Which PCI graphic card for Dimension 2350?

**dodgy368** · 01-18-2008, 12:10 AM

Managed to rescue a Dell Dimension 2350 P4 with 512mb of ram that was being "binned" because it was broken, asked if I could have it and take it home to see if I could fix it(they said help yourself) and asked what they meant by "broken", was told the operating system was broken and couldn't be repaired, and that was the IT Department!!!

With a deadpan face I said that sounds bad but I might be able to use a few bits from it.

Anyway, got it home and within 2 hours had formatted the hdd and put the latest xp pro onto it, NOT BROKEN ANYMORE NOW!

This thing is pretty quick and a great upgrade(he had a P3) for my 8 year old son but the onboard graphics are awful, have Googled all evening but not getting anywhere so asking you guys for some help, do you know of a pci graphic card(needs to be 128mb at least) that will defo work with this?

Cheers if you can.

**backlash** · 01-18-2008, 02:19 AM

doesn't it have to have pci express available on the mobo for a graphics card? How good are pci graphics cards? Why don't you look for a decent AGP card.

**dodgy368** · 01-18-2008, 06:29 AM

Originally Posted by backlash

doesn't it have to have pci express available on the mobo for a graphics card? How good are pci graphics cards? Why don't you look for a decent AGP card.

No pci_e or agp slots om m/b.

**Zelucifer** · 01-18-2008, 08:34 AM

Wow man, you're making me relive my youth again. I haven't thought about PCI video cards in almost a decade. Easy link to Newegg.
They have a bunch, personally I'd recommend this but it's one of the most expensive pci cards out there (95 bucks). It'll play F.E.A.R. though, according to reviews. There are a bunch around 50, if you want an older card, you could get a 9250 instead of a x1550.

Forgot to mention, if you get the x1550, you might need to replace the power supply with a better one.

**clocker** · 01-18-2008, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by dodgy368

This thing is pretty quick and a great upgrade(he had a P3) for my 8 year old son but the onboard graphics are awful...

What is so awful about the onboard graphics?

It's an old, fairly low-spec PC and if the mobo or power supply die (the two most likely scenarios), not worth fixing, so I wouldn't put much money into it.

Since you live in a large city there should be some small independent PC shops around and it's likely they have used PCI cards for sale cheap.
That's what I'd do.

**lynx** · 01-18-2008, 04:01 PM

I don't believe ATI produced a DX9 PCI graphics card, so about the best option you are going to find will be an Nvidia 5200.

You could do as clocker says, but it might be cheaper and easier to get something on ebay, fuel costs while you are looking would almost certainly outweigh the P&P charges you would incur.

Make sure it has the right connector, or the adapter that came with the card.