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Upgrading my graphics card


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#1
Kim888

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Hi, I need some information regarding graphics card compatibility. I want to upgrade my old computer. It has a 1.2 GH processor, 384 MB Ram, an Intel 82815 Graphics controller on a PCI bus.
I'm wondering if the ATI RADEON 9250 128 MB PCI Video Card would be compatible. I'm not too tech savvy, but I figured that if I tried a lower end card my computer might have enough power to operate one. Basically I want a 3D graphics card, as my computer now does not have 3D capabilities. It's a Gateway model with lots of room for expansion. Please let me know which card would work with my system and what else I need to do to be able to have 3D graphics, or whether or not I should even bother. Thank you so much.

(I also posted this in the hardware components forum, as was suggested to me, but this forum seems to be the appropriate one. Sorry for the double post.)
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#2
Titan8990

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I don't think i have ever seen a mobo w/o standard PCI slots so it should be compatable. But there is a possibility your power supply doesn't have anough wattage to handle it. Do you know how many watts your power supply puts out?

If you are interested in playing some older games a memory upgrade might also be needed. Also I would suggest trying to get a video card with 256mb ram (if your comp can handle it) as 512mb is almost the standard now.
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#3
HPDV8315LOVER

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I dont think there is a PCI Video Card with 512MB.
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#4
Titan8990

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There isn't, when I added a card to my friends comp I could only find a handfull for 256mb PCI cards. Ended up going with the geforce FX 5500 and it played all older games good for him.

Edited by Titan8990, 20 February 2007 - 05:51 PM.

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#5
Kim888

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Until I did some reading on the topic, I hadn't even considered the power supply and how important that part was. I don't know how many watts it is, I take it you have to open the case to find out. This computer originally had a 20 GB hard drive and 128 megabytes of ram, so I've already upgraded to 100 GB hard drive and 384 megabytes of ram. Since it's a 6 year old computer, I'll assume that the power supply wouldn't be enough to handle any more upgrades, therefore that would be another part to replace. I've already put 200 dollars into upgrading, and I think it's not cost effective to add anymore, so I think I'll forego the graphics card. Instead, I'll put that money towards buying a whole new system. My newer computer is almost a year old already, it's amazing how fast technology becomes obsolete. I might as well get a second computer with Windows Vista and all the bells and whistles, and keep this old computer as an emergency backup. So, thank you so much for the input, it is greatly appreciated, and I'll come back here if I have any more questions to ask. :whistling:
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