new graphics card

[the1mc]

Hi i have just received a fairly old pentium 3 pc used predominantly as an office machine and have installed xp pro. I would like to upgrade the graphics card and i am unsure how to determine which type of slots my machine will have and how you can tell the difference.
Also i would like to dual screen and run games, any ideas on which to buy?

Also i have 128mb of ram and would like to upgrade this for a little more speed, again how can you tell which slots, and can you just snap them in or do you have to install them?

Thank you in advance

Mike

[mjc]

We need to know as many details about the machine as possible...is it an off the shelf machine (HP, Dell, etc)? Model? Anything...a PIII machine is a pretty vague description.

[Whyzman]

You might want to have a quick look in Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Information

[the1mc]

of the top of my head - i know it is a fujitsu siemens machine - but i will do some digging

[Whyzman]

When I go with "System Information" on mine, my ASUS motherboard identity appears. Although, not the end all, the motherboard's identity would be a good start...

[the1mc]

Hi i couldnt find anything directly on the motherboard

I have jotted down a load of info from on the machine and in the system info, i dont know what will be useful to you and what wont so please bare with me

Fujitsu-Siemens Scenic T i810E
system type x86based pc
processor x86family6model8stepping10 inteel 930mhz
SMBioversion 2.3

IRQ5 intel(r) 82801AA SMBus Controller
SMB AC/97 audio controller
IRQ 9 ACPI Compliant System
Intel (r) 82802 firmware hub device


pci bus

intel 82810E graphics conroller - 16 bit 800x600x60hz 4mb

I took the cover off of the machine and removed the ethernet card from its slot - there are 3 remaining slots.

The slots are white with copper points inside and broken into two sections one about 3/4s of the length and the other the remainder

[mjc]

You have an i810e chipset motherboard...that means you have very little in the way of upgrade options. You are limited to a PCI (no 'e', 'x' or anything else) video card. Those are getting to be rarer than hen's teeth to find, but they can still be found.

Yes, you will see some improvement over the current onboard video but don't look for any kind of gaming miracles.

As far as memory goes...PC100 256 MB sticks (if you are VERY lucky, you may be able to use 512 MB sticks....but don't count on it and some boards in that series are pushing it with 256s...they will accept 128s). SDRAM is VERY expensive these days, so the amount of money you would spend on the memory and video card may be better used by being set aside and put towards buying a new system...:(

[the1mc]

Thank you very much, i have been having a nose round the internet and there seem to be quite a lot of 'PCI' cards, i was just hoping for one final bit of help, maybe a series of cards released by a manufacturer that will work, or ones that you might recommend.

I have quite a new main system so if its a few quid just tweeking it then great, if not its not too much of a problem as it never cost me in the 1st place.

[mjc]

Most of what you are probably seeing are PCI-e...a new bus architecture that is as far from the PCI on that board as AGP was from ISA.

As an example...


Newegg.com (a major US parts dealer)

# AGP 2X/4X(8)
# AGP 4X/8X(116)
# PCI(42) <== The type of PCI on your board.
# PCI Express x1(2)
# PCI Express x16(380) <== The new 'bus'

They do have a couple of Radeon cards for a bit over $100 that are a bit more than 'halfway decent'...and $29 for a stick of PC100 128 MB RAM...not exactly cheap upgrading.

[the1mc]

would it be possible for you to copy and paste the names and description of the radeon cards, i think i may have narrowed it down on newegg but is quite a costly mistake if i pick the wrong one.

I have found some verycheap pc100 128mb sticks in england from someone who strips down old pcs.

[cros]

I'm not sure what your budget is, or how much you're willing to pay for this old PCI card. But I know you can get some old Radeon PCI cards on ebay for around $20. For example, search for Radeon 9200 PCI. I'm sure most people on this board would advise against buying on ebay, but for an old card like this, I would definately go with used.

A Radeon 9200 with 128 mb video will treat you well.

Also, you should find out if your motherboard will support 256 mb of ram per slot, as you could get 2 256 mb sticks for a fairly cheap price. Last I checked, people are just giving away PC 100 Ram.