OT - Video Card Question(s)

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
[...]
This Dell system "only" has a 250 watt power supply, which --
along with the AGP slot -- pretty much eliminates the "latest &
greatest" video cards, all of which need a bigger power supply and/or
require a PCI-Express expansion slot.

Compatibility with an older system like this is obviously a problem. I
tried installing an ATI X1600 today (from Worst Buy), with 512 MB
on-board, and the PC wouldn't even boot up with it installed! I
obviously had pushed my older computer past its limits.

So, I'm aiming a bit lower, and looking at the EVGA GEForce 6600LE.

You're aiming *lower* than the X1600?

Yikes.

Anyway, I will bet that your power supply is insufficient for a second card,
no matter how underpowered a card you get. 250W just isn't that much. The
P4 is cut from the power-hungry cloth that Intel used for a long time, and
it's likely you have enough other components to push power usage up close to
what the power supply is actually capable of.

Speaking of which, the total power available is likely something less than
250W, by the way. I wouldn't be surprised if Dell's 250W PS is capable of
250W peak power, but provides something less than that steady state. Even
if the power supply can do a steady 250W, the total power rating of a power
supply only provides a rough guide...you need to look at the ratings in the
individual power outputs of the supply and compare them to what they are
feeding. If you've got (for example) one "rail" putting out 30A and another
putting out 15A, trying to feed two components that require 20A each,
there's no direct way that will work. Neither component can use the 15A
rail, and the two combined exceed the 30A rail's capacity. Even though the
40A requirement is less than your theoretical 45A capacity, it actually is
greater than what the power supply is capable of.

Anyway...

At a minimum, your first step should be to upgrade the power supply. If you
expect to use that computer with two video cards, I think it's practically
guaranteed that you need a beefier power supply. If you want to keep it
simple, get something 350W or higher. If you want to do some extra legwork
and possibly buy something cheaper, then learn about how the power ratings
for individual rails on a power supply work, as well as how to determine
what rails feed what components, so that way you can see if a lower capacity
power supply would still work.

Personally, I wouldn't waste time buying a really low-end video card. Even
the X1600 is a few generations old, and going lower-end is just a waste of
time and effort, if not money. For only a little more, you can get a much
better card, even remaining down at the lower end of the performance
spectrum. I'd look at something in the X1800 range, or 6800/6900 for nVidia
chipsets, if you really must go low-end.

That said, really what you ought to be thinking about is going high-end, if
you really intend to keep using this computer for awhile. It'll cost more,
but you will get more longevity and bang for your buck. You can get an AGP
version of nVidia's 7800 chipset, or wait a few weeks and ATI will have
their X1950 on the shelves in an AGP version.

Especially given that you are using this for MSFS, and especially given that
you will only get the best 3D graphics and frame rates out of their latest
version if you are using a completely modern video card, you are cheating
yourself if you go low-end on this. Your current video card is really only
suitable for drawing the instrument panel, IMHO.

And finally, all of the above said, I have to say that I agree with Jose on
this one. The computer you're messing with sounds pretty low-end to start
with. That appears to be the reason you're aiming low-end for the video
card as well, but IMHO that's a false economy. You can get a cheap PC today
that beats the pants off your Dell for about $500. If you spend $1000 you
can get a PC that is near the high end of available performance, including
the video card. For the effort, time, and expense you've put into this
project already, you ought to just go modern all the way on the PC hardware,
ensuring that you are getting the best possible image, performance, and
flight experience from your flight simulator. (And yes, if you do wind up
doing that, you might consider getting a PC that handle a couple of video
cards, each with a couple of outputs, for that excessive multi-screen
experience ).

On the bright side, if you buy a new PC, you don't have to worry about
upgrading the power supply on the old one.

Pete