upgrading video card on 1.1GHz Thunderbird system

[Bob (85)]

I'm hoping to be able to upgrade my Geforce 2 GTS card to something more up to date as it is now starting to show it's age. Only problem is I haven't got loads of cash to spend and want to make sure it's worth it - there must be a point when the rest of the system holds back the card and I won't be getting my moneys worth.

The rest of the system;

Abit KT7-RAID (AGP 4x)
1.1GHz Athlon Tbird (o/clocked to 1.2)
512MB PC133 (cas2)
WD 80GB HD (8MB cache)
Windows XP Pro

I'm thinking of a Geforce FX in the region of �50-�70, such as a Geforce FX5200 128MB DDR from Abit. Seems really cheap for a lot of power (�56.99 from dabs.com). Are they good cards and any good specifically in my situation?

TIA
Iain

 

[Wblane]

You're in the same situation I was facing. I've got a Tbird 1.2 Ghz and a Geforce 2/GTS. Personally, I upgraded both my motherboard and video card but not my CPU.

What I did was get an overclockers motherboard: nfs7 v2.0 and overclocked my Tbird 1.2 Ghz to 1.47 Ghz, then I bought a Radeon 9500 Pro.

For you, a new vid-card would definitely give you the most bang for the buck. Are you committed to Nvidia? I'd take a look at ATI as well (maybe the 9600 Pro, 9500 Pro or plain-jane 9700). I'll bet you'll get a significant boost in perf. either way.
-Bill (remove "botizer" to reply via email)