[WoodyGoody]

Hey people, first of all im not very technology smart, so i'd apreciate youre patience, second of all im not sure if this is the right place to post so im sorry if it isn't. Right I bought a computer recently and went to play some games i had, now my computer isn't built for gaming but it should be able to handle it, but the games either didn't work or had terrible graphics problems, granted this is because i have an onboard graphics at present. Now a mate gave me his graphics card (GeForce FX5500 256mb) But i couldn't get it to fit in the computer, now my brother told me that i don't have anywhere to put in a graphics card but there are alternatives to AGP and PCI by putting something into a Blue slot (See attatchments) could do with help and suggestions ASAP, sorry about the lack of computer lingo, i hope you will have the patience to help. Thankyou.

Specs:
Model: EI402
Model No: ISO-400PP
Processor: Intel Celeron 440 2.0GHz
RAM: 1Gb
HD: 80Gb
Graphics: Onboard Intel GMA 950
Operating system: Windows Vista Home Basic

[Triple6]

The big yellow slot is a PCI-Express x16 slot, its for adding in graphics cards and is the replacement for AGP.

The smaller yellow slot is a PCI-Express x1 slot for add-in cards, it a replacement for PCI(although now they co-exist together).

The two white slots are PCI slots, they can be used to put in a PCI video card like the FX5500 but the PCI interface isn't well suited to gaming graphics cards and the FX5500 is an old and weak video card.

The four blue connector is a SATA connector for hard drives and optical drives.

What games do you wish to play and how much do you want to spend on a graphics card?

Also you should read the sticker on the power supply and tell us what wattage it is and how many Amps there is on the +12 volt rail. Mid to high end graphics cards need more power then most standard power supplies can provide.

[Mosquito555]

Hi man!

Well, first of all lets sort things out:

PCI: A standard interface used for many years in computers. A lot of older computers had their graphics card on the PCI slot. It is used until now since a lot of hardware come in PCI packaging, sound cards for example. I can locate 2 PCI slots on your motherboard, the 2 white slots.

AGP: Came out to replace PCI as the standard interface for graphics cards. You do not have an AGP slot on your motherboard, so it is impossible to install an AGP card.

PCI-E: Replaced both AGP and PCI for high end hardware. It is used mostly for graphics cards though. Comes into 2 specs, x1 and x16. As I can see the long yellow slot is your PCI-E x16 slot while the sorter yellow slot is the PCI-E x1. Keep in mind that graphics card cannot be installed on the x1 slot, you must use the x16.

SATA: The blue slots on your picture are the SATA slots. They are used for installing drives like Hard disks and DVD-Roms...Those slots have nothing to do with the AGP slot you are looking for...Nor can they be used for anything other than drives as far as I know... Maybe you got something your brother said wrong?

What can you do?
You can of course buy a simple PCI card but it is not encouraged. The cards will be crap and I doubt that you can even find one.
So, take advantage of your PCI-E slot: Buy a cheap PCI-E card like these if your budget is tight:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130068

More cheap but less powerfull than the above (Still significantly faster than the poor 5500FX):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814129121
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130270

If you have more money you can get even better cards, just be careful, they have to be PCI-Express x16.

[WoodyGoody]

Originally Posted by Triple6

The big yellow slot is a PCI-Express x16 slot, its for adding in graphics cards and is the replacement for AGP.

The smaller yellow slot is a PCI-Express x1 slot for add-in cards, it a replacement for PCI(although now they co-exist together).

The two white slots are PCI slots, they can be used to put in a PCI video card like the FX5500 but the PCI interface isn't well suited to gaming graphics cards and the FX5500 is an old and weak video card.

The four blue connector is a SATA connector for hard drives and optical drives.

What games do you wish to play and how much do you want to spend on a graphics card?

Also you should read the sticker on the power supply and tell us what wattage it is and how many Amps there is on the +12 volt rail. Mid to high end graphics cards need more power then most standard power supplies can provide.

First and foremost, thankyou very much for your time and suggestion, now i know what ive got in my pc I have no idea which bit on the power sticker you would like so ill put it all down.

"INPUT:230V,4A,47-63Hz
OUTPUT:+3.3V 20.0A (ORG), +5v 30.0A (RED),+12V 15.0A (YEL)
+5Vsb 2.0A (PURP), -5V 0.5A (WHITE),-12V 0.5A (BLUE)
FUSE RATING:5A,250V~ (+3.3V & +5V =185W MAX)
MAXOUTPUT POWER:300W,(+12v,+5V&+3.3V TOTAL)"

The games i wish to play aren't exactly huge graphics games, i want to play things like Battlefield 2, Garrys mod, Counterstrike and things like that, ive got a console for all the big games like Farcry 2 etc.

Once again thankyou for your help, i look forward toa reply.

[WoodyGoody]

Originally Posted by Mosquito555

Hi man!

Well, first of all lets sort things out:

PCI: A standard interface used for many years in computers. A lot of older computers had their graphics card on the PCI slot. It is used until now since a lot of hardware come in PCI packaging, sound cards for example. I can locate 2 PCI slots on your motherboard, the 2 white slots.

AGP: Came out to replace PCI as the standard interface for graphics cards. You do not have an AGP slot on your motherboard, so it is impossible to install an AGP card.

PCI-E: Replaced both AGP and PCI for high end hardware. It is used mostly for graphics cards though. Comes into 2 specs, x1 and x16. As I can see the long yellow slot is your PCI-E x16 slot while the sorter yellow slot is the PCI-E x1. Keep in mind that graphics card cannot be installed on the x1 slot, you must use the x16.

SATA: The blue slots on your picture are the SATA slots. They are used for installing drives like Hard disks and DVD-Roms...Those slots have nothing to do with the AGP slot you are looking for...Nor can they be used for anything other than drives as far as I know... Maybe you got something your brother said wrong?

What can you do?
You can of course buy a simple PCI card but it is not encouraged. The cards will be crap and I doubt that you can even find one.
So, take advantage of your PCI-E slot: Buy a cheap PCI-E card like these if your budget is tight:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130068

More cheap but less powerfull than the above (Still significantly faster than the poor 5500FX):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814129121
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130270

If you have more money you can get even better cards, just be careful, they have to be PCI-Express x16.

Thanks as well your reply was very helpful, im now thinking of investing in a PCI-E card if what you say is right, My budget is around £100. Although i would like a good card, i hesitate spending too much. Thankyou again and i look forward to your reply.

[mothergoose729]

300 watts is no enough power to install a graphics card. You can do it by all means, but your system performance might actually decrease. Also, you likely don't have a 6 pin connecter, which means you can't even power a graphics card on. Look at the cords going out of your PSU, do they all connect to something? Make sure to find out if you have a six pin connector. If you do, you can look into low wattage cards, especially since most of the power in your power supply is on the 5 volt and 3 volt rails, not the 12 volt which is what your CPU and graphics card uses.

Anyway, to play the game you described, a 8600gt will do fine, but a 8800gt is still within your budget and well worth the extra money. Pricing and availability is different in the EU though, so if you can't find that then a 3850, 9600gso, and a 9800gt are all good substitutes.

As for alternative power supplies, I would suggest pretty much anything made by antec. A 480 earthwatts antec power supply will be more then adequate for your system, and if very affordable. Corsair, coolmaster (with the right series), and a select few Rosewill powersupplies are also good and well priced. Make sure when you buy one that you get at least 450 watts and that is has a 6 pin connector.

If you cannot buy a new power supply and you really want a card, then look for the PCI version of the Radeon 2400 pro. It will be noticabley faster then any onboard video that you have, but be warned don't expect any miracles. Here is a newegg link, you will have to find a european supplier to get a match. The card is cheap, but you get what you pay for. It is low wattage, and requires no 6 pin connector. To install simply push the card into your PCI slot, secure it with screws as the design of your case dictates (mine has little metal vent like things in the back). The install the provided software you should be ready to go. Those are all of your options. Good luck.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131082

[Mosquito555]

Originally Posted by mothergoose729

300 watts is no enough power to install a graphics card. You can do it by all means, but your system performance might actually decrease. Also, you likely don't have a 6 pin connecter, which means you can't even power a graphics card on. Look at the cords going out of your PSU, do they all connect to something? Make sure to find out if you have a six pin connector. If you do, you can look into low wattage cards, especially since most of the power in your power supply is on the 5 volt and 3 volt rails, not the 12 volt which is what your CPU and graphics card uses.

Anyway, to play the game you described, a 8600gt will do fine, but a 8800gt is still within your budget and well worth the extra money. Pricing and availability is different in the EU though, so if you can't find that then a 3850, 9600gso, and a 9800gt are all good substitutes.

As for alternative power supplies, I would suggest pretty much anything made by antec. A 480 earthwatts antec power supply will be more then adequate for your system, and if very affordable. Corsair, coolmaster (with the right series), and a select few Rosewill powersupplies are also good and well priced. Make sure when you buy one that you get at least 450 watts and that is has a 6 pin connector.

If you cannot buy a new power supply and you really want a card, then look for the PCI version of the Radeon 2400 pro. It will be noticabley faster then any onboard video that you have, but be warned don't expect any miracles. Here is a newegg link, you will have to find a european supplier to get a match. The card is cheap, but you get what you pay for. It is low wattage, and requires no 6 pin connector. To install simply push the card into your PCI slot, secure it with screws as the design of your case dictates (mine has little metal vent like things in the back). The install the provided software you should be ready to go. Those are all of your options. Good luck.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131082

True, installing a new graphics card with a cheapo 300Watt PSU could lead to problems. But he just want a cheap card, right?

-He doesn't need a 6-Pin connector. Many cards use just the PCI-E bus to get running power. My card doesn't even have one! This is very common to low end cards as the ones we both suggested. I also came across cards using a 4-pin molex connector for extra power. So, yes there are many alternatives!

-His +12Rail provides 15amps. Well, that's not good but since he intends on using a low end card it won't be impossible. The GeForce/Radeon 7300/X1300 could run on similar PSUs with no problems and while paired with power hungry Prescott P4s. It would be riskier to buy any 7600/x1650 card but totally doable with this PSU!

-Any card better than the above will trigger the need for a better PSU. But come on, would you spend money to get an 8800 or 9600 and pair it with a Celeron? And those games, they can be almost maxed out by way older systems at fair resolutions (max 1280x1024 for smooth play)!

[BG-0]

Hmm. If not considering the crappiness of the Celeron, I'd say you could get http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=31341 and http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=33747

[WoodyGoody]

Originally Posted by Mosquito555

True, installing a new graphics card with a cheapo 300Watt PSU could lead to problems. But he just want a cheap card, right?

-He doesn't need a 6-Pin connector. Many cards use just the PCI-E bus to get running power. My card doesn't even have one! This is very common to low end cards as the ones we both suggested. I also came across cards using a 4-pin molex connector for extra power. So, yes there are many alternatives!

-His +12Rail provides 15amps. Well, that's not good but since he intends on using a low end card it won't be impossible. The GeForce/Radeon 7300/X1300 could run on similar PSUs with no problems and while paired with power hungry Prescott P4s. It would be riskier to buy any 7600/x1650 card but totally doable with this PSU!

-Any card better than the above will trigger the need for a better PSU. But come on, would you spend money to get an 8800 or 9600 and pair it with a Celeron? And those games, they can be almost maxed out by way older systems at fair resolutions (max 1280x1024 for smooth play)!

Right i basically know kinda what i have to get now thanks to you guys , after those comments ive been looking on ebay and other such places, i would rather just get a card than a PSU as well as i dont plan on playing any Hardcore games, ive found a "nVIDIA GeForce 7300", now all the specs look Cushty, but the processor "Pentium III, AMD Duron or Athlon class processor or higher ", is my processor capable of handling it? once again apreciate the help from all so far.

[WoodyGoody]

Also a quick note, looked at the ATI radeon as well, is there a difference between the Nvidia and that? if so which is better? Thanks again.

[BG-0]

Originally Posted by WoodyGoody

Also a quick note, looked at the ATI radeon as well, is there a difference between the Nvidia and that? if so which is better? Thanks again.

What would you mean? Is Radeon better or worse than nVidia? No. Or something else you mean? 7300 is about 5 times worse than the Radeon 4670 if that's what you meant.
About the sys reqs, Celeron is better than Pentium III (3).

[WoodyGoody]

Originally Posted by BG-0

Hmm. If not considering the crappiness of the Celeron, I'd say you could get http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=31341 and http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=33747

That first PSU looks quite good, and fairly cheap too, will my Processor not be able to handle it?

[WoodyGoody]

Originally Posted by BG-0

What would you mean? Is Radeon better or worse than nVidia? No. Or something else you mean? 7300 is about 5 times worse than the Radeon 4670 if that's what you meant.
About the sys reqs, Celeron is better than Pentium III (3).

Sorry for the confusion, i mean is there much difference between the "nVIDIA GeForce 7300" and the "ATI radeon x1300"?

[Mosquito555]

Your CPU is far better than the minimum requirements for the cards. You won't have any problems regarding CPU power.

Both NVIDIA and ATI cards use a numbering system to identify their cards. Generally, look for the 3 last digits. For example the equivalent to the Geforce 7300 is the Radeon x1300, for Geforce 8400 is the radeon HD2400 etc. Just pay attention to the model you get, for example an x1300xt is better than an x1300pro, a gf7300GT is better than the GS etc.
Try to avoid models followed by LE or SE as they are usually much underpowered cards aiming for the ultra low budget market. I've seen the x1300xt running and I believe it's quite powerfull for the price. The pro wasn't that bad on the same games (WoW, PES5 if I'm right, and Half Life 2).

Just to make sure, in case you need to get a better PSU in the future pay extra attention to the amperage value of the +12V rail. Many PSUs come with more than one +12V rail. Add those values together, if they are about 30-35amps then your PSU will be good enough for most of today's cards and safe for future use. The same rule applies if the PSU has only one rail. Well, that's general rules it is more complicated but you get the idea!


EDIT: If you mean difference in performance...Well it depends on the card generation. Generally both cards of the same line have similar performance. This applies to the comparison between gf7300 and radeonx1300 as well.

[BG-0]

Well, Geforce 7300 GT is very much better than Radeon x1300.