About NVIDIA GeForce2 MX200

Dear Group,

I need a graphics card for the ASUS A7N8X-X
motherboard. ( I do images, not gaming, not TV.)

I am thinking of the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
or 400 card. These are listed as compatible for the
mentioned motherboard.

What confuses me and for which I am seeking ad-
vice is that the described card is offered under
names like Jaton, HP, Dell etc.

Are all these cards interchangeable? Do they
differ in driver, in output cables or format
(VGA vs DVI)? Do you know of a reliable source
for purchase?

I have spent a lot of time trying to find answers
by googling, but without success.

Any help is appreciated.

GR.

I need a graphics card for the ASUS A7N8X-X
motherboard. ( I do images, not gaming, not TV.)

I am thinking of the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
or 400 card. These are listed as compatible for the
mentioned motherboard.

What confuses me and for which I am seeking ad-
vice is that the described card is offered under
names like Jaton, HP, Dell etc.

Are all these cards interchangeable? Do they
differ in driver, in output cables or format
(VGA vs DVI)? Do you know of a reliable source
for purchase?

Have a look at www.newegg.com - there will be pictures for the cards that
will show the outputs. I haven't checked, but it may be possible to get
different combinations of ports, such as S-Video output, VGA, DVI, etc. In
my experience they all use the standard Nvidia drivers so the brand doesn't
matter in that respect.

Dear Victek,

Thank you for your quick response. I looked at the newegg.com
site and found two versions of the GeForce2 MX 400 card.
They are both PCI cards, no AGP is available. The pictures do
show the output which is of value.

I had been wishing for an AGP card. Since I do have empty PCI
slots I could install the card from newegg, but I think that an AGP
card would be better. What do you think

I could also get an AGP card elsewhere since I now seem to know
what the output looks like

Thanks
GR.
"Victek" wrote in message
...
I need a graphics card for the ASUS A7N8X-X
motherboard. ( I do images, not gaming, not TV.)

I am thinking of the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
or 400 card. These are listed as compatible for the
mentioned motherboard.

What confuses me and for which I am seeking ad-
vice is that the described card is offered under
names like Jaton, HP, Dell etc.

Are all these cards interchangeable? Do they
differ in driver, in output cables or format
(VGA vs DVI)? Do you know of a reliable source
for purchase?

Have a look at www.newegg.com - there will be pictures for the cards that
will show the outputs. I haven't checked, but it may be possible to get
different combinations of ports, such as S-Video output, VGA, DVI, etc.
In
my experience they all use the standard Nvidia drivers so the brand
doesn't
matter in that respect.

Victek wrote:
I need a graphics card for the ASUS A7N8X-X
motherboard. ( I do images, not gaming, not TV.)

I am thinking of the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
or 400 card. These are listed as compatible for the
mentioned motherboard.

What confuses me and for which I am seeking ad-
vice is that the described card is offered under
names like Jaton, HP, Dell etc.

Are all these cards interchangeable? Do they
differ in driver, in output cables or format
(VGA vs DVI)? Do you know of a reliable source
for purchase?

Have a look at www.newegg.com - there will be pictures for the cards
that will show the outputs. I haven't checked, but it may be possible
to get different combinations of ports, such as S-Video output, VGA,
DVI, etc. In my experience they all use the standard Nvidia drivers so
the brand doesn't matter in that respect.

I'd agree with that. You want to be more curious about the
output options, and whether they are sufficient for your needs.

If you have an old CRT monitor, there may be less to worry about.
VGA connectors, with good analog capabilities, are easy to find.
If you have an LCD, it could have an analog input (VGA), a digital
input (DVI) or both. Depending on the age of the video card,
there may not be a DVI connector, and no digital output. Or,
there may be resolution restrictions on the DVI connector.

Your video card slot on the A7N8X-X is pretty universal. The "keys" cut
in the video card, are what is used to ensure there is agreement on
voltages. If the card fits in the slot, it should be safe. There
are exceptions to that rule, but the exceptions should be getting
harder and harder to find, as time passes. This overview article
should help.

http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html

There are 136 AGP 4X/8X video cards in this list. Many are duplicates and
are made by different manufacturers. The prices vary slightly on the
duplicates, as the RAM used may be different brands, and the manufacturer
may have been able to save a few dimes here and there. For the more
expensive cards, the ones that break more often, the warranty details
may factor into the purchase decision. For a $50 card, you may not care
too much about the warranty, as the expense of shipping the card around
may not make it worthwhile to fix or seek a warranty replacement.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Subcategory=48

In this example card, you get to see the results of going too cheap.

ASUS A9250/TD/128 Radeon 9250 128MB 64-bit DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121525

To understand why some of the people have problems with the DVI output, you
need to look at this article first.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi

In this picture, you can see some of the connector variations.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Types.svg.png

That Asus card has a DVI-D connector. It carries only digital signals.
The Asus card has a VGA connector, so there is an analog output. If you
wanted to use two monitors, one would be analog and the other one would have
to use the digital-only connector.

Most video cards with DVI connectors, will be DVI-I. The DVI-I connector
has both analog and digital signals on it. The analog signals are on the
"four dot" end. If the "four dots" are missing, there are no analog signals
on the DVI connector.

To get at the available analog signals on the DVI-I connector, you use
one of these. It picks up the signals from the "four dots" end and puts
it in the familiar 15 pin VGA connector format. So for the majority of
video cards, if you see a DVI-I connector, then a DVI-VGA adapter can be
used to run an analog monitor, like a CRT.

http://www.cooltechpc.com/ctpc/images/dvi-vga.jpg
http://www.cooltechpc.com/ctpc/images/vga.jpg

To save on future discomfort, it is a good idea to get a card with the
DVI-VGA adapter included in the box. It is one less thing to have to shop
for at the last minute, when you get a new monitor, or a friend comes over
and needs their monitor tested.

Anyway, back to that cheap Asus card. A DVI-VGA adapter won't fit. You
would not discover that, unless you looked closely at the connector. In
the picture here, you can see the "four dot" end is deficient.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...121-525-08.jpg

I picked this picture next, to illustrate a card with a dual link DVI
connector. The way I can tell, is the arrow they drew next to the
connector, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to guess :-)
Dual link DVI can drive a digital monitor like an Apple 30".
With the two connectors, you could drive one monitor with the VGA
connector (analog signals), while the DVI-I dual link would be
able to drive the 30" screen.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...241-044-02.jpg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814241044

(A card with two dual-link-DVI could drive two 30" monitors at the
same time. This is a X1650Pro.)

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...241-043-02.jpg

There are other criterion I use when selecting cards. For example, if you
can see yourself using Vista in the future, and the Aero interface option,
knowing what shader support is provided might be important. There are
AGP cards that support DirectX 9 in the Newegg list, but there aren't
any DirectX 10 video cards in AGP format (yet). DirectX 10 is more
important for future gaming considerations.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/

Video card power dissipation, is important both for sizing the needed
power supply, and for helping to keep the computer cool inside. There
isn't a comprehensive source of power information, and you have to
scrounge through individual articles to find the info. Xbitlabs
has a search page, and if you use the Advanced Search and set the
"Search Using" to "All Words", then enter the video card model, as in
"7300 GT power', you can find articles like this. A 30W card is low
power, a 60W is midrange (what I have in my computer right now), while
a 120W card is typical of a high end card. For computers with limited
power supplies, and if you aren't a gamer, then a 30W card would be a good
choice.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...r-noise_7.html

Some video cards have a power connector on the end. For the AGP cards,
the connector type is the same as a disk drive. The connector
provides additional power, rather than trying to pull the power
through the slot connector. Seeing the connector, doesn't necessarily
mean the card draws a lot of power. It is just more convenient, if they
wanted to use +12V to run the card.

I didn't pick a "winning card" for you, because you might be price
sensitive. Maybe the MX 400 is all you need or want. It all depends
on what you plan on using for a monitor, as to whether that card
would be enough.

Paul

* NoSpam:

I need a graphics card for the ASUS A7N8X-X
motherboard. ( I do images, not gaming, not TV.)

I am thinking of the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
or 400 card. These are listed as compatible for the
mentioned motherboard.

Holy ****, this card is around 7 years old! Are you really sure you want
to buy such a dinosaur, especially since driver support is very likely
to end soon?

Since the A7N8X-X is a nForce2-based mainboard with AGP 8x slot you can
just get any AGP card that you want and use it in your mainboard. For
your low demaning you should look for a Geforce FX5200 or similar. They
are sold very cheaply today and probably even cheaper than still getting
a GF2MX.

Benjamin

"Paul" wrote in message ...
Victek wrote:
I need a graphics card for the ASUS A7N8X-X
motherboard. ( I do images, not gaming, not TV.)

I am thinking of the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
or 400 card. These are listed as compatible for the
mentioned motherboard.

What confuses me and for which I am seeking ad-
vice is that the described card is offered under
names like Jaton, HP, Dell etc.

Are all these cards interchangeable? Do they
differ in driver, in output cables or format
(VGA vs DVI)? Do you know of a reliable source
for purchase?

Have a look at www.newegg.com - there will be pictures for the cards
that will show the outputs. I haven't checked, but it may be possible
to get different combinations of ports, such as S-Video output, VGA,
DVI, etc. In my experience they all use the standard Nvidia drivers so
the brand doesn't matter in that respect.

I'd agree with that. You want to be more curious about the
output options, and whether they are sufficient for your needs.

If you have an old CRT monitor, there may be less to worry about.
VGA connectors, with good analog capabilities, are easy to find.
If you have an LCD, it could have an analog input (VGA), a digital
input (DVI) or both. Depending on the age of the video card,
there may not be a DVI connector, and no digital output. Or,
there may be resolution restrictions on the DVI connector.

Your video card slot on the A7N8X-X is pretty universal. The "keys" cut
in the video card, are what is used to ensure there is agreement on
voltages. If the card fits in the slot, it should be safe. There
are exceptions to that rule, but the exceptions should be getting
harder and harder to find, as time passes. This overview article
should help.

http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html

There are 136 AGP 4X/8X video cards in this list. Many are duplicates and
are made by different manufacturers. The prices vary slightly on the
duplicates, as the RAM used may be different brands, and the manufacturer
may have been able to save a few dimes here and there. For the more
expensive cards, the ones that break more often, the warranty details
may factor into the purchase decision. For a $50 card, you may not care
too much about the warranty, as the expense of shipping the card around
may not make it worthwhile to fix or seek a warranty replacement.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Subcategory=48

In this example card, you get to see the results of going too cheap.

ASUS A9250/TD/128 Radeon 9250 128MB 64-bit DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121525

To understand why some of the people have problems with the DVI output,
you
need to look at this article first.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi

In this picture, you can see some of the connector variations.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Types.svg.png

That Asus card has a DVI-D connector. It carries only digital signals.
The Asus card has a VGA connector, so there is an analog output. If you
wanted to use two monitors, one would be analog and the other one would
have
to use the digital-only connector.

Most video cards with DVI connectors, will be DVI-I. The DVI-I connector
has both analog and digital signals on it. The analog signals are on the
"four dot" end. If the "four dots" are missing, there are no analog
signals
on the DVI connector.

To get at the available analog signals on the DVI-I connector, you use
one of these. It picks up the signals from the "four dots" end and puts
it in the familiar 15 pin VGA connector format. So for the majority of
video cards, if you see a DVI-I connector, then a DVI-VGA adapter can be
used to run an analog monitor, like a CRT.

http://www.cooltechpc.com/ctpc/images/dvi-vga.jpg
http://www.cooltechpc.com/ctpc/images/vga.jpg

To save on future discomfort, it is a good idea to get a card with the
DVI-VGA adapter included in the box. It is one less thing to have to shop
for at the last minute, when you get a new monitor, or a friend comes over
and needs their monitor tested.

Anyway, back to that cheap Asus card. A DVI-VGA adapter won't fit. You
would not discover that, unless you looked closely at the connector. In
the picture here, you can see the "four dot" end is deficient.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...121-525-08.jpg

I picked this picture next, to illustrate a card with a dual link DVI
connector. The way I can tell, is the arrow they drew next to the
connector, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to guess :-)
Dual link DVI can drive a digital monitor like an Apple 30".
With the two connectors, you could drive one monitor with the VGA
connector (analog signals), while the DVI-I dual link would be
able to drive the 30" screen.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...241-044-02.jpg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814241044

(A card with two dual-link-DVI could drive two 30" monitors at the
same time. This is a X1650Pro.)

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...241-043-02.jpg

There are other criterion I use when selecting cards. For example, if you
can see yourself using Vista in the future, and the Aero interface option,
knowing what shader support is provided might be important. There are
AGP cards that support DirectX 9 in the Newegg list, but there aren't
any DirectX 10 video cards in AGP format (yet). DirectX 10 is more
important for future gaming considerations.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/

Video card power dissipation, is important both for sizing the needed
power supply, and for helping to keep the computer cool inside. There
isn't a comprehensive source of power information, and you have to
scrounge through individual articles to find the info. Xbitlabs
has a search page, and if you use the Advanced Search and set the
"Search Using" to "All Words", then enter the video card model, as in
"7300 GT power', you can find articles like this. A 30W card is low
power, a 60W is midrange (what I have in my computer right now), while
a 120W card is typical of a high end card. For computers with limited
power supplies, and if you aren't a gamer, then a 30W card would be a good
choice.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...r-noise_7.html

Some video cards have a power connector on the end. For the AGP cards,
the connector type is the same as a disk drive. The connector
provides additional power, rather than trying to pull the power
through the slot connector. Seeing the connector, doesn't necessarily
mean the card draws a lot of power. It is just more convenient, if they
wanted to use +12V to run the card.

I didn't pick a "winning card" for you, because you might be price
sensitive. Maybe the MX 400 is all you need or want. It all depends
on what you plan on using for a monitor, as to whether that card
would be enough.

Paul

I thank you for your detailed info. It will take me some time to look into
it. In the meantime I wish to say that I am currently using a Mitsubishi
Diamond Pro 920 19inch monitor. I am thinking of getting a good LCD
in the future. I definitely do not need what is called three D performance
and fast action. I need good color and good resolution.

Another point is, that my image processing PC is not connected to the
net. It uses Win2k with Service Pack 4 and no updates. I have Direct
X 8.1 on it. I think and I hope that I am correct, that for my imaging
purposes I do not need late issues of Direct X. These all have to do
with creating images under various pixel generation algorithms. I do
not need the card to fill in anything. I generate still computer generated
images and I process my microphotographs only which come from
a single lens reflex digital camera.

Thank you for your help. If you have further suggestions please let
me know.

GR.

"Benjamin Gawert" wrote in message
...
* NoSpam:

I need a graphics card for the ASUS A7N8X-X
motherboard. ( I do images, not gaming, not TV.)

I am thinking of the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
or 400 card. These are listed as compatible for the
mentioned motherboard.

Holy ****, this card is around 7 years old! Are you really sure you want
to buy such a dinosaur, especially since driver support is very likely
to end soon?

Since the A7N8X-X is a nForce2-based mainboard with AGP 8x slot you can
just get any AGP card that you want and use it in your mainboard. For
your low demaning you should look for a Geforce FX5200 or similar. They
are sold very cheaply today and probably even cheaper than still getting
a GF2MX.

Benjamin

Let me explain my reasons for getting a dinosaur graphics card.

I have put an ATI Rage 128 Pro Ultra VGP card on the A7N8X-X
and tried to install the proper driver for this card and my Win2000
OS. The driver comes from the AMD site and is file w2kr128513013279.
This is without doubt the proper file for a Rage 128 Pro and according
to my understanding for the ULTRA as well. However installing
the driver failed because I get a message to the effect that this driver
will
not work with my hardware. I spent one day trying all kinds of variations
on the theme and had no luck.

I then looked on the CD for this MB and found a lot of drivers for various
cards, among which were the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200 and 400 cards.
For this reason I figured that these cards would work.

Now since you tell me that other cards will work, may be I should look
into them. I feel however that to display images and work on them in Photo-
shop and not doing games or movies, almost any card will do. Currently I
use a fancy Mitsubishi display, but I wish to plan for an LCD.

Thank you for your work and any other ideas you might have.
GR.

I then looked on the CD for this MB and found a lot of drivers for various
cards, among which were the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200 and 400 cards.
For this reason I figured that these cards would work.

Now since you tell me that other cards will work, may be I should look
into them. I feel however that to display images and work on them in
Photo-
shop and not doing games or movies, almost any card will do. Currently I
use a fancy Mitsubishi display, but I wish to plan for an LCD

Your logic here in choosing a ancient video card based on using the the
drivers supplied on a 7 year old m/b driver CD is really odd. Any modern low
end AGP Nvidia or ATI based card will perform flawlessly in that m/b and
cost about $40. If you wish to plan for an LCD don't go with a dinosaur
card. If I was doing exclusively Photoshop, I wouldn't be looking for a
Gefroce2MX200 or 400 card. Photoshop CS2 is known to have perfromance issues
with older video cards.
http://avondale.typepad.com/pixelupd...hop_cs2_p.html

"Augustus" wrote in message
news:ICLsi.72648$tB5.47736@edtnps90...
I then looked on the CD for this MB and found a lot of drivers for
various
cards, among which were the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200 and 400 cards.
For this reason I figured that these cards would work.

Now since you tell me that other cards will work, may be I should look
into them. I feel however that to display images and work on them in
Photo-
shop and not doing games or movies, almost any card will do. Currently I
use a fancy Mitsubishi display, but I wish to plan for an LCD

Your logic here in choosing a ancient video card based on using the the
drivers supplied on a 7 year old m/b driver CD is really odd. Any modern
low
end AGP Nvidia or ATI based card will perform flawlessly in that m/b and
cost about $40. If you wish to plan for an LCD don't go with a dinosaur
card. If I was doing exclusively Photoshop, I wouldn't be looking for a
Gefroce2MX200 or 400 card. Photoshop CS2 is known to have perfromance
issues
with older video cards.
http://avondale.typepad.com/pixelupd...hop_cs2_p.html



Hello,

I have looked at the above link. I am afraid for people who need to use
camera raw files CS2 is the only choice. The program is terribly bloated.
Many agree with that statement..

Now since you know what I need to do on my PC and know the mother-
board and the OS, what graphics card would you propose that allows me
to use my current monitor, Mitshubishi Diamond Pro and will later allow
connection to an LCD panel? Again I do no gaming, no movies, no TV.
Strictly images up to 5000 by 5000 pixels.

GR.

* NoSpam:

Let me explain my reasons for getting a dinosaur graphics card.

I have put an ATI Rage 128 Pro Ultra VGP card on the A7N8X-X
and tried to install the proper driver for this card and my Win2000
OS. The driver comes from the AMD site and is file w2kr128513013279.
This is without doubt the proper file for a Rage 128 Pro and according
to my understanding for the ULTRA as well. However installing
the driver failed because I get a message to the effect that this driver
will
not work with my hardware. I spent one day trying all kinds of variations
on the theme and had no luck.

There were dozens of versions of the ancient Rage128 card available -
around a decade ago! This card is from the early Pentium2 aera, you
definitely don't want that on a mobo like yours any more! Besides that
the Rage drivers were just plain crap. Only after ATI came out with the
Radeon line of gfx cards which uses unified drivers the driver quality
got much better.

BTW: the Rage128 series was one of the few gfx card series that
contained cards that were incorrectly coded for AGP4x but only supported
3.3v signalling voltage, resulting in killing AGP4x/8x mobos that don't
have a protection circuit!

I really wonder why you want to use a 1997/1998 aera card in a ~1993
aera mainboard.

I then looked on the CD for this MB and found a lot of drivers for various
cards, among which were the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200 and 400 cards.
For this reason I figured that these cards would work.

Sorry, but that's silly. These drivers were already outdated when your
mobo was new, and besides that they do support other Nvidia cards as
well (Nvidia like ATI now uses unified drivers for all their cards, so
the driver on your CD will probably support other Nvidia cards, too).
Since the drivers are very old they might have bugs and issues with
somewhat newer applications as well. That's why there are driver updates.

Now since you tell me that other cards will work, may be I should look
into them. I feel however that to display images and work on them in Photo-
shop and not doing games or movies, almost any card will do. Currently I
use a fancy Mitsubishi display, but I wish to plan for an LCD.

Just more reasons to go for a somewhat current card.

Benjamin