What is a good display adapter for older pc?

[Joe]

My mom, was given an older Compaq Pentium 75MHz w/24MB RAM, a Cirrus
Logic 5434 with 1MB of video RAM. Hopefully, she'll have a better pc,
some time, soon (my own is a crumbling AMD 450MHz with
8MB onboard shared video).

The CL 5434 display isn't good for my moms worsening eyesight The
refresh rate runs alright only in 'adapter default' mode which has a
screen flutter and lacks picture quality. Using the 'Optimal' or 75 Hz
options, the viewable screen shrinks in from the edges, and every so
often the monitor screen goes black and then comes back on in a second
or two (why, I don't know. The 17in monitor she has, is set to 640 by
480 screen resolution because some displays run larger and in full
screen).

What is affordable right now, seems to be to buy a better PCI
videocard that is compatible with such older hardware. An 8MB would be
great or even a 16MB video adapter, if that's possible. There are
several on ebay, but, which one is least likely to cause installation
headaches? Can someone here, with knowledge of older systems and
video adapters, please suggest a good PCI video card for an old
computer such as above?

Thanks, very much.

Cosmo

 

[Pete]

My mom, was given an older Compaq Pentium 75MHz w/24MB RAM, a Cirrus
Logic 5434 with 1MB of video RAM. Hopefully, she'll have a better pc,
some time, soon (my own is a crumbling AMD 450MHz with
8MB onboard shared video).

The CL 5434 display isn't good for my moms worsening eyesight The
refresh rate runs alright only in 'adapter default' mode which has a
screen flutter and lacks picture quality. Using the 'Optimal' or 75 Hz
options, the viewable screen shrinks in from the edges, and every so
often the monitor screen goes black and then comes back on in a second
or two (why, I don't know. The 17in monitor she has, is set to 640 by
480 screen resolution because some displays run larger and in full
screen).

What is affordable right now, seems to be to buy a better PCI
videocard that is compatible with such older hardware. An 8MB would be
great or even a 16MB video adapter, if that's possible. There are
several on ebay, but, which one is least likely to cause installation
headaches? Can someone here, with knowledge of older systems and
video adapters, please suggest a good PCI video card for an old
computer such as above?

Thanks, very much.

Cosmo

I would not suggest in any way to add anything to this machine inside the
box. I would instead buy a new 19" LCD monitor that can be had for
around $200. They run at 60 Hz w/o flicker and at least could be carried
over to a future machine.

Or just buy a brand new Dell complete with LCD monitor for $350.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dotw_dime
n?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

That's what I'd do.

 

[Joe]

4ax.com:


I would not suggest in any way to add anything to this machine inside the
box. I would instead buy a new 19" LCD monitor that can be had for
around $200. They run at 60 Hz w/o flicker and at least could be carried
over to a future machine.

Or just buy a brand new Dell complete with LCD monitor for $350.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dotw_dime
n?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

That's what I'd do.

Very good ideas to consider. Thanks, Pete.