Graphics cards / Dimension 5150

I've got a 5150 desktop (UK) which is getting on for 4 years old now,
but other than weak* graphics it's still doing nicely...

* I mainly play a mod for the original Half-Life engine, but an update
with a new bespoke engine is imminent

I'm trying to weigh up the cost / benefit of something like an ATI
4670 to replace the existing factory fitted ATI X600, but I don't know
whether the existing processor, a P4 3.4Ghz Prescott 650 will have
sufficient grunt - it's probably not worth me going too high up the
card chain given the lower power of the system.

If anyone has any suggestions or comments i'd appreciate them :-)

(I moved house last year, so the budget is a bit tight to consider a
new system while this one still works)

"Colin Wilson" o.uk skrev i en
meddelelse ...
I've got a 5150 desktop (UK) which is getting on for 4 years old now,
but other than weak* graphics it's still doing nicely...

I'm trying to weigh up the cost / benefit of something like an ATI
4670 to replace the existing factory fitted ATI X600, but I don't know
whether the existing processor, a P4 3.4Ghz Prescott 650 will have
sufficient grunt - it's probably not worth me going too high up the
card chain given the lower power of the system.

If anyone has any suggestions or comments i'd appreciate them :-)


I cannot comment about the ATI4760, but I can tell you about what I have done on my sons
5150.
The best investment so far has been 2GB ram and a 500GB samsung drive.
But my son was still a little unsatisfied with the graphics -although not being a
demanding gamer.
So he got a geforce 7600GS-silent for 2 years ago.
However, this card happen to die last month. After a couple of runs with
ununderstandable error messages his monitor went hopelessly into permanent black.
So I gave him a Palit geforce GT220 as xmas present. But my son says that it only makes
very little difference.

I think the 7600GS death was due to overheating.
My choice of the GT220 is based upon its low power use . And it has a low noise fan
,plus a driver measuring the GPU temperature.

I cannot comment about the ATI4760, but I can tell you about what I have done on my sons
5150.
The best investment so far has been 2GB ram and a 500GB samsung drive.

I'm debating RAM as well, but by the time I add memory and a new card,
the costs have got to the point where it might be worth waiting a bit
longer and just buying a new system (i've only got 1Gb in this, so
it's already a bit tight, but when the existing "256Mb" X600 stops
"sharing" 1/4 of it, it should help ! :-}

But my son was still a little unsatisfied with the graphics -although not being a
demanding gamer.
So he got a geforce 7600GS-silent for 2 years ago.
However, this card happen to die last month. After a couple of runs with
ununderstandable error messages his monitor went hopelessly into permanent black.
So I gave him a Palit geforce GT220 as xmas present. But my son says that it only makes
very little difference.

Ta for that - looking at the specs over at RojakPot (they list speeds
for almost everything), the GT220 should be roughly double the speed
of the older card, so I wonder if the processor is the hold-up...

http://www.rojakpot.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=88&pgno=0