Ok, it looks increasingly like I'm going to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.
I've written, here and elsewhere, that I view the current trend for flashy and pretty graphics as a problem, not an enhancement. I really don't see the need for developers to spend resources in this beyond clear and functional. I think Redmond Simonsen or Edward Tufte, rather than Lara Croft...although everything in it's right place, I suppose! [;)]
Even I have to admit that I'm going to as effective as King Canute in holding back this particular tide, though. So, I have to upgrade.
But: I have no idea what cards are going to be useful or even suitable to fit my two machines. Both are old - one is an E-Machines PII 750, the other is a 1GHz ex-server. I have no idea what motherboards are in there, or what free slots there are. I do know that both are running their native built-in graphics.
I log into ebuyer.com and look, and I'm totally unprepared for the plethora of options. Lack of interest has resulted in an unfortunate ignorance: I don't know where to start.
So. I guess first I need to know what sort of cards are likely to be suitable, then whittle them down to what's actually going to be useful, finally picking on the basis of price/reliability/performance/whatever else I can think of. No, I'm not going to take them apart, they'll not go back together again in one piece. [;)]
I need help. Please?
Steve.
"Nature always obeys Her own laws" - Leonardo da Vinci
I completely agree with you about the proper role of graphics in computer games, but I also think you're right that the wave of the future will drown us if we don't climb into the boat with everybody else.
I recently bought and installed a new video card and had the same problems you describe. Maybe I can help a little as a result.
The place to start (if you haven't already) is by running a DX dialog and getting the specific hardware and configuration info on your computer (depending on the version of Windows you are running, you need to find the "run" command, and enter "dxdiag" in the box you get when you find it. In the analysis, you will find information on what's in there now).
If you go to a site called PC Pitstop, you can get a free analysis of the current capabilities of your computer and recommendations of what improvements you should make.
One thing you are facing is the limitations imposed by age of your computers. A Pentium 2 processor is not going to give you the high-end performance you'll need to run a really heavyweight video card, and you probably don't have enough "box" to install the amount of memory required to run the really complex games (512 mB is becoming pretty much the standard requirement these days - see, for example, Civ4). It may be time to think about shelling out a few hundred bucks for something new.
In any event, once you know what you've got and what the PC Pitstop analysis recommends, I would go to either your computer's manufacturer's site or to the Crucial Technologies site and find out how much memory your computer can handle (the PC Pitstop analysis will give you the "slots available" information, although I would crack open the box and verify that before buying anything, just to be sure). I recommend Crucial because I had very good luck doing business with them, and their site helps you pick out the exact SIMM or DIMM you need for plugging into your computer.
Next, it's time to pick out a video card, and that's the scary part, as you already know. My computer had a 16 mB card in it when I bought it, and it performed well enough, but a 16 mB card ain't sh1t anymore. I was going to put in a 256 mB card, but decided, because of price, that I didn't really need THAT much capability. I settled on an ATI Radeon 9600 128 mB card that sold for about 75 bucks on the Newegg site (the more up-to-date 9800 cost about twice that, and there are new cards coming out now that make my outfit about two generations old, which is about where I always seem to be). Newegg has a one-year unconditional return policy, so if you happen to have a compatibility problem or whatever, you can send it back and get the right one. Generally speaking, though, the middle-range video cards generally work with a system running a recent version of Windows (2000 or XP), but you've got to be careful not to get one that your system is not capable of running (another argument in favor of replacing instead of upgrading).
While you have your box open, take a gander at the card that's already installed (you should know what it is as a result of the DX dialogue and PC Pitstop analysis) so that, if your computer can handle a bigger, more sophisticated card, you are familiar with the "guts" and can easily pop out the old and pop in the new.
So, I dunno. With computer prices being what they are these days, you can get pretty good gear that's decently up to date for $600 - 700. I spent about $150 upgrading my old box (which has a Pentium 4 1.8 gHz processor that's still okay, but not cutting edge anymore) from 256 mB of memory to 768 mB and throwing in the new video card. That should keep it alive for another couple of years or so, but it's now right up against what it's capable of handling.
All I can say is, "Good luck." Once I gritted my teeth and went ahead with the purchases, the process was pretty easy, and I'm glad I did it. I hope my experience is helpful to you.
Put my faith in the people
And the people let me down.
So, I turned the other way,
And I carry on anyhow.
Thanks very much for that. I'm pretty sure it'll be helpful.
Two things:
1) Neither machine has a separate video card, both are running off their built-in graphics.
2) One machine is a PIII/750MHz, the other is an Athlon/1GHz. The PIII is limited to older memory, and I've got 384MB in there - a 128 and a 256. If I can find another 256 cheap I'll get it, but they're rare beasties (100 instead of 120, if my own memory serves). The ex-server has two 256 sticks in it, of what type I have no idea. I would ideally like to upgrade all of this, but by the time I've done so, I might as well get a replacement PC...and I haven't the funds for that. [:(]
Steve.
"Nature always obeys Her own laws" - Leonardo da Vinci
Well at a minimum they are going to have PCI slots and should have 1 AGP slot.
You can get cheap but decent for your machine PCI video cards. Wal-mart generally has some cheap nvidia cards but you can get them off the internet cheap, really cheap.
AGP would be better.
If you open the case the AGP slot will be brown like in the following picture:
If your looking for a decent AGP card a radeon 9700 pro is still a fine card. It was about £300 a couple of years ago when new and can be picked up used for about £50.
Yep, as Bordric points out with that excellent photo, you should have a usable AGP slot where you can insert a video card. It should be recognized by Windows when you boot up as new hardware, you should be able to install the card's drivers, the built-in video should be overridden, and you should be home free.
Should. Ay, there's the rub.
Put my faith in the people
And the people let me down.
So, I turned the other way,
And I carry on anyhow.
I would ideally like to upgrade all of this, but by the time I've done so, I might as well get a replacement PC...and I haven't the funds for that. [:(]
Steve.
I'm also one of those who think that complex pretty graphics is a waste of time and processor speed, but I also understand that that is what everyone seems to want - pretty over practical. It's the way of the future and us old farts have to accept it.
Anyway, I'm sorry to say but upgrading your old computers isn't going to cut it. Used to be all you needed was lots of Ram and plenty of hard disk space, but with today's graphics, processor speed is what's important. You need at least 2 gigs of processor speed or you are going to be dissapointed with any new game that has high end graphics. I know you are strapped for cash but if at all possible you should look for a new machine. I recently purchased a brand new, not refurbished, Sony VAIO with 3 gig Pent IV, 512 megs ram, 200 gig HD, and a fantastic DVD burner with on-board graphics. All for $499 bucks US. That's pretty darn cheap. It may not be a dream game machine but it runs Rome: Total War just fine and that's a good enough bench mark for me. Right now the onboard graphics is doing just fine but I'll upgrade to a dedicated graphics card soon. Sometimes you just got to bite the bullet and go for it.
Of course, I realize you may not have the money, but before you pay up to a couple hundred dollars to upgrade your old machines, do a good search. Look for sales and bargains. There's no telling what you might find out there.
“You're only young once but you can be immature for as long as you want”
Great post, Dave, you show far more good sense than most of the rest of us in the Sackatomatoes area.
I suggest that we all bide our time, wait for the next natural disaster, then go there and loot a good computer (or two)!
Most likely it won't be a "natural disaster". More likely some terrorist will nuke the Capitol. When that happens and everyone leaves town, I'm heading for Fry's.
BTW - your avatar is giving me flashbacks. Can't seem to stop looking at my hand. [X(]
“You're only young once but you can be immature for as long as you want”
Rhetorical Question: If we all seem to agree that these flashy graphics are unnecessary, why on earth are we forced into having them?[&:]
Steve.
Well it's choice really, nobody is forcing anyone. I can still play all the latest games on my 2 year old 9700 pro. If I splash out £400 on a Radeon 1800 XT I will still be playing the same game but it will look a bit nicer and the frame rate will be about 4 times faster. Also I will need to spend an extra £100 on a 550w power supply and some ear defenders for deadening the sound of all those cooling fans. Mind you I will save on having to heat my apartment this winter, the heat pumping out the back of the computer will do that for me[:D]
I have recently upgraded my Commodore 64 to a massive 4GB ram by soldiering some odd calculator chips to wherever they might fit. I have done this so that I can play this game with War plan orange. Unfortunately because of this I have set my apartment on fire. Can someone please call the fire brigade.
One thing to add to the Video card discussion is if upgrade a card, check the motherboard specs, some AGP
ports run only certain voltage cards so it can be bad to pop in the wrong voltage card..
Noise? What Noise? It's sooooo quiet and Peaceful! Battlestar Pegasus
