Windows 7: Drivers for older ATI cards in Windows 7!

Hello

Thanks for your responses!

Lets make it clear first what i want to do!

I currently have a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 AGP currently in my computer but because of video laggyness in Vista and Windoww 7 Aero I want to replace and also of the Driver Issue as well as the drivers are from 2006 for Vista/7 and never got out of the "BETA" Stage! I wanted to get another card which is compatible and will work with my PC and wont lag on the aero Effects!



The AGP slot on my PC is a AGP 4X Slot!

Most AGP Graphics Cards are compatible with 4x slots as I know and I cant replace the power supply from the standard 250W ATX it came with because of the problem off all the new power supplies have the ON/OFF Switch on the back and my PC does not have the room for that switch and I cant find one without a switch!

The Dimension 8200 has AGP 4x graphics that run max 32 bit @ 66MHz. It has a 172 pin, 1.5v slot. It can run in 2x or 4x mode.

All of the cards in the class you are looking at are Universal - meaning they will switch voltage to work in the slot. But a card that is designed for 3.3 volt may not perform well at 1.5v, so you should avoid these if you can if you are going to attempt Windows 7 on that machine.

From the PlayTool Site:
"One practical matter which must be considered is the fact that some of the original AGP 1.0 motherboards do not provide enough power to operate some newer AGP video cards reliably. For example, some of the original motherboards using the first chipsets which supported AGP (like the Intel 440LX and 440BX) can become unstable if you install video cards which draw lots of power through the AGP slot. The motherboards can't always supply the necessary current for the newer video cards. So if you're adding a video card to an AGP 1.0 motherboard then it's a good idea to install a video card which doesn't consume very much power."

The Vista drivers for these older cards will run as well as can be expected under Windows 7. Just use the most updated one on the nVidia or ATI website. It can be a try and see process.

I've refurbished two 8100s and can tell you that that class of PC is getting really long in the tooth. The 8200 wasn't much of an upgrade from those. I don't think that I would spend a lot of money trying to carry that beast along for too long!

Well, you learn something new every day; although, since there was never any danger of that happening, this was sorta like issuing a tsunami warning in Kansas.

I fully informed Gareth of the perils of putting a card (which he possibly can't afford to burn?) in a non-conventional slot.
He needs to research the net(legwork) or go to dell to find out which cards people have said go straight into that motherboard and work inc 6200.

For you further information, having experienced in the past swapping out burnt cards and damaged motherboards (from peeps who thought they had read up about stuff)

Nearly all the cards back in the Nvidia 5000 series and earlier used to come with a warning that covered the Graphic card manufacturers in case of persons putting such cards in wrong keyed agp slot.

Card manufacturers such as (the then) infant chinese factories did not keep to agp specs either and keyed cards any-old-how!
Motherboards used to come with warnings about the wrong keyed graphic card being inserted causing permanent damage, to cover their derrieres too.