ATI Radeon x1300 (PCI) issues

B

bwzhou6543

New Member
Hello, I'm new to the forums so please bear with me.

In December last year i ordered this video card off the dell website (bad choice now, i know) because it was the only PCI card available (i have a dell dimension e310 that comes with no PCIe or AGP slots...).

In a number of games (NWN 2, HoMM V, Oblivion, Command and Conquer Generals, etc) whose requirements were easily met by this graphics card--i tested on systemrequirementslab.com too--still lagged, even on the lowest settings.

Now, i'm wondering if this is because of some settings on my computer? my power supply, as some friends have suggested? (measly 230W dell standard)
I talked to dell and they said that NOW they don't guarantee that the card works 100% with my computer...

Help would be much appreciated, thanks.

(PC: 1GB ram, 3 gHz pentium 4)
 
There isn't much hope for that computer i rather would suggest you to build a new one, but this time build it yourself, not off some builder site like dell,ibuypower,etc
 
Yeah, I realize that now... but finances were really a problem, since my parents always looked for the cheapest deals for a desktop (for me) even though they have like 3 laptops. Also, we tend to get a new desktop like once every 3 years, so there's really no hope for a new one before college, which is next year.

Is there anything I can possibly do?
 
I'm using both an x1300 pci-e AND a x1300 PCI, and both of them work equally well with 3d-accelerated graphics.

In fact, the PCI x1300 can even decode HD videos just fine as well.

I would imagine it's probably a collection of garbage in your registry, as well as compounded outdated ATI drivers.

When's the last time you reformated your computer, and did a fresh install of windows?

I'd be willing to bet that would breathe some new life into that computer.

Only takes an hour or so.

Just back up your movies/music/pictures/documents, forget about the rest. You'll be suprised how little you miss all those old apps you haven't used.... ever, that you keep anticipating you'll need some day.
 
I would suggest doing some clean-up first before you buy any other hardware...
If you feel a little uneasy about doing a fresh install, you could try removing some spyware first and then clean-up your registry...

If you do not know any spyware removal tool, here is some:
AVG Anti-Spyware: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-spyware-free
Spyware Terminator: http://www.spywareterminator.com/dnl/landing.aspx
Ad-Aware: http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html

It is perfectly fine to have two or three spyware removal tool in your computer. In fact, I would say it is adviseable.

As for registry cleaning tool, try one of these:
CCleaner: http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
RegCleaner: http://www.worldstart.com/weekly-download/archives/reg-cleaner4.3.htm

Personally, I only have experience with CCleaner and I'd say it really help me improve the speed of my computer. First time I ran it, it removed 2GB of useless files.

Try these out. If after everything your comp still running slow, then fresh install is in order as the nest course of action.

Hope this helps. :)
 
Thanks for all the advice.

I'm a computer clean-freak. My desktop is minimal, I uninstall any unused apps, and try not to get ANY viruses/malware on my computer. I'm running mcafee (not that good), adaware, and ediwo, as well as using registry booster. I'll try those though, and see what happens.

Also, on the box: "ATI recommends 250 watts or more for optimized performance with all graphics cards." or something like that.

Here's my spiel on hating dell:

I talked to to the rep, who directed me to the only PCI card on the website (this one). I asked if any power issues; he said no. So i go ahead and buy it, and last weekend, due to many problems, i talked to another rep. (s)he says that they don't guarantee 100% compatability with PCI slots since "they aren't made for video cards." Also, (s)he "claimed" that my computer has "reached its maximum possible power supply?" Dell lying? Anyone?

So, I'm thinking that this is, after all, my power supply problem. There shouldn't be any problem with upgrading that to ~325-375 watts should there?
 
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