Please help - Hardware tips

I recently bought Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, and I've been having trouble with video cards. Since no fast video cards are designed for PCI slots (just PCI, no express), and that's just about all I have, I am forced towards another alternative that's cheaper that buying a new Motherboard AND video card. However, I suspect that I have 1 AGP 4X/8X slot, but the rest are PCI. (Not sure about the AGP, it's a family shared computer. All I know is that this card was in there. Though that card says AGP 4X/8X, I see other cards of the same interface type with different inserts. Observe.

AGP 4X/8X

STILL AGP 4X/8X, but different

What's the difference between the two? Do they both work for the same slot? What's up? To make it even more confusing for me, I saw that the requirements for one video cards was \"...AGP 2.0 slot.\" I have no idea what that means. Could somebody please help me out here, because this AGP slot is my only ace in the hole for the cheapo route.

Last edited by ChrisMG on Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:22 pm; edited 1 time in total

The first card has an AGP 4x/8x 1.5V interface.

The second card has the older AGP non-1.5V interface. You can always tell a 1.5V AGP card by the number of key slots in the connector. If its got two slots, its probably a 1.5V AGP card.

The good news for you is that your motherboard supports the 1.5V AGP interface (because that Geforce MX4000 appears to be a 1.5V compliant card). That means that most newer AGP cards will work in your motherboard. Its getting harder and harder to even find non-1.5V AGP cards anyway. Take a look at newegg at some of the newer AGP 1.5V cards. Most are surprisingly cheap. You can pick up a Radeon X1600PRO with a 256-bit interface and 256MB of GDDR3 ram for about $130. It might not run Oblivion on the highest settings, but it WILL run it on medium-high.

If you're an Nvidia fan, there are similarly priced Geforce cards that are AGP 1.5V compliant that will run Oblivion.

If you're still interested or confused, have a look HERE at this excellent site that breaks it all down for you.

So, wait. If I have an AGP 1.5 slot, then I can use a 2.0 version in it? Because, here's a good list to sum up what I need to play. Most of the 1.5 volt cards are too low end to play it smoothly. I'd like to get one from the mid/high range.

Your motherboard apparently supports 1.5V AGP, which is AGP 2.0.

The newest standard is .8V, which would be AGP 3.0.

There are several cards that will play Oblivion that are AGP.

If you like ATI, I'd take a look at some of the X1600 cards. Or if you like, you can look at some of the X800 cards, though they're older than the X1600's.

I'm not sure what Nvidia offers in the way of Video Cards that will run Oblivion, but I'm quite sure that they have some. You might want to ask some other members about Nvidia. One of the best Video Cards ever made, in my opinion, is the Geforce 6800GT, but I can't find one that is AGP. They all seem to be PCI-E.

Thank you very much. I've been really frustrated with this whole thing and...you've been a big help. Thanks. I might go to CompUSA tonight and get a card.

Last edited by ChrisMG on Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:48 am; edited 1 time in total

After taking a look at your list there, I suppose the GeForce 6800GS AGP would be the best. It seems to be the highest Geforce made that still supports AGP.

Newegg has it for $170, which isn't bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814143045

I'm assuming that since that computer is the family rig, you won't be upgrading the motherboard anytime soon. That 6800GS should keep you running fairly well until you get a new system / motherboard with PCI-E.

Actually, I'm hoping to get a desktop in Feburary and build it myself (though I might not, I'm a first-timer, chances are I'll need assistance or advice.) I'm going to post the specs again when the time comes to see what you and everybody else thinks. It's going to have similar components as one I posted earlier [in this board], but with much improvement. Two GeForce 7950s hooked to a TV and SLI. (I'm not anti-ATI, just more familiar with Nvidia, so I stick with what I know) One question about that though: which is more low-matainence and/or reliable, a fan/heatsink combo, or water cooling for the CPU?

EDIT: Also, I'm going to CompUSA anyway to return my old/new (whichever you prefer, it's an FX5200, so that makes it old, but I got it last Sunday, without realizing how outdated it was) video card, so I'm also going to see what kind of selection that they have. Plus, it's near the weekend, so that means that there's no chance of shipping on Saturday or Sunday, which, out of a cruel irony, are th only days that I actually have time to play any games. In a nutshell, CompUSA is faster than Newegg would be right now, and I've been dying to get my hands on this game.

Last edited by ChrisMG on Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:47 am; edited 1 time in total

I couldn't tell you anything about water cooling, just general info really.  I'm sure that someone here knows more about it than me, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that air cooling is about the lowest maintenance that you can get.  My rigs never get hot enough to require more than heat sink / fan combos with plenty of airflow through the case.

Yes, the FX5200 is older than dirt (with the exception of MY video card that is).  I don't know about you, but I'd go ahead and order from newegg and just wait the few extra days.  You'll pay much more and receive much less buying at a place like CompUSA (Best Buy, Office Depot...they're all pretty expensive).

Remember, patience is a virtue :)

Oh, and when you're ready to build your new rig, I'm sure that everyone here would be more than willing to help should you have problems.  Its not very complicated provided you take the necessary steps.  My personal tip?  Go out and spend $3 on an ESD wrist strap.  Failing that, you can ground yourself on your case while the computer is plugged in (but turned off).  Any electrical discharge from your body will travel through the plug and ground out at the socket.  I've fried several motherboards by not being smart about it and being in too big of a rush.

Yeah...I've looked for them at newegg, and the only one that I can find is this one (picture is a link):

Thing is, I can't even tell how it works. What am I supposed to hook it up to?

Also, about the video card, my dad is going to pay for some of the new video card (how much is unclear) while I pay the difference, so my goal is to spend as little money as possible (that includes shipping, too), especially with me saving up for a new computer. Besides, I don't want to spend too much money on the family computer. It's a dell (not XPS), and I swear, sometimes I want this thing to \"accidently\" fall out of a 5-story building.

Last edited by ChrisMG on Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

You wrap the strap around your wrist and then you ground out the other end. The most effective way that I've seen to ground it out is to slightly unscrew the panel screw in a wall socket cover and attach it to that while you work on your system. I know, not the easiest way to go about things. Most people just connect it to their case with the case plugged in so that there is a clear path for any discharge to follow (right into the ground of the wall outlet).

Dells aren't bad man...and any computer is better than NO computer.

I know, it's just that this thing could be a bit more cooperative at times.

Anyway, about plugging in the cord, wouldn't that channel power into the case, in theory?

No, not if the power to the system is off. But with the system plugged in and powered off, there is still a ground between the power supply and the wall outlet.

Ya, whenever workign inside a PC, have it plugged in, but turned off. Then, before you hanlde any component, touch/hold some metal on the case. Make sure you are in constant contact, and if you can't be, don't move around too much.

As far as what card, I'd pick up the X1600Pro

The only thing that the X1600 has over the X800 is SM 3.0 support.

I think the consensus is that the X800 does what it can do better than the X1600 does what it can do. Anyway, I'm pushing for a Geforce anyway - ATI's drivers are about to drive me batty (excuse the pun).

Ok, now I'm REALLY starting to get frustrated. Ok, so I go to CompUSA, and I buy a Radeon X1300, right? I get back, and I realize that I forgot to uninstall the drivers for the FX5200. So, I drive back to the store with my dad, and buy ANOTHER FX5200 (after I returned the original one in the first trip) in order to uninstall the drivers. Then, I plug in the X1300 to the AGP slot and a 4-pin power connector after uninstalling the drivers, and it won't work. I can't figure out what's wrong with it. I look at the system requirements, and see that it needs a 300 watt power supply. So then, I look for any indication of watts on the PSU or in the installed hardware section of the control panel. (Which is incredibly vague, by the way. This is typical dell, at least from my experiences.) There aren't any markings. So, I have to manually unscrew the PSU and look it over, only to find that it's a 250 watt. I start looking online at both CompUSA and newegg.com for a new PSU, but a thought crawls through my mind. I look at the back of the case, and (once again, typical dell) the PSU bay only supports one formation. That formation is this one:

I guess what I'm really trying to ask here is, is this a good PSU in the link above, and if I have a 250 watt PSU right now, in my computer, will a 400 watt damage it an any way?