Mining on an old computer with a new graphics card

[realbitcoins]

hey,

I am quite keen to start mining some bitcoins. I have read a lot about how the graphics card is pretty much the only important thing in GPU mining.

To what extend is this true? Can I buy a new graphics card and stick it into my old computer (roughly 500-700Mhz, 512 mb ram, etc if I remember correctly) and have it mine at roughly the same speeds, as if the same card were in a newer computer.
Will new cards even be compatible (have there been any major changes?) and do I need to worry about overheating, if I only use one gpu in this old system?


Since all my other old computers are laptops this is the only one I could use. Or would I be better off cheaply buying a computer that isn't quite as old and using that?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[jh1523]

Your old computer may only have AGP and PCI ports. The selection of video cards for those ports isn't great - they're pretty slow and expensive. best I've seen is a 4650 for around $100. That won't allow you much of a hash rate.

If that "old" computer has PCI-E slots, things change - but with a CPU at 5-600MHz I really doubt it.

[Coineer]

The main things are PCI-e slots and your PSU.

If your MB has the slots for the card and your PSU can handle the card, then you're good to go.

[realbitcoins]

ok, that's exactly what I feared.

I will have to check on those things.

Thank you for your advice.

[nmat]

4670 also works with AGP, but you won't get much more than 40Mh

[PLaci1982]

roughly 500-700Mhz, 512 mb ram, etc if I remember correctly

In short: get a new PC

[Dargo]

Aside from the GPUs and PSU (you would probably need a new PSU anyway), you can get a board and CPU adequate for mining for a little over $100.