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pasternakski -> RE: How to tell what Video card? (10/27/2005 9:17:15 PM)
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I completely agree with you about the proper role of graphics in computer games, but I also think you're right that the wave of the future will drown us if we don't climb into the boat with everybody else.
I recently bought and installed a new video card and had the same problems you describe. Maybe I can help a little as a result.
The place to start (if you haven't already) is by running a DX dialog and getting the specific hardware and configuration info on your computer (depending on the version of Windows you are running, you need to find the "run" command, and enter "dxdiag" in the box you get when you find it. In the analysis, you will find information on what's in there now).
If you go to a site called PC Pitstop, you can get a free analysis of the current capabilities of your computer and recommendations of what improvements you should make.
One thing you are facing is the limitations imposed by age of your computers. A Pentium 2 processor is not going to give you the high-end performance you'll need to run a really heavyweight video card, and you probably don't have enough "box" to install the amount of memory required to run the really complex games (512 mB is becoming pretty much the standard requirement these days - see, for example, Civ4). It may be time to think about shelling out a few hundred bucks for something new.
In any event, once you know what you've got and what the PC Pitstop analysis recommends, I would go to either your computer's manufacturer's site or to the Crucial Technologies site and find out how much memory your computer can handle (the PC Pitstop analysis will give you the "slots available" information, although I would crack open the box and verify that before buying anything, just to be sure). I recommend Crucial because I had very good luck doing business with them, and their site helps you pick out the exact SIMM or DIMM you need for plugging into your computer.
Next, it's time to pick out a video card, and that's the scary part, as you already know. My computer had a 16 mB card in it when I bought it, and it performed well enough, but a 16 mB card ain't sh1t anymore. I was going to put in a 256 mB card, but decided, because of price, that I didn't really need THAT much capability. I settled on an ATI Radeon 9600 128 mB card that sold for about 75 bucks on the Newegg site (the more up-to-date 9800 cost about twice that, and there are new cards coming out now that make my outfit about two generations old, which is about where I always seem to be). Newegg has a one-year unconditional return policy, so if you happen to have a compatibility problem or whatever, you can send it back and get the right one. Generally speaking, though, the middle-range video cards generally work with a system running a recent version of Windows (2000 or XP), but you've got to be careful not to get one that your system is not capable of running (another argument in favor of replacing instead of upgrading).
While you have your box open, take a gander at the card that's already installed (you should know what it is as a result of the DX dialogue and PC Pitstop analysis) so that, if your computer can handle a bigger, more sophisticated card, you are familiar with the "guts" and can easily pop out the old and pop in the new.
So, I dunno. With computer prices being what they are these days, you can get pretty good gear that's decently up to date for $600 - 700. I spent about $150 upgrading my old box (which has a Pentium 4 1.8 gHz processor that's still okay, but not cutting edge anymore) from 256 mB of memory to 768 mB and throwing in the new video card. That should keep it alive for another couple of years or so, but it's now right up against what it's capable of handling.
All I can say is, "Good luck." Once I gritted my teeth and went ahead with the purchases, the process was pretty easy, and I'm glad I did it. I hope my experience is helpful to you.
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