graphics card upgrade

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nona
graphics card upgrade

hi

I have a dell optiplex gx240.  I have upgraded my power supply to 400 watts. My memory is 1GB.  I am looking to upgrade my graphics card.  Can you give me some suggestions?

thanks for your time

nona

Matt Whitlock
The Dell GX240 should sport

The Dell GX240 should sport an AGP 4X slot, but I've been fooled by Dell systems before. You may want to make sure that your system has an AGP 4X slot. Otherwise you're limited to PCI cards, which is a pretty small selection of lower end cards for more money.

Next, AGP will limit you, and given the rest of the systems specs (most likely a P4 somewhere in the 2GHz range and 1GB of RAM, you're not going to turn this machine into a powerhouse. I'd spend little on an upgrade if I were you, given that a new PC (even at the cheap end of the scale) will probably outperform your current system.

That said, what do you want to spend?

Donna
i have a pentium 4 1.8 GHz. i

i have a pentium 4 1.8 GHz. i have the AGP 4X Slot. Whatever card you suggest is fine with me. I appreciate your help.

BTW
In the future I would like to buy a new computer, what are your top choices if price is no option.....;)

Donna
wow

wow
almost a month and no helpful reply.............:(

Gee thanks a lot tech lore. Glad I didn't need heart transplant info.

thanks for not helping me.

This is the worst forum site i ever been on.

Matt Whitlock
Well, because you answered

Well, because you answered your own question. If price is no option, buy the most expensive thing you can find. It will probably be the best one. Not sure why we need to even talk about it or what you're asking for.

Donna
I knew that reply would get a

I knew that reply would get a super quick response...lmfao

anyway if you read my reply I said price was no option in regards to buying a new computer. I wanted to know what computer you thought was the best buy.
That had nothing to do with the initial question about upgrading my graphics card. What happened to telling a person "you need to buy a 1300 pci or whatever". you never gave me any suggestions. like I said thanks for nothing.
Why would you not be sure why we need to talk about it or what I am asking for??? Is that not what this site is for to talk about issues people are having??? How can you not know what I am asking for when I clearly said what I was asking for??
like i said thanks for nothing.
you proved my earlier comment when i said this is the worst forum site ever.
thanks for nothing

Matt Whitlock
I'm happy to field your

I'm happy to field your response.

"anyway if you read my reply I said price was no option in regards to buying a new computer"

First, I misread this sentence, I didn't catch that you're asking about a new computer. This means you didn't answer my question about what you wanted to spend on a graphics card upgrade. Either way, this is still probably the worst answer you could give. I, and many others who help other people in forums, have given up trying to help those who give this kind of answer. I go do all your research for you, pick out a top end PC or card and then you say, "Oh, that's too expensive. What would you suggest that's cheaper."

"What happened to telling a person "you need to buy a 1300 pci or whatever". you never gave me any suggestions. like I said thanks for nothing."

I would give you some suggestions if you give me a price range. That said, not all people will do this for you. You need to do SOME of your own research. Try to learn about graphics cards and computers and figure out what you think you want or need. THEN, present what you've learned and give someone like me the ability to help you from there.

"Why would you not be sure why we need to talk about it or what I am asking for??? Is that not what this site is for to talk about issues people are having??? How can you not know what I am asking for when I clearly said what I was asking for??"

You're asking me to be your personal shopper, and you've now changed from asking about a graphics card upgrade, which I tried to help with, to shopping for a new PC. There are thousands and thousands of PCs out there from a hundred different brands, divided by laptops and desktops, and you gave me nothing to narrow it down. Plus, not knowing if your focus is gaming, productivity, 3D modeling, etc. makes it difficult to make any recommendation from the endless sea of options. So, you haven't clearly said what you're looking for since I'm not sure if you now want a new PC or a graphics card upgrade. All I know is that you're rich and can afford anything, but you don't want to pay for a personal shopper.

"like i said thanks for nothing.
you proved my earlier comment when i said this is the worst forum site ever.
thanks for nothing"

For starters, you're sure to catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Second, there's no guarantee you'll get help in any public forum. You realize this is a peer-to-peer enviornment; people who help others here don't get paid. You're basically asking others to donate their time being your personal shopper so you don't have to do anything yourself. I can see that, and most others here who would bother to help you can also see that, which would be exactly why no one wants to help you.

To learn more about interacting in an online community, I highly suggest you read this guide from one of our other sites. It was written by someone who's spent years helping others in forums, and includes a lot of good info on how to attract help: http://www.slingcommunity.com/article/21762/SlingCommunity-Guide---How-T...

Donna
ok matt

ok matt
I understand that people such as youself are awesome and help people like myself who are kind of slow when it comes to computers. Believe me I am thankful for you guys. I would be in the iceage if not for the internet. I don't expect you to be my shopper I just wanted suggestions of what type of graphics card would work for me. I didn't think that would be too hard for someone of your knowledge. You said I was trying to build a power house pc, no I just need an upgrade so my security cameras will work. That's what YOU were thinking so you insult what kind of pc I have. That's why I asked you what type of pc did you suggest buying if price was no limit. It was meant to be a joke. I have been researching this problem for a couple of months now and I am at my wits end. I have been given wrong information several times. So when I got your response I said to myself "Well he did ask what kind of slot I have so maybe I'm finally gonna get the graphics card I need!! Even though you pratically called my pc a piece of trash. I said in my response to your first answer that I wanted you to give me suggestions for a graphics card for my pc, (wouldn't that mean a price range of them?). And I just felt like your response was a blow off to my question. Then when I sent a second reply, I got no response. So I felt bad. I did soem browsing around your forums and it seemed that anyone who asked for help got it so I thought I would be cool here. But anyway I will do some more research. Thanks for your time. I know that you do work hard for free.

Matt Whitlock
nona said:

nona said:
ok matt
I understand that people such as youself are awesome and help people like myself who are kind of slow when it comes to computers. Believe me I am thankful for you guys. I would be in the iceage if not for the internet. I don't expect you to be my shopper I just wanted suggestions of what type of graphics card would work for me. I didn't think that would be too hard for someone of your knowledge. You said I was trying to build a power house pc, no I just need an upgrade so my security cameras will work. That's what YOU were thinking so you insult what kind of pc I have. That's why I asked you what type of pc did you suggest buying if price was no limit. It was meant to be a joke. I have been researching this problem for a couple of months now and I am at my wits end. I have been given wrong information several times. So when I got your response I said to myself "Well he did ask what kind of slot I have so maybe I'm finally gonna get the graphics card I need!! Even though you pratically called my pc a piece of trash. I said in my response to your first answer that I wanted you to give me suggestions for a graphics card for my pc, (wouldn't that mean a price range of them?). And I just felt like your response was a blow off to my question. Then when I sent a second reply, I got no response. So I felt bad. I did soem browsing around your forums and it seemed that anyone who asked for help got it so I thought I would be cool here. But anyway I will do some more research. Thanks for your time. I know that you do work hard for free.

Look, I'm not saying I'm awesome or you're slow. And I'm not calling your PC trash. However, it IS older. And that means you have to balance the cost of upgrades vs. the cost of replacement. There's a point where it's not worth it. Why would you drop $500 upgrading a PC when buying a new one for $300 would better? 

But if you want help from someone like me, you need to communicate and work with me. For example, you said NOTHING
about security cameras in your initial post. You merely asked for a
graphics card upgrade. I have to make assumptions as to why you want to
upgrade your graphics card, and the most logical conclusion is that
you're looking to play games. That also said, I'm not entirely sure why
your graphics card would make a difference in using a security system.

So let's start over. First, tell me what you're trying to do. Tell me about this security system, and why you need a graphics card upgrade to use it. Tell me what about the graphics card you have now makes it not work with your security system.

Donna
I have a dvr card installed

I have a dvr card installed on my pc for my cameras and it requires my pc to have at least a 128mb graphics card but I only have a 16mb. My video recordings look grainy and the color is not coming in at all(they are black and white) so I figured it had to be because my video card need to be upgraded.

Matt Whitlock
It would be helpful to know

It would be helpful to know the make and model of your 'DVR card' to look up the other requirements and make sure this isn't your only problem, but if it specifies the need for a 128MB graphics card, then I agree that this is the place to start. Fortunately for you, 128MB isn't much of a requirement. You'll get out with that upgrade on the cheap.

I'd recommend the EVGA 256-A8-N401-LR GeForce 6200 from NewEgg. It's from a reputable manufacturer, includes 256MB of GDDR2 (surpassing the minimum requirement), and is a decent graphics chip. It's not for heavy gaming, but it will handle common tasks and your needs with ease. Best of all, it's $42, but they're offering a $10 mail in rebate and free shipping. At $32 bucks out the door, it's a better deal than lesser cards.

When the card arrives, you'll need to uninstall the current video card drivers BEFORE you pull the old ATI Rage 128 16MB card out and put the new one in. Go to add/remove programs, and look for ATI drivers (or something similar) and uninstall. Since this is a stock Dell install, it's possible they may be using a generic Windows XP driver for it. If so, you won't see anything from ATI in the list, and there will be nothing to uninstall. That's fine.

Shut down, and open the case. Carefully remove the ATI Rage 128 16MB card from the AGP slot. Open the new card and remove it from it's anti-static bag. Be careful to ONLY handle the card by it's edges, and install it into the slot. You may need to push firmly, but not so firm that you'll break it.

Once it's in, close the case and fire it up. When you reach the Windows desktop, install the Nvidia drivers for your new card. Your product may come with a CD that contains theses drivers (given the age of the GPU in this card, they're probably up to date), or download them from Nvidia's website. After you install the drivers, reboot, and you should be all set. Try out your cameras, and post back with your results.

 

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