Need recommendations re. AGP card(s)

[CBinSD]

Greetings. I found this forum via Google and thought you might help me on a couple decisions I need to make. I have recently acquired a couple "five year old" computers(IBM, Dell) running XP Pro. Very basic set ups on both. (And I should say my current computer is an old Dell running Win98SE.) Trying to run some software for my son got me a message saying I needed pixel shading 2.0, etc. Seeing this message made me guess the graphics were basic and probably integrated on the motherboard, correct? So opening up the two cases show 4 PCI slots and one AGP slot....all open. Trying to keep the costs down and trying to keep both boxes similar, is buying an AGP card for each the way to get fairly current software-wise? I'm not an expert at this computer repair/upgrade job but not afraid to do the basics. So I have some questions due to my lack of knowledge.

Do different AGP cards have different requirements for power supply? Will it be listed on the specs?
AGP is AGP?....i.e. if it fits in the slot it will work?
I'm guessing AGP is the best/only way to go?
Is there a standard for memory on AGP cards?
Anyone have recommendations on where to purchase the cards?
Any other considerations I should be worried about? I still need to get a monitor for one.

Thank you for your time.

[JimmyS]

Adding an updated AGP video card to your PCs should help with the software compatibility issues you are seeing. You should verify that the card meets the programs requirements before you purchase it though. An excellent company to deal with is NewEgg. Here is a link to their AGP video card selection.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%201069609639&bo...ue&Pagesize=50

Some cards will have a minimum power supply requirement. It should be listed in the specs. Some also require a power connection to them. Usually it is one of the std. 4 pin peripheral connectors (as on the hard drive or CD/DVD drive). If it is different, an adapter is usually provided. If you do not have a spare connector from the power supply, splitter cables are available.

Using the AGP slot will be your best solution. If your PC has an AGP 4X/8X slot, any of the cards listed above should be compatible. You could use a PCI slot video card, but you will get better performance from the AGP slot (assuming similar spec'd. cards in either slot).

As for video memory, what comes installed on the card is its standard. Usually, the more you spend for a card, the more "standard" memory you get. More memory can help game performance, as it will be able to maintain certain information on the card instead of having to re-load as needed.

One other thing to be aware of, is to disable the integrated video adapter in the BIOS before trying to use the new card.

[CBinSD]

JimmyS

So after typing a long list of questions......I screwed up the posting. So here goes again:
I'm looking for a good card that will be okay for most applications.....not heavy gaming and not too ancient.
The one game my son is trying to play lists "64MB video memory with Shader 2.0".
what level DirectX? Does it matter?
what is OpenGL and what version is important? 1.3 1.4 1.5 2.0?
ATI or NVIDEA?
Pixel pipelines ??? make any difference?
I don't see Shader listed anywhere.
Does it matter if I don't know what timesX my AGP slot is?

And after asking all the questions, does this card seem appropriate?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500119

A side question on the audio.....is a sound card necessary??

Thank you again for your time.

[edDV]

That card will get you the basic features at about 2006 state of art. Newer cards require the PCI-e card slot.

Nvidea GeForce card model numbers give some hint of hierarchy

6 = chipset generation
2 = feature/performance hierarchy within generation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia

These are so called DirectX9 cards. Shaders, pipelines, etc. affect display of 3D games. 2D performance is fairly generic. OpenGL applies mostly to non-game 3D apps like CAD, animation and architecture.

For memory, 64-128MB is needed to support dual 2D display. More is used to hold textures for games. AGP speed affects loading textures into memory for game play.

These cards also decode MPeg video at several levels.

Standard (this card)
PureVideo = higher performance SD video decoding (including h.264)
PureVideo HD = higher performance HD video decoding (including h.264)

Most computer mother boards have basic audio functionality.

[Video Head]

There are 1.5V and 3.3V variations of AGP. Some motherboards support one or the other and some are universal. Make sure the video card and the motherboard support the same voltage.

[disturbed1]

Does it matter if I don't know what timesX my AGP slot is?

Yes it does. As the first AGP slots released had a different voltage, and are not compatible with newer cards. AGP 1x slots give 3.3V, AGP 4x is 1.5V, AGP 8x is 0.8V. Most cards and slots can adjust the voltage. Most motherboards with 1x AGP slots will not run a 4x AGP card. The good thing is, the slot keying is not universal. If the card fits, it will work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AGP_%26_AGP_Pro_Keying.svg

At Newegg, look at the keying of the card you want to purchase. Make sure it lines up with the AGP slot in your PC.

Nvidia also makes their 8400 and 9400 graphics cards for the PCI slot. ATI/AMD also have a couple of mid-grade PCI cards.

OpenGL is for games too (Quake, Doom3, UT, AmericanMcGees - Alice in Wonderland ....)


----edit---
Video Head types faster than I do

[Video Head]

Does it matter if I don't know what timesX my AGP slot is?

The good thing is, the slot keying is not universal. If the card fits, it will work.


----edit---
Video Head types faster than I do

Be aware that some motherboard manufacturers used a universal AGP slot that is not notched or keyed...but the board is voltage specific. Check the specs before you "plug and play".

[johns0]

The best agp video card to get is this one for playing moderate games,most of the video cards on that link are crap and are just for basic video and simple games.

[The_Doman]

That card will get you the basic features at about 2006 state of art. Newer cards require the PCI-e card slot.

Modern AGP cards are still released today. 8)

What about his one?
Sapphire Radeon HD 4650 AGP

[JimmyS]

As for DirectX, you can see what version you are currently running by clicking Start - Run, and type "dxdiag" (no quotes) in the Open field, then click OK. The installed version will be given at the bottom of the System Information list. The card you mention is DirectX 9 compatible. Pixel shader 2.0 is part of the DX 9 specification, so the card should run the software you mentioned. I think the latest version of DX9 is V 9.0c. If you are not at that version, you can get it from Microsoft.

Generally, the more pixel pipelines a card has, the greater the amount of data it can process at a time (they work in parallel). Comparisons are only useful though between similar makes and generations of GPUs.

To verify if your PCs have on board audio, you should see at least three audio jacks at the back of their motherboards. They may be color coded blue, green and pink.

[edDV]

That card will get you the basic features at about 2006 state of art. Newer cards require the PCI-e card slot.

Modern AGP cards are still released today. 8)

What about his one?
Sapphire Radeon HD 4650 AGP

Ahh, an ATI niche that I missed.

[johns0]

The HD 3850 i linked is better,the 4650 is only 128 bit while the 3850 is 256 bit.Better fps-http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26760084

[edDV]

The HD 3850 i linked is better,the 4650 is only 128 bit while the 3850 is 256 bit.Better fps-http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26760084

These cards will most likely require a new ATX 2.0 power supply. Check the power spec.

[CBinSD]

Thanks for all the comments. I'm sure getting a quick education in video cards. As stated, the higher speed cards will require a power supply upgrade. I wasn't looking to go that far. I will probably get the ZOTAC GeForce 6200. This card doesn't need more power than I have. It looks to fit in my AGP port. And is probably more than I need. And just as important, no one here seems to think its a bad card. Maybe a bit slow, but not bad.

[disturbed1]

I have a 6200. Plays non-blockbuster games just fine, image quality is superb. The greatest advantage to going with a dedicated graphics card, is that it will free up your system ram, and CPU to do other things. You should notice a marginal performance increase in day to day computing.