Which Graphics Card ????

**johnnie** · #1 17th Nov 2008, 12:01

HI, i have a dell dimension 3000 that wont play games, im not looking to spend too much but i dont have clue, Ie total none techie, Thanks in anticepation.
johnnie

**SocialWarfare** · #2 17th Nov 2008, 12:08

Correct me if im wrong but I think the 3000 is integrated only(no agp or pci-e)
Which means you can only put PCI graphics cards in it, which are under powered and over priced

**johnnie** · #3 17th Nov 2008, 12:25

Thanks SW, Im sorry but i dont know! a Pci from an agp, i dont think i need a super hi performance bearing in mind that the PC must be 3-4 yrs old.
I remain dazed & confused!

**SocialWarfare** · #4 17th Nov 2008, 13:22

90%+ of graphics cards use AGP or PCI-E sockets to connect to the motherboard and as far as I know your computer does not have either. So you will have to get one that connects through one of your PCI slots
I not sure what kinda games you want to play, but your options are very limited
Something like this is the bet you can hope for really

You should download CPUID, run it and select the mainboard tab and tell me what it says beside Graphic Interface

**johnnie** · #5 17th Nov 2008, 16:10

HI, yeh ive run that prog and the section besides graphic interface is blank! ?

**SocialWarfare** · #6 17th Nov 2008, 16:21

I guess integrated is what you have then so PCI is your only option
So from my link in the other post it looks like that will be your best bet, what kinda games are you wanting to play anyway?

**johnnie** · #7 18th Nov 2008, 00:19

Thanks again SW for the assistance, I havent played a game in 3 years but i never finished Max Payne 2 so thought id have a go b4 seeing the movie, so i guess for that a real basic card would do, The whole pc wants an upgrade at some time so i dont know it its worth turbocharging it now,
cheers johnnie

**Bubba** · #8 18th Nov 2008, 21:23

You can't turbo charge or even upgrade that machine in anyway that is meaningful for the money for a gaming application. It was built on the cusp of some technological advances that have left it behind so to speak. It's a great machine for many applications and as long as you are happy with it, I wouldn't throw it away but.......... I wouldn't spend a penny on it for any upgrades. Dells are built in such a way that you can't upgrade them much. Heck, you can't even throw away all the parts and install all new parts in the case.

It seems to have served your purposes well but I would suggest seeing the movie without finishing the game lol. Otherwise that will be one expensive movie ticket...........

I hope i didn't come across as harsh as that was not my intent. My intent is to save you from throwing away cash.

**Hybr!d** · #9 19th Nov 2008, 08:29

I would start saving for a decent overhaul, ie; new mobo, chip and GFX card.

Any PCI card you can add to your current setup will make little difference to performance.

**johnnie** · #10 19th Nov 2008, 10:24

Thanx, At the moment i cant run any games, ie there is no card, ive seen pci cards on ebay for 5-10 quid, what do you think ?
Ta