I'm in rather desperate need of a video card, and I can finally afford to get one. I don't want to make this purchase again for quite a while, so I want to make sure I get a quality card that will perform as expected and do what I need it to do. I currently have an AMD K6-2 500MHz processor with 512MB RAM and an 80GB Western Digital hard drive that I have not yet installed (when I get the video card, I'm gonna install Windows fresh on the new drive). Even with Windows installed fresh, I'm having problems with the system slowing down to the point where I can barely move the mouse, and programs stop responding almost regularly. I'm hoping this is the fault of the video card (I currently have a 1995 vintage S3 card that a friend let me borrow, with 4MB onboard memory); if not, I'm open to options but am seriously considering replacing the motherboard and processor (will go with a P4 this time; my dad has a newer AMD system that he's also having problems with; in fact, he bought it to replace the computer I have now), especially since I will also have to replace the case (all the 5 1/4" bays use sliders, and I have 3 things that need to go in and only one set of sliders, and have been unable to locase more sliders as it's a weird size) at some point as well.
I was told earlier that ATI doesn't have a decent driver set for Windows 98 SE (the OS I'm running, and plan to continue doing so indefinitely), and that nVidia/GeForce/TnT cards don't agree with AMD systems for various reasons (again, while I'm seriously considering a P4 processor, I want to keep my options open). I was told at the same time that Matrox makes a good card and that one of them would be suitable for my needs. I use the computer mainly for Web browsing (F-D, a similar site for my 300D, etc; I typically have 5 or 6 Internet Explorer windows open at a time), although I also do some image work with Paint Shop Pro, and a little bit of simulator-type games such as SimCity and Microsoft Flight Simulator. I was looking around Matrox's site, and saw the G550. Offhand, it looks like a good unit. Do you all think it'll work for what I need? I'm kinda nervous about it having "only" 32MB onboard memory (I've seen others with as much as 128MB); could this cause a problem? If so, are there any other recommendations? I've found the G550 as cheap as $88, and at that price the only reason it's not in the mail is that I want to be absolutely certain that this will best suit my needs.
I apologize for the novel *lol* but any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
