I need an AGP video card for my PowerEdge 400SC.

The only game I play is Quake III Arena, so that's my only performance requirement. So, the cheaper the better, so long as I can play my quake.

Any suggestions?

Stop playing quake?

Crucial has the RADEON 9200 SE 64MB for $52.99, free shipping. That may be more than you want to spend.

Next lowest choice is from NewEgg - SAPPHIRE ATI RAGE128 PRO Video Card, 32MB SDR, 4X AGP for $28 + $4 shipping

So, will a 4x AGP card work in this machine (which has a 8x AGP slot)?

I haven't kept up with the latest AGP specs.

most motherboard have an auto setting in the bios, and I think that 8x agp is backwards compatible.cant really say b/c all the mobo's i have bought have been 4x/8x

Yes, should be no problem. There are many types of AGP slot now, but I believe 4x and 8x slots are pretty compatible. It's the 1x and 2x cards you need to worry about. But I've used a 4x card in a 400sc with no problem (one 2x card I had didn't work).

For more info:
http://www.ertyu.org/~steven_nikkel/agpcom...patibility.html

Just thought of one other thing.

I would prefer to get a card with DVI output, since this is hooked up to an LCD monitor. If I can't find one cheap enough though, I'll settle for VGA.

That ATI Rage Pro looks pretty good. I was hoping to get in under $20, but I hadn't researched anything (there are just too many kinds of video cards, and I'm not sure what will work in my system, or what cards are good enough for playing Q3).

I think I'll go rec getting a used card on eBay. GF4 MX line goes for around $20-30 shipped there, I think. Also check out the high-end lines of the GF2/3.

I've been keeping an eye out myself as I need a half-decent video card for another PC of mine. Every now and then there are fluke auctions with a Ti4200 for $45 and such.

DVI output isn't that hard to find. Look at this one - POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 7000 Video Card, 32MB DDR, DVI/TV-Out, 4X AGP, Model "RV6DL-A3" -RETAIL for $33 at NewEgg.

Quake3 isn't a problem. I play Quake3 on my laptop with an ATI chipset and 8MB of video ram, and it runs fine as long as I don't turn on every single bell & whistle (but enough to make it look nice). I've played it on nVidia cards with 32MB of ram and that already pushes it to pretty much the maximum of the graphics that Q3 can use. What I mean is, a 32MB card is already so fast that Q3 won't benefit much or at all from a faster card.

Another thought I had is to buy from Staples w. a price match & coupon.
I also have a $90 Business Rewards check on the way, so maybe I should splurge on something good.

I noticed that many of these modern cards have fans. Are they noisy? I would hate to put a noisy card in my nearly dead-silent PE400SC.

Anyhow, here are the cheapest cards I could find at Sparco. If you can find better prices that I can use for a PM, that would be appreciated. I assume that all of these cards have plenty of power for playing Q3:

DIAMOD STEALTH S80 AGP 8X 128MB DDR RAD 9200SE DVI/TVOUT WHITE BX
Manufacturer: BEST DATA - DIAMOND, Part #: S80AGPWBS, Price: $63.47
Best price: $62.99 shipped from buy.com: link

GEFORCE FX-5200LE DVI TV 128MB 64BIT DDR AGP8X
Manufacturer: JATON, Part #: 3DFORCEFX5200LE, Price: $69.14
Best price: $72.12 shipped from Provantage: link

NVIDIA GEFORCE FX5200 AGP 8X/4X 128MB DDR DVI TV-OUT
Manufacturer: MSI COMPUTER, Part #: FX5200-TD128, Price: $66.88
Best price: $66.31 shipped from buy.com: link

I didn't know you were willing to go up to $60-$70, but since you are all of those cards are better choices than the cheap ones I was proposing. They actually have some life in them, and will be way overkill for Q3. You can turn every bell and whistle you want on and it won't slow them down. Remember, Q3 is now several years old, and even when it came out it had to work with hardware that was 1-2 years old at that time.

I threw those part numbers into PriceWatch and got these results for your three cards:

(1) nothing

(2) $79.15 shipped at PCNation.com

(3) $64 shipped at PCDirect.com, Target****Please Report Me To a Moderator For Spamming****, and MicroTechComputers.com

The fan is not a big deal to me, that era of cards has pretty quiet fans. The ones that have more tendency to get loud are the Radeon 9800 era cards with really big fans. However, I am not in the quietest room, and depending on the position of your tower you may hear it more. That said, I don't think fan noise is an issue.

I like ATI cards myself, and the BestData/Diamond is the cheapest, so I would choose that. I don't know how the ATI 9200 benchmarks against the GeForce FX5200, though. Here's a couple of links to a review on Tom's Hardware that is relevant:

VGA Card Buyer's Guide 07/2003

Radeon 9200 comments

FX5200 comments

It even has Q3 benchmarks here!

(but I don't see the 9200 on this list)

There are even reviews of the MSI card you want on that list, here for the ultra and here for the regular (I can't tell which you have from Sparco by the part number, but I assume regular).

Well, I'm not willing to go that high. I was just thinking that I might be able to buy these from Staples with a PM & coupon and/or reward check to get down to my under-$20 price range on a decent card.

Thanks for the additional info. I guess almost any 4x or 8x AGP card will meet my performance requirements, right? Up until a year ago, I had a computer with a P3-500 and an nVidia RIVA TNT. I turned off all the extras, and Q3 was very playable.

The prices you got from Sparco are nearly the minimum for those cards. Yes, look for any 4x/8x AGP card, they will all meet your needs.

I still play Q3 on a P3-700 laptop with an ATI chipset and 8MB of video ram, it runs fine. Your computer will definitely be much faster than that with any card you choose to add.

Staples usually has higher prices than Sparco, so a PM should still help.

You might want to check this out. The ATI Radeon 9100 Pro is a remarketed 8500. Top of the ATI line just a few years ago. It's new, retail and has DVI for $36 + shipping. I think this would be the best bang for your buck. 8500s still sell for ~$80. Shentech's resellerratings are mixed but I've order several things from them including a 9100 PCI video card for a Dell 2400. It's not Newegg so you're taking a little chance ordering from them.

Visiontek Xtasy Radeon 9100 Pro 128MB DDR AGP 4X Video Card - Retail w/DVI

Wow, that seems like a great deal Lanyap. AGP, DVI, & 128MB for $36!

I'm still hoping to get under $20 though. A Staples special order is my best bet, I think.

Nice. I was looking at the 9200's because I heard those were rebadged 8500's also. $36 for a 128MB 8500 that has dual monitor support is not bad at all. Thanks for the post, I'll probably jump on this.

BTW, a Visiontek 128MB Radeon 9100 Pro? Their site says they didn't make one, and I didn't know a 9100 Pro existed...


Edited for mistakes...

I noticed the "Pro" discrepancy on the Visiontek website also. It shows the 9100 64MB AGP and PCI versions as Pro but the 128MB versions don't mention Pro. Not sure why. Anyway, I ordered the 128MB AGP version tonight. It was $36 + $6.55 shipping (NY > AL). Maybe I'll order the 64MB "Pro" version and see what I get.

I ordered the retail 9100 "Pro" 128MB PCI version a few days ago and it arrived today. Packing wasn't that great. They placed the retail box in a Priority Mail shipping box and it barely fit widthwise. Looked ok though. I plan to test it out in one of my Dell 2400s.

Shentech seems to have a nice assortment of older and hard to find video cards at good prices. Hehe, don't post this on FW or they will all be gone in two hours.

Hmm... does anyone happen to know what would work better then in this case: a 64MB Radeon 9100 Pro or 128MB Radeon 9100? I can't find anything that compares the two. Parents are getting impatient and want the card ASAP so the computer will be finished. Thanks.

A card for the parents?

I have an ATI Rage PCI card that I can sell to you, cheap!

Hah. I've actually tried to assemble the computer with a spare ATI Rage card around here because I needed two computers for a project... trust me, it's very hard to work in Flash with 16 colors.

Price on the 9100 "Pro" 64MB AGP retail dropped to $31. 9100 128MB retail is $35. What are you waiting for, pick one. Get the 64MB unless your parents are into UT2004 and will be getting D3 when it comes out.

Just went with the 128MB. I might give my parents my 8500DV and take the 9100 though, as dual monitor and the extra memory would be nice. Thanks for the link.

Just to let you guys know. The 9100 does NOT have DirectX 9.0 support (8.1 yes) and the DVI is DVI-D not DVI-I if that's important to you (basically DVI-I allows an analog signal to be sent across DVI, so it probably isn't important to the vast majority of users).

F

Good choice. Just ordered a few more for friends at work. They needed some higher performance video cards than what they had but didn't want to pay the big bucks. They also wanted a PCI version for their Dell 2400s.

Since these cards are really remarketed 8500s I would not expect them to have DX9 support. I see people mention DX9 support in video card deals but I'm not sure what that really means. Does DX9 supported cards bring that much to the table over a DX8 supported card?

The problem is that all the new games are using DirectX 9.0. If there's no support, you probably won't be able to play any of the newer games. But if you don't plan on playing any of the new games coming out, then, it's not a concern for you.

F

I have been playing UT2004 and FarCry DX9 demos with my 8500 and they both work ok. I may be missing a few of the latest eye candy enhancements that DX9 brings but the games still work just fine. There has to be some backwards compatibilty.

You're right, there is backwards compatibility, but there's always that possibility that your video card will NOT be able to work with the game.... I guess I overstated the case a little, my apologies.

F