Best video card for a PIII 733?

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Since it is on old computer, i doubt getting a 9600 would be wise as it would be very CPU limited.

What would be the best card for a PIII 733 before the CPU limit hits in? I'm looking at a Geforce2 MX400 at the moment, what would be a better choice for about the same price? Second hand of course.
 
what kind of board and memory are we looking at?

I'd look into a GF3 or GF4
 
Ezekial said:
what kind of board and memory are we looking at?

I'd look into a GF3 or GF4
Click to expand...

Wouldn't those be cpu limited? The specs of the card I'm think about:ELSA GF2MX400 64MB AGP
 
Maybe a little, but I would think you would get good performance out of them. I have a gf3 ti200 right now just sittin in a box :)
 
If you're going to actually spend money on a new card, don't even waste time with a GF2mx; at least go for a GF4mx - the cost difference is minimal but the GF4mx is going to be much faster. Depending on your budget, a GF4mx, GF3, GF4Ti or Radeon 8500/9100/9000/9200 would be a nice card for the system and match the CPU's abilities pretty well.


One thing to watch out for is that your older mother board might only be AGP 2x, if so you can't get a 4x/8x card.
 
Another thing to watch out for:

If your PIII-733 CPU sits on a motherboard that uses a Via chipset, keep in mind that the AGP on those motherboards will only run stable at AGP 2x or slower, even if they technically support AGP 4x.

And another thing to watch out for:

Some PIII-733's sit on a motherboard that uses the Intel 810E chipset, which does not support AGP card upgrades whatsoever (and thus provide no AGP slot at all). In this case, you're stuck with either the integrated video or a lousy PCI (not PCIe) graphics card "upgrade".
 
I just recently upgraded my dad's comp which has a P3 with a new video card. He had a GeForce4MX440, I stuck in a Radeon 9700pro. He can even now play Halo @ 800*600 with very good framerates!

Ace's Hardware did a very good comparison between different video cards on different CPU platforms, including a P3 & Ti4600 & the 9700Pro. If you play at 800*600 or 1024*768, there is a very measurable difference between the 4600 & the 9700pro. Both cards way outpaced the GeForce4 Mx 440 they used, by 50-60%.

Get a 9700pro, as it will allow you to play with AA & AF, which the Ti4600 will not. That is the best VC for the P3 platform.

You do need to know what motherboard you have. My dad has a Asus TUV4x, which supports AGP4x. The Radeon 9700Pro plays fine on that. If you have a older MB which does not have AGP4x, but 2x, then get the Ti4600.
 
733Mhz?! dude, you need to get a Dell!! lol

Go get a whole new computer. Dont waste your money upgrading that old POS.

Just start over with a new PC, or upgrade the CPU, mobo, ram & videocard.
 
I think it's for a backup computer. Or at least that's what the post leads me to believe. So telling the guy he needs to upgrade his backup is pointless.
 
it was kind of a joke.

I was just making the point dont waste his time with a new (nice) videocard on that system. LIke people telling him to get a ti4600 or 9700. Both of which would be wasted on that 733Mhz system.

But its kinda like some people putting 20" rims ($2000) on a rusted old 1980 pinto worth only $100. :)
 
There are people who exist with very different needs. Word processing with limited gaming, for example. My dad only plays Heroes of Might & Magic, WC3, & Diablo 2. He never plays at resolutions higher than 1024*768. I never can get him to play other games. He's also extremely stingy with money. I had to pitch in $30 for him to get the 9700Pro.

Therefore, him not wanting to upgrade a MB, CPU, RAM, & VC, only upgrading the VC is the best cost/benefit ratio there is.

If the original post creator is in the same situation, get the Radeon 9700pro. It's a card you can take with you if you ever do upgrade the MB (at least, one with AGP).
 
Matrox g400 or higher and if gaming get a ti4200 after that, its mute
 
The previous computer I was on for many years was a speedy 233mhz. I only got the pIII a week ago, so to me this is a fast computer!

Forgot about the motherboard, it is a i815 board, 4x AGP. The GF2 MX is second hand, so it'll be cheap and I doubt there are any slower cards than the i815's onboard graphics.
 
I would go with the 9700pro...at least that way you could get some sort of dx9 compatibility...maybe even a 9500pro if you could find one.
 
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Just pick ya up a gf3 ti 200 for around 35.00 bucks and call some used computer dealers in your area and get a p3 1.2hz chip for around 30.00 bucks and whola under 75.00 dollars you have a much better running system.
 
his system might not be tualatin compatible? IF so the max he could go would be like a 1Ghz P3 Coppermine. Depending on what version of the 815 he has. Only the last revision or so was Tualatin compatible.

Unless he gets a powerleap.com adapter which enables you to fool the CPU/mobo in to working together. (works on most mobos), but the price goes up again, if you need the adapter.

And if you're going to spend over $100, you might as well start over with a new core system.
 
chrisf6969 said:
his system might not be tualatin compatible? IF so the max he could go would be like a 1Ghz P3 Coppermine. Depending on what version of the 815 he has. Only the last revision or so was Tualatin compatible.

Unless he gets a powerleap.com adapter which enables you to fool the CPU/mobo in to working together. (works on most mobos), but the price goes up again, if you need the adapter.

And if you're going to spend over $100, you might as well start over with a new core system.
Click to expand...

He would need the asus TUSL2-c great chip too faster then the first gen p4's
 
Definitely get something in the GeForce 3/Radeon 8500 range or up. This way, you have some level of pixel shader support. GeForce 2MX/4MX cards don't have pixel shader engines. I would agree with the people saying that the 9700 Pro is a good option, but if you don't want to spend that much, then the GF3/4 or 8500/9000 will work just fine. I ran a GeForce 3 on a CUSL2 with an 800EB at one point, and it worked out quite well. You really should have something that's at least DX8 compliant. I would second the idea of purchasing a 1GHz P3 as well. They're extremely cheap.
 
Checked the motherboard's support, only up to 1Ghz so no Tualatin.

How do I check what type of PIII it is? If it is below 1.1Ghz it is a coppermine?
 
i bet you could nab a P3 1ghz coppermine and a G4 ti 4200 used and get 10-15 FPS in doom @ 640x480 my P3 coppermine with 512 PC133 and 5200 actually get around that :) everything on low and the system is WAY tweaked :)
 
I wouldnt get anything under Radeon 8500 or GeForce 3 TI-500. That way you'll atleast have *SOMETHING* when you upgrade other things in terms of gaming instead of just (essentially) a 2D card. Unless ofcourse you fancy 3D Pong. :p
 
733mhz is not that slow.. farcry ran fine at 800x600 n ok at 1024x768 med details with 9700np on celeron 600, abit be6 ii, 256m sdram. maps tooks while to load up tho..
farcry n d3 1280x1024 high would be playable with 6800gt n 733mhz cpu, 512mb ram.
 
Although I dont have the proof to test, I would probably say it wouldnt be, simply because once the CPU does need to work (ai, physics), the cpu will lag the 6800 so far behind it wont be funny. So while walking around etc will look beautiful, once you get in a battle the frame rate will get knee deep in shit.

I played Doom 3 on an Athlon 850, 768 PC-133, and Radeon 9600 XT. And I know a 9600 XT is by no means the worlds best card. It still is good.

Playing Doom 3 at 1024x768 Medium quality I found that walking around etc was great, but once the CPU really had to work, the framerate would drop to around 5-7 FPS at times*, obviousely being a factor in the CPU and not the card.

I'll briefly put up a link to benchmarks and other shots of it.

http://24.171.22.220

*edit
 
I put a 128MB Radeon 9600XT in my Son's PIII 1 Ghz with 512MB RDRAM and a Camino 820 Chipset. This card replaced a fried 64MB Geforce 3 Ti 500, the Radeon picked up Doom3 TimeDemo from 22FPS @ 800x600 LQ to 28FPS @ 800x600 MQ, in my opinion a nice boost. I also hope the card would carry over to a newer system at some point in the future.
 
jacuzz1 said:
He would need the asus TUSL2-c great chip too faster then the first gen p4's
Click to expand...

My toaster is faster then a willamette, seriously what a redundant statement, infact P3s are faster then any P4s..but anyhow...

Grab a GF3, sure there are benefits from dx9 cards but they're minimal, a GF3 on that system puts you back int he glory days of super high end quake3 performance comparisons, anything more is pointless, unless you can pickup something like a 9000pro 128mb in your pricerange, where the mpeg2/dvd decoding features help for multimedia, or a 9500/9600 if you use divx...
 
1100(11x100), 6800nu(400/900) - 8712 3dmark
1100(11x100), 6800nu(400/900) - 32/35fps d3 demo1 1280x1024 ultra/high
2200(11x200), 6800nu(325/700) - 8550 3dmark
2200(11x200), 6800nu(400/900) - 10050 3dmark
2200(11x200), 6800nu(400/900) - 54/58fps d3 demo1 1280x1024 ultra/high
 
Chaballaman said:
1100(11x100), 6800nu(400/900) - 8712 3dmark
1100(11x100), 6800nu(400/900) - 32/35fps d3 demo1 1280x1024 ultra/high

2200(11x200), 6800nu(400/900) - 10050 3dmark
2200(11x200), 6800nu(400/900) - 54/58fps d3 demo1 1280x1024 ultra/high
Click to expand...

You downclocked your XP to do some testing?

An AthlonXP would have a similar performance as a P3 per Mhz. (at least a lot closer than a P4 per Mhz)

So at 1.1Ghz he could pull some decent #'s if he had a $300 videocard!

I'm kinda wishing I had kept my FX 5900 to put in my old 1Ghz OC'd P3 system.
 
unfortunately cpus are locked so i cant run 5x100 n i dont have gt.. but i wouldnt be suprised if 1100mhz n 6800gt oc gets 10k+ 3dmark03.

"Checked the motherboard's support, only up to 1Ghz so no Tualatin.
How do I check what type of PIII it is? If it is below 1.1Ghz it is a coppermine?"
733 is coppermine n cpu itself should oc 900+ easy but u need good mobo n ram to run 166mhz back then.. maybe asus cusl2/p3 800/133/kingmax pc150 - 1000/166. best bet would be 100fsb 800-900 cpu so u can easily oc to max.
 
Read the article on Ace's Hardware. That was why I chose a 9700Pro for my dad's P3 system.

Believe me, the P3 does use the 9700 Pro power, much more than a Ti4600.
 
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