Hey people, i have got an VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP video card and cannot play any recent game at all. So i am considering buyin an Nvidia card but dont know which one. I also dont know what card would be compatible with my computer. So this is some infomation about my computer,wat do you guys think would be best? Sorry if there is too much infomation.. CPU Properties CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 2166 MHz (6.5 x 333) 2700+ CPU Alias Thoroughbred-B CPU Stepping B0 L1 Code Cache 64 KB L1 Data Cache 64 KB L2 Cache 256 KB (On-Die, Full-Speed) Motherboard Properties Motherboard ID 06/26/2003-KM400-8235-6A6LYM4BC-00 Motherboard Name MSI MS-6786 Front Side Bus Properties Bus Type DEC Alpha EV6 Bus Width 64-bit Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR) Effective Clock 333 MHz Bandwidth 2666 MB/s Memory Bus Properties Bus Type DDR SDRAM Bus Width 64-bit Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR) Effective Clock 333 MHz Bandwidth 2666 MB/s Chipset Bus Properties Bus Type VIA V-Link Bus Width 8-bit Real Clock 67 MHz (ODR) Effective Clock 533 MHz Bandwidth 533 MB/s Motherboard Physical Info CPU Sockets/Slots 1 Expansion Slots 3 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 CNR RAM Slots 2 DIMM Integrated Devices Audio, Video, LAN Form Factor Micro ATX Motherboard Chipset KM400 Motherboard Manufacturer Company Name Micro-Star International Product Information MSI -- MICRO-STAR INT'L CO.,LTD. BIOS Download http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/bios/bos/spt_bos_list.php Physical Memory Total 447 MB Used 297 MB Free 150 MB Utilization 66 % Swap Space Total 1604 MB Used 270 MB Free 1333 MB Utilization 17 % Virtual Memory Total 2051 MB Used 567 MB Free 1483 MB Utilization 28 % Chipset Properties Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8378 UniChrome KM400 In-Order Queue Depth 4 CAS Latency 2.5T Integrated Graphics Controller Graphics Controller Type VIA/S3 UniChrome Graphics Controller Status Enabled Graphics Frame Buffer Size 64 MB Memory Slots DRAM Slot #1 512 MB (PC2700 DDR SDRAM) AGP Properties AGP Version 3.05 AGP Status Enabled AGP Aperture Size 128 MB Supported AGP Speeds 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x Current AGP Speed 4x Fast-Write Not Supported Side Band Addressing Supported, Enabled
You'll need to get a card in AGP format. PCI simply doesn't offer the bandwidth, and PCI Express (PCIe, completely different from PCI) isn't an option. What kind of games are you looking to play? How much are you looking to spend?
Anythin up till about £100 really. I have downloaded a couple of games that dont work. The new Scarface game, Unreal Tournament, Half-Life 2. basically all the decent 3D games. I got told it that my card is only 32mb and not directx supported or something. But I use to have a computer before this one, same make (Packard Bell), with an Nvidia graphics card. So I just thought id go and buy another one of them. Whats the different between AGP and PCI? Thanks
AGP is a dedicated graphics slot and bus on the motherboard, it is much faster than plain PCI, PCI isn't an option for good graphics performance. PCI Express (PCIe) is a totally different bus, it is the successor to AGP and you don't have a PCIe slot on your motherboard. You should be able to get a decent AGP card for that price. This looks like a good deal: ebuyer.com - Graphics Cards » Graphics Cards Nvidia » nVIDIA PCI-Express Range » Product details That's an AGP card, so it should just install into your motherboard, assuming you have a good quality power supply.
Ok thanx for the replies. I posted on another site and some one told me to buy a new computer. I have only had this computer (packard bell i-extreme) about 3 years. Surely i could just fit a graphics card that is suitable. Well I think im gonna buy one out of PC World. Found this one like the one u posted i think. So will this do it? Heres the link: BFG 3DFR66256 GEFORCE 6600 256MB AGP GRAPHICS CARD from PC World - The latest BFG PC Graphics Cards at cheap prices.
