Which Video Card?

I have a Compaq Presario AMD Athlon XP 3000+ 2.09 GHz 32-bit. I'm running 703MB of ram(which i hope to upgrade soon) and just installed Vista Home Premium(because of a bad virus on my XP). I've been using a Radeon 9200 video card(which i'm sure is pretty ancient) that a buddy gave me because it had S-video and have used it for a few years with no problems. Since updating to Vista, the video seems choppy at times and also random colors mainly green and purple pop up on my desktop. I understand its an old memory card and probably just isn't well supported by Vista, just wondering what type of card i should invest in. I don't play many games at all. I use my computer for watching tv and movies. I don't have a nice tv so i need a card with S-video. Any other info needed just let me know. Also just wondering how to tell how much RAM my computer can support. Thanks for the help.

 

Any low end graphics card should probably suit you fine. Do you know what graphics card slot you have on your motherboard? Or the computer or motherboard make and model?

 

Thanks for the quick response! The computer is a compaq presario SR1012NX. I'm not sure about the motherboard. Is there any way of finding out without opening up the case? Thanks

 

Your computer can handle 2 g max
http://crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Presario%20SR1012NX

 

motherboard layout for Compaq Presario SR1012NX Desktop PC

 

Thanks for the two links. Very helpful!!! Also under performance info in my system, it says total available graphics memory - not detected. Is that just because of the video card?

 

Your computer can have a AGP type card or an old fashioned PCI type card. Same as mine except the AGP part. This is the best card available in the PCI type (and it's the one I have installed) and this looks like the best in the AGP type.

Hope that helps!

 

Then I would not worry about a graphics card now. You should go for more RAM - and with Vista, I would take it up to 2G, and toss what's in there now. Then, live with that for awhile and you may find that graphics card you have now suits your needs.

Do note that Compaq (and most other PC makers) are not known for using power supplies with lots of overhead. Graphics cards can eat more power than CPUs so anyone considering upgrading graphics must ensure their current PSU can handle the additional load.

I always get concerned when I see statements like this. It is a user responsibility to keep the interior of the case clean of heat trapping dust, dirt, dander, microscopic critters that eat dander, and all their droppings! :eek

I recommend the interiors be inspected once a month, and cleaned as necessary. Heat is the bane of all electronics. Warranties do not cover damage from heat in improperly maintained computers. The most important thing to remember is to unplug the computer from the wall, and touch bare metal of the case before reaching in to discharge any static in your body. Then stay in frequent contact.

 

If you download and run this it will give you lots of info about what you have inside.

http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

 

Y0ou can get a 6600 or 6800 gt.

 

thanks everyone for your help. i did actually just clean out the inside of my computer a few weeks ago and added a new hard drive. i try to keep it as clean as possible. i will try upgrading my ram first and see if that helps. and i do have a pci video card. thanks again for all the help