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I just got a GeForce MX4000 64MB DDR PCI video card. I downloaded the latest driver from the site and removed my old one. All of my drivers for everything elso is updated too.
What happens is that when I play Diablo II, everything is blochy and blinks in and out. It almost looks as if you where crossing your eyes and seeing a double image. But it's more like quadrouple images. I ran dxdiag and the same thing happened when I tested Direct3D 8/9 and DirectDraw in fullscreen mode. After I tested it, I couldn't retest DirectDraw at all. The card supports 8.1 !!! I was better off using my built in Intel 82810 video chip.
So, I called the evermost helpfull troublshoot hotline and the guy told me it is because it's an old system and I should be using older drivers. He couldn't tell me how to do this.
The only thing I CAN say is that my power supply is very inadequite. The card requires a 300W supply while mine is at 90W !!! Not to mention I have quite a few other hefty components hooked up to it. So, I bought a new case with a 350W supply by APEX. I hope it's not a piece of crap.
Please, offer anymore suggestions I can try if this doesn't work. Let me know if that guy was right and how to go about doing it. Do I need to remove DirectX 9.0c and just have 8.1?
Thank you so much,
Shawn
sounds like you bought a power supply unit online. yea, wait for the power supply arrive, then try it, if it works, then your old PSU is powerful enough, i highly doubt is your PSU problem. the card said require 300W, and your PSU is only 90W, not even come close to it.
P4 3.2GHZ
kingstone 1GB DDR 3200
ABIT AS8 mobo
Nvidia geforce FX 5950 Ultra 256mb
Soundblaster 24-bit audigy 2
0 
Quote:"if it works, then your old PSU is powerful enough,"
i mean NOT powerful enough.P4 3.2GHZ
kingstone 1GB DDR 3200
ABIT AS8 mobo
Nvidia geforce FX 5950 Ultra 256mb
Soundblaster 24-bit audigy 2
0
Absolutely get a new PSU..I would have gotten a 500W just to cover yourself for the future. You realize that MX card is low end as far as performance goes, it should play older games like Diablo2 ok, but you have little to no chance of playing any new games. You can get a Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb for under $200, that is a great card.
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I highly doubt you have a 90W unit. Did you get that info off the label on the side of the PSU itself? It's more likely you have a 200W or 250W. Also, although the recommendation is for a 300W PSU, I think that would be more in line with a "modern" system, not a P3. The P3 is powered by the +5v rail of the PSU, but "modern" CPUs (P4, AXP, A64) are powered by the +12v rail, so the PSU specs out differently.
I realize that the choices in PCI cards are limited, but my guess is your choice was based on price, not performance. The MX4000 may be better than onboard graphics, but it really is a piece of crap card...you were kucky to find one that supports DX8, most only support DX7. If you can, repackage it & return it. Shop around for an FX5200 128MB/128-bit card.
Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro
0
don't get the 5200. get something like a 5500 or 5700. (have i been repeating myself all week?)
p4 3.0ghz @ 222X15=3330mhz
512mb pc3200 dual channel @222mhz
80gb wd hdd/40gb maxtor when on linux
8x agp geforce 6200 @ 530/585can't unlock extra pipes. plz help if you can
Audigy 2 ZS<b
0
Yes, I completely realize that it's crappy. I am really tight on cash. I just figured that it would be somewhat better than the old onboard Intel 82810 chip, don't you think? I didn't realize it would be such a pain in the ass.
Will the P3 and everything else be okay if I hook it up with this "350W" PSU? I pulled my PSU spec right from the Gateway site when I put in my serial number.
Anyways, if it isn't really the PSU, then could it be something else causing the odd imaging? Do I need to downgrade some drivers or something.
Thanks again,
Shawn
:P
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"Decent" PCI cards are expensive. The FX5500 or FX5700LE is probably $25+ more than the FX5200.
Newegg has the FX5200 PCI card for about $70, but the FX5700LE is $100. IMO, that's not money well spent. For $75 at Outpost.com, you can get a motherboard/CPU combo, then get a "real" video card:
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4202624
Of course, you'd also need RAM & a PSU to go with it...lol!
Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro
0
"I pulled my PSU spec right from the Gateway site when I put in my serial number"
To be sure, look at the label on the side of the PSU.
BTW, did you look at the system requiremets for that game? You're lacking in several areas:
"System Requirements:
Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP
Pentium III or AMD Athlon
800 MHz
256 MB RAM
4 GB hard drive space
32 MB 3D graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting
Sound card
CD-ROM 4x
DirectX 9.0 (included)"
Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro
0
he is fine on the specs. my friend was running a spyware/virus loaded celeron@300mhz and the game played w/o any lag. as long as you have a 2d accelerator or you are fine for that game. just don't expect impressive grafix from it.
p4 3.0ghz @ 222X15=3330mhz
512mb pc3200 dual channel @222mhz
80gb wd hdd/40gb maxtor when on linux
8x agp geforce 6200 @ 530/585can't unlock extra pipes. plz help if you can
Audigy 2 ZS<b
0
One more for ya...
From WoW Tech Support Forum:
Supported Video hardware
ATI
-Card models:
Radeon 7000 (QW / QE / QY) series
Radeon 8000/9000/X000 Series
-Tested drivers:
Windows 2000/XP - Catalyst 4.9
Windows 98/ME - Catalyst 4.7nVidia
-Card models:
nForce Integrated Graphics
GeForce 2 (GTS / Ultra / Ti / Pro / MX) Series
GeForce 3 (Ti) Series
GeForce 4 MX Series
GeForce 4 Ti Series
GeForce FX Series
GeForce PCX Series
GeForce 6 Series
-Tested drivers:
Windows 2000/XP - ForceWare 61.77
Windows 98/ME - ForceWare 61.76Get the video drivers from the site below & make sure you read & follow the driver installation hints:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/win9x_archive.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/driver_installation_hints.html
Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro
0
I'll try downloading the driver again. I was pretty sure I got the correct one the first time...you never know though. By the way thank you very much for helping me out with my cheapo problems. I am sure you guys are sick of trying to help people (like me) get there cheap crap to work correctly with each other.
I was playing Diablo II just fine before the new card. It's not just DII. It's everything that uses DirectX.
Thanks again.
:P
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Jam, I checked out the archive. Are you suggesting I should download an older version? If so, you know which one?
Thanks
:P
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"Are you suggesting I should download an older version?"
I just gave you that for a "one shot" site for drivers. I don't know which one you're currently running...you may wanna experiment. I've found that version 56.64 seemed to work best with my old GF4 MX440 64MB AGP card.
I just ran across this list of nVidia MX rankings:
(Performance ranking, slowest to fastest)
GeForce 4 MX420
Core: NV17
Core Speed: 250MHz
Memory Speed: 166MHz (128-bit)
GeForce 4 MX440SE
Core: NV18
Core Speed: 270MHz
Memory Speed: 333MHz (64-bit)
GeForce MX 4000
Core: NV18
Core Speed: 275MHz
Memory Speed: 400MHz (64-bit)
GeForce PCX 4300
Core: NV19
Core Speed: 275MHz
Memory Speed: 333MHz (128-bit)
GeForce 4 MX440
Core: NV17
Core Speed: 270MHz
Memory Speed: 400MHz (128-bit)
GeForce 4 MX440-8X
Core: NV18
Core Speed: 275MHz
Memory Speed: 500MHz or 511MHz (128-bit)
GeForce 4 MX460
Core: NV17
Core Speed: 300MHz
Memory Speed: 550MHz (128-bit)Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro
0
wow, my old mx440-8x isn't as terrible as i thought. but any ti card could kick its ass.
p4 3.0ghz @ 222X15=3330mhz
512mb pc3200 dual channel @222mhz
80gb wd hdd/40gb maxtor when on linux
8x agp geforce 6200 @ 530/585can't unlock extra pipes. plz help if you can
Audigy 2 ZS<b
0
Hey, I just realized I didn't disable the old onboard chip. I didn't see any jumpers on the board and I am having trouble finding anything in the BIOS setup. Now, when I went to install an older version of ForceWare (40.72) it said it didn't see a card at all !!!
Shawn
:P
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"I just realized I didn't disable the old onboard chip"
Some boards have a jumper, some have a BIOS setting, & some auto-disable when a video card is detected. Try looking in the BIOS for something like "shared RAM" or "display device"
Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro
0
THANK YOU SO MUCH !!! Switching to Ver. 56.64 fixed it. I guess the troubleshooting guy on the phone was right, but you guys helped me a lot more. I guess it needed the older version after all. That guy on the phone didn't tell me where to go or what to do...nothing. Thank you very much. I'll definitly come back next time I buy some cheap crap and it doesn't work...jk :)
You guys have offered the best computer help I ever had in my life. Please keep it up.
Thanks again,
Shawn
Check my band out at www.myspace.com/minedstate
:P
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Glad we were able to help. Thanks for coming back to say thanks :)
I can't access that site from here (the web police are at work)...I'll have a look when I get home though. What kinda music are ya into?
Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro
0
Regarding the 90W PSU. I checked my old 486 from about the time Win-95 was launched. It has a 145W PSU. Somewhere you probably got the figure wrong.
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 Graphics Card Choice
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holy cow, only 16fps?
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