Graphics Card

[utrythinkinof1]

ATTENTION COMPUTER GENIUSES! I really need help! Okay so I want to be able to play Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 without my computer freaking out and crashing and i know it's because of my really bad graphics card that came with my Dell Dimension DIM4600. Does anyone know if a (get ready really techinical sentence coming up!) .... eVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce FX 5500 256 MB, 128 bit DDR AGP 8X VGA/DVI/TV Video Card would work on my computer. Would it work well with RCT 3 AND Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004?? And finally would it work on my Dell Dimension DIM4600? Thanks. Oh and by the way... eVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce FX 5500 256 MB, 128 bit DDR AGP 8X VGA/DVI/TV Video Card is on Amazon.com at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002F8SOS/sr=1-1/qid=1140357736/ref=sr_1_1/102-5640369-0267334?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Thanks!:wave:

 

[SteveUK]

In theory, yes the card you mention should be compatible. But unfortunately things aren't quite as simple as that. There are other considerations for getting high spec programs to work nicely, like the processor and the RAM of your machine.

The other issue, is how your current machine is set up. If it has a motherboard with onboard graphics, then adding a new card will be a great improvement ans should be fairly easy. But if you already have a graphics card, then it will mean removing the current one and replacing it with the new one which is not always as simple as it sounds.

Also, you need to consider your warranty. Depending on how long you have had your machine, it may still be in warranty. In which case, opening it and inserting new bits will invalidate any warrant cover you have. If this is not a problem for you, then open the box, put the shiny new bit in and enjoy!

 

[utrythinkinof1]

In theory, yes the card you mention should be compatible. But unfortunately things aren't quite as simple as that. There are other considerations for getting high spec programs to work nicely, like the processor and the RAM of your machine.

The other issue, is how your current machine is set up. If it has a motherboard with onboard graphics, then adding a new card will be a great improvement ans should be fairly easy. But if you already have a graphics card, then it will mean removing the current one and replacing it with the new one which is not always as simple as it sounds.

Also, you need to consider your warranty. Depending on how long you have had your machine, it may still be in warranty. In which case, opening it and inserting new bits will invalidate any warrant cover you have. If this is not a problem for you, then open the box, put the shiny new bit in and enjoy!

My PC has 256 MB of RAM and Pentium 4 processor CPU 2.80 GHz... is that what you are asking for? And when it said 256 MB for the graphics, does that mean you need 256 MB of RAM or does it mean it holds 256 MB of video graphics? I don't know what you mean by motherboard and onboard graphics card. I am looking at the owner's manual and it says my "video controller" is an AGP8X. Is onboard graphics a card that came with the computer? If that is what that means, yes the AGP8X came with the computer.

 

[utrythinkinof1]

Actually I think I just realized that AGP8X means that we have an AGP port on the motherboard. Am I right because on this site on about.com it says that the Dell Dimension 4600 has the ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 9000 with 64MB Memory. I was not aware of that. I am not sure if AGP8X means we have an AGP instead of an PCI port or if that is our graphics card. THanks! I am soooo confused.

Edit: I just went on another website and they say it has a nVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics! ARG!!!

 

[SteveUK]

From what you are saying it seems that the card will be compatible with your machine. The AGP8X refers to a slot on your motherboard inside the case that the new card will just plug into. The motherboard being the big flat board inside the machine that everything else plugs into. If you didn't have one of these slots then the card wouldn't fit, but it seems you will be OK.

As I said though, the graphics card is not the only think that is important in making games run well. 256mb RAM is not a huge amount these days, and if you were thinking of upgrading to a better graphics card, I would consider adding a bit of RAM at the same time. RAM is not too expensive at the moment. Basically the higher the RAM, the faster the machine can do things, that's why it's so important when you running games that are quite demanding. Again this is very easy to do. There will be a slot on the motherboard and you can just plug in more RAM.

 

[Number_6]

My PC has 256 MB of RAM and Pentium 4 processor CPU 2.80 GHz... is that what you are asking for?

I will tell you now, having had a machine that had 256MB of RAM before, you will probably need more RAM to get things running smoothly for those games. If you are running Windows XP, for example, it gives 256MB as the minimum required for RCT3, which means it will run, but very slowly. It recommends 384MB of RAM for an XP machine. And then you have to take into consideration that some of that RAM may be utilized in background applications that you own, so you will need higher than that as a result to allow RCT3 to utilize the needed RAM. Needless to say, I was having trouble with some games load times as a result of my old machine. My current computer has 1GB of RAM and everything runs alot smoother.

 

[utrythinkinof1]

Okay. I will look into more RAM. That might be the reason why RCT 3 runs so slow. From some of the websites I have been to, it looks like my computer has a good graphics card, so it might be the RAM. Thanks!

 

[utrythinkinof1]

Do you know of a website that sells 256 MB RAM for my Dimension 4600?

 

[PrincessCookie]

Starting A Thread

I'm really new to this...can someone PLEASE tell me how to start a thread?! Thanks,
PrincessCookie

 

[utrythinkinof1]

Above all the threads there is a buttopn that says" New Thread"

=================================================​

Okay I just found this RAM upgrade called, 256MB Dell Dimension 4550 PC2700 DDR DIMM (p/n 311-2075). It says it is compatible with Dell Dimensoin 4600. Will this work? http://www.memoryx.net/3112075.html
I think I'm getting somewhere!!!:sohappy: ​

 

[SteveUK]

What you need to do is find the paperwork that came with your PC and check what type of RAM it has. It will have a number that probably begins DDR (something like DDR333, or DDR400). This refers to the 'type' of RAM you use. Then you can buy any brand from any number of suppliers as long as it is the right type.

For example if you use DDR400, you can buy DDR400 RAM from any supplier and it will work fine.

 

[wdwishes2005]

You are way better off with a new computer. I got mine with 512 megs of
RAM a pci-e port and a DVD drive for 400 bucks, ran BF2 out of the box, and with a 150$ graphics card runs great on low setting with 64 players online.

 

[utrythinkinof1]

Hmmmm.....the owner's manual is pretty bad. It is just a how-to guide, not a basic information. :brick: :fork: :goodnevil

 

[brertigger]

Your computer can use either PC2700 or PC3200 memory, according to specs I was able to pull up on your computer (using the model #).

I recommend at least 512MB ram, but 1GB would be a LOT better. You can have up to 4GB, according to Dell. 4GB = 4000MB.

Here is a 512MB stick for about $40 (with shipping).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141164

You can just use two of these to equal 1GB, if you want.

You could leave the old memory stick installed, but it would probably cause less compatibility problems if you only use the new sticks.
If you have any questions, feel free to reply and I'll try to help you out.

 

[wdwishes2005]

run the program DxDiag and post your results here. just press start, then run, then type in DxDiag.

 

[brertigger]

My PC has 256 MB of RAM and Pentium 4 processor CPU 2.80 GHz... is that what you are asking for? And when it said 256 MB for the graphics, does that mean you need 256 MB of RAM or does it mean it holds 256 MB of video graphics? I don't know what you mean by motherboard and onboard graphics card. I am looking at the owner's manual and it says my "video controller" is an AGP8X. Is onboard graphics a card that came with the computer? If that is what that means, yes the AGP8X came with the computer.

It means that it holds 256MB of ram on the video card. No specific system memory needed.

 

[wdwishes2005]

Oh and with that AGP port? dont expect much vid card support for new games, PCI-E is the new medium. Another reason to buy a new computer.

 

[brertigger]

Oh and with that AGP port? dont expect much vid card support for new games, PCI-E is the new medium. Another reason to buy a new computer.

If you do buy a new computer, here are a few minimum specs as a guideline (anything else will probably cause you problems in RCT3):
*512MB RAM
*80GB Hard Drive
*2.4GHz Processor
*CD-RW (probably want a DVD reader, also, maybe DVD-RW for future use)
*PCI-E Slot

 

[utrythinkinof1]

Your computer can use either PC2700 or PC3200 memory, according to specs I was able to pull up on your computer (using the model #).

I recommend at least 512MB ram, but 1GB would be a LOT better. You can have up to 4GB, according to Dell. 4GB = 4000MB.

Here is a 512MB stick for about $40 (with shipping).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141164

You can just use two of these to equal 1GB, if you want.

You could leave the old memory stick installed, but it would probably cause less compatibility problems if you only use the new sticks.
If you have any questions, feel free to reply and I'll try to help you out.

Okay thanks! So if I buy two, then do those go in the PCI slots since there is only one AGP slot. Thanks again.

 

[utrythinkinof1]

run the program DxDiag and post your results here. just press start, then run, then type in DxDiag.

I'm glad you introduced me to that. Okay so it says I have an Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller with Approx. Total memory of 96.0 MB Know wonder RCT3 runs so slow. Does this mean I need to buy a new graphics card and a new RAM stick. Ugh. This will add up to a lot of money.