ATI RADEON 9200 VideoCard 256MB DDR (Help!)

[.Kai]

Hi, I am going to purchase an ATI RADEON 9200 Video Card 256MB DDR for 120.00$ and I need to know if this card is good or not.

I know that the ATI 9200 series have no fans which I think is bad because, the chances on overheating is higher than the others that does have fans.

I have 3 questions.
1) Any advice on how to keep this card from overheating?

2) From the other ATI Radeon 9200 series what is the difference between the 128MB and the 256MB DDR?

3) Following that question, What does it basicly improve during gameplay?

.Kai~

 

[Cheeseball81]

Well....I have the Radeon 9200 128MB card. I find it to be very good. In fact, my screen has never looked this good.

Being concerned about overheating...do you have a good amount of airflow in your system? (any case fans?)

 

[.Kai]

What is a case fan?

.Kai~

 

[.Kai]

I am also having trouble finding out what motherboard I have. Could you please tell me where to look? My computer is a Sony Vaio. It is because I am going to upgrade my processer to a AMD Athlon 64 3000+.

 

[Cheeseball81]

Basically it's like a mini exhaust fan for the inside of your computer. You will notice that there is a fan in your power supply...and a fan on your motherboard. A good amount of airflow is important in a computer. Even one case fan installed makes a huge difference in the system temperature. It's extremely important to keep a reasonable system temperature since overheating can cause other components, such as the hard drive, to fail. Even the best case fans are relatively inexpensive and buying them separately allows you to get case fans that you know to be quiet and well-performing. Some fans connect right to the power supply, others to the hard drive.

 

[Cheeseball81]

To find out what motherboard you have, download Everest Home Edition:
http://www.lavalys.com/products/download.php?pid=1&lang=en&pageid=3

EVEREST Home Edition is a freeware1 system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for home PC users, based on the award-winning EVEREST Technology. It offers the world's most accurate system information and diagnostics capabilities, including online features, memory benchmarks, hardware monitoring, and low-level hardware information.

 

[.Kai]

Well I leave the case off my computer is that cooling enough?

 

[Cheeseball81]

LOL, yes that can help it somewhat.

Actually, in that program that you will download - it lists your current system temperatures.

 

[.Kai]

Here my results:

Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 09/28/2001-I815 -TUSL-LV
Motherboard Name Unknown <---- What went wrong here?

Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel GTL+
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 100 MHz
Effective Clock 100 MHz
Bandwidth 800 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel Hub Interface
Bus Width 8-bit

Now what I want to know if this is capable with the AMD Athlon 64 3000+...

 

[Cheeseball81]

Motherboard Name Unknown .... d'oh

Don't suppose you have a manual that came with the computer? lol

 

[.Kai]

I kind of lost the manual its been a while.
But isn't the Motherboard ID what we needed?
Isn't that my motherboard?
I815-TUSL-LV

 

[.Kai]

How is my temperature going?

Sensor Properties
Sensor Type Winbond W83627HF
Sensor Access ISA 290h

Temperatures
CPU 45 °C (113 °F)
Aux 40 °C (104 °F)
MAXTOR 4K060H3 35 °C (95 °F)
WDC WD1600JB-00FUA0 52 °C (126 °F)

Voltage Values
CPU Core 1.44 V
CPU Aux 2.46 V
+3.3 V 3.26 V
+5 V 5.05 V
+12 V 11.80 V
-12 V -12.20 V
-5 V -5.05 V
+5 V Standby 4.90 V
VBAT Battery 0.90 V

 

[Cheeseball81]

Temps look good to me

Yes, I815-TUSL-LV is a SONY OEM Board

 

[.Kai]

So, is it capable with the AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Cpu Processer?

Because currently it is at 1.2ghz Intel Celeron Which is kind of low these days.

 

[Cheeseball81]

The Radeon?