replacement for ATI Radeon 9800 XT

[Tired Techie]

I have an old Dell 8300 with an ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics card that
has died. I have a lot of software installed on the machine and it was
performing just fine. I would like to replace the graphics card.

I am not a gamer and don't push the graphics engine much beyond
photoshop or youtube.com.

I saw some used cards going on ebay for about $50. For that price, it
is worth not having to reinstall everything on a new machine.

Please recommend a compatible replacement card.

Thanks in advance.

Tired Techie

 

[Augustus]

I have an old Dell 8300 with an ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics card that
has died. I have a lot of software installed on the machine and it was
performing just fine. I would like to replace the graphics card.

I am not a gamer and don't push the graphics engine much beyond
photoshop or youtube.com.

I saw some used cards going on ebay for about $50. For that price, it
is worth not having to reinstall everything on a new machine.

Please recommend a compatible replacement card.

This or any other similar 128bit X1650...there's a number to choose from
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161256

 

[Anton Ertl]

I have an old Dell 8300 with an ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics card that
has died. I have a lot of software installed on the machine and it was
performing just fine. I would like to replace the graphics card.

I am not a gamer and don't push the graphics engine much beyond
photoshop or youtube.com.

I saw some used cards going on ebay for about $50. For that price, it
is worth not having to reinstall everything on a new machine.

Please recommend a compatible replacement card.

Some guesses: Your system has an AGP card and you are using Windows
XP, right? My experience is that switching between different Radeon
cards is painless, at least if the driver supports both cards. If
you were still using the driver that was delivered with the machine, I
would recommend a Radeon 9250, or Radeon 7000, or anything on the
used-card market up to the 9800XT.

You can also get a newer card, e.g., an X1650 as mentioned by someone
else, but then I would recommend upgrading the driver first, which you
can no longer do. Still, changing cards is not so bad even if they
need a new driver (e.g., I recently tried out an Nvidia-based card and
then went back to an ATI card; I had no problems). I'm quite happy
with my X1650Pro (apart from not getting 2560x1600 properly in Windows
XP <[email protected]>).

- anton

 

[Lars]

Previously, on Usenet (e-mail address removed) (Anton Ertl)
wrote:

Some guesses: Your system has an AGP card and you are using Windows
XP, right?

My 9800XT died a year ago. I don't game or do much hardcore video
stuff either. So I just went and bought another ATI card of what
seemed to have somewhat similar capacity a Radeon HD 2600.

Stupidly enough I never even thought to check if that card had drivers
for W2K, my preferred OS. So I had to "upgrade" to XP. I really miss
the 9800XT card, and W2K.

Just as a note to the OP not to make a similar mistake.
.........

I wonder what really happens when a video card goes south? Is there
any chance of repairing it?

Lars
Stockholm

 

[Lars]

You can make windows XP look and function just like W2K!!!!

You obviuously have forgotten a lot about how W2K works.

Lars
Stockholm

 

[Lars]

So which part of W2K did you miss the most? Its slow bootup
times or incompatibility with many games?

I have run dual boot with XP and W2K on several machines since XP
first came out, desktops and laptops. Exactly the same software
installed in both OS's. W2K is invariably faster and snappier on the
very same hardware. And I do know how to make XP look quite much the
same as W2K.

I am not a gamer really. What bothers me with XP is all the stupid
stuff where it assumes that the user is an idiot and does not mean to
do what he is trying to.

Last week I helped a friend install some software on a brand new Dell
with Vista. That was a lot worse, but still quite in line with the
differences between W2K and XP. Microsoft seems to be looking away
from people who are really interested in computers, and aiming more
for mothers-in-law.

Surface- and hole-mount PCB components can be replaced if you got a steady
hand and a powerful magnifying glass. The process is made more difficult
with cards made within the last couple of years, due to a switch to
high-temp lead-free solder for RoHS compliance. (You are more likely to burn
the component than before.)

A failed GPU or RAM chip cannot be replaced, due to inaccessible solder
balls on the inside rows.

OK, thank you. I had hoped someone would say "reflowing of the
solderings in xxx would most probably bring the card back to life".

(On Thinkpads.com there are many reports of such reflowing fixing
dead mobos.)

Anyway.

Lars
Stockholm

 

[Lars]

What exactly do you mean by "reflowing"?

It means bringing the solder up to melting temperature and then
letting it cool off again.

I have only read about it. Some thinkpad mobos seems to have a problem
with some essential soldering cracking. The remedy is to take the mobo
out, wrap it in several layers of aluminium foil, make a small hole in
the foil, apply heat slowly with a heatgun, measure the temperature
and when it has reached a certain level, where the solder melts, start
letting the temerature drop, slowly again, until it settles.

Lars
Stockholm

 

[Benjamin Gawert]

* Lars:

I have run dual boot with XP and W2K on several machines since XP
first came out, desktops and laptops. Exactly the same software
installed in both OS's. W2K is invariably faster and snappier on the
very same hardware.

My experience is different in that W2k is not any faster or boots up
faster than Windowsxp (even with the new desktop scheme active) on the
same hardware (and I could compare that on a lot of systems), and most
independent tests of that time did confirm that, too. So it's either
something in your software setup or you just want it to be that way
because you like W2k more.

The only thing I miss from W2k is the lack of activation. Everything
else is way better in Windowsxp.

I am not a gamer really. What bothers me with XP is all the stupid
stuff where it assumes that the user is an idiot and does not mean to
do what he is trying to.

For example?

Benjamin

 

[Lars]

For example?

I have told XP that I want *detailed view* for all folders. Yet when I
want to save a new picture to a folder containg pictures it changes
into thumbnail mode anyway. Every day I save some pictures from the
web, and every time ... I don't need that. W2K stays the way I want.

In explorer windows I do not want any status bar. But when I use
Windows search, for files etc, I do want it. If I switch it on in
'search' I get it everywhere. Not so in W2K.

There is much more but longish to explain, and rather pointless.
I much prefer W2K. If another OS suits you better then fine. To each
his own.

Lars
Stockholm

 

[stratus46]

I see. Of course this only works if the culprit is indeed a cracked solder
ball. A failed BGA component still requires replacement - almost impossible
to do manually, even if you manage to find a spare GPU or RAM chip.

The melting temperature of RoHS-compliant solder can be very high, so there
is a great risk of damaging the board.

Most of the ROHS solders ( NEVER let politicians do engeering! ) can
be used with conventional 700 degree (F) soldering tools. ROHS solders
tend to be more brittle an grow tin 'whiskers'. Brittleness can lead
to more fractures and tin whiskers simply short out the wiring. I
wouldn't attempt any BGA work myself without some training and the
proper tools. BUT, bad solder connections are NOT rare. Our 5 year old
Samsung DLP had a broken (physically cracked) solder connection in the
mains section of the power supply board. I found it with a careful
visual exam and an OptiVisor. Bad 'lytic capacitors are the MOST
common failure on older gear - I'd say 10x more likely than bad solder
- at least for through hole.

--
"War is the continuation of politics by other means.
It can therefore be said that politics is war without
bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."




life".

It CAN be done with the right equipment but usually it's more cost
effective to 'replace'.

G²

 

[Lars]

It CAN be done with the right equipment but usually it's more cost
effective to 'replace'.

Cost effective! How fun is that?

If I was going to replace a mobo anyway I would surely have a swing
at it with my soldering iron first. Hopefully I would learn something.


Lars
Stockholm