Need Advice on a new graphics card please

Hi all, been a long time since I posted on MG but I need a little help.

I play Asheron's Call and they recently put out a new expansion pak and it has new graphics update that my old card can't handle at all.

I have an ok computer that i built using some old parts from my last computer and some new parts.

The graphics card however is one of the old parts

I need advice on a good card to buy that would be somewhat cheap (i am now in college) and can put out a good display and handle new graphics in online games.

My current stats are:

Windows XP service pack 2
IE 6.0
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 1300
MoBo: Asus a7n8x deluxe
mobo chipset: nvidia nforce2 ultra 400
ram: 512mb pc3200 ddr
current card is an Nvidia Vanta 16mb (yea i never knew that, that's really bad i think)


Thanks in advance to anyone with some suggestions. I just need to know that the card is not going to cause any system errors or anything like that.

If you need any other system info let me know. Thanks again,
Ed

 

100$ or so buys you a 9200/6200 128mb more then enough for your system. check out newegg.com for better prices.

 

I bought a PNY geforce 6200 128mbWhen I took my old card out and put the new one in it did nothing and showed a black screen.

Any ideas? (I have my old card in right now)

 

what size is your power supply and what is the recommened wattage for the card?

 

well the computer boots up i don't think its the power supply.


the supply is 420 watt max and it is either a 350w or 250 w card.

 

I am wondering if it has something to do with my monitor???


HP pavilion mx70

Also, there is a place on the card to hook up a power cable but i don't know if i'm supposed to since they didn't include one in the package. And in the instructions it only mentions the geforce 6800 needing a power hookup

 

Hook up one of the four pin connectors from your power supply to it and it should fix the problem. If it has a place for one, it needs it. Try that

 

go with your old card, remove all drivers related to the card (use drivercleaner). Do you get a post? (the boot sound when the pc starts)

 

The power not being hooked up should'nt just outright make his card not boot should it? I thought it would just downclock the card a good bit, correct me if I'm wrong. Was your old card a PCI card or AGP?

 

Check this out...http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1212072&Tab=2&NoMapp=0

 

I used Driver Cleaner, I cleaned using Nvidia... I guess that's right eh?

Uhh I don't know if I got a post, it kind of just makes the noise of scratching the HD and then some beeps, clicks, and boots. I suppose I do get a post.

I'm going to try to install the card again.

I wanted to ask, Am I supposed to install the new drivers and then install the card?

Do I have to do anything else before un-installing the old one?

 

Even with the power hooked to the card, it still is just a black screen.

Uhh... my old card was a 16mb AGP card and my new one is a AGP card.

I wonder if something here isn't compatible for some reason...

 

Hmm, I am back at home now so I have my other computer's monitor, I hooked that up and still nothing.

When it is not connected it says, Check Cable Connections, or something but when I connect it, that goes away and its just a black screen.

My computer is booting all the way up, no beeps or nothing, the card is all the way in.

I don't know what could be the problem, if no one has any ideas, I'm going to go over to best buy later and see if the geek squad can fix it. lol

 

Your new card might be AGP 8x and your motherboard might not support 8x....

 

My new card is AGP 8x and my mobo supports AGP 8x

 

Solution Found:

No one suggested that it could be a bad card (manufacturer defect). Turns out I bought exactly the same card and it worked like a charm.

Although in higher resolution text is a little squiggly. I've already upgraded to the newest Nvidia Display Driver, do I need to upgrade something else?