want better graphics

I want to expand my PC.s graphic capabilities to handle games better, but i dont really know where to start with regards to which one is right for me. I dont really have much experiance in upgrading, though i have expanded my ddr memory. here is a brief spec of my PC. It a pretty bog standard, bought at large retailer, ready made up affairs.

IM845G Motherboard

Main chipset
Intel 82845G GMCH
Processor/Host bus support
integrated graphics AC 97 controller
integrated 3D/2D graphics accelerator
integrated 350 MHz RAMDAC
arithmetic stretch blitter video
Power management functions

I also have one AGP expansion slot and three PCI expansion slots.

from what i have read, i will need a card that fits in the AGP slot. Is this true? will i need to remove anything? I'd rather it was just a case of slotting a card in and that being that. Also, any suggestions of a good card are welcome. cheers

 

yeah you use the AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot, if its onboard graphics you'll need to turn those off and then slot in the new card and install the drivers (turn the computer off to insert card)
what sort of games do you want to be able to play, other people on this forum know more than me about graphics cards so i'll let them take over from here.

 

if you want to play all games at best settings, the x800pro is the best option, you can pick them up for around 190-399 pound (UK)

 

Thanks. So, I put the card in the AGP expansion slot. Before i do this i switch off the onboard graphics. do you mean my current graphics arrangement? If so how do you normally go about this? you dont have to be too specific, just point me in the right direction. Forgive my ignorance, i have only just got into this upgrading malarky. Like i said before, i put a couple off ddr memory chips in but thats all.The game i am constantly playing at the moment is Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War. Its a RTS game. Im pretty much addicted to it and i want to play it on full settings. at the moment its suffers from lag if try to push the settings too far.

 

you need to go
Start>Control Panel>System>Device Manager
he find your drivers for your onboard graphics there and turn them off, then turn the computer off (unplug everything and give yourself space to work and ground yourself before touching anything) and plug in the new card, the manual should instruct you from there about drivers.
(someone correct me if i missed something)

 

Cheers. Ive got much more of an idea now.

 

glad i could help, hope all goes well.
Have you got an idea of budget/what card you're going to get?

 

Im not sure yet. Have you got any suggestions? (perhaps something thats going to give me better results, and a more solid performance than i can achieve with my current set up, but won't cost me the proverbial arm and a leg.) I would love to be able to splash out £300+ but i just dont have that kind of cash at the moment. Nothing more than £150 as a guide.

 

what are your computer specs?
CPU Speed, Ram size/speed etc

 

2.40 GHz intel celeron processor, 1 GB of DDR memory. thats about all i can tell you

 

as far as graphics go using radeon 9200 64MB AGP

 

if you've got an agp 4x/8x slot, I'd get a 6600GT. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814135167R
good one, refurbished. agp.

 

For Dawn of war you would never need more than the 6600GT, that's a very nice card for the price and you'll be able to play any game out today pretty well. If you encounter any problems it's because your cpu is bottle-necking your graphics card. With the money you'll save you can get yourself something cool, like a new game or whatever.

 

OK. Ive been looking around at the Geforce 6600 GT cards, and noticed there are hell of alot differant versions. which one is the best for me?

 

Are any of these any good, and which one is right for me.


256Mb XFX GEFORCE 6600GT AGP DDR3 TV+DUAL DVI

128MB ScanFX GEFORCE 6600GT PCI-E DDR3 TV+DUAL DVI

128Mb AOpen PCI-E 6600GT DVI/TV-Out

256Mb XFX GEFORCE 6600GT AGP DDR3 TV+DUAL DVI

 

For your system conifg id go for the XFX 6600GT AGP, its a beast!

 

The 6600GT AGP is your best bet. Just make sure you get the AGP version, not the PCI-e. That is NOT compatible with AGP or PCI slots. I know the name has PCI in it, but PCI-E (short for Express), but it's completely different in the architecture from PCI and AGP slots.

As far as sticking with a Radeon 9250, you've gotta be kidding. Now, yeah, that Celeron 2.4GHz isn't the best, but that doesn't mean get a slow card.

 

Forgot to tell you that using a 6600 will require an nVidia recommended minimum of 400W power supply, while you may get away with a 350W PSU a 400W would be a good 'safe zone' PSU!

 

If you can try to find a card from eVGA, it's a very good brand and usually their cards come with OpenGL 2.0 compaired to version 1.5 of most other 6600's. It's not a big deal but you may notice a little performance boost in some games that are very dependent on OpenGL, like certain StarWars games.

 

I went and bought and fitted the XFX 6600GT, without realising you needed the 500w PSU. Just seen your warning Pelvis. Anyway, seeing as i currently only have 250 w PSU the card has gone in to safe mode to protect my hardware. So tommorrow i am off to buy a new PSU. Will increasing my PSU harm any of my other hardware? Also i am aware that the 6800ultra card require a supplemental power connection via two standard disk drive plugs at the rear. Does the 6600 require these because they didnt come included with it?