Which Video Card is right for my desktop?

[anadolukartali1985]

i wanna upgrade my desktops video card but im not sure what to get.. i need yous help pls
what is the minimum video card should i get to play most games? and what do i look and watch out for before i purchase it?

OS: Xp
Model: HP a1210n
MB: i dont know
Ram: 2.5 Gb
CPU: AMD athlon 64 processor 3500+ 2.19Ghz

 

[Lutfij]

well, download CPU-Z from CPUID and look in the motherboard, graphics tab. If you have a PCI-E v1.0 slot then there is a problem. If you have a PCI-E x1.1 slot then you can move ahead with a purchase.

Reason being;
most people back during the time when nvidia launched its raving good 8000series cards, most people complained of getting no display after connecting to the PCI-E slot. later people found out you can't run a PCI-E 2.0 card in a PCI-E v1.0 slot but is possible in a CI-E v1.1

PCI-E 2.0/2.1 is backwards compatible with 1.1 slots - but they don't work on PCI-E1.0 slots(even after a BIOS update) besides its a slot version, a bios update can;t rectify the slot version. But some people were able to get a v1.1 slot with some of their configs.

hope this helps

 

[anadolukartali1985]

here what is says for the mb

 

[Lutfij]

since i did a few more digging on threads;

http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1146219

you'll understand what the poster says which only means you have PCI-E v1.0 and this is attributed to the RS480/SB400 chipsets - the can't offer anything beyond the v1.0 slot.

You could pick up an old GPU - like a 8600GT...going anything above that will require you to do a system overhaul...which i know you're less likely to do.

note; i wouldn't advise going for a 8600GTS as it needs a higher PSU wattage plus the necessary PCI express connector. Both of which are missing in your HP rig.

 

[rockyjohn]

Your PSU is will likely limit your range of options more than anything else. What make and model is your power suuply?

If you need help finding it, you might look at this page - which also discusses other systems issues and defining personal pererences and wants when upgrading a video card:

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/criteria.html

You might also look at this page which has recommended low-end (and therefore lower-power requirements) video cards:

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/nongaming.html

Since you have a PCI-e video slot, even though it is v1.0 you can run v2.0 cards since the cards are backwards compatible.

But let us know about your PSU and perhaps we can help further and be more specific. It is important to know the make and model as quality varies quite a bit between brands.

And you said you wanted to upgrade your card - so what card is in there now?

 

[Lutfij]

Since you have a PCI-e video slot, even though it is v1.0 you can run v2.0 cards since the cards are backwards compatible.

before i bought the 8600GT, i did a lil digging with the PCI-E lanes and the slot, after a while i was beginning to see that people were going through an unusual problem of not getting display from a functioning GPU, then it turned out that although PCI-E 1.0 is compatible with PCI-E 2.0(and that 2.0 is backwards compatible) people who had PCI-E 1.0a slots couldn't go for a higher end PCI-E 2.0/2.1 card but possible for PCI-E ver1.0b

I posted a link of the corresponding chipset, that should be evidence enough. In fact there was another poster on this section that couldn't get any display after dropping an ati 5770 in his rig but was able to run an 8600GT GPU.

After a CPU-Z check, guess what we found out? it was PCI-E 1.0a the one OP has ...need i say more?

 

[rockyjohn]

Everything I have read - including from the official PCI-SIG site about standards, says that that PCIe 1.0 and 2.0 are compatible. If compatibility is an issue in some instances, I think the problem is most likely that one - the mobo or card - are not truly built to spec.

I beleive you are generally better off with a PCIe 2.0 card - which means a later card with better architexture, more recent technology, and chips from smaller, more efficient process.

But still waiting to here what your PSU is as it could make all the discussions moot if it is too small or of poor quality.

 

[Lutfij]

But still waiting to here what your PSU is as it could make all the discussions moot if it is too small or of poor quality.

hmmm true, but something tells me its a 300W unit thats barely enough to power the innards...cheapo chinese unit ... like this?