Which NIVIDIA is the upgrade I need ?

Question

need better grahics to play Second Life
i currently have a NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400 card
on a Dell Dimension 8200 512MB RAM
1.80 ghz Pent 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz

as soon as I am financially able I will be replacing this puter I cannot even upgrade the mem it is so expwensive cause it uses older mem chips which are outrageously expensive but until i can affrd it this is what I am working with and i have no probs with it at all.. its still very fast (i am on broadband) i keep it extremely clean of spyware and ad ward, defrag and cleandisk daily if not more often and have excellent antivirus programs

also i am not interested in the second life requirements (what you think i cannot read or that I haven't seen them??? I am talking about wghich card is compatible with my computer and its motherboard etc

i HAVE BEEN playing however I would like the graphics to be a little better of course

Answer 1

The game recommends an FX5600 or FX6600 card with a P3 minimum - you should be OK with these. These FX clock speeds are around 300 MHz, and you can get a 6600 card with 512MB for under $100.

Shop around a little and for the same price you can get a GeForce card with 500 MHz clock speed for about the same price, and 600 MHz cards around $150.

If you plan on playing any of the newer games, you'll need some beef with a good cooling fan, and the 512MB cards are becoming the standard and prices should drop.

Answer 2

You need to upgrade the whole thing to be able to play any of the recent games. The hardware that you have, save for the RAM, is simply not enough. Here are some suggestions for an upgrade.

1. First off, upgrade to a new motherboard, like the Intel 945GV chipset. This will give you a good base for any hardware upgrade.
2. The processor comes next. Any CORE DUO solution from Intel should be fine.
3. Your RAM is okay, but with the new motherboard, you'll need to check for compatibility with the old modules.
4. For the graphics card, the NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS is your best bet.

Regards,
Azzi

Answer 3

Minimum requirements:
# Video/Graphics Card**:

* nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better
* OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better

Recommended requirements:
# Video/Graphics Card**:

* nVidia GeForce FX 5600, GeForce 6600, or better
* OR ATI Radeon 9600, X600, or better

The rest of the system does seem to meet the minimum recommended requirements but I'm sure you'll be running in a reduced configuration to keep the game playable.

Link to the system requirements below:

** Edit **
What motherboard do you have then if you are looking for an upgrade card that supports your system? Does it support AGP 2/4/8x? Are you looking to purchase a card that you can also use on your new system? If so, do you have an idea what system specifications you are looking at (PCI-e, AGP, PCI)? If you don't intend to transfer this card to your newer system in the future, then I would recommend getting the slot info for your board and checking the Second Life forums to see if people are chatting about the cards that work or don't work well for them. After that, check sites like NewEgg, TigerDirect, or PriceWatch to see about purchasing the card at a reasonable price.

Answer 4

I'm pretty sure that the MX series was 8x AGP.

You can get a 7600 GS or GT which will be plenty to play Second Life.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130076

Answer 5

Are you using PCI, or AGP?

If you are using PCI your choices are limited and a upgrade would be pointless.

AGP you can go get yourself a decent card that can run second life for 150 dollars.

Answer 6

wow a g2 400..

Be a better idea to scrap that computer the card will cost more than your computers value..

is it pci?
is it AGP?