[chris73]

I have an Intel Pendleton D845PT motherboard with a 16MB ATI Rage 128 Ultra AGP card. Can I put any AGP card in this machine? It's a Dell 4400. I'd like a better card to play the newer games with. Will the stock PSU support any card?

Thanks in advance.

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According to the Dell™ Dimension™ 4400 Technical Specifications that motherboard supports AGP 4x. No doubt your 16MB video that you have now is on board. That PC came with a 250W power supply which is probably inadequate to power the new video card and fan and should be upgraded also. Note I said probably

[Leurgy]

According to the Dell™ Dimension™ 4400 Technical Specifications that motherboard supports AGP 4x. No doubt your 16MB video that you have now is on board. That PC came with a 250W power supply which is probably inadequate to power the new video card and fan and should be upgraded also. Note I said probably

[chris73]

According to the Dell™ Dimension™ 4400 Technical Specifications that motherboard supports AGP 4x. No doubt your 16MB video that you have now is on board. That PC came with a 250W power supply which is probably inadequate to power the new video card and fan and should be upgraded also. Note I said probably

Ok, so assuming I buy a new PSU (I'm pretty sure the 4400's were not proprietary) would a 4x AGP card be useful or is this just too outdated? Will an 8x be backwards compatable and run at 4x? Oh, the 16mb is not on board it's in the AGP slot.

[BlackPandemic]

Yes, you will definantly need a much bigger PSU if you plan on upgrading anything. I would suggest something at least 400-500 watts because that will keep you happy for a long time. AGP has been outdated since PCI-e came out so upgrading will help a significant amount, but don't expect to play top of the line games and have them look decent.

An 8x AGP card can be placed in that slot, but will only run at 4x, therefore rendering it near useless to buy an 8x card. I would personally suggest this video card ( http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102608 ). It's what I have and although it doesn't play things top notch, it gets the job done, which sounds like what you need.

(I'm sure Warrior will come in with a nVidia alternative, my wisdom does not extend into that realm )

EDIT: What are the rest of your specs? (RAM, processor, etc.)

Edited by BlackPandemic, 24 June 2006 - 02:33 PM.

[chris73]

Yes, you will definantly need a much bigger PSU if you plan on upgrading anything. I would suggest something at least 400-500 watts because that will keep you happy for a long time. AGP has been outdated since PCI-e came out so upgrading will help a significant amount, but don't expect to play top of the line games and have them look decent.

An 8x AGP card can be placed in that slot, but will only run at 4x, therefore rendering it near useless to buy an 8x card. I would personally suggest this video card ( http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102608 ). It's what I have and although it doesn't play things top notch, it gets the job done, which sounds like what you need.

(I'm sure Warrior will come in with a nVidia alternative, my wisdom does not extend into that realm )

EDIT: What are the rest of your specs? (RAM, processor, etc.)

This is an older machine. P4 1.6 with 1Gig of Ram. I just bought a 2.6 to upgrade the CPU - the fastest processor this Mobo will take. I have a newer machine but I was looking to squeeze a few more years out of this one because it is very reliable and has served me quite well over the years. When did AGP become obsolete to PCIE? I didn't know the newer games were being written for PCIE cards. Now I'm bummed out as both my PC's are AGP only.

[BlackPandemic]

AGP isn't terrible it's just that when PCI-e came out, the companies switched focus, so I was surprised to find the X800 as an AGP. It's not exactly obsolete it's just that sooner or later you will need to upgrade your mobo to get a PCI-e card.

[chris73]

I'm actually pretty torn here. Upgrading the video card/CPU/PSU are approaching motherboard/CPU bundle prices for a new 64 bit PCI-e build up. I need a valid reason for THREE PC's!

Thanks for your help on this one. That card looks nice, but $140 for an older machine is a tough spend. Do you know of a cheaper card that supports pixel shading? I just bought the newest Hitman and NEITHER of my PC's will run it. The other machine has an ATI AIW 9000 supporting pixel shading 1.0 or something, but it's not enough for this game.