need help with video card

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nickv91489

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i have a VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP and i want to run counterstrike: source. it gets between 13 and 25 fps which is not enough to play enjoyably. how can i fix this? should i buy a new card? im not looking to spend too much money. i dont know what to do!!!! please help me.

nick [helpless n00b]
 
It appears that you are trying to use onboard graphics. O/B graphics don't work very well with the 3D intensive games. Without knowing what video slots your Mobo has, I would think you would need at least a Raedon 9600 (AGP card)to be able to play this game with good fps. If you can give us some more specs for your computer and a price range we can give you suggestions for a new video card.
 
ok well here it goes:

windows xp
AMD Athlon XP 3200+
2.20 GHz, 448MB of RAM
512MB PC2700
DDR SDRAM memory
200GB 7200RPM ultra DMA hard drive
integrated graphics with 64MB shared video memory

i dont know what that all means so i just put everything that is written on the front of the tower.
 
Do you know what kind of video slot it has available? Hopefully either AGP or PCI-e. What is the make and model of your computer? If you don't know what vid slot you have we can probably find out for you with that info.

You can get a pretty good video card for under $150, not top of the line, but pretty good.:bounce:
 
I had a suspicion that I was missing something. Your computers power supply may not be able to handle the power requirements for the newer cards and the card may need a seperate power hookup to your power supply (which it may not have). I wasn't able to find any info on your comp's power supply, so here is a card that should work without a problem but is not as good as the others I listed: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102510

Here is the manual for your computer on how to install the video card. Just make sure to ground yourself by touching one of the metal supports inside the case before you touch anything else inside the comp. http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00230511.pdf

Plug in the card, boot your computer and go into the BIOS (should be F2 right at power up, you need to be quick!) and disable the onboard graphics. Install any drivers that come with the card or go to the mfr's website and download the lastest drivers.
 
The 9600XT should play HL2 decently (there are a couple of reviews at Newegg that people tell what settings they use to play CS:Source, which should eb similar to HL2). If you can take a look at your power supply and let us know what the sticker says for total watts, and how many amps on the 12V rail(s), then you might be able to go with the 6600 without torching your power supply.
 
ok here is everything it said on it:

HIPRO
Model - HP-D2537F3R
AC input (47-63 Hz):
100-127V/6A
200-240V/4A
DC output +5V & +3.3V shall not exceed 165W
+5V & +12V shall not exceed 218W
Max. output power 250W
 
Wow, I just looked that one up and it only has 14A on the 12v rail. To be honest, I don't know if the power supply is up to powering any video card. Does anyone else know if this PSU will work with a 9600XT?

If this PSU won't support any cards, here is a good inexpensive PSU you could replace the stock one with: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104901
It has a total of 34amps on the 12v rails and would keep you under $150 total.
 
Yes you could. In case you are wondering, a PSU swap is pretty simple. Just make sure you plug in everything that was plugged into your old psu, especially your fans! Hey Wolfram, ya beat me to it. It's the sausages I call fingers that slow me down!:)
 
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