need new video card, can you help me please?

[lt1tech]

Hi, I currently have an asus p3v4x motherboard and am celeron Oc'd to 800mhz. I want to upgrade the processor and the video card. I have an agp Voodoo3 2000 16mb card in and it suffers in high res mode on motocross madness 2 and GTA3. How can I find out what processor my board will support and what video card it will support so i can increase my speed? Thanks for helping me out.

Kyle

[DrZaius]

Hi lt1tech, welcome to the PC Mech forums!

I would suggest going with an ATI Radeon 8500 or 8500LE (depending on budget). It's an AGP 4X card which your motherboard supports, and you'll definately notice the difference over the Voodoo3.

[Floppyman]

Hi,

I guess it depends on how much you want to spend, but a Geforce 4 Ti 4200/4400 might also be an option to look at. HTH

[lt1tech]

WOW! Thanks guys, I can't believe I got a response so quickly! I am looking at both of those cards right now. How do I tell what board my mobo will support? Also, what about the processor upgrade? My machine has been very stable for over a year and has been clocked from 433 to 800mhz through the bios overclocker for a year. Thanks again,

[TimPoet]

If your board's AGP is 4x, I believe you should have no problem with any of the GeF4 cards. Looks like the GeF4 MX will go 2X, though I hesitate to call them GeF4's, they are truly different in components and performance, but I only see one non-MX GeF4 that's 2X on Newegg.com: the GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4 Ti 4200 (not the Golden Sample).
I can't find your mobo anywhere, are you sure you had the right model #?
Ohhh, now I think I see.... P3v 4X. Perhaps the 4X alludes to the AGP! If so, then it looks like at least the type of AGP won't cause incompatibilities with your mobo.

[lt1tech]

So basically my board is a 4x? I am looking at the geforce boards and it looks like there are several different manufacturers and brands of the geforce? What would be my best bet for a baord? looks like good deals on ebay but i don't know what board to purchse. Thanks for all of your awesome help!

[DrZaius]

Good nVidia based brands: Vistiontek, Gainward, Leadtek, MSI, PNY, Abit, Asus, and eVGA. Stick with them and you shouldn't have any problems. I still suggest you look at the ATI Radeon 8500, it's GeForce4 performance for cheaper.

[morriswindgate]

ALso if you want bang for the buck, the Powered by ATi cards on Newegg are really well built stable cards. They are built by Sapphire Technologies and they keep upto date with the drivers and such. The cards themselves are sturdy and well finish, but a few bucks less that the ATI Factory cards.
Actually after comparing them side by side,I have often wondered if Sapphire does not actually build the ATI factory cards.

[TimPoet]

Originally posted by lt1tech So basically my board is a 4x?

Well, if you look at my post, the operative word there is, perhaps. . Like I said I couldn't find your board on any websites (not even asus.com!).
And do give heed to DrZ and Mr Morris, they know much more than I.

[DrZaius]

Here's a quote from a review.

The board itself features a universal AGP slot which isn't keyed specifically for AGP 2X or AGP 4X cards, which lets the user install virtually any currently available AGP card in the slot, whether it is an AGP 1X/2X or 4X card.

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1199

[lt1tech]

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm new and learning here but have learned a lot in the last 2 days. I still am unsure on how I can figure out what processor a mobo can handle. I am thinking of upgrading my mobo and would like to know how to determine what board will accept what processor. Thanks again

[lt1tech]

One more question guys, are both the geforce and ATI card's accepted equally by most gaming software? Thanks again

[TimPoet]

Originally posted by lt1tech Thanks for the info everyone. I'm new and learning here but have learned a lot in the last 2 days. I still am unsure on how I can figure out what processor a mobo can handle. I am thinking of upgrading my mobo and would like to know how to determine what board will accept what processor. Thanks again

Ok, sounds like you're realizing that a good solid upgrade often involves the mobo and cpu. Good thinking.
I've been looking at motherboards lately for purchase consideration. I read the threads here and mobo reviews I find here and there, or I just straight out ask the folks here what I want my system to do, what my budget is and then flat out ask them for mobo/cpu suggestions and then take either the specific mobo make or even just a reliable manufacturer and go to a site like newegg.com and find the board. In the product description it tells me which CPUs it supports. Simple, even for a guy like me.

Both ATI and Geforce cards are universally accepted in gaming these days. These 2 basically rule the gaming world for now.
Keep it up, you're doing a good job.

[piasabird]

I have been using a VisionTek Xstasy Geforce2 GTS-V AGP PRO 32 MB DDR OEM (video out only) that I paid $48.00 for from www.newegg.com. It seems to work pretty well. I have it sitting on Asus TUSL2-C Motherboard with a 1.2 Gig Boxed Celeron. I've been playing 3D games on it that I couldnt play on my PII with the VooDoo 3 3000 card. I was surprised how fast it played battle for dune, sequel to dune 2000.