XL201 Video Card Upgrade

[grahamjb33]

I have recently started using my Sony XL201 MCE 2005 running on WinXPSP2 for playing games and all was well until I installed MotoGP 2007. Whilst the graphics on this game are extremely good and even with the resolution set to its lowest, the CPU can reach over 90% power usage and the screen 'sticks' occassionally which makes it difficult to play.
I am thinking that as the standard card fitted namely the Nvidia Geforce 7600 GTL with 256Mb on board could be struggling with this game, the main CPU is trying to compensate and this is causing the high power usage.
If I am correct in my diagnosis I would appreciate advice on what video card upgrade would resolve these problems, eg a Nvidia Geforce 8800 GT? By the way... the XL201 is bog standard with 1Gb ram and no upgrades to date.
Great forum for info, keep up the good work everyone!
Thanks... Baler

[formation4]

Hi
I just wanted to know about the slots on the motherboard of the XL201 and XL301. Are they PCI-E or AGP. I assumed that they were AGP?

[@7908848805001668]

Hi all

I was last here when I was thinking of installing my Vista upgrade; I was advised to wait until things settled down and will look for the latest in a moment but I have already seen one or two remaining issues mentioned in a few posts I've spotted.

However, my XL201 video card (the 7600 GTL) has just failed - tested by substitution with another. The boot up screens have groups of five, vertical dash lines and then the PC goes into video powersave just after the Windows XP screen. It all started when XP shut down the Vaio with a hardware error message that included a dv reference in a file name but I didn't make a note of it properly at the time.

So, anyone got or know of a standard card for sale, or a non-working complete XL201, or a source of the 8500GT that can obviously be made to fit?

Thanks, Andy R

[jucyjohny]

I have just placed an order for the 8500GT from this site. not sure if they have them in stock yet but they are advertising on there site and have accepted my order. i will post again when confirmed.
http://shop.d2leisuregroup.co.uk/category49300265.html?page=2

[timround]

I've been using the winfast 8500GT HDMI card for a while now on my XL301, but in the last few days its died on me (HDMI/DVI connection no longer works, although VGA with a DVI adapter does?)

So I decided to buy a new card, and I've come across this.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB-Palit-9400-GT-PCI-E-20-(x16)-700MHz-GDDR2-GPU-550MHz-16-Cores-D...

Looks like it should fit in my XL301.

What do people think?

[andysp5]

Don't think so Tim. That card is passive, but I think to fit in the XL range, it has to be low-profile. Also, there is some debate about the power consumption of the series 9000 NVidia cards, as I think they consume more power than the XL power supplies can handle, although other people can maybe verify that. I would try to stick with an 8500GT card as the power supply is fine, and mine handles any HD including Blu-ray just fine.

[markstephen]

I've been struggling to find a suitable card to upgrade my XL100 so that I can watch 1080p; but have finally come across one that looks good:
Sapphire Radeon HD 4550
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB-Sapphire-HD4550-PCI-E-20-(x16)-1800MHz-GDDR3-GPU-600MHz-80-Core...

Seems to tick the boxes, low profile (you have to lose the VGA out for that), fanless, and good for 1080p. Not much good for 3D gaming, but I don't need that. What do you all think?

[timround]

I've just installed the ASUS EN9400GT 1Gb video card into my XL301, its low profile and has hdmi port. Its not passive, but I can't hear the fan (its quiter than the main power supply)

http://www.eurowide-pc.co.uk/asus-9400gt-pcie-p-31773.html

The only problem with it was the low profile plate is double width with the top vga port along side the other 2 ports.

My previous card was a winfast 8500gt (which had died), so I just used the plate off that card and it works a treat. You could always take a hacksaw to trim down the included plate.

The NVidia 9400GT is a low power chipset, and provide 100% hardware support for video decompression.

Check this link for more info on the 9400GT

http://www.sparkle.com.tw/News/SP9495_LP_PCI/news_SP9400GT9500GT_PCI_LP_EN.html

[jucyjohny]

Hi Tim
can you tell me was there a big improvment in quality. I have just started gaming on my 301 and the 7600GTL is struggling. Also do you know if the plate from the 7600 will fit the 9400?
thanks

[timround]

I haven't done a lot of testing with the 9400GT, but I can tell you I noticed an improvement with video play back at 1080p.
I tested out a HD-DVD via Arc Soft's Total Media Theatre playing from media center, and cpu load seemed to be lower.

As for the 7600GTL plate, I'll need to find out my old card and check, but I've got a feeling the hdmi port is lower down on the 7600GTL. The 9400GT has a DVI at the bottom and a HDMI port above that.

[markstephen]

I installed the Radeon, and am very pleased with the video improvement. It was easy to install, no heat sinks to swap or modify, and hasn't had any heat problems as yet.

But, there is always a but, now my s/pdif doesn't work! I've tried everything software-wise that I can think of but no joy. I have resorted to using the alternative High Definition driver instead of Sigmatel, which sends the audio via HDMI.

Anyone else had any issues, or even better know the solution?