Graphics cards!

[MutD]

Hi all,
I want to buy a graphics card to replace the crappy one I have now, but I haven't got a clue which one to buy!! I want to spend $250 tops. I dont have an agp slot

[SGC_Geek]

What are your system specifications?

[MutD]

p4 3ghz
776mb ddr ram
40gb hdd
windows xp
u need anything else?

[MutD]

oh yeah its a dell pc!

[SGC_Geek]

How did you manage to wind up with no agp slot?

[MutD]

No idea! I'm almost sure I dont have an AGP slot, I have three slots that are the same length that I am assuming are pci slots, but nothing else. An agp slot is smaller than pci slots arent they?
Is agp a lot better than pci?

[Jazagod]

no brown slot in there?

[Olley]

then u probably have an on board gpu. it would be a good idea to get a new mobo so u can get a propper gfx card

[SGC_Geek]

I don't think there are many PCI graphics cards around. What is your default on-board video card?

And yes, you are missing out by not having an agp slot.

[Jazagod]

almost a question!

some p4's have the PCI express, could this be why his mobo doesnt have an Agp slot? I'm buying a new laptop with the PCI express, and i'm sorta curios prior to getting it.

[Omegamerc]

Originally Posted by Jazagod

almost a question!

some p4's have the PCI express, could this be why his mobo doesnt have an Agp slot? I'm buying a new laptop with the PCI express, and i'm sorta curios prior to getting it.

If it has AGP it wont have PCI-E and vice versa; there is no real gain (Yet) from one over another but thats just a matter of time. Most people are waiting for the tech to mature to get real performance out of it.

[MutD]

I definitely don't have an agp slot, but what is pci-express? How do I know if I have that?
If I need to upgrade my mobo would I need to change the psu aswell? I read somewhere that I would have to.

[Olley]

u only need to upgrade your psu if the current one doesnt provide enough power for the new setup. if you buy a high end g-card u probably will have to get a larger psu but i dont think that u do for just a new mobo. try to find out how much watt yours provides

[MutD]

I have the same PC as this guy; http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthr...dimension+2400

Would I need to upgrade the psu if I went for a pci-express card? How much would it cost to upgrade the mobo and the psu?

[MutD]

This thread would probably be best in the hardware section! Can somebody with relevant powers please move it?

[Omegamerc]

For a PCI-E or an AGP slot you would first need to buy a new motherboard that has that slot and that fits a celeron in it. That would range from 80-150$. A good psu will go for 100$. Again like its been said depending on the video card you buy - you might or might not need to buy a PSU.