Video upgrade

[Bill]

I am presently using a Sapphire ATI Radon 9600 Pro XTV 128/128 (yes I know) which I think is on it's way out.
I am not going to do a full system upgrade yet and therefore limited to another AGP card.  But, I am not a gamer.

Does anyone have experience with the Sapphire 199175L Radon X1650Pro 512 MB 128 bit GDDR2?  This card gets mixed reviews on Newegg and sells for $60+.

Or, a recommendation for something else?

Thanks,
Bill

[scuzzy]

I switched to NVIDIA cards some time back and I have no regrets. I installed a fanless MSI GeForce 6200 card in a secondary computer, and I have an EVGA 7600GT in my main system. Both have proven to be excellent cards. However, I did switch out the noisy 7600's OEM fan with a much quieter unit.

Depending on whatever you can afford, I'd recommend that you pick from the NVIDIA's 6 series or 7 series. (Both links are for the AGP models.)

I'm sold on NVIDIA and I have no desire to go back to ATI anytime soon.

Scuzzy; and I'm no gamer.

[Bill]

Thanks, I will do some studying.

B-

[Bill]

scuzzy,

The reviews on your card -EVGA 7600GT- seem to have a lot of comments about overheating compared to the 7600 GS.
The GS has half the memory of the GT but twice the amount I have now.
Have you had any noticeable problems? 
It could be that those complaining were heavy gamers really expecting PCI-E performance, I suppose.

Secondary question: the GT and GS both show a 4 pin power connection but the GS also shows a supplementary 4 pin Y power cable.  Both show a power connection for the HSF to card board.  You think the extra Y cable is to allow for a potential shortage of 4 pin connectors?

Bill

[scuzzy]

My eVGA 7600GT has never overheated, but the OEM HSF often went into full gear making too much noise for my liking. So I replaced the stock HSF with a Zalman VF700LED unit. If you check the Customer Reviews, you'll find my review (including a helpful installation tip) under my moniker.

With the Zalman attached, the card always runs cool and quiet. With the LED, I suppose it even looks cool. But since I have a windowless case, I'll never know. :)

I believe you are correct about the Y adapter, but I don't specifically recall.

[Bill]

Scuzzy,
I looked for your review of the GT but no joy.  I have decided to try the 7600GT and will take your advice on the Zalman.  What is/was the install guide you mentioned earlier>

EDIT: I found the review you mentioned under the Zalman.  Good idea!

What did you use to clean the old thermal paste from the GPU?

Bill

[pat]

I bought one of the 7600GS back in January for my AGP system, seems to be a good card. Although the fan wasn't really that loud I bought one of the Arctic Cooling Accelero S2 coolers and the Turbo fan modules for it. It can cool passively but does cool much better with the fan. The cooler and fan do take a couple extra slots so that could be an issue, but it is absolutely silent.

[scuzzy]

I used cotton balls soaked in 92% Isopropyl alcohol to clean the old thermal paste. Most pharmacies carry this alcohol, but regular 70% Isopropyl will work fine. I believe Safeway carries 99%.

[Bill]

The 7600GT arrived in typical 2 day Newegg fashion.  And the installation was easy, although I'd forgotten how small the dang screws are.

The card is certainly quicker to respond than anything I've had before but getting the colors, brightness, contrast, etc. is another matter.

The DVI monitor seems to have infinite settings, making things more difficult.  The monitor that is on the sub-d output has many fewer adjustment options.  The other thing that seems to be a problem is the display font on the analog connection.  I have T-Bird open on the second sub-d monitor and the font appearance is washed out and looks like a typical 600x800, rudimentary style.  T-Bird has some display font choices but none of them seem to make a difference.  New, unread mail appears in bold but read mail is barely shadow on the screen. 

Any thought or suggestions?

Bill

[pat]

If you're not using Clear Type fonts, that may help.

Display Properties, Appearance, Effects.

[Bill]

Thanks, Pat.  I will check later.

B-

[scuzzy]

Have you checked the resolution settings for both monitors (under Display Properties/Settings)? From what you're saying, it sounds like the color quality for the 2nd monitor isn't properly set.

[Bill]

scuzzy,
The nvidia display control center lists the two monitors separately and I have played with both, extensivesly.  I think at this point I have come to a compromise set of settings for both.  Pat's suggestion about the clear type fonts solved the most annoying of the difficulties.

Thanks to both of you!

Bill