandtech.com for comparisons on video card performance before
buying.

If you want to enjoy your games, get something like a GF6600/GT. These are
good value for money performance wise, and virtually all newer games will
work.

 

[Micky]

Hello,

You will not beable to use 2 video cards with the existing hardware that you
have. The only way that dual video cards can be used presently is by using a
motherboard that supports "SLI". Two *identical* video cards are installed -

SLI actually has two meanings. 3dfx originally used it to allow two identical
PCI Voodoo 2 cards to share their processing, with one rendering all the
odd lines, and the other the even lines. This was known as Scan Line
Interleave. The two cards were bridged together with a short ribbon cable.

nVidia now owns the rights and technologies of 3dfx. But its implementation
of SLI stands for Scalable Link Interface. What this means is that if one card
is (say) twice as powerful as the other, it will process around 66% of the
rendering (such as the top 2/3 of the screen), while the slower card processes
the remaining 33% (lower 1/3 of the screen). But, more importantly, in order
to make use of modern SLI, you need a motherboard with PCI Express.

ATI has also impemented its own version of SLI, known as Crossfire. However,
its fair to say the nVidia solution is the better of the two. Not only is nVidia's
GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB a better performer than ATI's Radeon X1800 XT,
its SLI implementation scales much better, offering up to 90% improved performance
in games such as Call of Duty 2. They're also cooler and quieter, consuming a lot
less power than the ATI solution.

However, the cost is prohibitive: if you don't already have PCI Express, then an
upgrade to the CPU, RAM and motherboard has to be considered first. But two
nVidia's will set you back around £1000, while ATI's solution would set you back
around £700. Either way, its an expensive solution that only a true hard-core gamer
would consider.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Hello,

You will not beable to use 2 video cards with the existing hardware
that you have. The only way that dual video cards can be used
presently is by using a motherboard that supports "SLI". Two
*identical* video cards are installed - however, this is more from a
performance standpoint and not for compatibility (what you are trying
to accomplish). Otherwise only a single video card can be used at a
time.

Windows XP has been able to use multiple graphics card since it was first
released. The OP could indeed run a OCI card along with the existing AGP
card. This is usually used where you need two monitors at the same time as
in a development or graphics processing environment. Daytrading stocks is
another place this is often used. Unfortunately for the OP PCI cards have
even worse performance than his existing AGP card so it won't work for
games.

Kerry

 

[Kerry Brown]

Apologies ahead of time if this isn't the right group,
but...

I have an AMD Duron 1.8 Ghz

512 mb 3200 Mhz ram

ASUS A7V8X-X mobo

3-Fusion nVidia
GeForce MX4000
AGP 8X 128mb
275 Mhz
RAMDACS Dual 350 Mhz
Direct X9c compat Open GL
LMAII AAT
(don't pretend to know what half that stuff means)


I am a hard-core gamer, and I have a number of what *I*
would call "high-end" games,

This system is not suitable for "high-end"games. Don't spend more money on
it. Start saving for a new system.

Kerry

 

[Kerry Brown]

Windows XP has been able to use multiple graphics card since it was
first released. The OP could indeed run a OCI card along with the
existing AGP card. This is usually used where you need two monitors
at the same time as in a development or graphics processing
environment. Daytrading stocks is another place this is often used.
Unfortunately for the OP PCI cards have even worse performance than
his existing AGP card so it won't work for games.

Kerry

Oops, should be PCI card

Kerry