ramfree17 Posted June 18, 2003 Report Share Posted June 18, 2003 http://www.ivmm.com/inno3d/geforce2/produc..._technical.html since my onboard ProSavage video card doesnt support DRI, im toying with the idea of buying a video card with real memory and plug it in my redfox motherboard. now i have to admit that when it comes to hardware my knowledge is dramatically lesser than what i know about software. i dont even have the guts to build my own. anyway, any feedback on the card above? would it matter if a video card has DDR while my system is SDRAM-based only? how easy is it to switch from an onboard card to a slot-based one? my fear is that i bungle something in the bios during the switch and end up with no video-out. :#: thanks. ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMage Posted June 18, 2003 Report Share Posted June 18, 2003 Well, I used to have a GF2 MX, I think the difference between original MX and MX400 is the faster memory or something in MX400, otherwise, they are about equal. The thing is, GF2MX is way way old. For the same price, I think you can get a GF4MX instead. If you add a little bit more, I think you can get a GF3 Ti200, which is a much better card that GF4MX. Anyway, as a person who also have a built in vidcard, I think that as you put a separate vid card in AGP slot, the onboard vidcard is automatically disabled. All you have to do is to run on init 3, let the harddrake detect the card, install nvidia driver, edit your XF86Config to match, and voila.. you are running accelerated X :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted June 18, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2003 thanks DM, here is the link to the site i am using as a gauge for prices. the price for the GF3 Ti200 is more than double the price of the GF2 MX400 64MB. i dont think i can spare that much money with all the expenses that i have (my fiancee is would go nuts if ever she finds out. :#: ). anyway, can i use a DDR-based video card in my SDRAM-based system? ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmack Posted June 18, 2003 Report Share Posted June 18, 2003 I am pretty sure there is no problem with a video card using DDR and the mobo using SDRAM. They are electronically separate and should not interact. The DDR would just give you faster response on video and that is cool! You'll get addicted to games! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMage Posted June 18, 2003 Report Share Posted June 18, 2003 Ah.. now that I see the price list, I can see that the pricing is different in Philipines compared to US. In the US, no matter how old the technology is, the lowest price you can get for a video card is around 50 dollars. TNT2 and GF2MX have the same price in some stores even. With the introduction of FX5200 as the $100 dollar card, GF4MX goes down in price. It may not reach the 50 dollar level yet, but it's close, really close. Anyway, like kmack said, there is no connection between your system RAM (SDRAM) and video ram (DDR). So go ahead, buy the card, you will be able to use it without any side effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted June 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 thanks. now all i have to figure out is how to get the cash. :D ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 Things to consider for your switch: Do you have an agp slot, or only pci slots? Many boards with built-in "agp" video do not have an agp slot, only pci's. You need a pci card if there is no real agp slot. Check your bios for a disable on the built-in video, and also for a disable in the shared video ram, regardless if it "self-defeats". Turn off the video and move the shared ram to zero. There is no relationship between using ddr ram on your video card and having ddr or sdram on the mb. Don't even think about it. Give me the model number of your board, and I'll tell you what you could or shouldn't do! :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmack Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 Guess there are some advantages to Asian prices in some areas! I got my Asus TNT2 32MB card for US $35 and it is cheaper in generic versions! Our prices on branded laptops and desktops and other things are higher though! You really have to shop around. I just found out it is cheaper to buy a notebook in Jkt than in Singapore! Pays to check! http://www.bhinneka.com/ Better shop around and stock up before you move back here Dragonmage! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted June 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 Things to consider for your switch: Do you have an agp slot, or only pci slots? Many boards with built-in "agp" video do not have an agp slot, only pci's. You need a pci card if there is no real agp slot. Check your bios for a disable on the built-in video, and also for a disable in the shared video ram, regardless if it "self-defeats". Turn off the video and move the shared ram to zero. There is no relationship between using ddr ram on your video card and having ddr or sdram on the mb. Don't even think about it. Give me the model number of your board, and I'll tell you what you could or shouldn't do! :wink: thanks for the tip. i think my board has an agp slot because we were asked if we would like to have a separate video card when we bought it (i wish we said yes :( ). as for disabling the built-in video, what happens if i disable it and the new board doesnt kick in? the scenario im afraid of is that i dont get any video output and would need to reset the bios or something. not an exciting scenario for this scaredy cat. :( ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmack Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 Ixthusdan is right on! Better check out whether you have the AGP slot or not. If the mobo is older than say 98, it may not have the slot. Most of the newer boards do have AGP slot and bus. One of my desktops is an older Acer (1998 P2/266)and it does NOT have an AGP slot but does have an Expansion card/Riser that provides AGP slot. Mandrake detected it right off. Some of the new cards won't work in this kind of riser though. Don't worry too much about the tech stuff. Installing a video card is pretty automagic and you'll get a manual that will help you too, so don't worry too much. PC Mag and others have online help with photos to talk you through it too. If it doesn't work, just yank the card and reboot to your old setup. Sure would help to know what motherboard you have to check the specs out so you don't buy a card you cannot use! Do you have a manual for it there? If not, the specs can usually be found on the internet with a bit of searching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmack Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 If you don't have the manual, you can just pop open the case and check the mobo slots visually. The AGP slot is longer than the others and usually brown colored-- It has two sections of contacts too. http://www.pc-pages.co.uk/motherboard/moth...oard_Help_1.htm will help with visual image. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyv Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 thanks. now all i have to figure out is how to get the cash. :D ciao! Dude if you were in new zealand i would give you my old geforce 2 mx 32mb thats sitting on one of my shelves at the moment. You can get similar card to what your looking at for $68 nz about $30 US One with tv out is about $12 nz extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted June 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 thanks. now all i have to figure out is how to get the cash. :D ciao! Dude if you were in new zealand i would give you my old geforce 2 mx 32mb thats sitting on one of my shelves at the moment. You can get similar card to what your looking at for $68 nz about $30 US One with tv out is about $12 nz extra. if only the delivery charge+money transfer fee will make me save some money then i would take you on your offer. but thanks anyway. :) ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 When you install a vid card in the slot, the bios will give you a video screen. If settings are not correct, when you proceed to software, the screen will be ugly!! :shock: But, you should still have a screen. The only time this is not true, is if the mb is using a jumper in order to determine whether the on-board or the slot is used for video. Again, if you can tell me your mb model #, I can give you exact information. The only time you can really lose video is if a bios flash goes wrong. In that case, only an existing isa slot with a vid caed can bail you out. Otherwise, it's new bios time!!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero0w Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 GF2 MX400 is still an okay card, nVidia driver works pretty good. In fact my sister is still playing Enemy Territory on a GF2 MX under MDK 9.1, works good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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