[tjm62204]

i bought a dell dimension 4500S back in AUG/2003.i recently wanted to upgrade my graphics card because the newer PC games would run slow or my card would just not beable to support any of these new games.so i recently purchased a radeon 9800 pro atlantis video card to be installed by a guy at work.unfortunetly when i brought it in he told me that my system is a "server" and that it cant be upgraded.he opened it and showed me(card too large to fit).is he 100% correct or can i buy some kind of adapter or amoething...ANYTHING???if worse comes to worse ill get a new computer and try to sell this one but id rather not.if anyone has a comment or any help at all please let me know.....thanks.

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Unfortunatly it looks like you bought a very nice AGP graphics card but your motherboard doesn't have an AGP slot to put it in. From what it looks like the only slots you have on your board are PCI which means one of two things have to happen:

1) You return the radeon and purchase another that connects via PCI slot instead of AGP
--OR--
2) You can purchase an entirely new computer and put your Radeon into that one.

Now, you may have heard about certain PCI to AGP converters that will allow you to put an AGP card into a PCI slot however these devices are very limited in which cards they can be used with and on top of that, I have yet to find a reputable place that will sell these. In my opinion, if you aren't able (or willing) to return the AGP card you have and purchase a PCI version then you should definantly spend the extra bucks and get a more up to date computer with an AGP slot.

You can check out this fairly high end PCI graphics card that I found on tigerdirect.com:

http://www.tigerdire...1946&CatId=1603

its not as good as the Radeon you have, but hey, nothing that runs via PCI is going to be nearly as good. My reccomendation, as I have said before is to purchase a new computer with an AGP slot. (you can get a modestly priced kick-[bleep] system custom built from http://www.ibuypower.com if you want to go that route)

Also, if you dont mind playing frankenstein with your computer, you could lok into purchasing just a new case and new motherboard (that is compatable with your current memory of course) and just transplanting all the CD/DVD/HD drives and other PCI cards you have into the new board, but thats only if you like tinkering with things like that.

--Chris

[cheathawk1]

Unfortunatly it looks like you bought a very nice AGP graphics card but your motherboard doesn't have an AGP slot to put it in. From what it looks like the only slots you have on your board are PCI which means one of two things have to happen:

1) You return the radeon and purchase another that connects via PCI slot instead of AGP
--OR--
2) You can purchase an entirely new computer and put your Radeon into that one.

Now, you may have heard about certain PCI to AGP converters that will allow you to put an AGP card into a PCI slot however these devices are very limited in which cards they can be used with and on top of that, I have yet to find a reputable place that will sell these. In my opinion, if you aren't able (or willing) to return the AGP card you have and purchase a PCI version then you should definantly spend the extra bucks and get a more up to date computer with an AGP slot.

You can check out this fairly high end PCI graphics card that I found on tigerdirect.com:

http://www.tigerdire...1946&CatId=1603

its not as good as the Radeon you have, but hey, nothing that runs via PCI is going to be nearly as good. My reccomendation, as I have said before is to purchase a new computer with an AGP slot. (you can get a modestly priced kick-[bleep] system custom built from http://www.ibuypower.com if you want to go that route)

Also, if you dont mind playing frankenstein with your computer, you could lok into purchasing just a new case and new motherboard (that is compatable with your current memory of course) and just transplanting all the CD/DVD/HD drives and other PCI cards you have into the new board, but thats only if you like tinkering with things like that.

--Chris

[hacp]

Wait. Is it that your case is too small for your video card?If that is the case, then get a low profile video card. Is your motherboard agp or pci-e?

[hacp]

Yes, i just saw your computer. It needs a low profile video card. It is also a pci slot. Get the ati radeon 9250 pci card. Thats my only advice to you.

[tjm62204]

thanks guys.ill probably just end up getting a new computer.i heard the dell 8400(i think)is good for gaming...if anyone knows anything about this computer please let me know if its worth the money.....thanks again

[cheathawk1]

Personally I wouldn't go with another Dell, but hey thats just me. Another thing though, seriously check out http://www.ibuypower.com . you can build a much better computer for a much better price there. Check out what I was able to build from ibuypoower.com, it costs less than the Dell your looking at and its got more RAM, a bigger hard drive, a better sound card, a much better Motherboard, a DVD player, a dual layer +/- DVD Burner! and a faster processor. Plus, on top of all that, its still about $150 cheaper! than that Dell! (plus it looks a he%% of a lot cooler than the Dell and its a lot easier to upgrade in the future.)

Specs:

Case ( Raidmax 268 ATX Mid-Tower Case w/350W Power Supply Silver )
Meter Display ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( None )
Case Lighting ( None )
Power Supply ( Standard Case Power Supply )
Processor ( [Socket-775] Intel® Pentium-4 Processor 540 [3.2GHz, 1MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, HT Ready] )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )
Motherboard ( [Socket 775] Abit AS8 i865 Chipset w/LAN, 5.1 Sound, IEEE-1394, USB 2.0 8x AGP Motherboard ...[back order] )
Operation System ( None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only )
Memory ( 1024 MB Dual Channel [512MB X2] DDR-400 PC3200 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )
Video Card ( Nvidia Geforce-4 MX4000 128MB 8x AGP Video )
Case Round Cable ( None )
USB Port ( Build-in USB 2.0 Ports )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( None )
Hard Drive ( 120 GB HARD DRIVES 120 GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA-100 Hard Drive )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
Raid Controller ( None )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
MP3 Player ( None )
Raid Configuration ( None )
CD/DVD Drive ( None )
TV Tuner ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( 52x32x52 CD-RW Drive Beige )
Sound Card ( Creative Lab Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit 7.1 )
Power Protection ( None )
Headset ( None )
Speaker System ( 600W PMPO 3 PCS Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )
Fax Modem ( None )
Printer ( None )
Printer Cable ( None )
Network Card ( 10/100 Network Onboard )
Floppy Drive ( Mitsumi 1.44 MB Internal Floppy Drive Beige )
Zip Drive ( None )
Monitor ( None )
Keyboard ( PS/2 104 Key Windows 98 Keyboard Beige )
Mouse ( Microsoft IntelliMouse 1.1A USB Internet Mouse Beige )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )

--Chris

[tjm62204]

thanks bro,ill have to take a look

[Deadringers]

hey i have a dell laptop! its gr8