upgrading from GeForce 2

[Zieman]

Hi!

A friend of mine has a couple of years old computer with GFX that's too much behind in every aspect (GeForce 2 AGP w/ 32MB).
Other system specs:
Intel 1,7 GHz (not sure whether it is P4 or Celeron)
integrated sound
one DVD writer (LG)
MOBO (probably MSI) Ultra MS-6547 ver:2 (is what he reported being printed on it)
Macron MPT-301P (300W) power
2x256MB memory
WinXP Home SP2

So, he needs an AGP card. The guestion is, how high can you go without the need to replace PSU? Is the PSU able to handle for example a GeForce FX 5200 based card?

Thanks...

EDIT: dang, should've put this in the 'Upgrading Advice' section, sorry...

[ski]

Maybe. It depends on the PSU's quality, and also how many other components are installed in the system, e.g., PCI cards, USB/Firewire devices, fans, etc.
If the system crashes, restarts automatically, etc., after the new video card is installed, then the PSU will also have to be replaced.
Also, your friend may want to consider the GF FX 5700 in lieu of the 5200. It's a better performer for approx. the same price.

[saphalline]

Actually, an FX 5700/5200 uses less power than the original GF2. It will be fine to just swap it out.

You will have to watch out for the AGP 8x only vid cards, though. That mobo only has AGP 4x. So an AGP 4x vid card will work fine, or an AGP 8x/4x vid card, but not an "AGP 8x only" vid card.

Just be careful not to sink too much money into that old thing. An FX 5700/5200 is fine, but keep in mind that the latest games will still be far out of reach.

[Zieman]

Actually, an FX 5700/5200 uses less power than the original GF2. It will be fine to just swap it out.
Great! Thanks!

You will have to watch out for the AGP 8x only vid cards, though. That mobo only has AGP 4x. So an AGP 4x vid card will work fine, or an AGP 8x/4x vid card, but not an "AGP 8x only" vid card.
The card I found for him supports both 8x and 4x, which is good, since the MoBo supports only 2x and 4x AGP.

Just be careful not to sink too much money into that old thing. An FX 5700/5200 is fine, but keep in mind that the latest games will still be far out of reach.
I got him a Radeon 9600XT second hand, not too cheap, but worth the money (and not too expensive, I think) if it works ok. According to an X-bit labs article (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-vs-nv-power_9.html), it consumes even less power than nVidia FX5700 :)