Suggestions for upgrade on older box that currently has ATI 9800 Pro 256mb card

mfisher1967 · 09-28-08, 03:05 PM

I have been out of the loop for a while. Several years ago I gave my son my old gaming rig, which has an Abit IC7 Max 3, 2gb of Mushkin, 4 Wester Digital Raptors in Raid 0, Creative Audigy, ATI 9800 Pro 256 mb, PC Power & Cooling 510 ATX-PFC. The power supply failed and I have obtained an RMA from PC Power & Cooling.

I am considering upgrading the video card and perhaps adding a couple of sticks of memory to bring the system up to its full potential. Since the box uses Windows XP, I have been told that the OS will only recognize 3.64gb of memory. There may be a workaround for this, but I really haven't researched into the matter yet.

Since the IC7 Max 3 uses an AGP slot, what would you recommend to replace a 9800 Pro 256mb card? Is an upgrade even worth the money at this point? Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.

White_Pawn · 09-28-08, 03:23 PM

which cpu are you using? For a box that old, i wouldn't upgrade to 4gigs of ram. 2gigs of ram is plenty for an old box.

Save enough until you can get a whole new box.

mfisher1967 · 09-28-08, 04:41 PM

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the box has a P4 2.6 gHz cpu, which is O/C to 3 gHz. I agree with your recommendation to stick with 2gb of memory.

necrokiller · 09-28-08, 06:06 PM

There is no workaround to get 4gb on XP 32-bit. It is just its limitation.

You might be able to find ATI X1950 series cards, which are the last fastest AGP cards tested.( not sure about nvidia).. it depends on availability and prices..if you get a used one at a decent price then it would fit perfectly for your system.

Caviman2201 · 09-29-08, 09:47 AM

Maybe look for an old AGP 6800 series card or a newer 7600GT AGP? Really no point in putting too much money into it... Check classifieds on here or eBay...

Badbonji · 09-29-08, 10:01 AM

The HD3850 is the best of the best AGP card, and will play modern games quite well at medium settings.

=ACID RAIN= · 10-01-08, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badbonji

The HD3850 is the best of the best AGP card, and will play modern games quite well at medium settings.

Still cpu limited though.

09-28-08, 03:05 PM	Thread Starter #1
mfisher1967 Registered Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Houston, TX	Suggestions for upgrade on older box that currently has ATI 9800 Pro 256mb card I have been out of the loop for a while. Several years ago I gave my son my old gaming rig, which has an Abit IC7 Max 3, 2gb of Mushkin, 4 Wester Digital Raptors in Raid 0, Creative Audigy, ATI 9800 Pro 256 mb, PC Power & Cooling 510 ATX-PFC. The power supply failed and I have obtained an RMA from PC Power & Cooling. I am considering upgrading the video card and perhaps adding a couple of sticks of memory to bring the system up to its full potential. Since the box uses Windows XP, I have been told that the OS will only recognize 3.64gb of memory. There may be a workaround for this, but I really haven't researched into the matter yet. Since the IC7 Max 3 uses an AGP slot, what would you recommend to replace a 9800 Pro 256mb card? Is an upgrade even worth the money at this point? Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.
	QUOTE Thanks

09-28-08, 03:23 PM	#2
White_Pawn Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada	which cpu are you using? For a box that old, i wouldn't upgrade to 4gigs of ram. 2gigs of ram is plenty for an old box. Save enough until you can get a whole new box. __________________ - - M a i n R i g - - E2140 @ 375 x 8 = 3ghz w/ 1.3375v ^Tuniq Tower 120^ Gigabyte P35-S3L powercolor HD4890 @ 850/975 OCZ System 1337s 2x1 5-5-5-15 2T @ 450mhz. 2TB 7200.12+ Seagate Silverstone Decathalon 650W Modular
	QUOTE Thanks

09-28-08, 04:41 PM	Thread Starter #3
mfisher1967 Registered Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Houston, TX	Sorry, I forgot to mention that the box has a P4 2.6 gHz cpu, which is O/C to 3 gHz. I agree with your recommendation to stick with 2gb of memory.
	QUOTE Thanks

09-28-08, 06:06 PM	#4
necrokiller Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada	There is no workaround to get 4gb on XP 32-bit. It is just its limitation. You might be able to find ATI X1950 series cards, which are the last fastest AGP cards tested.( not sure about nvidia).. it depends on availability and prices..if you get a used one at a decent price then it would fit perfectly for your system. __________________ Processor \| Intel C2D E8400 C0 @ 4GHz Xigmatek Dark Knight Motherboard \| eVGA 680i SLI RAM \| OCZ XTC Platinum 2x1GB DDR2 1066MHz PC-8500 Graphics \| EVGA GTX 260 (192sp) Storage \| Western Digital 320GB SATA Case - Power Supply \|CM 690 - Corsair TX750 Operating System \| Windows 7 (32-bit)
	QUOTE Thanks

09-29-08, 09:47 AM	#5
Caviman2201 Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: MD	Maybe look for an old AGP 6800 series card or a newer 7600GT AGP? Really no point in putting too much money into it... Check classifieds on here or eBay... __________________ CPU: Core i5-3570K @ 4.3GHz RAM: 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Kingston HyperX GPU: 2x Powercolor 7950 "Boost" in CrossfireX @ 1100MHz vCore & 5200MHz vRAM MB: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 PSU: Seasonic X 850w HSF: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo w/ AS5 HDD: Sandisk Extreme 120GB SSD + Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB LCD: ASUS VW246H 24" 1080p CASE: Corsair Vengeance C70 Black
	QUOTE Thanks

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09-29-08, 10:01 AM	#6
Badbonji Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Birmingham, UK	The HD3850 is the best of the best AGP card, and will play modern games quite well at medium settings. __________________ i7 3770K 4.5GHz 1.2V \| Phanteks PH-TC14PE \| 16GB TeamGroup Elite 1600MHz \| GIGABYTE G1.Sniper M3 \| EVGA GTX680 SC 1254/1500MHz \| M4 256GB + 150GB Raptor \| Corsair HX+ 850W \| Antec 1200 i7 965 \| 8GB OCZ Gold 1600MHz \| GIGABYTE Extreme X58 \| HD5450 \| M4 64GB + 7TB \| OCZ 500W P9500 3.13GHz \| 4GB 1000MHz DDR2 \| Mobility HD4850 550/900MHz \| 500GB
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