need a new video card

B

badaxer

n00b
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
38
Noob here...

I bought a Dell 2007WFP for my digital darkroom computer to see how it stacks up against my NEC 20WMGX2. I think I'll keep the NEC. But I tried hooking the Dell up to my 6 year ols internet dedicated PC which has an nVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64 vid card.
The highest screen resolution possible seems to be 1600 x 1024

But the Dell requires 1680 x 1050. The manual talks about the nVidia website having drivers to download to help the graphics card acheive this resolution. I looked at the nvidia wbsite and didn't see any....I like this monitor - plus I don't want to hook up the 17 inch CRT - it's heavy and taking up too much room.

Anyone know where I can download the drivers for the ancient video card?
If not then I want a CHEAPO vidcard solution (<$75).

Here's the info on my old rig:
Motherboard Name AOpen AX3SP(Pro)
(6 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 CNR, 3 DIMM, Audio)
CPU Type Intel Pentium IIIE, 1.0 gHz
CPU FSB 133.32 MHz (original: 133 MHz)
512 MB SDRAM
Video Adapter NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro (32 MB)
Graphics Processor Properties
Video Adapter AOpen PA3000 Plus

AGP Controller
AGP Version 2.00
AGP Aperture Size 64 MB
Supported AGP Speeds 1x, 2x, 4x

Monitor Name Model DELL 2007WFP
native Resolution 1680 x 1050

So any suggestions on where/if to get updated drivers? If not, then which vid card? it needs to run on the old mobo above with a P!!! 1.0 GHz CPU and 512 SDRAM.
Does the card need to be 64 MB? What does that AGP Aperture Size 64 MB mean? Would my mobo use a 128 MB card but only at 64 MB - or would it not recognise it and become unstable? nd would a 8x AGP card simply run at 4x speed or would it make the system unstable due to incompatability?

Finally - how do I find out what kind of PSU I have? It came with the case which is an obscure Trillium mid-tower. I've scoured the web trying to find out but to no success. I tried using Everest but to no avail? I believe the PSU size is critical in deciding what vid card to get, right? This machine is ONLY for internet surfing and MP3 playing (I have a much better rig for my digital darkroom)
 
this is what I read in another forum:

A bigger problem is the AGP voltage. A lot of newer AGP cards will not work in older AGP motherboards. That may be even true even if the motherboard supports 4x and the new video card is 4x compatible. Some motherboards supply the wrong voltage and may burn out the video card. Be very careful that all of the motherboard and video card properties match before plugging it in. You may need to set jumper or change a BIOS setting on the motherboard or video card to make this happen.
 
I also notice some of the vid card descriptions (such as the link you offered) refer to DDR RAM - since my mobo uses SDRAM RAM do I need a mobo that is specific to SDRAM?
 
no you dont, very few if any current video cards use sdram. almost all of it is ddr or an advanced version of ddr. they arent realted and dont conflict. for an example i have ddr ram on my motherboard and gddr3 ram on my video card. hope this helps
 
badaxer said:
this is what I read in another forum:

A bigger problem is the AGP voltage. A lot of newer AGP cards will not work in older AGP motherboards. That may be even true even if the motherboard supports 4x and the new video card is 4x compatible. Some motherboards supply the wrong voltage and may burn out the video card. Be very careful that all of the motherboard and video card properties match before plugging it in. You may need to set jumper or change a BIOS setting on the motherboard or video card to make this happen.
Click to expand...

i have never had this problem. and i have put newer card in 4x systems. you should always exercise caution when doing this though and read the motherboards manual if its available.
 
Thanks for all of your help everyone.

I actually found a driver solution to my problem. nVidia no longer supports my ancient TNT line of vid cards and their site no longer has any of the archived drivers. I did manage to find a website of archived nVidia drivers through the help of someone on the nVidia corporate driver forums.
So I downloaded the driver and I now found a free solution to my problem. My vid card now can drive my Dell at it's native solution...and I didn't have to buy and install anything or risk frying anything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top