[PHIL_M]

I need to upgrade my graphics card its a ATI RADEON 9100IGP 128MB and i am starting to get problems with the current games on the market at the moment, So i need some advice on what to upgrade to.

Cheers

Phil

 

[GreenBeast]

whats your budget and do you have an AGP slot or PCI-E?

 

[PHIL_M]

Anything up to ?100 and sorry dont no what a AGP slot or PCI-E is[:S]

 

[GreenBeast]

how old is your pc? its probably AGP

i just spent a shade under ?100 on a Ati Radeon X1600Pro

i've only tested it a little on half lfe 2 but looking at the performance online (tomshardware.com) its loads better than my 9800Pro, which is obviously better than your current 9100

and the few minutes i played of HL2 at quite a high res of 1440*900 ran smooth as anything

 

[PHIL_M]

Thanks for the info mate my PC is about 2 years old now.

I might give the X1600Pro a go then, i recently brought Dark Messiah and it will not work so def need to get it sorted.

I take it the X1600Pro is 256MB.

Phil

 

[GreenBeast]

the one i got was 512Mb

 

[GreenBeast]

do you know anything about you pc so we could identify what slot it has?

if not might be a good idea to download and run SiSoft Sandra 2007, it will tell you all sorts of info about your pc so you can get the right card

 

[PHIL_M]

Ok done that i got CHIPSET 9100 IGP AGP (0x5834)

So i take it its a AGP?

Phil

 

[GreenBeast]

go to the 'mainboard' section of the software and get the make and model of the motherboard

then we can be absolutely sure

i assume the current card is on the motherboard because it is IGP (Intergrated Graphics Port)

 

[PHIL_M]

Manufactuer ASUSTek Computer INC.

MODEL P4R800-VM

Think thats right sorry bit thick when it comes to this stuff.

Phil

 

[GreenBeast]

yep thats right and as suspected that board has an AGP slot

you free to pruchase an AGP card now

 

[PHIL_M]

Cool thanks for the help.[Y]

Any links for cheap cards.

Phil

 

[GreenBeast]

this is the one i bought

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24886

 

[PHIL_M]

Cheers mate

Just ordered it, is it something i could replace my self or should i leave it to an expert.

Phil

 

[GreenBeast]

can be done youself pretty easily

you just have to unscrew the side of your case, and remove it

as you currently have an intergrated card you shouldn't have anything in the AGP slot, it'll be the brown one on its own at the top slightly separated from the white slots

just slot your card in there and screw it in, you'll also have to plug a small power connector in, it'll be like the connector that goes into the back of the floppy drive.

then plug your monitor into this card connector instead of the one its currently plugged into

if nothing comes up when you boot then swap the lead back to your old connetcor and go into the bios (F2 or 'delete' during the system test)

go to the advanced section and change the 'graphics adator priority'

 

[PHIL_M]

Ok cool i will give it a go then.

Cheers

Phil

 

[PHIL_M]

Fitted card today and works a treat.[Y]

I am now looking to upgrade my RAM i currently have 512MB DDR-SDRAM how is the best way to go about this, i have been looking at this Corsair 1GB XMS3200 DDR SDRAM from Aria pc will this fit my system.

Cheers

Phil

 

[GreenBeast]

good stuff, always good when someone new starts upgrading, thats how i started, just fiddling about

you're board supports dual channel memory so you may be best to buy a matching 512mb stick , it'll be cheaper than a new 1gig stick will be a great upgrade

 

[klauster]

I have some Kingston DDR400 512meg sticks going cheap, pm me if your interested []

 

[PHIL_M]

It looks like i have 2 banks of 256MB so will i have room for anymore?

Phil