How much will a new Vid card help?

[Rick_EE]

I am currently embarking on a slow upgrade of my computer.  The next step is either a new mobo or video card.  Since the card is a lot less expensive than the mobo, I was thinking of doing that first.  My old card is 4 years old and sits in an AGP2x slot.

I know the real improvement will be with the motherboard, but I was wondering how much I will see with the video card. 

Any recommendations?   I am willing to spend in the $150 range.

[Mark Lamutt]

Rick, I don't believe you can put an AGP 4x or 8x video card in an AGP 2x slot (the voltages are different), so you'll need to do the m/b first. And of course, with the new m/b will most likely need to come the new cpu. And with the new m/b and cpu, you'll need the new memory. So, those 3 will probably need to happen at the same time, and really should be next.

I went through this recently myself... :)

[Rick_EE]

I know the m/b pitfall. That's why the video is cheaper.
I have seen some cards that say they will work in all slots. I will be darn sure before I buy.

Here is one.

http://www.abit-usa.com/products/graphics/gf4_4200_8x/

[Mark Lamutt]

That may be. I didn't have any luck with an ATI radeon card, which is my video card family of choice. Good luck! :)

[Unthinkable]

Don't even bother with blowing a ton of money on the latest generation video card unless your PC has at least a P4 1 gig processor or equivalent inside it. You won't get many of the advantages from the new agp graphics card if you are screwing around with a much older processor as its pretty dependant on your CPU.