You should get much better performance from Quake2 with that video card than
16 fps.  I doubt the motherboard is the reason the performance is that slow.
Have you changed your video renderer within Quake2 to OpenGL?  I don't have
any experience with the Dell machines, so I can't really help with issues
you may have with upgrading due to proprietary parts.  Changing the Mobo
from  1X to a 2x would offer "some" improvement, but probably not the major
improvement you're thinking here.  The TNT cards, such as the Viper 550, are
also available in a PCI variety, which has 1/2 the bus speed of the AGP bus,
and provide nearly similar performance.  I suspect a game software or Driver
issue is the real reason for poor performance right now, not your
motherboard.

Dan Shaughessy


> I have a Dell Dimension XPS D300.  I upgraded my video card to a Diamond
> Viper V550 16 Mb AGP card.  The rendition is improved but the frame rate
as
> tested in Quake went from 15 fps to 16 fps at 640 to 840 resolution.  I
> purchased my computer in January of 98, before 2x mother boards came out,
so
> I suspect that my moo doesn't support the 2x of the Viper.  The answers I
> got from Dell were:  no it doesn't ,it is a function on the chipset and
> can't be changed and from another tech that it was a function of the video
> card, independent of the mobo.  I suspect that the first opinion is
correct.
> Would changing the mobo help the video performance?  I figure the answer
is
> of course.  The big question is what brand of mobo is the best.  I want
> something of excellent quality, fully featured and as upgradeable down the
> road as possible.

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