im going to buy a video card for my desktop. What do i need to look for when buying? such as what does the 64mb 256mb etc mean? obviously higher is better and its room but what for? so im asking how can i understand the spec's on a video card to make the right decision

You actually need to know what is currently in YOUR computer in order to determine what will work with it.

Do you know the current specifications of your computer and if so please post the details here.

no problem

pentium dual core e2200 (2.2ghz, 1mb)

2gb ram

dell e198wfp 19 inch wide screen

intel integrated graphics media accelerator x3100

We need to know what kind of motherboard you have, because it will make a differance if you need an AGP or PCI video card. I noticed you have a Dell monitor is your computer also a Dell. If so you can get the specs for it using your service tag at Dell Support Site

it just shows the configuration it doesnt show nothing about the motherboard?

Download CPU-Z and view the Mainboard tab... It will give you the manufacturer and model of your motherboard.

dell 0k068d a00

Unfortunately I can't find much on this motherboard. What is the exact model of your Dell computer?

Or better yet... A service tag number???

It's PCI-E if it has a video card bus, some of these OEM boards do not. It could also be a slimline which would create other issues. I'll scour Dell for the motherboard part number and I should be able to track down the exact specs and the models it's used in, which matters because of the wattage of the power supply.

What do you need an upgrade for exactly? Trying to play a particular game that doesn't run or doesn't run well or are you doing video editing or trying to watch Blu-ray movies or what? These are all factors when choosing a video card.

edit: no go on the Dell part numbers, I'll look for preconfigured systems containing the parts we do know until you get back with either a model number or service tag number.

edit edit: Is it the Dell Inspiron 530?

its the dell inspiron 518


i just want a better overall picture. I have two cables to connect to my monitor a vga and a dvi cable. I always wanted to use the dvi cable over the vga cable but never did because i dont have a dvi port so i decided today to get a dvi port but why not just get a brand new video card that has a dvi port instead and more. Im not a gamer i just want a better overall display when watching movies or surfing the net. My current video card is stated above, its crap isn't it? lol. I think it is because my laptop screen looks so much better than my desktop screen and i just got a laptop this past month and just got a desktop this past january, not much time difference.

here are the ones im looking into

ATI Radeon 9200 256 MB AGP 3D Video Card TV-Out VGA DVI

NVIDIA GeForce 6500 256MB PCIe DVI Video Graphics Card

nVidia Geforce FX 5200 FX5200 AGP 128MB DVI Video Card

stealth s60 ATI Radeon 7000

VisionTek ATI Radeon HD2400 Pro

ATI Radeon HD 3450

ATI Radeon HD 4550

some of these might not work with my motherboard since i never knew about it being compatible with your motherboard

You'll want a PCI Express graphics card, but nothing too beefy. I'd go with the 4550 or a 4350 if you can find a decent price .

pci and pci express are two different ones correct. I cant get a pci right?

PCI-E is a longer slot than PCI (It's usually the closest slot to the CPU). PCI-E has a much faster data transfer rate than PCI. You would likely have a hard time finding a new PCI video card as it's been a long time (15 years?) since PCI was the hot thing. Assuming you have an empty PCI-E slot, you need to be careful what you buy for 2 reasons: 1. Video cards can get pretty big. You need to assure there is room on your motherboard and in your case for it (look at width, length, and height). 2. Some video cards require quite a bit of power (some need two power connections from the power supply). That's why exile360 has suggested the specific cards that he has.

You can look at pictures of motherboards on NewEgg.com if you want to see the difference between a PCI-E slot and a PCI slot.

since you mentioned it, i got to ask. When it comes to motherboards there are 2 sizes correct? one for standard size computer towers like mine and one for mini towers correct?. If i wanted to buy one i wouldn't need to look for a particular type for my dell inspiron 518?

It's a good time for Google and Wikipedia: Motherboard sizes. I don't know that buying a new motherboad for your Dell is a great idea. As time passes PC standards change for connections, data transmission types, component compatibility. It's not that you have to buy everything all at once, but you do need to assure that your power supply, case, cpu, memory, and peripherals are compatible with your motherboard.

oh no i wasnt saying im now looking for a motherboard to buy too. i was asking to know how motherboards work

with motherboards as long as it fits inside your computer tower and you buy/have the right parts to attach it with, your fine right?

Please download the attached file, open it and run the file inside the archive on your Dell and it should take you to your computer model on Dell's site.

Hi hello2007

I may not be sure about this but the MB for Dell computers may be still a propriety form factor for said model number and case. which you may not just switch out with any MB(Dell mb only). Also your model has only a 300 watt power suppy which may not support the videocard upgrade, you would have to upgrade the psu.

Check the Dell forum for the info needed for uprades.

Motherboard form factors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_form_factor

Good information there sho-dan, guess I was a little late for the party but I don't read this forum here as much as the other ones.

The attached file though should work for just about any Dell Computer including Laptops unless it is really old, then it might not work.

Hello AA
Teamwork produces the best results for solutions given.

I use to do frankenstein mods on the older dells way back when, using a drillbit, tap and a T wrench for the heatsink shroud location on the case. what a pita.

when i install the new video card am i suppose to take out the current one>intel integrated graphics media accelerator x3100 because i can't locate it on the pci slots so i don't know where to find it. Any help? the current video card came with the computer

If you have a tower, the plug to the LCD display, or CRT. Should be plugged into the video card.

EDIT: the current graphics card you can just pull out, grab it by the side corner, its held in by copper flat pins maybe with a plastic back... (I don't have a card laying around right now) as you remove the old one look and see how the new card will go in! and just push the new one in. Avoid touching any resistors, or electronics on the card. push it in by the edge, until its firmly seated... I changed out a Nvidia card for an ATI, 1 2 3...

Need more help than that post back please

No it's built-in to the motherboard probably. If you look at the connector where the monitor plugs in it should probably go directly to the motherboard.

You may need to setup the BIOS to use the new card by default though.

ok thanks

ok i need help here. My monitor has a vga and dvi-d connector. Its a 24+1 pin connector and most video cards have dvi-i connectors with 24+5 pins so i can only use these cards with a dvi-i to dvi-d converter but will that diminish the quality of the video card if used with a converter and if so will it be by alot?

You'd most likely not notice the difference. Which video card are you going with? Most of the modern cards (particularly the ones I pointed you to), should have DVI-D.

im still shopping online off and on untill i find one at a good price. None that i have seen have dvi-d just dvi-i. Even the ones you showed me. Im looking for a hd most that are really expensive i dont need since i dont want to spend that much money and i dont game on my computer just interested in movies and surfing the net

What is the native resolution of your monitor?

1440*900 60hz

You don't need DVI-D anyway then. DVI-D (or dual-link DVI) is only used for extremely high resolutions as far as I know. Besides that, as I understand it any DVI port that can convert to HDMI (including audio stream), which the one on the 4550 can, would be a fully digital port. Perhaps there's a difference in the number of connectors, but I doubt it. Have you also checked the pinout on your monitor? Remember, you're going from VGA to DVI, either type of DVI will give you higher bandwidth than VGA.

edit: here's a closeup of the DVI port on the 4550:Click to view attachment

yes my monitor is 24+1 dvi-d the ones i been seeing on video cards are dvi-i 24+5 so i would need a converter. I think the reason why dvi-i is so much more popular and used more is because it transmits video and audio while dvi-d transmits only video


edit: yes vga sucks whenever you here vga run lol

Ok, I found an image of the various port types for DVI, all labeled, but it's larger than I'd want to place inline so here's the link: http://www.avforums.com/forums/attachments...ector_types.gif

DVI-D has fewer pins (as you stated), but I'm still pretty sure that it would connect. As far as I know Apple Cinema displays use DVI-D and I have a 23" Cinema display connected to my DVI port with no convertor (the cable is built into the monitor) and it displays perfectly at its native resolution (1920x1200 @60hz) and looks beautiful. I'll do some more research on the ATI ports and get back to you with my results.

maybe your right exile but i searched dvi converters and they do exist and so they must exist for a reason. I hope your right though, i dont want to use a converter with a new video card if i dont have too

From here

Also note that the 4550 (and I believe all ATI cards in the 4000 series range with DVI ports) supports HDCP, which has a DVI-D requirement for the GPU and the monitor so if it was only sending an analogue signal it wouldn't function with HDCP media (such as Blu-ray and HD-DVD).

From here

I could be wrong about all this, but I've found nothing about any video card supporting just DVI-D. I'll have to check the AV (Audio-Video) forums for that, which I will do, but I think the ATI connectors are universal.

thats interesting if no converter is needed especially since dvi converters are being sold

Yes, as far as I can tell the convertors are for older cards. Ever since ATI started doing these "universal" DVI ports they use, I think they became unnecessary, at least for ATI . I do recall that ATI's old DVI ports on their cards years back were different and had fewer pins, but I think these are set for all types of DVI.

worst case scenario, ill have to buy a converter

Yup, but try it without first as it could be a waste of money .