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[dei]

Alright, seeing as I have no other place to ask this and seeing as there are some people here who know more about computer hardware than I do, I'll ask here. I'm looking to get a video card upgrade for my Dell Dimension 2400, preferably a video card with Pixel Shader 2.0 or greater. The thing is, the program I need this video card for requires a minimum of Pixel Shader 2.0, DirectX 9.0c and 256 MB RAM, and I'm looking to get the minimum if possible. On top of that this computer only has PCI slots, and they're regular PCI. The video card I had my eyes on, an NVIDIA GeForce 6200 LE, turns out to need AGP slots so after a couple months of searching I'm back to square one.

Used is an option, as well as refurbished, and if I have to download the drivers that's okay too. Personally, I would just like to see if anyone here can recommend a card that my computer can use so I can use that particular program that I have been wanting to use and play around with for three years now. Once again, what I am looking for in this video card is...

• Pixel Shader 2.0 or greater
• DirectX 9.0c compatibility
• 256 MB of RAM minimum
• Compatible with PCI expansion slots

The core clock doesn't matter, as it will probably be better than this ATI Radeon 9250 I've got working here anyways. I just would like to see if someone here can recommend a video card upgrade for my computer. I would like to state however, that getting a new computer is not an option. I'm on a very limited income due to my being disabled, so I will have to save up just for the card either way by skimping on food for a couple weeks or so minimum. I can deal with that. However no matter what I would not be able to get a new computer without having to skimp on food for about half a year or so.

So please, if you can recommend me a video card upgrade for my current computer, I would appreciate it. Thank you.

[Caz]

PCI cards are outdated and slow. Even the fastest ones available go at something like 512mb, and those are overpriced artifact-like thingies.

New pc get. It is the only way!

[bucket]

NewEgg sells plenty of PCI cards, as does Amazon. They're just as you'd expect: underclocked cards you might find on a laptop. They're still in the $50-$100 range, so look around.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139038

[lordnincompoop]

PCI, as mentioned by those before me, limits your options greatly. I'd normally recommend saving your money from now on or splooging more for a more updated setup (your computer is the kind of thing I'd only have around as a home file server or some other kind of low-demand application), but looking at your situation, that clearly isn't an option.

I'm going to assume you live in the US, as that's where the usual requests come from.

This is the cheapest card that has DX9, a PCI slot and >256MB of RAM, and is priced at $44. Though not mentioned on the page, it does have Pixel Shader compatibility up to 3.0. Keep in mind that this is most likely a downgrade from a Radeon 9250.

[bucket]

I think the takeaway from all this is that it's pointless to look for cheap PCI cards with those specs, as it certainly won't have the kind of horsepower to run games with those requirements. A GeForce 7300LE is a DX9 card, but no way in hell can it run DX9 games. Underclocked cards are geared for watching movies and not much else, and the newest ones can barely run games that are five years old.

[DJ]

There's mobos that have neither PCI-X nor AGP???

[Thief^]

You mean PCI-e. PCI-X is a server-only socket.

Yes the names are confusing.