Upgrading to ATI X1950 Pro AGP - advice please

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safeer1982

Hello

My system is currently -

P4 2.8GHz
512MB RAM
120GB HDD
ATI RADEON 9200SE 128MB

(I bought it 2 years ago at this specification)

I want to upgrade the RAM to 1.5GB

I want to install a Sapphire ATI X1950 PRO AGP 512MB

and for this I have decided to upgrade the PSU, as the ATI
documentation suggests that it needs at least 450W supply.

My upgrade will cost around £300

I want to hang on to this system for the next 18-24 months, before
buying a new one.

My motherboard is an MS6714 (it DOES have an AGP slot, as I have an
AGP card in there and it is also shown in the mobo documentation)

Will my system utilise the X1950 Pro AGP properly - maximising its
potential?

Can anyone kindly offer me any advice, hints or tips?

Thanks
 
Will my system utilise the X1950 Pro AGP properly - maximising its
potential?

Can anyone kindly offer me any advice, hints or tips?
-------------
Most current games benefit from a fast GPU. So, the Pro will serve you well
unless you want to play games at a very high resolution. You will see a big
improvement in performance. I have an X850 Pro in my 2nd PC (a P4 2.8GHz
system). It handles all my current games pretty well at 1280x1024. The only
game it struggles to handle is Oblivion, which I play with my main Core 2
Duo system.
 
Hello

My system is currently -

P4 2.8GHz
512MB RAM
120GB HDD
ATI RADEON 9200SE 128MB

(I bought it 2 years ago at this specification)

I want to upgrade the RAM to 1.5GB

I want to install a Sapphire ATI X1950 PRO AGP 512MB

and for this I have decided to upgrade the PSU, as the ATI
documentation suggests that it needs at least 450W supply.

My upgrade will cost around £300

I want to hang on to this system for the next 18-24 months, before
buying a new one.

My motherboard is an MS6714 (it DOES have an AGP slot, as I have an
AGP card in there and it is also shown in the mobo documentation)

Will my system utilise the X1950 Pro AGP properly - maximising its
potential?

Can anyone kindly offer me any advice, hints or tips?

Thanks

I can't say enough about ensuring you have a good power supply for these
cards. My old video card began to have
fan issues, so I upgraded to the Powercolor x1950 pro AGP. After putting
this in, it too was running hot idling at 50 degrees. Plus my
case temps and HD temps both were way up. I had an inkling it was the power
supply. I have a not that old Antec 500w
Smartpower, but I replaced it with an FSP-Group 700 watt with 4 rails of
+12V at 18A each. After rebooting, my video card
is now idling at 40 and my other temps all have gone down to normal levels.
You need a PS with good +12V amps, at least 30
is recommended. The Powercolor version has a nice cooling system on it
although you'll need to clear a PCI slot next to it.
The card is now running pretty cool not breaking 50 in games. This is a 256M
version. There are 512M versions, but I don't
think the difference is incredibly substantial unless you are going to run
games at really high resolutions(over 1600x1200). HIS
sells both versions with better cooling solutions than stock and come
overclocked as well.

I'm running a 3.4G P4 Northwood so I may not be taking full advantage of
the card, but it does just fine for me. This would
be a great upgrade for you as well I'm sure. You won't find another AGP card
that will run games as fast as these cards do right now.
Again, don't skimp on the PS when running these cards.
 
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