Suitable Display card 1920 x 1080 resolution

[Anemophilous]

Hello,
I have purchased a new Benq E2420HD (24" 1920 x 1080 Monitor).
I have just realised that my Dell Dimension 3100 PC (2Gig Ram) will only display to a max of 1400 x 1050 as it uses a Generic PnP Monitor setting usingan Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family.

As the Dell PC will not take any increase in Ram beyond the present 2 Gig installed, what is the best solution. Do I purchase a new video/display card ? If so what would you recommend ? I don't play computer games and just want to view normal videos at 1920 x 1080.
Thank you !

 

[plznote]

What upgrade slot do you have?
Are you gaming?

 

[jerreece]

Dell Dimension 3100 Desktop
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dfb/desktops/dimen_3100/pd.aspx?refid=dimen_3100&cs=28&s=dfb

Dimension 3100 Service Manual
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim3100/en/sm/index.htm

Slots
2 PCI slots
1 PCIe x1 slot

We're talking Pentium 4 + DDR2

Any video card capable of 1920x1080 is going to be wasted on his CPU. Not to mention there's no mention of AGP or PCI-E x8 or x16 on Dell's site. It also shows 1GB of RAM max.

This system needs replaced to be honest.

 

[jyjjy]

Any video card capable of 1920x1080 is going to be wasted on his CPU.

He isn't talking about gaming. Almost any reasonably current discrete card should do.

 

[jerreece]

Yes, but all they have is PCI-E 1x or PCI for slots. So "reasonably current" isn't what he needs. He needs something specific. And that is, more than likely, a PCI based video card.

nVidia 8400GS PCI DX10 $42.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134073

Of all the inexpensive PCI GPUs, this supports DX10 (and also DX9). Most of the others only support DX7 or DX8 at this price point. So this is a good option.

 

[jyjjy]

That has nothing to do with the CPU though. The card will cost more if it must be PCI or PCIEx1 but I don't think the interface should be much of an issue for a non-gaming card.

 

[jerreece]

That has nothing to do with the CPU though. The card will cost more if it must be PCI or PCIEx1 but I don't think the interface should be much of an issue for a non-gaming card.

That's because I missed the line in the OP stating they didn't want to play any games. If someone's going with a 1080p monitor, I'd assume they either play games, or watch Blu-Ray movies (or perhaps photo edit). Otherwise such a high resolution sort of seems like more than is needed. But that's all about personal preferences.

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, the 8400gs is probably about right.