Curse

Lateralus · Dec 31, 2005, 07:18 PM // 19:18

The scan went faster than i expected but I didnt get what I was looking for. Maybe someone can tell me if this is PCI or AGP?

If you cant read this or if this image wont work for you...

Video Board
Description ______________ Your Results
Brand/Model _____________ SiS 760
Resolution _______________ 1024x768 pixels
Colors __________________ 16 million
DirectX version ___________ 5.03.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
OpenGL version ___________ 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Acceleration options _______ Enabled
Performance _____________ 108.41 MP/s (No similar CPU/MHz/video)

Alias_X · Dec 31, 2005, 08:34 PM // 20:34

It looks to me like you have onboard graphics...

Judging by that, I doubt the mobo has PCIe, but probably AGP.

Hit START, hit RUN, then type DXDIAG. press ENTER. Let it run, and under video, or direct x, or system... one of the tabs, there should be your system specs. It should have the amount of ram you have, and, your Graphics card.
Chances are your vid card is onboard, which makes this a little bit more difficult.

You should be able to open up your case, and look at the motherboard. I think the AGP slot is long and straight, then forks to the left.

eom · Jan 02, 2006, 10:36 PM // 22:36

the red one is an agp slot.

but, you really need to look up your motherboard online and figure out what agp it supports, if at all -- 4x, 8x, etc

Alias_X · Jan 02, 2006, 10:46 PM // 22:46

Also, if it is a new computer, you will void your warranty if you have any by opening the case and installing the graphicsc card.

Old Dood · Jan 02, 2006, 10:50 PM // 22:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alias_X

Also, if it is a new computer, you will void your warranty if you have any by opening the case and installing the graphicsc card.

That depends....Dell for example does not void your warranty if you open the case. How else can you upgrade? I do that all the time. You have to open the case for simple cleaning from time to time. There might be some places that sell computers that still have that policy...I for one would not buy from them. Also you can usually tell if that is the case buy a sticker or some kind of security tape is on the case...or even screws that have something on them so they can tell if they have been removed.

Lateralus · Jan 07, 2006, 05:29 AM // 05:29

I got one more question that I can think of for you guys, actually three. What are the pros and cons of a PCI and an AGP? Which one is better in your opinion? Which one do you prefer?

Thanks for the all help before, this is probably the last question ill have on graphics cards.

Dex · Jan 07, 2006, 05:45 AM // 05:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lateralus

I got one more question that I can think of for you guys, actually three. What are the pros and cons of a PCI and an AGP? Which one is better in your opinion? Which one do you prefer?

Thanks for the all help before, this is probably the last question ill have on graphics cards.

It's a question of bandwidth. You want to have the most bandwidth between the video card and your system. The bandwidth is used to transfer data between the card and the system (duh), but mosty upstream to the video card. The more you have, the smaller the performance bottleneck (I won't say that more video bus bandwidth = faster becuase that isn't necessarily the limiting factor). Basically, when it's all said-and-done, a plain old PCI video ends up having less bandwidth than AGP 1x. AGP bus interfaces go from 1x to 8x in speed, which breaks down like this:

1X - 266MBps
2X - 533MBps
4X - 1.07GBps
8X - 2.1GBps

PCI-Express, the newest of the video interfaces, can currently make it up to 16x with one video card. Most SLi configs give 8x to each card, but newer ones can do 16x to each card.

So, PCI < AGP < PCI-Express.

BTW - Lateralus is my favorite Tool album. Saw Tool 7 times on that tour including once in Japan...=P

Lateralus · Jan 07, 2006, 11:27 PM // 23:27

If PCI-Express is the best right now would I have to buy a PCI-Express motherboard or would a PCI motherboard work? Also, can you tell me if this is the best PCI-Express video card for about $300, is there anything bad I should be aware of this (like overheating or high req for this). If there is a beter card than this for about the same price on NewEgg plz post it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161157

Narada · Jan 08, 2006, 12:44 AM // 00:44

I don't know too much about heating and such for PCI-Express as I don't use it, but yes, you do need to buy a motherboard with a PCI-Express slot.

Mister Overhill · Jan 08, 2006, 11:58 PM // 23:58

Put an ATI 9550 ($69.95 after rebate) and another 512mb of ram in my grown son's new budget E-machine, so he could try out Guild Wars and the latest racing games that he is into. For a low end card, it runs sweet.

Dex · Jan 09, 2006, 12:48 AM // 00:48

I like the new ATI cards, but for around $300 I would go with a nVidia GeForce 7800GT card. More bang-for-your-buck. Here's an example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130249

Just make sure you get one with a copper cooler on it -- not an aluminum one.

And yes, you would need to get a motherboard with a PCI-Express slot if your board doesn't have one. Do you know if you have AGP or not?

Lateralus · Jan 09, 2006, 03:24 AM // 03:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Overhill

Put an ATI 9550 ($69.95 after rebate) and another 512mb of ram in my grown son's new budget E-machine, so he could try out Guild Wars and the latest racing games that he is into. For a low end card, it runs sweet.

If I am going to spend $600 on a computer I might as well go the rest of the way to making it pretty dam nice. Kind of like ‘Go big or don’t go at all’.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dex

I like the new ATI cards, but for around $300 I would go with a nVidia GeForce 7800GT card. More bang-for-your-buck. Here's an example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130249

I think this is the best one I see for my price range. I think im going to settle with this

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dex

Just make sure you get one with a copper cooler on it -- not an aluminum one.

I see some copper on the outer sides in the middle of the cards details, is this what you mean?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dex

Do you know if you have AGP or not?

Doesn’t mater to me now I guess… Ill just buy a whole to motherboard, lol

Mathias Deathwater · Jan 09, 2006, 03:54 AM // 03:54

Sorry to kinda hijack this thread, but I have a small, non-guild-wars-related video card problem myself. All I really need to know is how to tell the difference between pci-express and normal pci. I know my motherboard doesn't support VGA, but I'm not sure if I can use a pci-express card. If I can, I was thinking of getting somthing like this. Thanks, and sorry again.

Lateralus · Jan 10, 2006, 03:24 AM // 03:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mathias Deathwater

Sorry to kinda hijack this thread, but I have a small, non-guild-wars-related video card problem myself.

Np, your question is basickly something I would ask myself.

Almost forgot a important question about the graphics card you suggested Dex. In the specs of the graphics card it says it needs "System Requirements Minimum of a 450 Watt power supply" does that mean just the card alone uses that much energy? If not, does it reach that much use commonly or rarely?

Dex · Jan 10, 2006, 09:10 AM // 09:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lateralus

Np, your question is basickly something I would ask myself.

Almost forgot a important question about the graphics card you suggested Dex. In the specs of the graphics card it says it needs "System Requirements Minimum of a 450 Watt power supply" does that mean just the card alone uses that much energy? If not, does it reach that much use commonly or rarely?

Nah. It just means that your system should have a 450 Watt total so it can keep up with the power requirements of the whole system.

The link I posted is the card that I have. It does have a copper cooler on it and stays quite cool at the speeds it comes clocked out of the box. I've never seen it go over 45C after hours of playing.

Dex · Jan 10, 2006, 09:15 AM // 09:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mathias Deathwater

Sorry to kinda hijack this thread, but I have a small, non-guild-wars-related video card problem myself. All I really need to know is how to tell the difference between pci-express and normal pci. I know my motherboard doesn't support VGA, but I'm not sure if I can use a pci-express card. If I can, I was thinking of getting somthing like this. Thanks, and sorry again.

Well, your board certainly does support VGA (Video Graphics Array). If your computer doesn't support VGA then you bought it like 15+ years ago.

Maybe you're thinking of AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)? Both an AGP port and a PCI-Express port look very different than a regular PCI port. They are both longer than a PCI port, and both an AGP port and a PCI-E port suitable for a video card will have a plastic clip at the end of the slot to help hold the card in place. You won't have more than 1 AGP or PCI-E port on the board unless the board is SLi-capable (2 video cards at once), and you'd know if it were.

Lateralus · Jan 11, 2006, 01:38 AM // 01:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dex

It does have a copper cooler on it and stays quite cool at the speeds it comes clocked out of the box. I've never seen it go over 45C after hours of playing.

What does clocked mean? I see and hear this oftenly.

Vnewbie · Jan 11, 2006, 05:42 AM // 05:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supremacy Of Malice

I got a new comp that’s pretty nice but my graphics card is actually worse than my last one. I need somebody’s opinion on the deal posted below. If somebody could tell me what the best graphics card is that’s no more than $300 that would help a lot also.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...onics&v=glance

Should I just buy this cheap one or just spend a decent amount on one?

Ooh, thats practically my video card, and it works great! Just beware of the "not compatable with windows XP" thing... At any rate, you could also try taking out the video card from ur old pc, and putting it into ur new one (unless you traded/sold/trashed/(you get the point) it). Then again, you might not have the tech savvy (though all you really need is a philips screwdriver; trust me, im 13 and replaced my video card myself...its really easy)

Dex · Jan 11, 2006, 05:59 AM // 05:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lateralus

What does clocked mean? I see and hear this oftenly.

It's just the frequency that something is running at, in Hertz (1 MHz, or MegaHertz, is ~1 million Hertz).

Processors, memory, and communication buses in your PC function in cycles, or pulses. When people talk about how something is clocked, they're talking about clockspeed, or the frequency of the pulses. When you're talking about like hardware (i.e., the same type of processor chip), higher pulse/cycle rate, or clockspeed, is faster.

However, don't be fooled into thinking that higher clockspeed = more power/faster. There are Athlon64 chips clocked at 2GHz (or ~2,000 MHz) that crank out more raw power than a Pentium 4 running at 3.4GHz (or ~3,400 MHz). The clockspeed only translates into power when you're comparing apples to apples.

Lateralus · Jan 12, 2006, 11:14 PM // 23:14

Ive herd a couple times that AMD Athlons are beter for gaming than pentuims. Is this ture?