Graphics Card Help

I want to put a graphics card on my computer because I am having trouble running some higher quality PC games. But I don't know what type of slot I have and therefore I'm not sure what graphics card I need to buy. Am I AGP or PCI?

Here's a screenshot I took of Aida32 talking about my motherboard, can anyone deduce anything from this?

(Also, could any Brits recommend a good quality graphics card costing £50 and under?)

[journey075]

click display on the left.

edit: right click my computer - properties - hardware tab - device manager - display adapters.

tell me the video card it says.

anyway, you could just open your case and look at your motherboard. if you take a picture of the vid card slot itll be easy to tell you if you have pci, agp or pci-x. agp is slightly spaced out from the rest of your pci slots and pci-x is much bigger than regular pci slots.

if you have a pci gfx card then just get a new motherboard. dont even waste your time upgrading that crap.

[sandstorm]

you have 3 PCI and 1 AGP. use AGP.

click display on the left.

Which one after that?

[journey075]

you have 3 PCI and 1 AGP. use AGP.

haha i didnt see that.

yeah you can get a new vid card but agp is kind of expensive now even though its still a last generation technology. depending on how much you want to spend, you might want to consider replacing your motherboard as well as your vid cards.

you have 3 PCI and 1 AGP. use AGP.

haha i didnt see that.

yeah you can get a new vid card but agp is kind of expensive now even though its still a last generation technology. depending on how much you want to spend, you might want to consider replacing your motherboard as well as your vid cards.

So in conclusion, I need an AGP thingamibob?

[gabe]

you are a good boy.

[sandstorm]

yeah, the graphic card might not be the bottleneck. how much RAM, CPU power and shit have you got dman?

[journey075]

yeah, you need an agp vid card. im assuming its 8x, if not then that...well, sucks.

yeah, the graphic card might not be the bottleneck. how much RAM, CPU power and shit have you got dman?

I think it's 512mb RAM, but it's currently shared because I don't have a stand-alone graphics card.

[ProZachNation]

I doubt you have a 8x agp slot not that you need one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102295
That one is pretty good for the price you could probably even run like Half Life 2 at really low settings, newer games like FEAR and Quake 4 I doubt. But for ~$100(about 50 pounds right?) thats the bets you will prob find.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814135164
Would be a lot better for only a lil more.

I doubt you have a 8x agp slot not that you need one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102295
That one is pretty good for the price you could probably even run like Half Life 2 at really low settings, newer games like FEAR and Quake 4 I doubt. But for ~$100(about 50 pounds right?) thats the bets you will prob find.

Oooh it has microchips and stuff, looks cool. Thanks for the tip and thanks for the quick response to all.

[Rabid Dog]

Here is a great site for any computer question you might have. These guys/gals are awsome with this stuff.

http://www.pcqanda.com/dc/dcboard.ph...topics&forum=2

[boost]

if you wanna play new games you need to upgrade more. THeres no point in playing HL2 on the lowest settings...

[AHiltz]

Buy one with an NVidia based chipset. Get a 6600 or higher with 256 meg min.

I bought a 6200 a few months ago with 256 ram. With my 3.5 year old machine I can play new games in 1024x768 with 32 bit colour with no lag.

[WildBobAA]

No, get an ATI chip set!

I have a Radeon 9800 pro and it's a great card that's fairly cheap. I can run doom 3 and quake 4 smoothly at 1024x768 and HL2 and CS: Source run great on 1280x1024

[DoGGz]

SLI 7800 gtx 512mb.

Just anything that won't cause Windows to say 'WARNING: VIRTUAL MEMORY TOO LOW' please.

Thanks guys.

Is this the right type of one I need (ie. AGP)?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...819439-3415664

[journey075]

2x7800gt psh

[DoGGz]

2x7800gt psh

whoops, edited for your pleasure

[journey075]

SLI 7800 gtx 512mb.

*orgasm*

Is this the right type of one I need (ie. AGP)?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...819439-3415664

[NewJack33]

just get a new computer!

Is this the right type of one I need (ie. AGP)?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...819439-3415664

... I still don't know.

[journey075]

yeah thats agp and dont buy that one. you wont be able to run a single game with that POS. nvidia's fx series was absolute garbage.

[boost]

listen if you wanna play recent games you wont find a card to do it for less then 200-250. And you wont be running it on high settings. It costs to keep up with technology..

[SuperDave9x19]

Is this the right type of one I need (ie. AGP)?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...819439-3415664

... I still don't know.

No way man. the FX 5200 is a stripped down nothing. DON'T Buy it.

My current recommendation to AGP holdovers is the GeForce FX 6600GT for around $150.

There are some nice high end previous generation ATI Cards in same price range. I think the 9800 Pro is reasonable in cost now also.

It's the only one in my price range at the moment. And if it's better than my current setup, it's bought.

[journey075]

It's the only one in my price range at the moment. And if it's better than my current setup, it's bought.

youre not going to see improvements at all. you wont be able to play hl2+ and hl2 isnt even a current generation game really.

[midas06]

Hijack: which would be better -

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...n-45353646.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...n-45629783.htm

Mainly to run dual monitors, but also a little bit of gaming. AoE3 most probably.

[badandy519]

Between those two, i'd go with the 9600... It's going to be cheaper and has 256 mb ram and the 9800 only had 128.