Why is my new graphics card not enough?

nobodyslove

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I just got a new grapics card for my Windows XP. A Diamond Stealth ATI Radeon 9250 with a spaking new power supply.

And yet... I still cannot play the games I want. Error message: "Your Grapics card does not meet requirements"

PLEASE please, help me with this. I was foolish and relied on a random computer tech who obviously did not listen to me when I said I wanted to game freely over any game.

Games tested and failed: Star Wars the Old Republic, Rift and Spore Creature Creator.

Games Playable: Zoo Tycoon, Battle for Middle Earth I and II and Red Alert 2.
 

trapper

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Even with that GPU I'm assuming the rest of his PC is an older one, and thus wouldn't do all that much for him.
 

nobodyslove

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I can and I most certainly will.

MY power supply was upgraded, I have no idea how to check it to know what wattage is, but will it work?
 

trapper

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The wattage should be on a sticker on the side facing you when you open your case.

What CPU and motherboard do you have?
 

nobodyslove

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I have a Pent 4 processor with 3 gigs
also two sticks of memory.... its still a good desktop.
 

nobodyslove

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um... It was upgraded tho, so it wasnt relabled.

Pentium 4 with 3.00 ghz and P4SD-LA?
 

trapper

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We need to know your specific motherboard. If it doesn't have a PCIe slot you won't be able to do too much with a video card. From the card you bought I assume you have an AGP slot, but if we don't know the motherboard we can't tell.

As for it being a good desktop...that may be. But if you want to play games like SWToR you'll need a faster CPU, in addition to a faster GPU.
 

trapper

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What do you mean it was upgraded but not relabled? Upgrading the PSU means you pull out the old one and install a new one. The new one should have the sticker for it, not the old PSU.

As for that motherboard, well you'll be a bit stuck for upgrades. It only supports AGPx8, and doesn't support any PCIe video cards. There isn't much you'll be able to do with that system to get it running newer games.
 

nobodyslove

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I know and I am really stupid when it comes to comps, i dont know where to look.

Man- ASUSTeK Comp inc
model- P4SD-LA
chipset- Intel i865p/pe/g/i848p

brand- American megatrends inc
version- 3.19
 

trapper

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I posted just after you posted your answer, but didn't see your post before I hit submit. You gave me the info I need.

From my last post: As for that motherboard, well you'll be a bit stuck for upgrades. It only supports AGPx8, and doesn't support any PCIe video cards. There isn't much you'll be able to do with that system to get it running newer games.
 

nobodyslove

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But dont understand... my tec sent my system info to SWToR and they said the only reason I couldnt play was I didnt have a 3x pixel shooter or something... My computer is running fine and it has the right everything to play these games....

Should I have never upgraded my computer to begin with? Did I just waste all that time and money?
 

trapper

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From the perspective of SWToR I hate to say it...but yes. Your CPU might be able to load the game, but your FPS will be 30 at most, probably averaging 10-15, dropping to 1-2 in main hubs. And thats on low settings on the low resolutions. Even with a new GPU the CPU will still hold you back from that game.

For the other games you listed you should be fine to get another, newer (but still many years old) AGP card. Those games aren't so demanding. But even then, any game newer than 3 years old will run like a snail.

Your best bet would be to find an ati 4650 or 4670 that use AGP. It won't run SWToR, but you'd be good to play spore, Battle for Middle Earth and the like. That is if you can't afford a new PC entirely.
 

nobodyslove

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ah well, thank you for being honest.

So... what is AGP?
 

fb39ca4

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You got seriously trolled by that computer tech.

AGP is a type of bus that your CPU uses to communicate with the graphics card. Modern PCs use PCIe, so you will have to hunt around for a card that actually supports AGP.
 

trapper

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My sister, who now has my C2D and 3870 PC wouldn't even know what a CPU or GPU was. People need help with PCs, even if they don't know much about them.

Good luck Nobody, hope you can get playing soon.
 

nobodyslove

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>.< ugh what should I do? Get my money back?