Hey gang - in my never ending quest to keep my old computer going just a little bit longer I need to upgrade my current nVidia 6200LE/PCIe/64MB display adapter. I am inclined to stick with nVidia chipsets, not sure why, and have narrowed the field to their 210 and GT families. Any thoughts or suggestions or recommendations? Thanks!

First thought, how much power (watts) is your power supply.  Many video cards require a minimum power supply. 

Whatever you get, make sure its compatible with whatever OS you have. 

(I was "K3FFZ" back in the 60's).

thanks for that reminder! Currently have a 500@ PS powering the display adapter, the audio interface, and a UAD2/solo (soon to be two)... guess I have some homework to do! I did check compatibility, nVidia seems to be doing a pretty good job on that front. So when you going to get your license back?? Thanks!

Bill, the 210 has pretty low power consumption, although the GT220 appears to be a better option performance-wise, at least according to this comparison review I glanced at:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/a...play/gf-210-gt220.html

For my DAWs, I always use a low power and cool running (passive heatsink - no fan!) graphics card, and am not concerned about 3-D capabilities. Better to have the best 2-D graphics. If the DAW will be used for playing video (like when scoring), then good hardware-assisted video decoding capability is highly desirable (unless you use a dedicated video decoder card). Another thing I want is the ability to run multiple digital monitors.

One thing to watch out for if using HDMI is the HDMI audio on the graphics card not playing nice with other audio devices and applications. and whether HDMI audio can be disabled if desired, just like with PC onboard sound.

Also, check that whatever card you choose supports the requirements of the OS and applications you will be using or might move to in the near future.

Just something for you to chew on.

thanks for that reminder! Currently have a 500@ PS powering the display adapter, the audio interface, and a UAD2/solo (soon to be two)... guess I have some homework to do! I did check compatibility, nVidia seems to be doing a pretty good job on that front. So when you going to get your license back?? Thanks!

Hey Bill,


You'll do fine with either a passive cooled 210 or a passive cooled HD5450.
You can disable the HDMI audio interface if you go with the 5450. 
Your current PS will be fine (assuming it's in proper working order).

If you were doing heavy video editing in Vegas or Premier (Mercury Engine), I'd recommend a GTX-560ti... but that's way overkill for what you're looking to accomplish (and it's not passive cooled).