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PCI Graphics card?!

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  • 07-03-2008 11:23am
    #1
    Smiley012
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭


    Ok, so having established that I have a crappy computer, I want to make it just a little bit better, but as the motherboard is crappy, I have no AGP or PCI-E slot for a gfx card.

    So, within the small range of PCI cards, I'm looking for people so suggest what is the best one I can get?

    The model of my machine (i painstakingly found out) is a packard bell imedia 1418, you'll see what I mean when you check the specs!

    I just want to use it to play World of Warcraft, so I just need it to run a bit more smoothly than how it is currently running.

    Also, its rather loud, only one on-board fan for the heat-sink, could it be the PSU?

    I'm still a n00b, go easy on me!

    Thanks!!


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    #2
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    PCI cards are a lot slower then their AGP/PCI-e counterparts, and obviously the best PCI card available is still painfully slow in comparison to even a low end card from either of the other formats.

    The prices are also ludicrious, and totally uneconomical. My suggestion would be to look for a PCI card on either Ebay or adverts.ie - 20-30 euro should net you something adequate for WOW, which is fairly hardware friendly. Aim for an Fx5200 class card.

    Otherwise, this isn't too bad from Komplett. As I said, there are better PCI cards out there, but the prices are so high I couldn't justify recommending them to anyone (looking at about 200% the price of the pci-e counterpart, with about a mere 50% of the performance).


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    #3
    SickBoy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,529 ✭✭✭SickBoy


    From looking at the spec on the PB website it shows a pic of the motherboard. It looks like it has a 1x and 4x pciE slot. Perhaps you could get a 4x card or mod the slot to accept a 16x card...???


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    #4
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    In that case you should be able to use the 4x slot for a 16x card, if its open ended straight off the bat, if not you should be able to mod it. Even a 40 euro budget pci-e card will absolutely destroy any current pci card available performance wise.


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    #5
    Smiley012
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭Smiley012


    oh so it looks like i could use a PCI-E? I was told by a computer shop i took it down to told me that it was pci only, so i'm confused!!

    can anyone suggest the best card to buy from seeing the specs? iMedia 1418, will post link later on.


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    #6
    SickBoy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,529 ✭✭✭SickBoy


    Here's the link http://support.packardbell.com/uk/item/index.php?i=spec_callisto2gv&ppn=PB34207601
    I could be wrong but that looks like 1x and 4x pciE slots...


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    #7
    Smiley012
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭Smiley012


    Well as far as I can see, I can only see two slots at top left side of the mobo, so whatever they are, I need to be able to fit a gfx card into one of them :) thanks for the help by the way guys...

    my WoW runs very slowly and jittery and just looking for something to make it run a bit smoother!


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    #8
    SickBoy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,529 ✭✭✭SickBoy


    The white slots in the top left are normal 32bit pci slots.
    It's the brown ones to the right I'm referring to.


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    #9
    Smiley012
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭Smiley012


    oh really? the small brown ones to the right of the pci slots? cool, i have no idea what they are! i need to get hardware lessons... desperately.


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    #10
    SickBoy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,529 ✭✭✭SickBoy


    Don't let their size fool you ;)


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    #11
    Smiley012
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭Smiley012


    ha! brilliant.

    so do we know what smiley should buy? if smiley is told, smiley will buy.


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    #12
    SickBoy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,529 ✭✭✭SickBoy


    There's lots of people in a similar position to you after buying a cheap Dell server a few months ago. They have a discussion in the tweaking/modding forum regarding what card to get and how to modify the 4x slot.
    Have a read..
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055196950


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    #13
    toco123
    Registered Users Posts: 595 ✭✭✭toco123


    Once modified.. you should buy a cheap graphics card as the computer is barely worth upgrading anyway to something such as:
    http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=332301

    As for the sound problem... open up the computer and find the source of the sound.


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