Upgrade Video Card?

S3 Trio 46V video card supplied with Compaq computers is Ok if you use everyday applications or even you can upgrade the Video RAM up to 2 MB VRAM.
Now the question is where do you want to use this video card. S3 Trio 64V is an old one as long as know. If that came with your computer then your computer has a processor 150 MHz or less and without MMX support. Buying a new Video Card like those Diamond Monster will require an amount of money. Second those video cards you are talking about are designed to work on the new MMX computers. This does not mean you can not use them in your old Compaq, but what will do your card in a slow computer. Buying Video RAM at Compaq cost much expensive than buying them in computer stores. You just get your type of video ram and that is it. Third thing: you should consider the fact the S3 Trio 64V probably is built on board of your motherboard and installing a new card requires a change in jumper settings at your motherboard.

All you should think are the facts.
Now I will suggest not to upgrade the video RAM or buy a video card if you are using normal applications like Word, Excel, Programming, Internet Browsers etc.

But if you plan to use the latest games, rich graphic etc. the suggestion is not to buy a video card but the whole computer. How would you think a very fast video will do in a slow processor?

 

Albberat,
FYI, Voodoo card has nothing to do with MMX, the min. requirement for Voodoo I is P133, you will have good FPS with most 3Dfx games, however, you can still use Voodoo II with P133, it'll be much faster than Voodoo I with the same config...

OK, here's the thing.  I originally had a 133, 16 MB RAM, but I have upgraded everything, and I now have a 200 Mhz Pentium Overdrive with MMX, and 48 MB RAM.

My main concern is that my newer games are not working well (e.g. NHL 98) with my 1 MB Card.

Most of my games are by EASports and their games are only compatible with "3-D Accelators using the 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics or Voodoo Rush chipset."

hawkeye,

one answer is NO:
3dfx card will NOT add video RAM for your standard apps. It's just used for 3dfx games.

second answer:
have exactly the same config (except video card), using a Monster I, performance is perfect !
Best thing would be to buy a new and "cheap" video card with at least 4MB or to upgrade your old one (to at least 4MB if possible). The result would be absolutely the same...it's just a money question.
The advantage is that you can use higher resolutions with higher color depth in normal mode (non-gaming mode), furthermore you'll get better performance during games.

Voodoo II is too expensive when using a "slow" P200MMX...but as I said, this is just a money question.


Regards
-Stavi-

Thank you, ViperOne and mitrakis, for your help

my (our) pleasure...