video card

[Guest]

I have a new Compaq 5010US (P3 866 MHz, 484MB RAM). I do not believe it has a separate video card. When I am online playing games, the action goes very slow and I was thinking of putting in a video card. Firstly, I do not know if this will fix my problem. Secondly, I'm not sure what card to get. I do not play any 3D games, but I might like to have a TV tuner. I believe the problem is with my computer, since when I play at work, the speed of the action is normal. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Crashman]

If it has an AGP slot, buy an AGP card. If not, buy a motherboard AND an AGP card.

Back to you Tom...

 

[Negaverse23]

Your CPU might be under heavy load. Find out which programs you have running and scan your system for viruses/worms. What's your internet connection speed?

<font color=red>It is the weakest link. They are not ready yet many have tried and failed with it.</font color=red>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

ooooh
theres a big hint!
484Mb ram!

that most likely means you have 512mb, but some 28mb of it is being used as graphics memory.

ouch.
with the possible exception of the upcomming N-force, ALL integrated graphics solutions SUCK for 3d games.
firstly try to find out what motherboard it is... im thinking either the i810 or i815.

as for what graphics card you should get... hmmm
either something from the geforce 2 line or the ati radeon, possibly the new radeon2 7500. ati cards always do good tv in and out.

have a look round. see whats out there and what u want to spend. come back and check up with us smart monkeys if u wish.

when u do get a proper 3d solution your will undoubtedly thank us profusely, worship our feet and offer your firstborn daughters up as thanks (well one can hope anyway)
*grins*
good luck

Religious wars are 2 groups of people fighting over who has the best imaginary friend.

 

[AEboy128]

ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/consumerdocs/EURP/198666-001 GraphicsCard.pdf
I dunno how to do FTP url links...

According to this guide he can upgrade with an agp card. He has the i815 chipset. This info can be found right on compaq's website. Maybe an AIW radeon or a radeon 7500 would be good for you.

My system: <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=8946" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=8946</A>

 

[Guest]

I also checked with compaq and they told me to clean up my drive by deleting my temp files and to disable some programs from running at startup. I had already done all that though. I also downloaded some program that they told me about which I now forget (something or other 8.0). It seemed to help some. I also scanned for viruses. My question was whether or not a new video card would help the speed of the game I was playing (billiards). Even though the balls move around like they are in mollasses, the video looks perfect. And the only time I seem to have this problem is when I play this game online. Also the computer came with 128 MB of RAM (up to 11MB allocated as video memory). I have installed another 256 MB of RAM myself. And I don't think it's my modem, because I have a cable modem and it's usually faster that the T1 we have at work. I know that you guys are probably rolling your eyes at the newbie. A lot of you have probably built many computers yourself, and here I am thinking I am such a stud for putting in my own memory. If I get a card it will probably just be a hundred bucks or less (probably less). I hate to spend that much money if it won't fix my problem. In fact, I hate to think about spending a hundred bucks just to play pool online, but I figure there might be other things that will improve with a new card that I just haven't found out about yet. Thank You all for your help so far.

 

[SerArthurDayne]

Hehe, good thing you have the i815 and not the i810... else you'd be stuck with the integrated AGP or a PCI graphics card.

If you don't play many games on your PC, you don't need to spend much to get decent performance. A Radeon LE will run you about 80 dollars after shipping, or a much faster Geforce2 GTS will be about 100 after shipping.

"Laziness is a talent to be cultivated like any other" - Walter Slovotsky

 

[AEboy128]

I say go with the radeon LE you can get one at Newegg. That should improve performance for the game. Is the game 3d or 2d??

My system: <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=8946" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=8946</A>

 

[Guest]

It's a billiards game, so it's pretty much 2D.

 

[Negaverse23]

The i815 isn't bad at all if your using it for 2D so I don't think that would be the problem.
-Edit-
Can you find updated graphics drivers?

<font color=red>It is the weakest link. They are not ready yet many have tried and failed with it.</font color=red>

 

[HonestJhon]

my dads friend has the 815, and that thing can run 3d pretty good, but not the newer games...
stuff like counterstrike, mechwarrior4, and battletech.
those are pretty 3d intense, but not that new...
my dad has the 810, and it just sucks..and there is no option to upgrade it at all...
considering that it has three pci slots on his mobo, and only two work....that is pretty crappy..
one is taken by the audio/modem riser, and the other is taken by the network card..
the other one will not detect anything...so no upgrades unless i either figure out how to fix the slot, which isnt happening, take out the sound card, which is not going to happen, or take out the lan card, which is also not going to happen. so i think that my dads card is peaked out as far as graphics goes...
oh well.
good luck!

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[Guest]

If you only experience it while you're online, then it is more than likely your connection speed and not your video card. How do you connect to the internet at your house and at work?

 

[Guest]

At home I have a cable modem. At work we have a T1 line. The funny thing is that when I get online at home everything else besides the game is faster than at work.

 

[Guest]

Then I'd have to agree with Crash's earlier statment - get an AGP graphics card. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg. You can get a GF2 MX400 with 64MB RAM for $50-60.