AGP Video Card Suggestions

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T0t

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I have a rather old system and I'm almost positive my video card no longer works. I had an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro but the fan started giving me problems years ago. I'd hear a loud whirring noise whenever I booted up, googled it, and discovered that it was a rather common problem with these cards (apparently the fan on the cards has a short life span). Now whenever I boot up I'll see my desktop for a second or two before the screen goes black and I reboot. Sometimes I won't even make it past the Windows XP screen and everything will just go black. So I'm almost 100% positive it's the video card. At the moment I have to run in safe mode :/

Since it's an old system it's still AGP, but the good thing is I've read that you can get a decent AGP Video Card for fairly cheap. I don't really have a SET budget but I don't want to spend any more than $130. I'm not much of a gamer but I would like to get something that could handle fairly new games. For the most part I do graphic design and run programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. and 3D rendering programs like Cinema 4D. The only problem that I can see myself running into is my old hardware and power supply, so I'll post my current specs.

System Specs:
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Abit KV8 Pro Via-K8T800 MotherBoard
1.5gb of Kingston PC3200 RAM
Maxtor 160 GB 7200 RPM 8MB S-ATA Hard Drive
Sony 16x dvd
NEC DVDRW +/- 8x
2 Case Sleeve Fans 8x8
Blue Bold Cathode Neon Light
Orion 420Watt Power Supply
NZXT Case
 
Who ever told you you can get a decent agp card for cheap lied they are actually a premium due to supply/demand. Simply your system is very old and I surprised you haven't tried to upgrade given that your using it for photoshop work however if your happy as is then get this to replace your current one;
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100228L Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
If its just the fan that is dead you could use an aftermarket cooler and replace the current one it would be cheaper.
 
I plan on buying a new computer later on but from what I've seen I need at least $500 to build a decent rig, can't really afford it right now so I'll just fix this for now. To be honest I'd rather just buy a new card than replace the fan, I've read bits about doing it but I don't see the point on such an old card.

Will the card you suggested work with my machine? Really the power supply is the only thing I'm worried about. Is it a good card? Etc.

Any other suggestions or input would be great guys, thanks in advance.
 
Playing new games isn't a priority (it'd be nice though), but I need a working computer. I dont need a new computer right this second, if I can avoid spending $500 on something I don't really need as opposed to $100-130 on a repair, then I will..

I was just looking for suggestions.
 
I don't understand whats so confusing... I mean I set a budget for a reason therefore I am willing to spend it. I appreciate you trying to save me money but at the same time I did try to make it clear that I needed a decent video card (or at least better than the one I have now) because I work in graphic intense applications and do like to play games every once in a while (and if this upgrade allows it maybe even purchase a few new ones along the way, if not, oh well)

I'm not expecting miracles I know I have an old system, but I figure you guys are more knowledgeable when it comes to computer hardware and can offer some suggestions. I haven't paid attention to computer hardware since I first got this PC so I'm really out of the loop.
 
so replace your fan or upgrade your computer. We are trying to tell you that getting anything better then your 9800 will just be a waste of money because it will be bottlenecked by your cpu.
 
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