Dimension 4600 graphics card replacement

Hi all, posted about this before. Originally upgraded from a Geforce 5200 to a 7950GT AGP. It worked really well and played offline 1080p h.264 content flawlessly. However, the fan had failed so it overheated very quickly and it also didn't support flash hardware acceleration (didn't know this at the time) so HD Youtube videos still stuttered. I'm returning card to Ebay seller for a refund. I've got my eye on a Radeon HD 4670 atm which does support flash hardware acceleration. However, been looking around for other 4600 users who had this card and found this slightly worrying thread where his PC had no display and the "expert" replied saying cards with DDR3 memory aren't supported. This doesn't seem correct to me as a card's VRAM has nothing to do with system RAM. Just wanted to make sure I'm not about to purchase something that won't work in my system. Thanks Andrew

av115

The Dimension 4600 only supports either AGP, or PCI video cards, the Radeon HD 4670 is a PCIe x 16 card, this is not supported by the D4600.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007709 600007850#close

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007709 600007853

Both AGP and PCI video cards have been obsolete for several years.

Bev.

Hi Bev,

HIS and Sapphire released a small number of Radeon HD 4670s for AGP. I know AGP has been obsolete for a long time, but Radeon 3000/4000 series and Geforce 7 series cards are still much faster than the original Geforce FX 5200 and are suitable for what I'm doing with this old PC. Newegg used to stock the 4670 (link) and the 3850 (link).

I've done a fair bit of research over the past couple of weeks and found that no Nvidia cards released for the AGP bus support flash hardware acceleration. This is something I need because Pentium 4s are mostly useless for Youtube now. Nvidia support starts at Geforce 8 series (not available in AGP) and Radeon HD 3000/4000 series support it.

I'm just wondering if there's some other reason the Dimension 4600 wouldn't work with the Radeon HD 4670. That's why I posted in these forums because you guys know a lot about what these computers will support and have often done these upgrades yourselves, albeit a long time ago! :emotion-4:

Thanks

Andrew

I have a mothballed Dimension 4550 with a AGP 3850.

I don't see a reason why the AGP 4670 would not work in a Dimension 4600, provided it has sufficient power.  I suspect the issue in the link you posted was likely due to not connecting the extra required power connector.  Either that or power supply was insufficient.  It's been quite a while ago, but I think I did upgrade my PSU on the 4550, although I can't remember if it was failing or I needed it because of the AGP 3850.  You may need to upgrade your PSU.

...there were some reviews of the 3850 running with the original PSU in the 4550, which was 250W, even though the 3850's specs were 450W.  So, you might be ok.

One other thing I remembered.  The AGP had a thing called AGP Aperture. I think this was some window into main memory and could be configured via the BIOS.  I think you might need to have it set appropriately.

There may be a 4X/8X AGP setting as well, may or may not apply.

However, the fan had failed so it overheated very quickly and it also didn't support flash hardware acceleration (didn't know this at the time) so HD Youtube videos still stuttered.

You might try a Sparkle GT210 PCI. Or look into replacing the motherboard/CPU/memory.

Thanks for your research, Techgee! I didn't realise you could search Newegg reviews. Looks like a few people have had success with the Radeon 4670 so I bought one on Ebay this morning. I'll post back with the results when I get the card.

Thanks again for your help :)

Andrew

Come to think of it, I tried a 4650 AGP, but the drivers were lacklustre.

For HD video playback, I'd suggest a Sparkle GT 210 PCI.

Yeah I've seen a few people say ATI are not the best for their drivers. I'm just going to try it anyway. These cards still go for a fair bit more than they should at the moment so I can always sell it on if I'm not happy with it.

I've already bought the Radeon HD 4670 now. Here are its specs. It seems to be a much faster card than the GT 210 even though that card is newer and has new features. I've also had bad experiences with PCI cards, mainly them performing much slower than expected whereas when I upgraded the AGP Geforce FX 5200 to the 7950GT there was a HUGE difference. It just didn't support flash hardware acceleration which is what I need.

Andrew

It seems to be a much faster card than the GT 210 even though that card is newer and has new features.

It's no gaming card, but it has full hardware support for HD video playback, plus an onboard HD audio device. The 4670 AGP has an audio device, but it is non-functional due to lack of driver support.

I added an 8400GS PCI to a Dimension 2350 just for curiosity's sake: it did work, and was able to play HD video without stuttering. Back in 2009, that GPU was the best choice available for HD playback on AGP machines.

I wish you the best of luck with the 4670.

If the Radeon 4670 streams HD videos I'll be more than happy with it. Having said that, I was given an 8400GS PCI card years ago and installed it in a Dimension 2400 (guessing it's similar to the 2350?) and it didn't work very well to be honest. It enabled Aero in Windows 7 and that's about it. Youtube videos still stuttered even at 720p. Admittedly I didn't play around with it for long before putting it back under the stairs.

I occasionally play the open source driving simulator Rigs of Rods and had it installed on the 2400. It only gave me around 15fps. Was curious to try it with the 7950GT in the 4600 and amazingly got 120+ fps with same settings on same map/vehicle etc. The 2400 was slightly lower spec'd; Pentium 4 2.8GHz as opposed to 3.4GHz and 2GB RAM instead of 4GB but still, that's a massive difference.

That's why I don't want to buy a PCI card again. I'm guessing it's the bus that limits the performance. I dno.

Cheers for the heads up about the audio device on the 4670 not being supported. That'll no doubt save some headache and confusion!

Andrew

The 4xxx series is a legacy card.  And for the 4600 its AGP not pci-e.

You can only install the Legacy AGP Drivers not the latest Radeon Drivers.

You didnt install a 7950 on a dimension 2400 or 2350. Those systems only have PCI slots. There is no 32 bit 33mhz PCI version of Radeon 4650.

4650 series AGP cards require more power than the stock power supply for the Dimension 2400 or 2350 or 4600.

Only the 400W Startech Dell power supply would be sufficient.

http://www.startech.com/Computer-Parts/PSUs/Dell/400-Watt-ATX12V-201-Dell-PC-Replacement-Power-Supply~ATXPW400DELL

There ARE AGP 4670's however even with updated power supplies they are unstable.  Your money would be better spent buying a newer system like an Optiplex GX620 or 745 or 755 or 760 or 780 etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161337