A Rant and need some advice.

Ya' know, my problems all started when Dell had to replace my graphics card (no overclocking) about 8 months ago and now the current one (also no overclocking) is shot and my system is out of warranty. Did they give me a 'rebuilt' model? If not, they really need to add a replacement parts warranty. I've never dealt with anyone but Dell since 1996, but that decade is over.
Just ranting.........

I'm glad I found this place as I will attempt for the first time building my own system, and I'm sure I'll need your advice.
I've never built- or more appropriatley- 'assembled' my own system before but if its a simple as I have heard and the savings are as has been suggested, I wonder how these computer vendors stay in business?

But for now;

I have a Dim. 8200 1.8 mhz. P-4.
Nvidia GeForce 4 4600 Ti w/128 mb Agp 4x
512mb rdram
250w power supply

I want to upgrade the video card to the Nvidia GeForce 6600 256mb Agp 8x.

Nvidia say's that their Agp cards have downward compatability built into them.

Is this a good, stable upgrade for the current config.?
Will there be some performance enhancements?

Thank you.

 

I forgot to mention that everest told me that I had the Intel Tehama i850(E) motherboard chipset.

 

It depends on what you do with your PC.

If you're a gamer, a 6600 is a poor choice and not much better than your current card. Get a 6600GT minimum or a 6800 up.

As long as it's an AGP card it will work fine and very simple to install.


You remove the current nVidia driver via Add/Remove, shut down then install the new card and reboot.

When windows says Found New Hardware just cancel. (don't worry about any error)

Then install the latest nVidia drivers and set your resolution etc.

We have the driver for XP/2K HERE.

 

Thanks Cleet.

Any card would be better than my current card as my current card is fried. Probably still better than ATI though

 

First off, I'm an ATI fan, but to each his own. Other than that, I'd agree with "cleetus" (as he decided to be named when the hillbilly jokes started) that even the 6600 is quickly being outdated. I would seriously consider starting fresh, since AGP basically got outdated quickly by PCI Express. Trust me, this site is "deep" in geniuses. You'd have no problem putting a computer together, I just did my first build in like 3 hours, and that was being way too careful.

But hey, if you just want to upgrade, go ahead with AGP, it'll work fine for now. Have fun.

 

Unfortunately, it seems to go in cycles with hardware.

One manufacturer will be market leader and have better products, then their competitor and so on.

AMD and Intel are a classic example, and so is nVidia and ATI.

I was a huge fan of ATI when they released the excellent 9600XT and 9800Pro, but sadly they have recently taken their eye of the ball in my opinion.

Also, nVidia has full support for Shader Model 3.0 etc in most of it's chips, which is why another reason I prefer them.