Hi all, I hope you can help me.

I want to buy a new graphics card. I can use either an AGP 4x or PCI graphics card. I am aware that if I use an AGP 8x card in my AGP 4x slot, the card will run at the slower speed. Which would be faster, AGP 4x or PCI, and by how much? My computers PSU is only a 250w supply, and I know that most of the 'better' graphics cards need at least a 300w/350w PSU.

The graphics cards I am interested in are:

GEFORCE FX 5500 256MB DDR DVI TV - AGP
GEFORCE FX 5200 256MB DDR DVI TV - AGP
GEFORCE FX 5200 256MB Ddr Dvi & Tv Out - PCI

Which of the above cards would I BENEFIT from the most?

My pc's specifications are:

Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz
512Mb RAM
200Gb Hard Disk
250w PSU
Windows XP Home

Thanx for any help received!

funkyspacemanAGP is the better choice; it's a faster technology than PCI for video performance. I can't say how much faster, but definitely faster. AGP was made just for video cards; PCI is an older technology and can be used for many devices (modem, sound card, network card, video card, ETC.)

Of the cards you listed the FX5500 is the top choice. Here's an excellent rebate deal on one from newegg.com, eVGA Geforce FX5500 256-A8-N313-LX Video Card - Retail

As far as power question, yes, you may be getting into a marginal situation. I suggest you visit http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ and use the power supply calculator to calculate the power needed for your system with the prospective video card. You may be OK with your current power supply, even though the video card manufacturer may state a MINIMUM power supply (PS) of 300W. Again, I'd used the power supply calculator for some PRECISE info.

My system only has a 250W PS. Specs: AMD Athlon XP 2200, 512MB RAM (2X256), 1 hard drive (although I have had two hard drives running in it), two optical drives, nVidia GeForce4 Ti4200 AGP card, nVidia GeForce2 MX400 PCI card for second monitor, sound card.

Read the comments on the first page of http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/. They state some significant points there.