Hi Everyone
This is my first post in gaming forum, as I normally reside in the HTPC forum
I want to upgrade my pitiful old desktop system by just spending $100 or less so I can play a few more games.
I thought if I added a cheap second hand AGP card this would speed things up a bit.
I thought also about doing a gentle overclock on the system
Note: The motherboard only supports AGPX4 so i have no idea whether it is still better to go for AGPX8 or if the AGP slot will cause any bottleneck or not with an AGPx8 card.
My Current System:
Mobo - Gigabyte GA-7VKML-P (Supports AGP X4 / FSB 200-266)
Cpu - AMD Athlon XP, 1800 MHz (13.5 x 133) 2200+
Ram - 1GB PC2100 + 256MB PC2100
Video - AGP Geforce4 MX 440 (64MB)
Display - Dell 24" Widescreen 1920x1200 LCD
Powersupply - Not sure, doesn't say wattage on the side
Also my RAM is currently installed as
DIMM1 = 256 MB / DIMM2 = 1024MB
Previously i only used this desktop for internet only, but i'd like to be able to play a few games, perhaps battlefield, unreal tournament etc...
1. If I overclock is it a problem having the smaller RAM in the first DIMM1 slot?
If I install DIM1 = 1024 / DIM2 = 256 then only 256 is recognised
Alternative is just to throw away the 256mb stick
2. What second hand sub $100 AGP graphics cards off trademe would you suggest?
I did some research and it seems that ATI X860Pro / X1950 Pro / 3850 and Geforce 7800GS / 7600GT / 7600 GS are all quite fast, but they seem quite rare on trademe, might not be worth the price as i think they seem to sit > $100 and may be an overkill given my slow AGPx4 slot / FSB / CPU Speed.
6600GT seems to sell about $50-80 and there are quite a few on trademe, is this the best choice?
9800XT / Pro seems to see around the same price.
3. Is it worth spending this much, should i be looking at sub $50 video cards?
Thanks in advance for your wisdom
Mike