help a noob pick a video card, also a Dell Dimension 2400 question

Lurker4

n00b
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
5
hey guys, my first post on this forum and I am looking for some help in picking a video card. I have a Dell Dimension 2400 (yeah I know, it's crap), so I have no AGP slot, just 3 PCI slots. Therefore, I need to get a PCI card. I'm thinking about most likely getting the nVIDIA GeForce FX5200. However, I'm not sure what the difference is between the various FX5200 models, or if there is any difference. Here are some newegg links to FX5200 cards:

Chaintech FX5200

XFX FX5200

Prolink FX5200

Apollo FX5200

As far as what the video card will be used for, most important to me is probably running two monitors. I currently have a Dell 2001fp and will be getting another one in several days. I can't get dual DVI w/the FX5200, but I don't know of a PCI card that can get dual DVI, so I will have to settle for one VGA and one DVI. Another important thing for me is the card being able to support a Hauppauge TV tuner/capture card. I've read that Hauppauge tuner cards need a good video card to run well, so that is also important. I'd also like to be able to run multiple applications on one monitor and have TV/DVD playing on another monitor, don't think that is an issue but just want to check. Graphics-intensive gaming is not a concern, I don't play computer games and if I ever do again, it will likely be something that is not graphics intensive like Civilization II/III or some other turn-based game.

Also I have a question about my computer, the Dell Dimension 2400. I've read that some things are not compatible with the 2400. I just want to check that I can disable the on-board video card and install a new video card (taking up the PCI slot of the on-board card), and that my computer won't have any other strange compatibility issues w/a new video card.

Lastly, if there is a better PCI card that someone wants to recommend, please let me know as well. ATI 9200/9250/9200se, as well as Matrox G450 are also offered as PCI cards, I'd like to know if anyone has thoughts on those or any other PCI cards. From searching the forum/FAQ/guides and reading about PCI cards, I was under the impression that the FX5200 was the best of them. Also, price isn't really a concern, as long as its somewhat reasonable (<$200-250). Thanks in advance
 
FX5200 definetly, i own a dell 2400 also. I went with a prolink haha ge-force fx5200, runs doom alright at 15-20fps on med qualitly. Also Fx5200 runs dual-mons superbly, i have my dell and hp mon hooked up causes no problems. Also about onboard i ran triple mon for a while, two on the ge-force and one on the onboard. I purchased my card newegg of course, for under $80.'
XFX nVIDIA GeForce FX5200 Video Card, 256MB pci is very low bandwidth, so the 256 may not help out that much, i am going to be selling my card soon if your interested in something in good shape. If your interested send me a private msg, the card is like new. My tv tuner worked out alright with my card, i just decided to not watch tv on my comp no more. If you want you could purchase my ati tv tuner card if you. :)
resize.jpg
 
Jaton i dont trust that at all, and that ribbon cable connecting the vga is serioulsy shifty :eek:
 
If you're looking for overall performance in 3D (you never know when you might need it), the 5700LEs are probably the best PCIs you can actually get but you have to be very careful. The Jaton nVIDIA GeForce FX5700LE is listed by newegg as a 128 bit memory model, but I know someone who emailed the manufacturer and it turned out to be 64 bits. You'd be better off with a 128 bit FX5200 than a 64 bit FX5700LE. This Apollo 5700LE doesn't have a memory width listed but the other retailers which sell it claims it's a 128 bit model. It might be a good one.

And if you haven't already found it, you should read this FAQ on how to install the video board in a Dimension 2400. It's not the least bit obvious.

I've read that Hauppauge tuner cards need a good video card to run well, so that is also important.
I installed a Hauppauge WinTV Radio in another computer and had no problems with it even using old video boards (GeForce 2 GTS, GeForce 2MX). But both of those video boards were AGP boards. Given that you're running PCI, the PCI bus is more likely to be the bottleneck than the speed of the video board. You have to get by with about 120MB/sec so you may have problems running full screen video. Which PCI board you get wouldn't really make any difference because the internal speed of the video RAM far exceeds the speed of the PCI bus.
 
FX 5700 LE is probably the best bet, just get a 128 bit model. The Apollo ones are supposed to be good IIRC.
 
thanks for the help guys. Just wondering about the Apollo FX5700LE though, in this newegg link, it says that the card is 64 bit, when people have been recommending 128 bit: Apollo FX5700LE
Does anyone know if this card is really 128 bit, whether it matters or not, or where I can find a FX5700LE that is 128 bit?
 
Well I did some serious checking on the 64/128 bit subject. I'm in the process of setting up a web site to help people upgrade their less-than-high-end computers so I need to know about PCI video boards. After quite a bit of research, I found that the memory width of many of the boards on newegg (as well as other sites) are listed incorrectly. Of the boards with widths I could verify, there was one thing they had in common: with this kind of video RAM, the boards with four RAM chips were 64 bits wide and the ones with eight RAM chips were 128 bits wide. There may be some exceptions but I couldn't find any. As a result, it looks like there are no 128 bit wide 5700LEs unless you get a 256MB model.

The best PCI boards at newegg I could verify were 128 bits wide were this Radeon 9250 and this GeForce FX5200. Since you're not gaming, 128 bits is not absolutely necessary, but it's not a good idea to get 64 bit in general. As time passes, things will only get more graphically intense. Plus, you're running two monitors which puts more of a strain on the video board. You would probably be okay with 64 bits, but if you want to be safe, you should stick with 128 bits. Unfortunately, that seems to require moving to 256MB which you definitely do not need.

The other consideration is that you are running a Dell 2001fp which is a 1600X1200 monitor. If you intend to run one of your monitors using the DVI in digital mode, then you should probably stick with the Radeon 9250. 1600X1200 strains the TMDS transmitter (the gizmo which runs the DVI interface). As I recall, ATI's older TMDS transmitters had a somewhat better reputation than the NVIDIA's. People have been known to have trouble running DVI at 1600X1200 and 60Hz. None of these PCI boards are exactly brand new and you would probably be better off sticking to the Radeon 9250 above to minimize your chances of running into trouble with the DVI. Both of them would probably work fine, but I'd think given your monitors, the Radeon 9250 is the choice which is least likely to give you trouble.
 
locutus24 said:
Jaton i dont trust that at all, and that ribbon cable connecting the vga is serioulsy shifty :eek:

I've got a Jaton Geforce4 Ti4600. I had to get it because they ran out of the ASUS card, plus it was like 150 cheaper. I bought it at around launch time and it overclocks easily to 320/700 (has ram sinks). It's still kick'n today.
 
got some more information on the jaton card. it's here also, i looked for the apollo card on the apollo website, but didnt even see it :s
 
again, thanks for the help guys. I went w/UncleMacro's suggestion and got the Radeon 9250.
 
Tell us how that works out, cause i bet you wont be able to oc it as easily as i can do with my 5200Fx which came with the software to overclock it :cool: 9250 is not to shabby i was in between that and the 5200 but got the 5200
 
Back
Top