Dont know which cards fit in my motherboard???

C

Codin

New Member
Alright Im having trouble with picking out a new graphics card. Im fairly new to this whole upgrading computer scene. Ive read quite a bit about what to do with a new graphics card but I cant tell what graphics cards fit in my motherboard. Can you guys help me out. My graphics card that I have right now is a
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420

I want to get a new 256MB graphics card so I can play Oblivon lV, F.E.A.R, and Battlefield 2 not at the highest settings more in the med range. Im not looking for a graphics card that will blow me away just good enought to play the games smoothly. Can you guys help me out?
I was thinking of getting these graphics card if it fit im not sure at all...



PS: Feel free to give me a idea for a better graphics card to get if you think this one wont run the games smoothly. I am willing to spend $100-$150 on it and the power supply I have is 300 watts I think.
 
Last edited:
Well, MX420's were predominantly AGP, although they also came in PCI (not PCI-E). That card should work, but you might want to tell us what motherboard you have so we can be sure.

This card is quite good for the price. You don't have too many choices for AGP cards at this price range. A 6600GT or 6800 would be better if you can stretch your budget, but your CPU may end up bottlenecking these cards. You're looking more towards the low quality settings rather than medium on modern games like Oblivion and FEAR with this card.

EDIT I see you've added in an expanded budget. In that case a 6800 would be a better choice
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the great imput. I dont know how to tell all my settings in my computer. I googled for about 10mins and came up with nothing. Im sure theres programs that tell you what you have in your computer. I have a 4550 Dimension destop. I checked the system info and it didnt really say anything about watts or what my motherboard is.

I just found this card which seems way better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130004
 
It is way better. Unfortunately it's PCI-E and won't work in your system.

The Dimension 4550 has an AGP slot, and will support any AGP 4x/8x video card.

The card I recommended is a cut down version of the ordinary 6800 with only 8 pipelines. It's only real plusses are it's ability to be unlocked, and it's pricepoint. Personally, i'd take it over a 6600GT, which can also be found at a slightly higher price.
 
Last edited:
Codin said:
I know this is really off topic but can you tell me how I can check to see my power supply and and motherboard. Also isnt that 128mb graphics card worst than the 256mb one???
Click to expand...
There's a lot more to graphics cards than video memory. If you're comparing it to the 6600 you found earlier, it's the clock speeds (core and memory) that make the 6800 a clearly superior card. The 6600 can't really take advantage of the extra memory - it's 256MB version will provide almost identical performance to it's 128MB version. It's less clear cut when compared to a 6600GT, which will have higher clocks. I'd prefer the 6800 due to it's slightly lower price and unlocking ability (unlocking to 12 pipelines / 5 shaders shouldn't be difficult, and this will outperform a 6600GT).

Belarc Advisor will tell you what motherboard you have, but to check the PSU you'll need to take the side off the case, and look for a sticker on the side of the PSU. It will tell you the wattage, and, more importantly, the amperage on the +12V rail.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150130
Click to expand...
That's another PCI Express card - you need to look for an AGP card. I know the prices are higher, but a PCI Express card will not fit into your computer.
 
Last edited:
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600)
Dell Computer Corporation Dimension 4550
System Service Tag: *****(support for this PC)
Chassis Serial Number: *****

Enclosure Type: Mini-Tower
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
2.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Board: Dell Computer Corp.
Bus Clock: 400 megahertz---------------------------------Is this my motherboard????
BIOS: Dell Computer Corporation A02 10/02/2002
 
Since it's a Dell Dimension 4550, we know that it has an AGP slot. As I said earlier, it will support any AGP 4x/8x video card, so knowing what the motherboard is isn't important.
 
So the card you recommend well run Battlefield 2 F.E.A.R and Oblivion lV smoothly? I think im starting to understand most of this stuff now. AGP only more pipelines and core = better performce thanks a ton ceewi!

PS: This is my sisters computer that Im using now. She wants it upgrade a little. I just thought I would add a new graphics card so I could play the new games and hold off a bit longer. Ive been holding out for all the hardeware to drop in price before I start to build my computer. Thanks again
 
Last edited:
I just found the specs for that system. A 2.4GHz P4 and 256MB RAM. This will struggle with games like FEAR and Oblivion, particularly in the RAM department. Upgrading this would be manditory for these sort of games.

Here are the system requirements for Oblivion:
Recommended:

3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
1 GB System RAM
ATI X800 series, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card

Minimum System Requirements:

Windows XP
512MB System RAM
2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
128MB Direct3D compatible video card
and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
8x DVD-ROM drive
4.6 GB free hard disk space
DirectX 9.0c (included)
DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
Keyboard, Mouse

With a 6800 you should be all right with respect to the video card, for at least medium settings. Unlocking the card isn't difficult, and will really enhance your gaming ability.

If the budget is tight, though, you'd be better off with a cheaper video card (like a vanilla 6600) and a RAM upgrade.
 
O dont worry Im sticking 1GB of ram in so I guess its 1GB plus the crappy dell 256mbs of ram.

This is the 1GB of ram Im sticking in http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141172

Im going to look into how to overclock I know its kinda bad for the system, If you wouldnt mind could you point me into the direction were to learn to overclock this graphics card.

PS: That Was the best ram I could find for the money Im really sure it fits the motherboard.
 
Last edited:
According to http://www.memoryx.net/dedi454frsib.html the Dimension 4550 supports only 1GB memory in total, and DDR266 isn't the best option. Something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440 is better.

Im going to look into how to overclock I know its kinda bad for the system, If you wouldnt mind could you point me into the direction were to learn to overclock this graphics card.
Click to expand...
Overclocking is somewhat different to unlocking, let me post something on that tomorrow.
 
Alright thanks im getting really tired. Yeah I saw that ram also but thought 1GB seemed better. Crucial.com said it could run up to 2056mb I think. Well thanks for all your help. You really helped me out at understanding all this. Thanks again

PS: Ill be back on to check in about 10-15 hours.

Do you think I should order that memory and graphics card tonight or hold off another day?
 
If Crucial said you could then they are normally right.

I would definitely recommend getting PC3200 ram because it's much quicker for only a bit extra. But I would check what speed your old ram is because if it is slower than your new ram it might be better to just stick the new one in and remove the old one, so you just have 1gb instead of 1.25gb. It sounds weird I know, but ram will always run as fast as your slowest module. So if your old ram was really slow and your new ram quick, the new ram would only run as quick as the old one if you put them both in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top