[Solved] Replacement, Upgrade for Sparkle GF4 MX440 64 MB Graphics Card

[Ray1000]

Could you tell me the type of graphics card that will replace a Sparkle GF4 MX440 64 MB Graphics Card and be an improvement at the same time ... I saw an Nvidia one in a CEX shop which was 256mb, I think 6300 and PCE were mentioned on the ticket but don't know if it's suitable for the motherboard.

 

Motherboard V600 DAP A04 12/03/03 Jetway

BIOS 12/03/03 KT600-8237-6A6LYJ19C-00

AMD XP 2100 OEM Processor

1 x 40GB “C” Drive

Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 8 40 GB Hard Drive IDE ATA 133 7200 rpm

Model No. 6E040L0 Ultra ATA Transfer 133MB /second 2MB Cache ~10m/s seek time

and 1 x 80GB “D” drive

PC2100 1.25GB DDR Memory

Sparkle GF4 MX440 64 MB Graphics Card

NTFS Filing System

XpPro +SP3 just changed to Vista + SP2

 

Thank you

 

Ray

[KenB]

Hi Ray

 

That must be an obscure system that you have.

I can't get any details on your motherboard after a quick Google.

 

Your Video Card also seems to be a bit on the older side ........

Is this it ?

http://www.gpureview.com/geforce4-mx440-8x-card-242.html

 

Sorry - live link does not seem to be working for some reason ???

 

If so - it is an AGP 8x

 

The majority of Video Cards these days are PCIe x16 ( totally different slot on the motherboard )

I don't suppose you could provide a photo(s) of your motherboard ?

We may be able to tell which cards would be compatible if we could see what types of slot are available.

[Ray1000]

Thank you Ken,

 

The details on the stickers are ...

M/N SP7100M4SE 64MB = TV

ACS 26469

P/N GeForce 4 MX440 SE 64MB DDR

S211029277UK

 

D33075 (actually printed on the card)

 

Ray

 

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj161/JRD81/CIMG0144.jpg[/url]

Edited October 23, 2013 by Ray1000

[Synapse]

The board is a Jetway V600, have a look here for more info

 

http://www.jetway.com.tw/jw/motherboard_view.asp?productid=29&proname=V600DAP

 

There are plenty of used cards for AGP x8 on the market but the problem I can see is that drivers only go to XP SP2 for example, circa 2006.

 

As you have moved to Vista, that could be problematic, so for me the best solution is a new card, something like this

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-6200-512MB-Graphics-Card/dp/B004EK7EQU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

If you do swap it, uninstall the old video drivers, shutdown, install the new card, start up, then once Windows has sorted itself out, install the new drivers and restart again. All should be well at this point.

[Ray1000]

Thank you for that,

 

I'm not familiar with the different fitments of video cards/motherboards

 

Does it mean the keyword I'm looking for is AGP when choosing another card ... does it also need to be "6200"

 

Ray

[Synapse]

Sorry, I should have explained further..

 

Your Jetway board has an AGP interface. This interface is designed specifically for video cards, unlike say a PCI slot, in which many different cards such as network or modems can be fitted.

 

AGP came in four flavours, early ones were ´x 1´, and they gradually increased in speed and were denoted x 2, x4 and finally the x 8 spec. There are compatibility issues with earlier and later specs, so you are really looking at x 4 or x 8 AGP cards, and x 8 are the ones to go for as they are the newest and fastest, and perhaps best suited to your application.

 

Later motherboards use an interface called PCIe, and all new design video cards will be PCIe, and not compatible with your AGP interface.

 

It does not need to be a 6200, look for AGP, and preferably in the spec for AGP x 8. Also, look at the operating system compatibility. I had a look this morning, and found a few which looked good value, but were old cards and after checking the drivers, none were available for Vista. You will need something with Vista compatibility.

 

If you need more help choosing, do let us know your budget, and if you find a card you would us to check, post the details, and perhaps a link and we can have a look.

[Ray1000]

That's perfect ... Thank you.

 

Ray

[Ray1000]

I bought this today in what turned out to be in the wrong box. After removing the previous driver and stopping the machine I fitted the card and restarted. It straight away loaded a new driver which I promptly removed because it didn’t match the name on the box. Afterwards it turned out it was the correct driver ... but I can’t get it to load again ...

I get the “Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.” ...NVidia GeForce 6200

Any help would be appreciated,

Ray

 

S/N421014E72802084

G606200A8D24LPB

GeForce 6200 A8E24L/OTE

 

Detailed item information

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[TD]PNY[/TD]

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[TD]Model[/TD]

[TD]GeForce 6200, (256 MB)[/TD]

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[TD]MPN[/TD]

[TD]G606200A8D24LPB[/TD]

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[TD]NVIDIA GeForce 6200[/TD]

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[TD]Card Interface[/TD]

[TD]AGP 8x[/TD]

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[TD]Maximum Resolution[/TD]

[TD]2048 x 1536[/TD]

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[TD]Refresh Rate at Maximum Resolution[/TD]

[TD]85 Hz at 2048 x 1536[/TD]

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[TD=colspan: 2]Processor[/TD]

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[TD]350 MHz[/TD]

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[TD]256 MB[/TD]

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[TD]DDR SDRAM[/TD]

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[TD]64-bit[/TD]

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[TD]Memory Bandwidth[/TD]

[TD]3.2 GB/Sec[/TD]

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[TD]RAMDAC Speed[/TD]

[TD]400 MHz[/TD]

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[TD=colspan: 2]Connectivity[/TD]

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[TD]Display Interface[/TD]

[TD]DVI x 1, DVI x 2, VGA - 15 pin D-Sub x 1, VGA - 15 pin D-Sub x 2[/TD]

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[TD]S-Video, TV Out[/TD]

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[TD]Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or later, Microsoft Windows XP[/TD]

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[TD]PC[/TD]

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[TD]DVI to VGA Adapter x 1, Drivers CD, HDTV-out Breakout Pod, Operating Manual, S-Video Cable[/TD]

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[TD]Other Features[/TD]

[TD]HDTV TV-out Support[/TD]

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[KenB]

Hi Ray

 

try the drivers from here:

click here

 

The download will start automatically.

If you get the option save the file to your desktop it will be easier to locate there.

[Ray1000]

Thank you Ken,

 

Could you confirm this is for Vista as it says 2000/XP on the download ... I had only mentioned in passing I had just changed the desktop to Vista.

 

Ray

[Synapse]

Ray,

 

Have a look here

 

http://www.nvidia.co.uk/download/driverResults.aspx/57502/en-uk

 

The driver supports your card and 32 bit Vista.

[KenB]

Could you confirm this is for Vista as it says 2000/XP

Sorry Ray - I was looking at your profile information - XP Pro

 

The one Synapse has posted should do it.

[Ray1000]

It’s my fault Ken, I should have changed my profile.

 

Here’s how far I’ve got ...

 

Reformatted desktop using Vista (last weekend)

Removed Sparkle GF4 MX440 (64MB) Graphics Card (yesterday)

Replaced with GeForce 6200, (256MB)

 

It automatically loaded an Nvidia GF 6200 Driver dated 22/08/06 V 7.14.10.9687

 

Thinking it was the wrong driver I removed it and tried to load the 2013 one from the Nvidia site. (The same one Synapse has since suggested)

 

This failed to install and seem to take out the “driver installation module”

 

Used System Restore to recover it and again the 22/08/06 V 7.14.10.9687 loaded.

 

For one short period during all this the “adjust screen resolution” scale went to 2048 x 1536 as stated on the GC spec.

 

At the present time it only goes to 1280 x1024 as it did before the new card was fitted.

 

Google Earth still fails to start up. (Only tried newer version up to now)

 

You tube videos break up even on the 320 setting (As it did before)

 

The only positive difference is my son has had a Splinter Cell game working today that wouldn’t work a couple of years ago due to the graphics card, and while Google Earth was failing to start the colours on the screen remained stable whereas before they broke up.

 

Generally speaking you can't tell it has a new card in ... I'll be able to take it back if needs be and start again.

 

I’ll wait for any suggestions before trying to load the new Nvidia driver again, working on the assumption it will stop the installation module again.

 

Thank you for your continued interest.

 

Ray

[KenB]

Hi Ray

 

Check Device Manager please:

Start ....type in ......devmgmt.msc .....ENTER

Click the > next to Display Adapters

 

Is the new Video Card listed ?

Are there any yellow exclamation marks or red Xs ?

[Ray1000]

Ken,

 

In Device Manager > Display Adaptors > the card is listed NVIDIA GeForce 6200 (Microsoft Corperation WDDM)

 

The Driver is showing as Nvidia GeForce 6200 Driver dated 22/08/06 Version 7.14.10.9687

 

There are no yellow exclamation marks or red Xs.

 

Ray

[KenB]

Hi Ray

 

The driver synapse linked to is much more recent than your present one.

 

Download the driver that synapse suggested. Put it on your desktop - it is easier to find later.

Uninstall the old one from Device Manager.

Re-Boot and Windows should find new hardware ( the video card )

When prompted point it to the driver that you have just downloaded.

[Synapse]

For one short period during all this the “adjust screen resolution” scale went to 2048 x 1536 as stated on the GC spec.

 

At the present time it only goes to 1280 x1024 as it did before the new card was fitted.

 

As well as Ken´s advice, I am wondering what resolution your monitor should be running at. Lots of 19" LCD monitors run at 1280 x 1024 as their native resolution. A video card will tend to default to the native resolution of the monitor.

 

Can you post the make, model and size of monitor you are using please.

 

Regarding Google Earth, I would uninstall it, sort the video card drivers, then reinstall it.

 

Probably come back to the Youtube issues when we have everything else sorted, the problem may or may not go away.

[Ray1000]

Thank you Synapse

 

The monitor is a Samsung SyncMaster 172v

 

I'm just going to try the driver you suggested.

 

Ray

[Synapse]

 

The monitor is a Samsung SyncMaster 172v

 

Ray

 

The spec says 1280 x 1024 is the correct resolution, so it looks like Windows has it correct. At that resolution you will have the best picture. Do check the colour depth settings, hopefully it will be 32 bit colour.

[Ray1000]

The spec says 1280 x 1024 is the correct resolution, so it looks like Windows has it correct. At that resolution you will have the best picture. Do check the colour depth settings, hopefully it will be 32 bit colour.

 

Thanks, I can understand that now ... I can now see the time when the higher numbers were showing was when there was no proper driver installed.

 

Ray

[Ray1000]

I tried to install the new 2013 Nvidia driver.

 

Started by un-installing the 2006 driver in Device Manager > Display Adaptors > Nvidia GF 6200 > Driver ... no response after several attempts. It was still there.

 

Just to try something I disabled it instead ... restarted the computer and tried to install the 2013 driver but it eventually says it has failed to install and I might also have had a message saying the Installation Module has stopped working.

 

At some point the Display Adaptor line became Unknown Device ... at the present time I have the Display Adaptor line back but followed by Unknown Device and the yellow exclamation mark where it should say Nvidia GeForce 6200

 

While all this is going on the picture on the screen is perfectly normal. Sometimes the computer is running slow, taking ages to load.

 

I'm wondering if the new card is unsuitable for Vista.

 

I could put XP Pro back on just to see if a newer driver would load up, if Google Earth would work, if you tube would work on HD and so on.

 

Having said that I can see how Vista might be better than XP in some ways ... in which case I could take the video card back and start looking for another one ... but then some of my problems might be with the ancient motherboard?

 

Ray

[Ray1000]

Just one more question on this ...

 

As a reminder this thread has been about me trying to further upgrade my 2002 desktop.

 

Having changed from XP Pro to Vista and changed the video card from a 64MB to 256MB one I'm back where I started.

 

Using Google Earth and You Tube to measure the video performance I couldn't tell the slightest difference between the two cards. Google Earth still wouldn't start and You Tube videos run slightly slower and break up. The "slightly slower" was identified by watching the same Emile Sande video on two machines at once.

 

Here's the question ... or two !

 

Having a choice of XP Pro and Vista which should I choose?

 

On the same machine will one perform better than the other?

 

Thank you

 

Ray

[Synapse]

Hi Ray,

 

Looking at your original post, the spec you have is marginal for Vista. Microsoft gives some blurb regarding the minimum spec for Vista, which they say is lower than your spec. In practice, minimum spec is rarely workable. Your CPU is really in the Windows 2000/XP era, you have enough memory for XP, but Vista needs 2GB to run anywhere near well, especially considering your CPU spec.

 

Windows XP will lose it´s support from April 2014, meaning Internet use would be unfeasible due to security risks.

 

XP will run much faster on your machine.

 

Your question on choice between the two OS´s.......for me, I wouldn´t ever choose Vista, it was a step in to a new era for Microsoft, and wasn´t polished until Windows 7 came along. For now, I would use XP, and if lack of general speed and usability are issues, it may be time to look at replacing it.

[Ray1000]

Thank you Synapse,

 

Now you explain it, it was running slow with Vista on last week and at least I have XP on at the moment so I don't have to start again.

 

Ray

 

The thread can now be marked as solved