For video cards I have a HD8570, GTX750 and GTX750TI. I have always had a thing about keeping temperatures down as much as possible as well as power draw but getting as much performance as possible.

with how many titles back in the XP days made use of only 1-2 cores, I went with the i3 Ivy Bridge with my recent overkill XP build (made out of a Dell Optiplex). Combined with 8GB RAM (because it also runs Win10, shoved a Geforce GTX750 Ti, and Sound Blaster Audigy X-Fi in there, and BAM i think it's a half-decent overkill box.

Nice!
Glad to see more people are re-homing these old i3's and the low & lower-mid range GPUs.
I'm also apparently stuck in the late 90's when it comes to temperatures - anything over 50C starts to set off red flags, and anything over 60C is taboo. 😁 (My Pentium 4 systems excepted, of course.) And I think that's part of the reason why I've never had any GPU die on me. In fact, most of the GPUs I get are 2nd hand and with issues. From these, about 1/3 was with artifacts due to failing GPU (FWIW, I've come to the conclusion that failed VRAM is extremely rare and 99% of the time NOT the issue when there are artifacts on the screen.) Reflew all and about 1/3 to 1/2 of the GPUs have come back alive. After that, I slapped much bigger coolers on these to keep the temperatures low (under 55C if possible) and they have worked since without the issues re-appearing. So I think low temperatures are very important for the longevity of hardware... probably even more important for GPUs than for CPUs.

momaka wrote on 2024-10-22, 19:36:

Hehe, that's literally going "from rags to riches" LOL . The GT 210 is pretty close to a meme card... though I shouldn't laugh g […]
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ElectroSoldier wrote on 2024-10-22, 14:12:

But I set it up running XP to test it all out, it has a GT 210 video card. It seemed to run Dawn of War, Res Evil 4 and Smert shpionam after I changed up to a GTX 285

Hehe, that's literally going "from rags to riches" 🤣 . The GT 210 is pretty close to a meme card... though I shouldn't laugh given how many PCs I set up and tested with Radeon HD2400 Pro/XT - another pretty meme-y card. At least the HD2400 is very low power - 19W TDP vs. the 34W of the GT 210.

Speaking of video cards, I do wonder what the O/P is going for, if system reliability is such an important factor.
Most high-end video cards run hot and aren't exactly reliable in the long run, IME. Mid-range stuff can swing either way, depending on the cooler choice that each (3rd party) manufacturer went with. And the low-range cards always tend to be the longest-lasting... partly due to low TDP, and partly due to just having smaller, simpler cores (so not as much to go wrong with, BGA-wise).

I usually aim for the low and mid-range cards, as the lower TDP of these also means less strain on the PSU and less heat to deal with inside the PC case. Some of my common picks are (in no particular order) GeForce 9600 GT, HD4650/4670, HD7570, HD3870, GT430 / Quadro k600, Quadro 2000 / GTS450, GTX 750/TI.

The HD4650/70, HD7570, and Quadro k600 might conk out and/or drag their butts quite a bit behind in high resolutions, particularly due to lower ROP count. If you want to run games at high[er] resolutions, then the ROP count is probably the most important thing, followed by memory bandwidth.

havli wrote on 2024-10-22, 17:58:

Also soldered (SB) or regular TIM (IB) doesn't matter when running at default clock. Yes - SB might run 5-10°C lower, but who cares, right? We are talking temperatures in range 40-50°C.

Agreed.
However, that 40-50C can easily become 50-60C with elevated room temperatures, if the fan profile on the mobo isn't setup to deal properly with elevated room temperatures.

Yeah its pretty awful for anything other than displaying the desktop. I would place it lower on the list than the FX5200 because its not even good for older systems to play games.

In an XP system I favour something like a GTX 750Ti now, but the GTX 285 was no slouch.

ElectroSoldier wrote on 2024-10-23, 13:53:

... but the GTX 285 was no slouch.

For sure! Heck, even the GTX 260 is more than speedy enough for any XP games.

I'm also a big fan of the GTX 750 /Ti... but I cannot find one where I live for a decent price. I suppose it all comes down to what's considered as "recent hardware" in every locale. Here, games like GTA V, Fortnite, and COD are talked about as if they came out yesterday. So because of that, more modern cards that can still play these well are still in demand... in short, anything GTX 7xx series with 2 GB of VRAM or more. And that's the reason I can't find one for a price I like. On the other hand, cards like the GTX 460 and 560 /TI are quite abundant and can often be found for ~$10-15... maybe $20 at worst. For Windows XP era games, honestly even these cards will play just about everything maxed out the same as a 750 TI, if not better in some cases (more ROPs & TMUs, and higher memory BW). The only difference is that the GTX 460/560 can be quite a bit more power hungry (150W TDP cards, so good idea to limit the FPS and output resolution to keep the power draw... and GPU temperatures... lower.) That's what was in my newphew's PC, so we ended up keeping it. Only thing I did afterwards was set MSI Afterburner to run with Windows startup and ramp up the fans a little faster than the stock ASUS profile. Also since MSI AFB works with RTSS, we used that to limit the FPS in most games to 60 to keep the power draw a bit lower, as the PSU wasn't very inspiring (though far from a gutless wonder too.)

momaka wrote on 2024-10-23, 18:43:

ElectroSoldier wrote on 2024-10-23, 13:53:

... but the GTX 285 was no slouch.

For sure! Heck, even the GTX 260 is more than speedy enough for any XP games.

I'm also a big fan of the GTX 750 /Ti... but I cannot find one where I live for a decent price. I suppose it all comes down to what's considered as "recent hardware" in every locale. Here, games like GTA V, Fortnite, and COD are talked about as if they came out yesterday. So because of that, more modern cards that can still play these well are still in demand... in short, anything GTX 7xx series with 2 GB of VRAM or more. And that's the reason I can't find one for a price I like. On the other hand, cards like the GTX 460 and 560 /TI are quite abundant and can often be found for ~$10-15... maybe $20 at worst. For Windows XP era games, honestly even these cards will play just about everything maxed out the same as a 750 TI, if not better in some cases (more ROPs & TMUs, and higher memory BW). The only difference is that the GTX 460/560 can be quite a bit more power hungry (150W TDP cards, so good idea to limit the FPS and output resolution to keep the power draw... and GPU temperatures... lower.) That's what was in my newphew's PC, so we ended up keeping it. Only thing I did afterwards was set MSI Afterburner to run with Windows startup and ramp up the fans a little faster than the stock ASUS profile. Also since MSI AFB works with RTSS, we used that to limit the FPS in most games to 60 to keep the power draw a bit lower, as the PSU wasn't very inspiring (though far from a gutless wonder too.)

ETA Prime put the price of the 750Ti cards up when he did that youtube video about putting them into SFF PCs to make a cheap gaming PC.
They come up on ebay for £30-50 now and again. Otherwise they are close to £100 if the seller knows what it is and why its worth £100.

Its not, its worth £30-40 but demand is the factor.

ElectroSoldier wrote on 2024-10-24, 13:43:

ETA Prime put the price of the 750Ti cards up when he did that youtube video about putting them into SFF PCs to make a cheap gam […]
Show full quote

momaka wrote on 2024-10-23, 18:43:

ElectroSoldier wrote on 2024-10-23, 13:53:

... but the GTX 285 was no slouch.

For sure! Heck, even the GTX 260 is more than speedy enough for any XP games.

I'm also a big fan of the GTX 750 /Ti... but I cannot find one where I live for a decent price. I suppose it all comes down to what's considered as "recent hardware" in every locale. Here, games like GTA V, Fortnite, and COD are talked about as if they came out yesterday. So because of that, more modern cards that can still play these well are still in demand... in short, anything GTX 7xx series with 2 GB of VRAM or more. And that's the reason I can't find one for a price I like. On the other hand, cards like the GTX 460 and 560 /TI are quite abundant and can often be found for ~$10-15... maybe $20 at worst. For Windows XP era games, honestly even these cards will play just about everything maxed out the same as a 750 TI, if not better in some cases (more ROPs & TMUs, and higher memory BW). The only difference is that the GTX 460/560 can be quite a bit more power hungry (150W TDP cards, so good idea to limit the FPS and output resolution to keep the power draw... and GPU temperatures... lower.) That's what was in my newphew's PC, so we ended up keeping it. Only thing I did afterwards was set MSI Afterburner to run with Windows startup and ramp up the fans a little faster than the stock ASUS profile. Also since MSI AFB works with RTSS, we used that to limit the FPS in most games to 60 to keep the power draw a bit lower, as the PSU wasn't very inspiring (though far from a gutless wonder too.)

ETA Prime put the price of the 750Ti cards up when he did that youtube video about putting them into SFF PCs to make a cheap gaming PC.
They come up on ebay for £30-50 now and again. Otherwise they are close to £100 if the seller knows what it is and why its worth £100.

Its not, its worth £30-40 but demand is the factor.

That's why you shouldn't look on Ebay. 750tis are 20-25Eur locally (at least here).

Munx wrote on 2024-10-24, 13:51:

ElectroSoldier wrote on 2024-10-24, 13:43:

ETA Prime put the price of the 750Ti cards up when he did that youtube video about putting them into SFF PCs to make a cheap gam […]
Show full quote

momaka wrote on 2024-10-23, 18:43:

For sure! Heck, even the GTX 260 is more than speedy enough for any XP games.

I'm also a big fan of the GTX 750 /Ti... but I cannot find one where I live for a decent price. I suppose it all comes down to what's considered as "recent hardware" in every locale. Here, games like GTA V, Fortnite, and COD are talked about as if they came out yesterday. So because of that, more modern cards that can still play these well are still in demand... in short, anything GTX 7xx series with 2 GB of VRAM or more. And that's the reason I can't find one for a price I like. On the other hand, cards like the GTX 460 and 560 /TI are quite abundant and can often be found for ~$10-15... maybe $20 at worst. For Windows XP era games, honestly even these cards will play just about everything maxed out the same as a 750 TI, if not better in some cases (more ROPs & TMUs, and higher memory BW). The only difference is that the GTX 460/560 can be quite a bit more power hungry (150W TDP cards, so good idea to limit the FPS and output resolution to keep the power draw... and GPU temperatures... lower.) That's what was in my newphew's PC, so we ended up keeping it. Only thing I did afterwards was set MSI Afterburner to run with Windows startup and ramp up the fans a little faster than the stock ASUS profile. Also since MSI AFB works with RTSS, we used that to limit the FPS in most games to 60 to keep the power draw a bit lower, as the PSU wasn't very inspiring (though far from a gutless wonder too.)

ETA Prime put the price of the 750Ti cards up when he did that youtube video about putting them into SFF PCs to make a cheap gaming PC.
They come up on ebay for £30-50 now and again. Otherwise they are close to £100 if the seller knows what it is and why its worth £100.

Its not, its worth £30-40 but demand is the factor.

That's why you shouldn't look on Ebay. 750tis are 20-25Eur locally (at least here).

Yeah there is a Lithuanian seller on there now with one for 36 Euro plus the shipping that puts it up to the £40 I mentioned earlier.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395819807041?_skw= … 1e_XZA&LH_BIN=1

Of course the full height cards are cheaper, and less sought after.