NationStates Jolt Archive

Quick question: I have an intel integrated graphics chipset and wish to install a 256MB video card. Should I expect any problems?

Quick question: I have an intel integrated graphics chipset and wish to install a 256MB video card. Should I expect any problems?Prolly not. What board do you have & what card do you want to stick in it?

Prolly not. What board do you have & what card do you want to stick in it?

I currently have an Intel® 945G Chipset with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950.

This is what I am looking to get:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/XFX-GeForce-6200-AGP-Graphics-Card-PVT44AWANG/sem/rpsm/oid/157386/catOid/-13043/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

I currently have an Intel® 945G Chipset with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950.Interesting, but what motherboard is it?

I'm not too sharp on intel based HW, but I am fairly certain boards with that chipset haven't been made with AGP ports. Look for a PCIe version of the gfx card, or it won't work.

I'm guessing you have one of those Intel D945something boards, but clarification could be helpful. Still, assumig you can find a PCIe gfx card you like, there shouldn't be any problems. Keep in mind that you'll need a decent PSU (and possibly a PCIe power connection adaptor cord thingy) and perhaps some extra case ventilation to avoid overheating. Prefab desktops often suffer from poor cooling.

Just don't spill water on it.

Make sure you've got an AGP on the board and you'll be fine.

....On the other hand, why not get something like the 7600?

Quick question: I have an intel integrated graphics chipset and wish to install a 256MB video card. Should I expect any problems?

Depends ... sometimes

If you have AGP slot you are fairly good but if you are trying a PCI (Not PCI-E) the voltage of the PCI slots makes a difference ... I have had a few "surprises" that way in the past

I currently have an Intel® 945G Chipset with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950.

This is what I am looking to get:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/XFX-GeForce-6200-AGP-Graphics-Card-PVT44AWANG/sem/rpsm/oid/157386/catOid/-13043/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

If you have an AGP slot for it you should be peechy keen for the most part ... the only real problems I have had is with PCI

Vittos the City Sacker, unless you have a nonstandard, nonprefab PC, your motherboard doesn't have an AGP slot. It does, however, have 1 PCI-Express slot. So don't bother looking for AGP cards. They don't fit in your machine.

Do not worry about confusing PCI & PCIe cards. PCI was a standard used 10 years ago, so as long as it's not a massive downgrade you're planning, you can't possibly get the wrong thing. The D945xxxxx series are OK motherboards & I've never heard anyone have any problems upgrading them. Just remember you'll need to connect the new card to your PSU.
And don't worry about sticking the card in the wrong slot either. Unless you get violent, it'll only fit in one slot on your motherboard (yes, PCI & PCIe slots are physically different).

Just remember you'll need to connect the new card to your PSU.

And for those reading, just how would I go about doing that?

There should be a 6-pin PCIe power socket on the rear-end of the card. You plug a 6-pin PCIe power plug in to it. If your PSU doesn't have any, you need a 4-pin Molex to 6-pin PCIe adapter which, if you're lucky, will come with the card.

Check your PSU is of reasonable wattage first. At least 350 watts, more if you decide to get a high-end card.

unless you have a nonstandard, nonprefab PC, your motherboard doesn't have an AGP slot. That depends on how old it is. Mine's about 5 years old now (hey, it was standard/prefab back THEN!), and it's got AGP rather than PCIe.

Only lately have I seriously started thinking about getting a new one. This one's obsolete. Not a problem now, but if I want to run any new games it may be...

Wait.

Buying a video card is not as simple a matter as some have said.

Firstly, what is your purpose with this? Do you want to do gaming on the cutting edge or just have the ability to enjoy games and do video editing leisurely? This makes a serious difference in what GPU I would recommend, but that's only half of it.

The next step is downloading http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php and telling me what processor and chipset you have. In addition, CPU-z will be able to identify whether or not you have PCI-Express or AGP (or nothing, which is a distinct possibility). This information is also important since it means we won't pair you up with something that will bottleneck your CPU or be bottlenecked by it for your purposes.

I don't mean to throw aside the other commentary in the thread, but I believe that if you are going to do it, do it right or don't do it at all.