This was my old graphics card, the NVIDIA TNT2 Model 64 with 32 MB of RAM.
NVIDIA TNT2 Model 64 32 MB RAM.It doesn't work with Vista because the refresh rate cannot be set to another value other than the default refresh rate decided by Vista. Unfortunately this flickers which causes eye strain if staring at the monitor for an extended period of time.
So I walked over to the Digital Mall at Section 14 in PJ to look for a new GPU. My computer has the old AGP 8X slot (17 Gbps) rather than the newer and faster PCI Express (32 Gbps for PCI-E x16) GPU slot. I wasn't sure if I should get a 128 MB or 256 MB card. Minimum requirements for Vista is 128 MB RAM and Pixel Shader 2.0 for the 3-dimensional and semi-translucent Aero effects. A 256 MB card would be nice but it could be very expensive. The guy at the counter suggested I buy a PCI-E card but you need to buy a new computer as well to use that card. Then he informed me that I can buy the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 128 MB RAM for only RM150.
So I walked over to the Digital Mall at Section 14 in PJ to look for a new GPU. My computer has the old AGP 8X slot (17 Gbps) rather than the newer and faster PCI Express (32 Gbps for PCI-E x16) GPU slot. I wasn't sure if I should get a 128 MB or 256 MB card. Minimum requirements for Vista is 128 MB RAM and Pixel Shader 2.0 for the 3-dimensional and semi-translucent Aero effects. A 256 MB card would be nice but it could be very expensive. The guy at the counter suggested I buy a PCI-E card but you need to buy a new computer as well to use that card. Then he informed me that I can buy the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 128 MB RAM for only RM150.
NVidia GeForce FX 5500 packaging.
The NVidia GeForce FX 5500 graphics card inside the box.The guy took out the first GPU from its box, looked at it and said there is a problem with it. He took out the second card from the box and that also had a problem. He gave me the third box which was apparently okay and so I paid RM150 in cash and took the long walk home. Fortunately the weather was good and it was also the Agong's birthday holiday.
The guy said that the Vista drivers for this graphics card can be downloaded from the NVIDIA website. When I got home, I pulled out the old TNT2 and installed the new card which worked fine. I surfed the web with the new card and found that the Vista drivers for the FX Series are available from the NVIDIA website, confirming what the guy had said.
Everything was going well until about 5 minutes later, when I had come out from sitting on the toilet. I discovered that the computer had frozen. The keyboard and mouse wouldn't respond. No idea how long it had been like that for. And then on moving the mouse the display at the top of the monitor became garbled.
I pressed reset and the PC proceeded to reboot. But then it froze and just kept going "beep, beep, beep, beep...". I pressed reset the second time, the PC restarted but the same thing happened. So I switched off the power and disconnected everything. As this card has no cooling fan I put my finger on the heatsink. It was hot like hell, it felt like an iron. Fortunately I was eating my fruit and veges and didn't have constipation. I may have burnt my father's office to the ground.
I pulled out the card and rechecked the PC with my old TNT2 which worked fine. Then I took the long walk back to Section 14. The guy's friend said there's a problem with the card, it works with Vista but it lags. I informed him I'm still running XP not Vista but the thing had overheated and it needs a cooling fan. He asked if I must have NVIDIA which I said no, just something that works with Vista and has Pixel Shader 2.0.
He brought out another card, the ASUS ATI A9550GE. This one is also for AGP 8X and has 256 MB DDR RAM and costs RM180. It has a 3-year warranty and all the drivers are on CD which means no downloading from the internet is required. The guy said that Vista recognises the card automatically and that no driver installation is necessary.
The guy said that the Vista drivers for this graphics card can be downloaded from the NVIDIA website. When I got home, I pulled out the old TNT2 and installed the new card which worked fine. I surfed the web with the new card and found that the Vista drivers for the FX Series are available from the NVIDIA website, confirming what the guy had said.
Everything was going well until about 5 minutes later, when I had come out from sitting on the toilet. I discovered that the computer had frozen. The keyboard and mouse wouldn't respond. No idea how long it had been like that for. And then on moving the mouse the display at the top of the monitor became garbled.
I pressed reset and the PC proceeded to reboot. But then it froze and just kept going "beep, beep, beep, beep...". I pressed reset the second time, the PC restarted but the same thing happened. So I switched off the power and disconnected everything. As this card has no cooling fan I put my finger on the heatsink. It was hot like hell, it felt like an iron. Fortunately I was eating my fruit and veges and didn't have constipation. I may have burnt my father's office to the ground.
I pulled out the card and rechecked the PC with my old TNT2 which worked fine. Then I took the long walk back to Section 14. The guy's friend said there's a problem with the card, it works with Vista but it lags. I informed him I'm still running XP not Vista but the thing had overheated and it needs a cooling fan. He asked if I must have NVIDIA which I said no, just something that works with Vista and has Pixel Shader 2.0.
He brought out another card, the ASUS ATI A9550GE. This one is also for AGP 8X and has 256 MB DDR RAM and costs RM180. It has a 3-year warranty and all the drivers are on CD which means no downloading from the internet is required. The guy said that Vista recognises the card automatically and that no driver installation is necessary.
ASUS ATI A9550GE with 256 MB RAM and Pixel Shader 2.0 (Vista Aero compatible).
Contents inside the box.I paid the extra RM30 and walked home again. When I got home I installed the card which worked fine. But unlike the NVIDIA which was recognised by Windows XP, which means that no driver installation was required, Win XP has no idea about this one. The display was on the low 640×480 resolution setting and couldn't be changed. Flickering was quite bad due to a low refresh rate which couldn't be changed either.
I proceeded to install the drivers from the CDs provided. There are 3 CDs being the:
1) Windows 2K/XP/64-bit drivers
2) Windows Vista 32/64 drivers
3) Multi-language manual
Installation was quite slow, taking more than 5 minutes. The .NET Framework was installed first and so it doesn't need to be installed later if using programs such as AutoCAD which also require the .NET Framework to be installed before the main program can be installed.
After installation everything has worked fine until now. With the TNT2, the maximum refresh rate for the 14" Samsung 45Bn monitor which is attached to this PC was 85 Hz. But with this new ASUS ATI, the refresh has increased to 90 Hz, but only at the 800×600 resolution. The refresh will drop to a maximum of 72 Hz for the 1024×768 setting.
I proceeded to install the drivers from the CDs provided. There are 3 CDs being the:
1) Windows 2K/XP/64-bit drivers
2) Windows Vista 32/64 drivers
3) Multi-language manual
Installation was quite slow, taking more than 5 minutes. The .NET Framework was installed first and so it doesn't need to be installed later if using programs such as AutoCAD which also require the .NET Framework to be installed before the main program can be installed.
After installation everything has worked fine until now. With the TNT2, the maximum refresh rate for the 14" Samsung 45Bn monitor which is attached to this PC was 85 Hz. But with this new ASUS ATI, the refresh has increased to 90 Hz, but only at the 800×600 resolution. The refresh will drop to a maximum of 72 Hz for the 1024×768 setting.
Conclusion on the NVIDIA FX 5500: Overheats without a cooling fan and therefore it doesn't work. It is also being sold at Computer War at SS2 for RM139 (128 MB) and RM178 (256 MB). Their website and price list can be found here.
Conclusion on the ASUS A9550GE: Seems to be good value for money at only RM180 for a 256 MB card. AGP cards may be disappearing in the future anyway. Unfortunately a driver is needed under Windows XP and the installation is quite slow as .NET Framework is installed first.
Conclusion on the ASUS A9550GE: Seems to be good value for money at only RM180 for a 256 MB card. AGP cards may be disappearing in the future anyway. Unfortunately a driver is needed under Windows XP and the installation is quite slow as .NET Framework is installed first.
1 comments:
Nice. My latest computer just uses the on board graphics card. I found most games work, whre as my other two computers use NVidia stuff, and half the games don't work right or need tweaking and stuff, even when the games claim it's best played with NVidia graphic cards! [Yes, I keep the drivers up to date!]
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Dabido
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