Ati Radeon problems

Ok I know im not the only one out there that is having these or close to these problems.And I know that there are people that will say get a new card but I am reaching out to those that can possibly help me resolve this problem without being a smartass.
The problem is that I have a ati radeon 128 pro graphics card(yes I know its old,But never had a problem before with it)and when I install the newest drivers for it and try to run the newest version of sl my game gets really choppy and at some points freezes up to where I cant even hit the quit and log out.All other things I do outside of the game work fine but not sl,it takes the fun out of the game ) I install ati driver version 7.11 and can run version 19.0.5 of sl,and its fine,But as soon as I install the new version of sl I have to update my ati drivers to get the graphics to run right,but then as I stated, the game frame rate drops to a point where I cant do anything at all.Is there anyone out there that can offer some realistic advice and not be a smartass on what I can do to resolve this problem?

Well I have the 9550 ATI card. Some are better for compatability, mine isn't all that hellish, well not all the time. But I can't enable anything 'advanced' and fancy like shiny and source light for the most part. Keep your default for preferences at low, and see if that helps. But the newest drivers, lowest settings, that's all you can really do. And I am still laggy and choppy at that.

As the Viewer gets updated, it puts more strain on the video card. If 19.0.5 works for you, use it. I have an ATI X300 . None of the 19.Viewers work for me so I am using 18.5.3 with the Nicholaz patch. It works great. Also I can't seem to use any updated drivers, they cause probelms so I am still using the original drivers. But SL worls, so that's all that matters. I say go back to 19.0.5. if you aren't into getting a new video card. Also, how much memory does your computer have.? That seems to make a difference too. In the end ,it's just a fact of life that SL no likey ATI cards.

I have an ATI X600, which is also fairly old, but I even run the RC without problems (*knocks on wood*), BUT I do not use the most current drivers as they give my computer stomach cramps....sometimes, new doesn't equal better with drivers.