Should I install this card I have lying around?

H

halcyon419

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My office PC uses an onboard Radeon HD 4200. Video performance is pretty good for what it is, but I am curious if this extra Geforce 8600GT 256MB that I have lying around would give the system a boost, or if the added energy consumption isn't worth it. Basically performance scores indicate that the HD4200 is the weakest link in the system. I also like the idea of freeing up RAM being used by the onboard graphics (currently 256MB).

System has an AMD Athlon II X2 245 clocked @ 3GHz, 4GB DDR2-800, motherboard is AMD 785G chipset.

You think this 8600GT is much faster than the onboard?
 
HUGE performance increase.

But, not sure how much you'd see anything real world unless you are gaming on this machine.
 
HUGE increase you say? :D

I usually play games w/ my other machine (Core2Quad/ATI HD6670/8GB), but I might try some Steam games w/ the 8600GT in this machine. Time to dust the tower out anyway, imma throw it in, thanks
 
I had a similar setup from my HTPC and the onboard 4250 couldn't keep up with 1080p 60fps files so I threw in a 6570. While I wouldn't say it would be a "HUGE" difference it should be a noticeable increase in fps and you get your RAM back for a small bump to power usage. I assume your power supply can handle an extra ~50 watts.
 
That card will indeed provide huge performance boost and you will be able to play most steam games with low/med details if you use lower than 1080p.
 
of course it will be a boost! definitely go for it, may as well since the card is just sitting around
 
Fail. The card was great for gaming yes, but I actually found the Windows 7 environment and applications/web browsing was significantly less smooth and snappy than my onboard video. I even tried several nvidia driver versions, the HD4200 is definitely faster outside of games so I ended up removing the 8600GT shortly after installing it. I ended up trying it in my other machine also just to make sure it wasn't the motherboard or something causing an issue. My other machine is a Dell XPS 410 w/ a core2quad and Radeon 6670. For shytes and giggles I put in the 8600GT. Same result, lousy performance in Windows environment but decent in games (not as good as my 6670 though).

I seem to remember having similar issues w/ an AGP 6600GT several years back in an entirely different machine

Anyone wanna buy this 8600GT? 15 bux + shipping.
 
yes do it much less flicker than old onboard :D migraine. more system memory to boot.
 
um I have used an 8600gt since the day it was launched and no such issues. I have plenty of experience with 4200 graphics and in way shape or form are they smoother than the 8600gt at anything. never had issues with my old 6600 gpu either so again the problems are on your end.
 
halcyon419 said:
Fail. The card was great for gaming yes, but I actually found the Windows 7 environment and applications/web browsing was significantly less smooth and snappy than my onboard video. I even tried several nvidia driver versions, the HD4200 is definitely faster outside of games so I ended up removing the 8600GT shortly after installing it. I ended up trying it in my other machine also just to make sure it wasn't the motherboard or something causing an issue. My other machine is a Dell XPS 410 w/ a core2quad and Radeon 6670. For shytes and giggles I put in the 8600GT. Same result, lousy performance in Windows environment but decent in games (not as good as my 6670 though).

I seem to remember having similar issues w/ an AGP 6600GT several years back in an entirely different machine

Anyone wanna buy this 8600GT? 15 bux + shipping.
Click to expand...

Did you remove your old AMD drivers before starting?
 
Yeah something not right there. Another 'we aren't getting the full story here' methinks.
 
I would think so. Make sure you remove every bit of those Radeon drivers though or else it will be a nightmare optimizing the Nvidia GPU
 
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