how to tell if i can upgrade my video card

Hey guys, i was referred to this forum by a friend. I couldn't find any threads related to my question, so please forgive me. i'm in the market for a good graphics card after upgrading to a new 22" Samsung LCD monitor. people were saying that i couldn't upgrade the card if it was "integrated" into the computer and they told me to run this program called CPU-Z to get the info from my system to tell the specs, and if you can let me know if it's "upgradeable" or what not. just let me know what you need me to tell you about my entire comp from this little program... thanks alot for the help!

Reply to emceegrendel

We need those specs. Motherboard, power supply, is it a HP, Dell etc

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------------------------------ If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening
Reply to JAYDEEJOHN

JAYDEEJOHN wrote :

We need those specs. Motherboard, power supply, is it a HP, Dell etc

hey thanks for replying! my computer is a HP.. here are the specs you requested!!
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MOTHERBOARD
manufacturer: ASUSTek Computer inc.
model: Kelut 2.02
LPCIO: Winbond W83697HF

CHIPSET
Northbridge VIA KM400 rev. 00
Southbridge VIA VT8237 rev. 00
Graphic Interface AGP
AGP Revision 2.0
AGP Transfer Rate 4x
AGP SBA supported, enabled
Memory Type DDR
Memory Size 512 MBytes
Memory Frequency 200.0 MHz (1:1)
DRAM Interleave 4-way
CAS# 3.0
RAS# to CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 3
Cycle Time (tRAS) 7

ADAPTER TYPE
Chip Type: VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP
DAC Type: Internal
Memory Size: 64 MB
Bios Info: 98.D2.00.19

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thank you for replying again! please let me know if you need anymore info...

Reply to emceegrendel

OK. From looking at your specs, you have an old style agp system. The biggest problem is that theres still a little life in agp BUT, if you look it says 4x. That means how fast, or actually how much information can be transferred thru your mobo at a given rate. 4X is unfortunately low. Also, Im not sure if your motherboard has a agp slot for a graphics card. What Im saying is, its going to cost you more than its worth for a card, thatll be very performance limited, and thats if only you have a agp slot for a card

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------------------------------ If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening
Reply to JAYDEEJOHN

JAYDEEJOHN wrote :

OK. From looking at your specs, you have an old style agp system. The biggest problem is that theres still a little life in agp BUT, if you look it says 4x. That means how fast, or actually how much information can be transferred thru your mobo at a given rate. 4X is unfortunately low. Also, Im not sure if your motherboard has a agp slot for a graphics card. What Im saying is, its going to cost you more than its worth for a card, thatll be very performance limited, and thats if only you have a agp slot for a card

hmm.. i see, i'm pretty ignorant about hardware components. what and how do you think i should go about dealing with this primitive hardware? haha should i still try to upgrade the graphics card? or would it be better just getting a whole new computer all together?

Reply to emceegrendel

I'm all for trying to squeeze every last bit out of an old system but I'm sorry

to say it but it looks like you're so limited most things in your system that

buying a new computer looks to be your only option.

I'm guessing you're not up to building your own right?

Reply to gamecrazychris

Get a new rig. Even a cheap one thats got upgradeablility would soundly trounce that system

------------------------------ If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening
Reply to JAYDEEJOHN

A simple dual core, with a 150 dollar video card and 2 gigs of ram would be a night and day diffrence for you. Upgrade, its your best option right now to be satisfied with your computing experience.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.2g, 4 gigs 2x2 ADATA Pc 6400, XFX 8800 GTS 512 G92, GIGABITE GA-P35-DS3L, ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER PRO 7, Antec 900 case, Antec 500 earthwatt p.s. 27.5" Hannspreee monitor (oh yeah!!)
Reply to blacksci

thanks A LOT guys! i always wanted to build my own PC, but i dont have the knowledge or know how on how to. =( if i did upgrade to an entirely new system, how would i go about transferring all my data and stuff onto the new tower?

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Reply to emceegrendel

Go to cpu/newbuilds etc forum. They can help you not only select componxnts, but how to optimize them as well, plus allow for the use of your on info

------------------------------ If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening
Reply to JAYDEEJOHN

emceegrendel wrote :

thanks A LOT guys! i always wanted to build my own PC, but i dont have the knowledge or know how on how to. =( if i did upgrade to an entirely new system, how would i go about transferring all my data and stuff onto the new tower?

Another option is to buy a cheap AGP video card and use that in your computer. Your motherboard is from an HP computer and does have an AGP slot. You can get a new Nvidia GeForce 6200 AGP 8x on ebay for $30-$40 or less. This will be enough to run the 22" monitor (not gaming though). It's a big upgrade to the on board graphics you have now. The AGP 8x card will work in an AGP 4x slot. And since the 6200 isn't a high end card, the 4x slot shouldn't limit it.

Reply to orangegator

6800 gt or a 7600 gt in agp flavor would help him more then the 6200

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------------------------------ Q6600@3.2g, 4 gigs 2x2 ADATA Pc 6400, XFX 8800 GTS 512 G92, GIGABITE GA-P35-DS3L, ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER PRO 7, Antec 900 case, Antec 500 earthwatt p.s. 27.5" Hannspreee monitor (oh yeah!!)
Reply to blacksci

blacksci wrote :

6800 gt or a 7600 gt in agp flavor would help him more then the 6200

Yes these are faster...and more expensive. Plus, a 4x slot may limit them. A 6200 can handle up to a 2048 x 1536@85Hz resolution, plenty for a 22" lcd.

Reply to orangegator

Im quite sure both are under 100 $

------------------------------ Q6600@3.2g, 4 gigs 2x2 ADATA Pc 6400, XFX 8800 GTS 512 G92, GIGABITE GA-P35-DS3L, ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER PRO 7, Antec 900 case, Antec 500 earthwatt p.s. 27.5" Hannspreee monitor (oh yeah!!)
Reply to blacksci

I upgraded a friends AGP card from a 256mb 6200 to a 512mb 7600 GS, she was very happy with the quality and FPS of the 7600 playing WoW. 25+ fps on a 22 inch wide screen. It's not a demanding game, but extended the lifespan of her comp.

Message edited by dirtmountain on 05-20-2008 at 05:18:16 AM

Reply to dirtmountain

hey guys. would this card work with my comp by any chance? thanks again!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/eVGA-GeForce-7 [...] dZViewItem

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Reply to emceegrendel

emceegrendel wrote :

hey guys. would this card work with my comp by any chance? thanks again!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/eVGA-GeForce-7 [...] dZViewItem

No. That card is PCIe x16. You motherboard has AGP 4x

Reply to orangegator

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