Shopping For A New Graphics Card and Pulling My Hair Out!! Help!! Okay, I need a new video card. I have a nVidia GeForce 4 MX 420. So, I was just looking at another nVidia GeForce with a higher number. My bro-in-law, who builds computers from kits for a hobby (so he knows a little bit, not sure how much. . . ) pointed out that I can't just pick one out like that, that these things run at a certain speed, and if I get one that's not compatable it will not work. Mine is a 4x, and most of the newer video cards are at 8x. Also, mine is a 64 MB memory. So, he was afraid to tell me to upgrade to an 8x because he didn't think it would be compatable. We found one that was an all-in-one, but it was over $300. I don't have that kind of money. He also pointed out that I need to upgrade my RAM. I am running with two 256 MB RIMM, and have two empty slots for two more. Oh, I have a Dell, which he says are tricky to upgrade. My Dell is a Dimension 8250 with a pentium 4 running at 2.4 gigs. Not sure what else you need to know to help me. We did find a few Raedon Video Cards that he thought might work, but we didn't know how well. If you have any ideas (Or if you can figure out what I'm talking about, LOL) please help! Thanks!!
Firstly, I'd expect a motherboard supporting a 2.4Ghz with AGP to support 8x - it's been out for... well, a long time. Also, as Josh said, any card you buy should be backward-compatible. I have not yet seen an AGP8x card that is unable to run on AGP4x or AGP2x bandwidth. Then again, there were quite a few things I had never seen before these forums... still, I can say with near-absolute certainty that any AGP8x card will run on AGP4x. Just don't get PCI-E and you should be fine.
Thanks guys. We just ordered it: nVidia GeForce 5500, 256 MG, 8x speed. Should be here later this week. Got a good deal at overstock.com.
