well im gona buy a new GFX card to replace my old GeForce MX440. i need to know some things so if someone could help out it would be great 1. i heard that GFX cards come in two types PCIE and AGP, how do you tell which one your comp takes?? 2. What do i need to do to install the GFX card? is it plug and play? or do i need to reinstall windows etc etc? thanx alot for the help guys!!
Run CPU-Z (google it) On one of the tabs it says "Graphics Interface" It will say PCI-E or AGP. You dont need to reinstall windows, I dont think it depends on the card but you just put it into your system and run the drivers.
Most older systems use AGP, but use the tool yamiyugi listed to find out for sure. Certain cards require seperate connections to the PSU, but you can simply insert most graphics cards. Make sure your old graphics drivers are uninstalled before putting in the new one. Then after that, it should be a simple task of installing the drivers.
My 7800GT was just plug, install drivers, and play. Most others are the same way I believe. AGP slots have a little plastic lock on them thats how I always remembered it. It also helped that I opened up and fiddled with my computer so much my old set up burned out so I know a wthink or two about my system.
If its a huge step-up like a 6600 to a 7900 then you should reformat since your comp was used to such an old card. Other than that just update your drivers. Its mostly plug and play, just ground yourself before touching anything.
not necessarily true a lot fo cards use the same drivers. if you uninstall ALL the old drivers associated witht the card though such a reinstall is not needed.
bull. a 6600 and a 7900 use the same drivers. you only need to reformat or uninstall if you switch between ati and nvidia, or vice versa.
not on linux though... heh kind of sad, I bought my 7800GT in part for linux driver support and foundout drivers for it weren't even fully developed yet. good call on calling out a newb. as for refresh, it's either a PCI card or an AGP card(which is most likely) what's your budget? 50-100 not sure radeon 9600 perhaps 100-150 x800XL or 6800GS 300+ 7800GS AGP
