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Technical Question

I am not very aquainted with the hardware for a PC. I am wanting to upgrade my video card so my games will run smoother. Right now I have a Intel Extreme Graphics Controller.

Chip Type: Intel 82845G/GL Chip
DAC: Internal

I don't understand this, so my question is: Could I use an AGP Interface Video Card? If it helps, I cannot find anywhere on my system specs where anything is integrated.

Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated.....

Comments

  • dsorrentdsorrent Member CommonPosts: 1,627

    We need a little more detail on your current system... I'm assuming you have like a Dell, Gateway, HP or something... if you could post your make & model of the computer, that should give us enough information to help you out.

  • vrtldavevrtldave Member Posts: 558

    step one open computer... step two look for a smallish slot next to your pci slots... step three shove non crap card into slot... step 4 tell your computer,from bios, to use new graphics card in the smaller slot... step 5 praise me for being god.... step 6(optional) buy me a new graphics card...

    image

  • DekronDekron Member UncommonPosts: 7,359

    usually motherboards that have integrated gfx chips do not have an agp slot, so more than likely you won't be able to upgrade.

  • dsorrentdsorrent Member CommonPosts: 1,627


    Originally posted by dekron
    usually motherboards that have integrated gfx chips do not have an agp slot, so more than likely you won't be able to upgrade.

    This is true most of the time, but I figured we should get his make and model number before shattering his hopes. There are some models which do have integrated graphics and then an AGP slot for "upgradeability". There's even some Gateway's now that ship with Integrated Graphics and have a PCIe slot too.


  • Nomad_SoldieNomad_Soldie Member Posts: 7
    Sorry, I have a Dell 2300....
  • DekronDekron Member UncommonPosts: 7,359



    Originally posted by Nomad_Soldie
    Sorry, I have a Dell 2300....



    Sorry, you can't upgrade, very well that is.

    http://support.jp.dell.com/docs/systems/dim2300/specs.htm

    You could still get a PCI gfx card, but they suck, but may be better than your integrated chip. If you go that route you will need to set your jumpers on your mobo to turn off the integrated chip.

  • terstaxterstax Member Posts: 353

    Wait a sec, before you go telling him to swap jumpers. First off, none of that is necessary. The first step would be to go into the BIOS and change the primary graphics adapter once the new one is installed. For example, there may be an option to switch from PCI to AGP. That's what you'd want to do. Now since we know he has no AGP slot, what he will want to do is go into BIOS and lower the maximum dedicated video memory to the absolute minimum. This is also what I had to do since I have no AGP slot either. Next, once Windows has rebooted, select start>control panel>performance and maintanence>system>select the hardware tab>select the device manager button. You will now see a list of all your hardware. Select the display adapters and then right click on the adapter you no longer want to use. Choose disable. The system will ask you to reboot and from now on, Windows will no longer use the resources for that adapter. To re-enable it again at a later date, simply reverse the process bu selecting enable. Go back into your BIOS etc.

    By the way, I have a Radeon 9250 PCI (not PCIe) and I have absolutely no problem running the latest games. It has 256 MB of ram and cost just $130 at Best Buy. Yes, I know AGP is superior if only because it has more throughput, but alot of times the average user will never realize the performance gain. All is not lost just because you don't have AGP.

  • DekronDekron Member UncommonPosts: 7,359

    I said that because not all PCs have the option of turning onboard video off in bios, you must do it by switching it off with a jumper config, that's how my old EMachines is. BTW, even if he has both bios and jumper options, it is better to switch the jumper off as this completely shuts down the onboard video while switching it off in BIOS does not.

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