So need a new graphics card apparently..

[drmk4]

Ok my Radeon 9600xp 128mb DDR graphics card has apparently died on me. After a few years of issues with this graphics card, after the computer restarting/turning off (sometimes when i played a game, which i rarely could, sometimes randomly), now the monitor isn't even working, it can't detect a graphics card, i've tried everything, nothing works, i gave it to a technician who said the graphics card is dead and he suggested an upper model ATi 2600XT IceQ Turbo AGP 512mb DDR dx10, $160 (Australian dollars).

What do you guys think? Is the solution a new graphics card? I firstly thought my problem was (as well as my graphics card) because i have 512mb ddr memory...but the technician guy said it's just the graphics card. If i do have to get a new graphics card, can anyone suggest any other good ones that are a bit cheaper from the one the technician suggested?
Also does it depend what type of mother board you have for what type of graphics card you can get?

Btw my system specs are
Athlon 3000+ 64bit, 80gb hdd, 512mb ram

[strjms72]

maybe this problem is from your software not from video-card.

[Fizur2002]

AGP is a dead technology and you will be hard pressed to find any around without it being move expensive. And to me, it sounds like your vid card saw the white light and followed it to the end of the tunnel.

[drmk4]

maybe this problem is from your software not from video-card.

I downloaded all the necessary drivers from the ATI website and they didn't help. Actually i remember a while ago finding a forum where all these people had exactly the same problem as mine, some suggested changing some bios specifications, that helped some, i did the same thing and it didn't help...but ultimately there wasn't a solution.

AGP is a dead technology and you will be hard pressed to find any around without it being move expensive. And to me, it sounds like your vid card saw the white light and followed it to the end of the tunnel.

AGP is dead?! Damn this is news to me...i should really follow the computing world more closely. So what has replaced it? PCI? I thought PCI was the slower one. So why in the world did the technician suggest an AGP card?

[Atomic Rooster]

The tech suggested an AGP card as that is what your computer supports. Currently, new motherboards are produced with PCI Express slots which offer higher bandwidth increasing video performance.

You can still find decent AGP video cards, but they are becoming few and far between. I'm not familiar with any Australian sites that sell computer components, so I really can't help you there. The ATi 2600XT is a good AGP card though.

[drmk4]

^^Wow, so this ultimately means everyone will sort of have to change over to a motherboard which supports PCI express cards (i know mine only has PCI slots). Well i'm happy with my system for now, i have a DFI AMD64 LanParty N-force3-250 motherboard, which i think is pretty good. Just need this darn graphics card and some extra memory. I just can't believe i payed $220 for my Radeon when i got 3 years ago :\

Well i think i'll go with this 2600xt card, i just want to get this problem fixed grr thanks guys

Btw, could i get your opinion on this card: Hightech ATI 3650 AGP 512MB 128-bit DDR2, 2x Dual Link DVI-I, TV Out, DX10 seems a bit similar to the 2600xt, but cheaper.

[Atomic Rooster]

The 3650 does perform a bit better then the 2600XT.

If you want to go a bit cheaper. this one will work fine and still give better performance than your old 9600XT: Hightech ATI X1650Pro AGP

[drmk4]

Thank you!
And i just noticed that PC Superstore is located in my state, even better