AGP Graphics Card Help Please..

[Out Of Trim]

Current System is AMD 2100+ / MSI KT3 Ultra 2 Mobo with VIA KT333 Chipset / 512 mb Crucial DDR2700 RAM ( 2 x 256mb) running Windows XP Home.

Worst part of set up is Old PCI Graphics Card GeForce 2MX

What AGP Graphics Card would best suit this system - Value for Money appreciated.

Would like to Improve FS2002/FS2004 Flight Sim performance.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Out Of Trim,

The GeForce4 Ti4200 is the Best Bang for the Buck. I really like the:

MSI GeForce 4 Ti4200-8x 128MB DDR DVI VIVO



Dabs has 21 in stock. Price is inc VAT £96.00

This will give FS2k4 a real boost in performance.

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. The Dual Monitor Support is a real bonus too.

[Out Of Trim]

Naples Air Center, Inc.

Richard, Thanks very much for that info, it's much appreciated.

Looks to be good value for money!

I also enjoy your input / Computer Knowledge on this Forum
thanks again for bothering to help point us in the right direction!

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Out Of Trim,

Always glad to help.

Btw, the GeForce4 Ti4200 (NV25) even though it does not support DirectX9 it does outperform the GeForceFX 5200 (NV34) and the GeForceFX 5600 (NV31). A lot of people get confused on that one. They expect the GeForceFX 5600 Ultra to outperform the Geforce4 Ti4200 since the 5600 is more expensive.

Take Care,

Richard

[ORAC]

PC Pro did a review of 17 graphic cards this month and the Fx5600 came out as the best mass market card because of the DirectX 9 support. The price is also under a £100. You can get the 128Mb Abit Siluro FX5600DT for £99 here. They also do the 256Mb version for £120.

[flyingwysiwyg]

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but it may be worth going to PC World and having a look at their own graphics cards. They are NVidia GeForce cards, but without the fancy packaging. You get one in a brown card board box without any fancy marketing blurb. The NVidia drivers are included on CD Rom.

Can't remember exactly which cards they do, but they're extremely cheap. (AGP & PCI Available)

F - Wyg.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

flyingwysiwyg,

Before you buy one of those brown box cards check the cooling solution (Many OEM cooling solutions are substandard) and the warranty. Also check for empty solder points on the cards. (Usually those cards are stripped bare.)

Last thing look at the picture from the card when it is running, both in 2-D and 3-D modes. (OEM Cards can have cheaper filters on them that give a poorer image especially in 2-D.)

In the end, do your homework before you buy.

Take Care,

Richard

[flyingwysiwyg]

Hi Richard,

Before you buy one of those brown box cards check the cooling solution (Many OEM cooling solutions are substandard) and the warranty. Also check for empty solder points on the cards. (Usually those cards are stripped bare.)

The only difference in the card I purchased was the packaging. It is a Nvidia card identical to the Nvidia card which I have on my other PC (Which incidentally came with some nice fancy graphics on the packaging), bought in bulk by PC World direct from the manufacturer and then re - sold as there "own" graphics card solution. The support is NVidia direct.

I can't speak for every card PC World sell, but the specs on this one were fine, and it works fine.

In the end, do your homework before you buy.

Always. Thus the first line in my post.

Cheers,

F-Wyg

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

flyingwysiwyg,

If so, then it sounds like a very good deal.

Take Care,

Richard