PCI Video Cards

[Guest]

I am looking to upgrade video cards and unfortunately I only have PCI slots in my computer. First of all, as far as I am aware, there is absolutely no way to use an AGP card in my computer, but if there is, please tell me. Secondly, with the fact that I only have PCI slots in my computer, what is the best video card I can get. I currently have and ATI Radeon 7000 64 mb DDR. It seems that I might not be able to do any better. Thanks in advance for your help. Eric Szczesniak

[Guest georgi55]

How much money can you spend? If you have $200,you can get ESC motherboard for $60 (do you use AMD?)and GF3 for $130 and you will have 5 PCI slots + 1 AGP slot and super good video card.GF3 if 5 fastest Nvidia card. (if you count in brand new GF4 4200)I got my GF3 2 days ago fro $109 because of rebate, and it rocks.I used to have ATi 64MB DDR VIVO and it was slow, nasty graphics, and made my comouter freeze when used in XP.Now im really happy with PNY Vetro GF3

[wsieffert 0]

Vision Tek makes a PCI card but it is a GeForce 2 - http://www.visiontek.com/5564.shtml

[Guest]

What exactly would the idea of a new motherboard entail. I am remotely attached to mine, mainly because of the fear of screwing something up putting a new one in. I have an AMD 1.3 GHz in an HP system. Would someone be willing expand on what this idea of a new motherboard would entail? ThanksEric

[Guest georgi55]

>What exactly would the idea of a new motherboard entail. I >am remotely attached to mine, mainly because of the fear of >screwing something up putting a new one in. I have an AMD >1.3 GHz in an HP system. Would someone be willing expand on >what this idea of a new motherboard would entail? Thanks >>Eric Even if a video card has same ram and chipset, PCI and AGP makes huge difference.If you want the perfomacne you paid for, go with new mabo and get AGP.If you don't mind spening same money but for less perfomacne, go with PCI.As Sieffert said, Visiontek GF2 PCI would be your best choice I beleive, for less than $100.

[Guest SD Sim]

Hi Eric,The motherboard coordinates the operation of all of your computer components. If the cpu is the brain, then the motherboard can be thought of as the body. In theory, replacing a motherboard is a simple procedure. In reality, it can be quite daunting, perticularly for a novice. However, Georgi's recommendation is right on the mark. Since you already have an AMD cpu, you can use any motherboard that uses Socket A. Keep in mind that there are different "form factors" for motherboards, with the most common being ATX and microATX. You will want to replace your MB with one that has the same "form factor". I suspect that this information alone sounds intimidating. But wait, there is an alternative. I would suggest that you do one of the following. One, find a friend that is computer savvy and would be willing to help you change your motherboard, or two, find a local computer shop where you can buy a new MB and have them replace the old one for you. If you keep your existing cpu, you should be able to get a new MB for less than $100 (US). Then go with Georgi's advice and pick up a nVidia GeForce3 Ti200 video card and plug it into your new MB. If you are truly limited to a PCI video card, then you should notice a significant improvement with the AGP card. If you want to know more, let me know and I'll be happy to go on (and on and on... :-lol ).BTW - are you certain you don't have an AGP slot? Look closely at your MB. The PCI slots will be beige, while the AGP slot will be brown (and closest to the cpu). The AGP slot also looks different. If you see something like this, then you probably have an AGP slot.