# A little help for a computer noob..



## Riboflavin

Hey guys,

I just bought a Compaq Presario Desktop. It has integrated video and I was wondering if it is possible to still buy an aftermarket video card. The reason I am doing this is that when I play Counter-strike (Or any steam game) it lags on and off. The only reason I can think of that would cause it do that is the video. Thanks in advance for the help.


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## Riboflavin

Also, what card would you recomend?


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## Praetor

> I just bought a Compaq Presario Desktop. It has integrated video and I was wondering if it is possible to still buy an aftermarket video card.


Yes.



> Also, what card would you recomend?


Depends on the budget:
Small Budget: GFX5200 or better yet the GF4TI
Medium Budget: Radeon9600/GFX5700
Large Budget: 6800GT


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## Riboflavin

Thank you, that was extremly helpfull. Do you think the lack of a card could be the source of the lag problem?


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## Praetor

Well I guess it depends on the rest of the computer as well as the game settings but it is a definite "yes" that having a non-integrated video processor is a benifical step (although this realistically only applies to the much older S3 and Intel based video chips; newer onboard ATi/NVidia chips can handle basic gaming).


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## 72montecarlo

You should see a huge difference. i was unfortunate enough to own a 1.2ghz celeron emachine before which i wont say was unreliable just not fast. it has onboard video which was horrible. would not play games worth anything. had horrible lag. i only upgraded it to a radeon 7500 64mb PCI bus for lack of AGP port believe that and i saw a major improvement. was able to play max payne 1 and 2 well and gta 3 and vice city. Even if your budget isnt large a moderate card will give you much more gaming power.


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## ZER0X

I recently got a Compaq Presario and it had intergrated GFX 64mb it's bad it can't run games for crap and diddn't come with a AGP slot to put good GFX cards in so i had to buy a Radeon9200 64mb PCI version and it's a pretty good GFX card can run many games smooth.

All i need now is more RAM...


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## Praetor

> and diddn't come with a AGP slot to put good GFX cards


Ouch..... i hate it when that happens


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## ZER0X

Yer i was going to buy a Radeon 9200 128mb AGP but i had to cancel it because when i took a look inside it wasn't there...

Very dodgy


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## Grimulus

yeah man, integrated video sucks for anything other than desktop use.  

I'm sure you have an AGP slot.  8x?

That could help the cause to decide what kinda card you want.  But a lower budget card should work regardless.  I'll sell you mine for 1000 bucks.   Interested? I paid 100 bucks for it but the centimental value is off the hook.


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## tommy8748

Yup, I have an integrated video card too, suck for the newer games but for counter-strike or steam games the graphics can't get better because counter-strike was made in 1991 graphics were shity back then, and I am planning on getting a new video card as well for vice city/Flight simulator. Does anyone know what is wrong with my Vice city   it seems to lag/skip whenever it rains or cops are after me plz help me im a computer noob lol.


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## Praetor

> Does anyone know what is wrong with my Vice city  it seems to lag/skip whenever it rains or cops are after me plz help me im a computer noob lol.


Integrated video


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## tommy8748

Praetor said:
			
		

> Integrated video



Well then dam......Does anyone know a graphic card that isn't expensive but has good graphics I need one lol


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## Praetor

You can get the GF4TI cards for ~75USD if you hunt them down now.


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## tommy8748

Will this graphic card do me any good GeForce4 MX 4000 64MB DDR PCI Graphics Card


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## 72montecarlo

That would be a huge improvement yes. you dont have an agp slot?


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## Praetor

> Will this graphic card do me any good GeForce4 MX 4000 64MB DDR PCI Graphics Card


It will be a massive improvement from what you've got  But yeah, if you've got an AGP slot, try and get the AGP version of that card or better yet, the Ti series


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## Grimulus

Yes, AGP!

PCI cards just plain aren't as good.  That's what the AGP slot is for.


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## tommy8748

Thx. 
 Do you guys know how to find out if I have an agp slot??


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## Grimulus

tommy8748 said:
			
		

> Thx.
> Do you guys know how to find out if I have an agp slot??



http://www.aurora.dti.ne.jp/~shin-ya/images/agp_slot.jpg

It's obviously the brown one outlined.   They are always brown and are the closest slot to your Processor.


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## tommy8748

Thank you, and what other slots are there??


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## Grimulus

PCI.
Those are the other white ones in the picture.

Let me get you something...this will help you tremendously I think.

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/img/2003/01/aopen_845/ax4ge_diagram.jpg

http://www.pcmech.com/pics/at-mb-diagram.jpg

http://www.just2good.co.uk/images/jpg/mboard.jpg

Some of these are little older parts but the it's the same basis.  Remember some parts can move around a little.  Stuff like power connectors.

Those diagrams should help you out with knowing what you have.


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## tommy8748

ok well thank you very much


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## Grimulus

I charge 65 dollars a post for useful information.  

Someone owes me some money.  >.>
                                             <.<

j/k with you man.  you're quite welcome.


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## tommy8748

Lol $65 im not paying up im running away to Mexico.

But on the more serious side is there a way that I can check if I have an agp or Pci slot without unskrewing my computer??


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## Grimulus

i've personally never seen anything other than a brown agp slot.  most PCI's slots are white or an off white.  That's normally what they are.  Soyo's(or at least the computer i'm using at work right now) has purple ones.  You can tell PCI slots easily man.  

But no, not really.  Yeah, you didn't ask about PCI but in case you wanted to i coverd that for you.


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## tommy8748

Thx, can I check if I have an AGP slot or a PCI slot without unskrewing my computer??  (Dusty as hell in their)


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## Grimulus

if it's that dusty you need to clean it out man....
just open 'er up and get all that dust out of there.  dust is bad thing in your comp case.


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## Praetor

> Thx, can I check if I have an AGP slot or a PCI slot without unskrewing my computer


PCWizard (http://www.cpuid.com)


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## tommy8748

I have a PCI slot and a AGP slot, Does this mean I don't have to woory about getting an AGP or PCI type of graphic card??


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## Praetor

Pretty much. Everyone with an AGP slot will have a PCI slot. You're best off with an AGP video card


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## tommy8748

It says:
Bus Information :	 
Device :	82801BA/CA/DB/EB/ER (ICH2/3/4/5/5R), 6300ESB Hub Interface to PCI Bridge 
Number of AGP connectors :	1 
AGP enabled :	No 
___________________________________________
General Information :	 
Model :	82815/EM/EP/P 815/EM/EP/P (Solano) Interal GUI Accelerator 
Manufacturer :	Compaq Computer Corp (Now owned by Hewlett-Packard) 
Bus Type :	PCI 
Manufacturer :	Intel Corporation 
Total Memory :	32 MB 
Texture Memory :	32 MB 
Processor :	Intel(R) 82815 
Converter :	Internal 
Refresh Rate (min/max) :	60/100 Hz 

What do they mean by "AGP Enabled: No" Does it mean I don't have an AGP slot??
And I think my current graphic card is in the PCI slot, Should i take it out when im going to be installing my new graphic card??


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## Praetor

> Number of AGP connectors : 1





> Does it mean I don't have an AGP slot??


It seems u have an AGP slot.



> AGP enabled : No


It seems you're just not using it.



> And I think my current graphic card is in the PCI slot, Should I take it out when im going to be installing my new graphic card??


Well you could just *look*  (and before you say it, you dont have to unscrew your computer) as for taking it out; your call, most likely yeah you'll want to take it out


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## Grimulus

There is NO reason to leave it in there.  Take it out and dust that damned thing out too.


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## Praetor

> There is NO reason to leave it in there.


Wanna bet? (think carefully )


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## Grimulus

If he puts an AGP in?

Why would he need both?


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## tommy8748

So you guys say my current graphic card is in my PCI slot?


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## tommy8748

Praetor said:
			
		

> Wanna bet?


But wouldn't it mess up my computer if I added a new card and kept the older one still in there?? (Unless it would improve my graphics) Or I could just sell the damn thing lol


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## Praetor

No. You can have multiple video outs that way. Also, for workstation machines that double as gamer platforms, you can have a work-card and a gamer-card.


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## tommy8748

Praetor said:
			
		

> you can have a work-card and a gamer-card.


That's cool, Do you know if instructions come with the graphic card on how to install it?? I need instruction because i haven't installed a thing in my computerit's all stock.


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## Praetor

> Do you know if instructions come with the graphic card on how to install it??


If you bought a retail set it will come with a complete manual otherwise it will come with nothing. It's not that hard really, common sense and a screwdriver will get the job done  (i.e., pop the case, unscrew the card, pop it, put a new on in, screw it down)


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## Grimulus

don't buy a retail card or at least I wouldn't. You can save a lot of money by buying your parts OEM.  Basically it's the card without all the instructions.  some cards come with games to so that might be a reason to go retail so yeah....whatever you want to do.
we'll help you learn to install it but yeah, it's common sense.


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## Grimulus

Praetor said:
			
		

> No. You can have multiple video outs that way. Also, for workstation machines that double as gamer platforms, you can have a work-card and a gamer-card.



What would you call a work card?


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## tommy8748

I think what he means by work-card is the graphics don't have to be great and game card graphics are excellant. And is their a cd that come with the card to install it or do you have to do that add new hardware crap??


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## Grimulus

i also thought about the multiple outs(my version of output) as well but really didn't see to much of a need for it.  most cards come with 2 outs but yeah i can sort of see the use of 2 video cards. *shrugs* just never seen anyone do it or need to.


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## tommy8748

Is their a cd that comes with the card to install it or do you have to do that add new hardware crap??


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## Grimulus

you install the card and windows(i'm assuming that's what you use) will just default it to something so you can see the screen and you will get a cd that has the drivers plus some other software.  the drivers will make your card truly what it is suppose to be.  The cd will come if you order the OEM version if you are wondering.  At least that's my expirences with it.


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## tommy8748

Grimulus said:
			
		

> you install the card and windows(i'm assuming that's what you use) will just default it to something so you can see the screen and you will get a cd that has the drivers plus some other software.  the drivers will make your card truly what it is suppose to be.  The cd will come if you order the OEM version if you are wondering.  At least that's my expirences with it.


Oh. Yeh well thanks for all your help Grimulus, Praetor, Riboflavin, 72montecarlo, ZEROX and I may have missed some people so thanks to all of you that have helped me.


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## tommy8748

Oh yeh one more question I need to choose a video card too, here are my 2 final choices Radeon 9200 Video Card, 8x AGP, 128MB DDR or Verto GeForce FX 5200 Video Card, 8x AGP, 128MB DDR which one is bettter??


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## Timbo

Hmm.. The 5200 hsa direct X 9.0 support I believe. But it lacks the raw " horsepower" to actually use it efficiently. The 9200 is direct X 8.1 I believe? So.. And I think they are at par.. Personally I would go with a TI 4200. I still use mine, plan on upgrading soon though. But it plays doom 3 fine, and all.  From 9200 or 5200.. Cheaper is what your looking for IMO.


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## Praetor

> we'll help you learn to install it but yeah, it's common sense.


Really the common sense comes in where your unscrew the card before you unplug it.... i've seen some wierd things.....



> What would you call a work card?


FireGL, Parhelia and the Quadro are the light-end cards while cards bearing Oxygen, Wildcat etc are much more hardcore cards



> Is their a cd that comes with the card to install it or do you have to do that add new hardware crap??


Default drivers should be enough to get you running so you can get the official drivers 



> Oh yeh one more question I need to choose a video card too, here are my 2 final choices Radeon 9200 Video Card, 8x AGP, 128MB DDR or Verto GeForce FX 5200 Video Card, 8x AGP, 128MB DDR which one is bettter??


Both cards come in 64bit and 128bit flavors although i find that if you pick an arbitrary 5200, its got a better chance of being the 128bit card but realistically they are neck and neck with each other


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## tommy8748

And also if the card is DDRAM and I have SDDRAM will it still work??

Do I need a better power supply for the graphic card to work??


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## Grimulus

tommy8748 said:
			
		

> And also if the card is DDRAM and I have SDDRAM will it still work??



Yeah dude, there is video ram and system ram.



			
				tommy8748 said:
			
		

> Do I need a better power supply for the graphic card to work??



If it has a fan you will have to plug at least one connector in to the PS.  some of the newer cards want you to have a massive PS.  It's just kinda what you get.


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## tommy8748

Grimulus said:
			
		

> some of the newer cards want you to have a massive PS.  It's just kinda what you get.


I need to get a bigger PS too??


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## Grimulus

It's just recommended.  when building though I would personally go with no less than 400.


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## tommy8748

How can I check how much power I have in my PS?


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## Grimulus

tommy8748 said:
			
		

> How can I check how much power I have in my PS?



It should have a sticker on it somewhere saying so on the PS somewhere.  Hope you don't have to take it out to see...it should be on the back visible to you though.


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## Praetor

> Do I need a better power supply for the graphic card to work??


Depends on the card. For everything up to and including the GF4TI46/Radeon9700, a 300W PSU is probably the minimum requirement. For anything after that, 350W as a minimum with 400W as an adviseably minimum. Not just that -- get a reliable, solid PSU -- not some cheapo PSU somewhere 



> Hope you don't have to take it out to see...it should be on the back visible to you though.


Most cases you'll still have to pop the case


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## Grimulus

Praetor said:
			
		

> Most cases you'll still have to pop the case



Yeah, of course.  I'm just saying taking the PS out sucks a whole lot. 

I'm thinking he should be able to find out easily enough...

Yeah, get a good power supply but order online.  Bestbuy and CompUSA will overcharge you heavily.


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## tommy8748

Are most Agp slots this type AGP 2X (3.3V), 4X (1.5V), 8X (0.8v) or Universal AGP 3.0 bus, I have a Compaq Presario 5000 series, Year 2000, Pentium Celeron, Windows Xp Home Edition


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## Praetor

Odds are that mobo will be using AGP 2.0 (4X max). Fire up PC Wizard (http://www.cpuid.com) to see


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## tommy8748

Praetor said:
			
		

> Fire up PC Wizard (http://www.cpuid.com) to see


I already fired it up, it dosen't say anything about AGP slots. It does just not that.


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## Praetor

Yes it does. Click on AGP Bus and read about 7 lines or so down.  It lists it elsewheres too


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## tommy8748

There's only 3 lines:
Bus Information :	 
Device :	82801BA/CA/DB/EB/ER (ICH2/3/4/5/5R), 6300ESB Hub Interface to PCI Bridge 
Number of AGP connectors :	1 
AGP enabled :	No


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## Praetor

Maybe you're not looking in the same spot as me... (you can also check CPUz under the Mainboard tab)


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## tommy8748

It's not there all I have is the 1st three lines that you have.(Please Help)


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## Praetor

tommt8748 said:
			
		

> It's not there all I have is the 1st three lines that you have.(Please Help)


...


			
				Praetor said:
			
		

> (you can also check CPUz under the Mainboard tab)


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## tommy8748

Just to make sure is it under "mainboard" in the "BIOS" category and then to the right of version??(This is all in the CPU-Z program)


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## Praetor

Yes:


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## tommy8748

It's like faded there's nothing in the AGP boxes for some reason, Do you know the problem??

PS: How do you become a super moderator or admin??


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