Quote:

QUOTE:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103048 In the customer reviews someone said "ATI does not support the HD2xxx chipset on AGP any more with the ""Windows Hardware Qualified"" drivers." The next review also mentions driver problems.

1: WHQL certifed drivers are drivers that the mfg has tested by Microsoft to meet there standards. This cost a LOT of money and does not mean the drivers are necessarily better. Sind AGP is not being developed any more, a mfg is not going to waste money by getting their drivers tested for MS certification.

In fact the highest performing drivers are often the " Unified ( not Beta ) drivers that mfg's develop because they can operate outside of MS's rather conservative standards. Unified drivers are often preferred by gamers because they will often produce higher FPS, at the possible risk of some artifacts when pushed to the limit or when overclocked. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with using " Unified" drivers taht are not WHQL certifed.

The standard CD-Rom drivers usually work just fine. It is when owners start trying to upgrade drivers that they run into probelms. And yes the newer ATI drivers ( AMD developed ) have cause some issues. Especially the drivers from revisons 7.9 to 7.12. The solution? Don't use those drivers. BTW, NVIDIA went through a horrible period with their drivers a few years ago. Same problem that AMD/ATI is having now. Their top engineers got stolen by the " other" mfg.

2: I would not recommend ANY ATI 2X00 series of cards. They are power hogs, run hot and are over kill for your system.

Instead I would recommend a Saphirre 9600 series of card. This will be more than adequate for what you want. With a 9600 series you will get a a card that is cool running, has much, much lower power consumption, ROCK SOLID performance and ROCK SOLID STABLE drivers. Just use the drivers on the CD as I mentioned. Video qulity is awsome and of course it cones with VGA, DVI and S video output.

I have a Saphirre 9600 Pro and it is a great card. I'm not a big gammer, just like you. But this card just works. Period. Zero issues after probably 5 years of running. I would not recommend ANY of the ATI 2X series of cards for your machine.

TTech recommended an ATI 9550 series of card. There is a reason he did so, and the reasons are probably similiar to what I said.

EDIT: Crap...NewEgg does not have any Saphiire 9X series cards listed any more. IMHO, a 9600 series is slightly superior to a 9550 series. Especially if you pick a Pro model. PowerColor does have a couple of ATI 9600 series. This one looks nice and it has a 2 year warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131262

Here are some other choices for the 9X series of card at NewEgg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000380048+1305520549+1069609639+106790788&name=Radeon+9+series