Graphics card advice needed

coco0981

Hi There
Hoping someone can advise me on what my options are. Mp pc has nVidia GE Force 6100 nforce 405 which to the best of my knowledge is not actually a graphics card as such, instead on onboard integrated graphics. Basically i want to know if this is crap for graphics (games don't look the best) and if so what my options are.
Have hopefully attached a picture of the available slots on the motherboard and the letters that are beside each one (PCI 1 has something in it even though i don't think i have a graphics card??)

Thanks

TerrorFirmer

Yes that's an incredibly poor graphics solution. But you already know that.

You have a pci-express lane there so the world is your oyster in terms of what you want to put in there. But first, throw down

1) The spec of your machine including power supply
2) Games you intend playing
3) Budget

And we'll be able give you exact recommendations.

coco0981

Its a basic iqon pc bought from tesco. I'm not great with computers so hope this all makes sense
DxDiag tells me this
AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual core processor 4000+ (2 cpu's) 2.1ghz
1982 RAM
Hard drive i'm not sure about seems to be 222gb partition 1 and 10.5 in recovery
Don't know what you mean by power supply (plugged into the wall is as technical as i get)

Games i intend playing are as far as i know fairly low intensity graphics wise e.g football manager, age of empires. Really i want a graphics card as much for an s-video out connection as anything so that i can stream video's on tv.
By the way i assume an agp card won;t fit into a pci slot cos i can get a nvidea ge force fx 5500 256mb which has an s-video out connection

As for budget assuming the free agp card is a no go then as little as possible tbh, as long as there is some improvement in graphics and the extra s-video connection are on it. Say less than 100 euro if possible

Thanks

Sqaull20

You have a dual core ( its weak, but its dual which is really important ) and 2 gigs of ram probably 533mhz, so your not doing too bad.

I wouldnt blow all your money on a card, as a balanced system is important.

Pc world have some good deals if you are near one, you can pick up a 8600gt 256MB DDR3 for €30, its a good match for your system and you can probably get a gig of ram for about €20.

AMD X2 4000
3gb ram
8600gt ddr3

would be good for even new games at low settings, games 2 years older should run fine.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=58192574

coco0981

Ok so i went to pc world today and they didn't have that card you reccomended. Most cards were ddr2 which i assume i can't use ???
These cards were there

Ge 9500gt 512 ddr2 for 69euro
Ge8400gs 256 ddr2 for 69euro
Ge8500gt 512 ddr2 for 69euro
Ge7200gs 128 ddr2 for 39
Ge 9500gt 256 ddr3 for 109euro euro

Assuming i can't use ddr 2 then that only leaves the last one(although there were cards there that were gddr3 whatever that is), is this a good card for my system, should there be cheaper available??
All advice much appreciated

Sqaull20

They are bad deals, wouldnt touch any of them.

Radeon HD 4670 €73 is a fantastic card, it blows away a 8500gt and all the other cards you have listed above.its great value


http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/1637126/art/sapphire-technology/radeon-hd-4670-512-mb-gdd.html

add a gig of ram and your sorted, every game out now will play on your system.

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/171020/art/corsair/value-select-ddr2-1-gb-pc.html

TerrorFirmer

Definitely a great card but if you're playing Age of Empires and Football Manager something like this is still way overkill, or even this is sufficient.

coco0981

ok thanks for all the advice. will probably get the Sapphire Radeon HD 4350 256MB DDR2, as i'm only a casual gamer. Last question though is about memory. i opened up the pc and both slots are taken up with 1gb ddr memory chips (Buffalo Select 1GB 667mhz CL5, 2Rx8 DDR2 SDRAM).
So how do i add ram, is 2GB all my pc can take or can i get a 2gb memory chip??
Thanks again

cian1500ww

smurfman4ever wrote: »

ok thanks for all the advice. will probably get the Sapphire Radeon HD 4350 256MB DDR2, as i'm only a casual gamer. Last question though is about memory. i opened up the pc and both slots are taken up with 1gb ddr memory chips (Buffalo Select 1GB 667mhz CL5, 2Rx8 DDR2 SDRAM).
So how do i add ram, is 2GB all my pc can take or can i get a 2gb memory chip??
Thanks again

Cruical have a scanner on their website that will scan ur pc and tell u everything u need to know

coco0981

This is what crucial said

Maximum Memory Capacity: 1048576 MB
Currently Installed Memory: 2048 MB
Available Memory Slots: N.A.
Number of Banks: 2
Dual Channel Support: N.A.
CPU Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
CPU Family: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4000+ Model 11, Stepping 1
CPU Speed: 2000 MHz

Any advice on what this means for me getting extra RAM??????????