GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

I would certainly provide an answer if I could actually determine whether this is even possible to view on a computer. As it stands, I am staring at these old installation CDs and seeing absolutely nothing of substance beyond the fact that the motherboard is an ASUS P4S800D and the graphics card is some ATI model.

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

It probably won't tell you the exact GPU, so try this instead

Right-click on the desktop. Properties > settings > advanced > adapter

Graphics Card
256MB GeCube RADEON 9600XT (GeCube/InfoTek)

Remaining Specs
512MB DDR @ 200MHz (2.5-4-4-8)

Intel Pentium 4
Intel Pentium 4 Prescott 90 Nm Technology

Well, thanks for the link, I suppose!

Maybe that GPU actually needs to be pushing Full HD on your monitor...
But there’s a catch. Back when this thing launched, Full HD wasn't even really a thing yet.
It didn't really hit the mainstream until around 2006.

Is the image just looking a bit blurry, or is it flickering and stuff?
I had that exact same issue whenever I tried to push things too hard.

Try messing around with your monitor settings, or just cycle through the different resolutions—go from lowest to highest to see where it looks best. While you're at it, check that refresh rate in Hz too...

And honestly? Having a dual-core processor would probably help a lot, too.

The image quality is incredibly blurry, and this LCD panel gets even worse as you shift your viewing angle—it’s an absolute disaster, though I suppose at least there isn't any flickering. I've tweaked the settings as much as humanly possible, yet I remain far from satisfied, eventually settling on a resolution of 1280x720 because the text was simply too small at Full HD.

steelstag13 said:The image is blurry, and this LCD gets even worse as I move my head—the viewing angles are a total disaster. At least there's no flickering. I've tweaked the settings as much as I can, but I'm still not happy with it.

Well, to actually be satisfied, you'd probably need a better GPU...

Maybe try taking the monitor over to a friend's place? Or if someone has a newer laptop—say, from the last couple of years—have them bring it over and plug it in. If the picture looks great at native resolution then... yeah, your graphics card is just trash for a monitor like that.

I am honestly at a loss as to which graphics card would even be worth pairing with this processor, or if I should just scrap the whole thing and upgrade the CPU too; does anyone have any actual suggestions?
Intel Pentium 4
Prescott 90 nm Technology

posast said:I have no clue which graphics card would even work with this CPU. Anyone got a suggestion?
Intel Pentium 4
Prescott 90nm Technology

You don't pair it with the processor, you pair it with the motherboard....
Honestly? You need someone who actually knows their way around a PC to sit down and do this with you. Trying to fix this over the internet isn't going to get you anywhere since you're clearly out of your depth, and troubleshooting this online would take forever..

You need a card that fits an AGP 8x slot...
Once you track one down, just swap it out for the one you've got..
Let me be real with you... finding anything better than what you currently have that still uses AGP is going to be a struggle..
And spending more than $300$133 isn't worth it because the computer itself isn't worth nearly that much...

The only thing that might fit your needs if you want something brand new from a store is this:
http://www.bestbuy.com/index.php?option...orija=05180603

I had already reached the conclusion that pouring money into such a pathetic, outdated configuration would be a complete waste of resources.
Just out of pure curiosity, why am I strictly tethered to an AGP card here?
Out of these four options, which one would actually be worth the effort, or does it truly make no difference at all?

What cable are you even using for the monitor? Your viewing angle is absolute garbage because of that TN panel—just set the resolution to native and then crank up the font scaling in your OS settings.

Bryan Evans77 said:back when this thing launched, Full HD wasn't even a thing..
it didn't really hit until around 2006..

😲CRT monitors were pushing way higher resolutions than "Full HD" long before 2006. 😉If the card has a DVI port, it should be able to handle its native resolution without an issue.

steelstag13 said:I was thinking it’s probably not worth upgrading this ancient setup anyway.
Just asking for info—why does it have to be an AGP card?
Which one of these four is the best bet, or does it even matter?

See, this is why I say forums are tough. You have to explain every single acronym because people can't be bothered to just Google it.🙂 Admit it.👍

AGP stands for Advanced Graphics Port.
AGP is just the slot type on your motherboard; the card needs to match that specific slot style. There's AGP, there's PCI Express... you get the idea.

Since you've got an AGP slot, you're stuck with it. It's an old standard, which is why you only see four options left, whereas for PCI Express, you've got hundreds to choose from...

To be honest? I wouldn't touch any of those four. They're way too overpriced for what they are.
And I highly doubt they'll actually perform better than what you're running right now...

If someone gives you a genius suggestion, great. But I'm not going to recommend anything to you just so I don't have to deal with you complaining when it doesn't work.👍

@William Gray90/">@@William Gray90..

I know they were built for CRT monitors, which is why most of those cards hit that 2500x1xxxx range. It's not about raw power; it's just that those old cards struggle with modern monitors and Full HD resolutions.
Take my old junker, for example—an AGP 8x with a 9250 128MB. It handles plenty of resolutions, but once I plug it into my 23" monitor, 2048x1128 is a total disaster. I can only really use it at 1440x900...🙂 and even then, the image quality is pretty crappy.

William Gray90 said:And what kind of cable are you even using to hook up that monitor? Your viewing experience is already a complete disaster thanks to that cheap TN panel, so just set the resolution to native and then scale up the font size within the OS settings instead.

😲Back in the day, CRT monitors were pushing resolutions far beyond anything we'd call "Full HD" long before 2006 ever rolled around.😉 If the card actually has a DVI output, it should be more than capable of handling that resolution without breaking a sweat.

I have absolutely no clue how you go about increasing the font size; I’m completely clueless when it comes to this sort of thing.

I used that white digital output on one end and hooked it up to an HDMI port on the other, so that's the connection I used.

Dammit, it looks like I’m stuck facing the reality of having to shell out for a brand new motherboard, a processor, and a graphics card all at once.

steelstag13 said:Dammit, does this mean I have to go out and buy a whole new motherboard, CPU, and GPU?

1. Just hit the edit button if you've got more to add to a thread you already posted in..
2. Look into other solutions first..

Because once you start buying parts, you'll blow through a few grand easy and still be missing stuff...

I suppose I’ll give that a thought; thanks for the assistance, though I remain skeptical. Could someone perhaps explain how one might increase the font size at full resolution (1920x1080) within the OS, since William Gray90 suggested I should at least attempt that little fix?

Back on my old rig, I was running a 9600XT. It handled 1920x1200 in Windows without breaking a sweat.

stormywolf39 said:I used to have a 9600xt on my old rig, and running 1920x1200 on Windows was no problem at all.

So it should work... why isn't it? I don't know what's causing the issue...
Have them try it on someone else's PC to rule out hardware failure...

And they should try using the exact same outputs...
Like DVI to DVI...

Where am I supposed to find the latest drivers, since perhaps that might be the root of this entire mess?

Do you think I'll need to upgrade my power supply if I swap in a 256 MB graphics card and move up to a 3000 MHz processor? Right now, I'm running an AMD Sempron 3000+ at 1800 MHz with 64 MB of integrated graphics and a 400-watt power supply.

William Robinson2 said:Do I really need a beefier power supply if I swap in a 256 MB card and a 3000 MHz processor? Right now I'm running an AMD Sempron 3000+ at 1800 MHz with 64 MB integrated graphics and a 400W PSU.

What kind of 400W unit are we talking about?
I mean, what brand?