Serious NOOB question - Graphics Card on POS

[boostedf22]

So I have a HP Pavilion a705w, I KNOW I KNOW. Before all the crap comes, I know it is a POS. But I would still like to put a graphics card in it. I had a Nvidia Geforce 6200 from like 3 years ago, still Brand new in the box. I know the card is not worthy of game play nor is the computer. But for a simple game like Counter Strke 1.6, even using the onboard graphics chip I was getting around 40fps. I figure with a decent card that the mother board will support I should get to 100FPS. ( HOPEFULLY)

So my question is to you, if you had this comp, and wanted better game play, WHAT CARD WOULD YOU USE that the mobo would support?


Thanks in advance - Jay

Edit- Comp stats are stock other than 2gb of RAM.

Oh and would I have to get a bigger power supply? If so what Voltage would be needed?

 

[AlbertLionheart]

The specs for the motherboard in your machine are on http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&docname=c00100539 but it does not tell you what AGP slot standard it is.
Look up agp slots and find out what one you have (bars across the slot will tell you) and then see what is available. Choice will be limited.
I doubt you will need to upgrade the PSU

 

[boostedf22]

The specs for the motherboard in your machine are on but it does not tell you what AGP slot standard it is.
Look up agp slots and find out what one you have (bars across the slot will tell you) and then see what is available. Choice will be limited.
I doubt you will need to upgrade the PSU

Ok, bare with me now for I am NOOB. (lol)

This agp you speak of should be on my Motherboard correct? I see the AGP1 on the mother board but there is no slot there. Just the pinouts for the socket.

Does this means one of my PCI slots are being used as a AGP slot? I looked at the motherboard itself and I saw nothing that stated AGP on the 3 PCI slots. So I am kinda lost now.

 

[LinkedKube]

a pci can't use up an agp slot that's not there, it looks like you're limited to pci slots. CS isnt demanding though,

 

[AlbertLionheart]

This AGP is a slot on the motherboard - usually just the one. You should find other slots of similar type but different which are PCI slots. Your motherboard has on-board graphics which means that there is a dedicated graphics chip on the motherboard and a socket on the rear panel (blue insert and usually near the keyboard socket).
If no AGP slot then you can use a PCI slot but you will not get the performance, I'm afraid.

 

[CCT]

'This agp you speak of should be on my Motherboard correct? I see the AGP1 on the mother board but there is no slot there. Just the pinouts for the socket.'

In the pic you posted, the 'AGP1 slot' shown is where an AGP card would be inserted. When you say 'there is no slot there' do you mean that the area is just empty?

 

[boostedf22]

This AGP is a slot on the motherboard - usually just the one. You should find other slots of similar type but different which are PCI slots. Your motherboard has on-board graphics which means that there is a dedicated graphics chip on the motherboard and a socket on the rear panel (blue insert and usually near the keyboard socket).
If no AGP slot then you can use a PCI slot but you will not get the performance, I'm afraid.

Yeah theres no AGP slot for a AGP card. Just the 3 PCI slots. So does this mean even if I get a graphics card it wont improve my FPS in the game? If it does improve them, what card would be the best?

 

[boostedf22]

'This agp you speak of should be on my Motherboard correct? I see the AGP1 on the mother board but there is no slot there. Just the pinouts for the socket.'

In the pic you posted, the 'AGP1 slot' shown is where an AGP card would be inserted. When you say 'there is no slot there' do you mean that the area is just empty?

Yes the area is just blank. It has the solder points but no brown socket. I have a onboard graphics chip.

 

[AlbertLionheart]

Put it this way, you would be better spending your cash on a better motherboard, CPU and RAM!
I appreciate this is not quite the same thing but buying a PCI graphics card wil get you something unlikely to work well with an old motherboard, maybe not at all.

 

[CCT]

Given that your mobo uses the Intel i845GE chip, which provides pretty fair onboard graphics, the video performance with PCI will likely be worse.

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/eg1/index.htm

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Nah, PCI graphics will work quite well, and is the best path IMO if you're only playing CS. This card is what I would recommend for that.

You'll have to disable the onboard graphics via the BIOS though, before you plug in the card.

 

[AlbertLionheart]

We all have different ideas - mine would be to spend the cash on upgrading the RAM in the system which I would expect to give more bang for the buck. The choice is yours!

 

[boostedf22]

Put it this way, you would be better spending your cash on a better motherboard, CPU and RAM!
I appreciate this is not quite the same thing but buying a PCI graphics card will get you something unlikely to work well with an old motherboard, maybe not at all.

Well since you mention that, I have been wanting to expand my gaming. I like playing on the PC better than any other console. I like my computer accessories (i.e G5 mouse, G11 keyboard, monitor) I have been playing CS 1.6 like theres no tomorrow and its getting old. If I wanted a decent gaming computer and didn't want to spend a gazillion dollars. But wanted to play today's games, what would be the recommendation? Also would building it myself be cheaper than buying a already built comp? Opinions on buying a used PC?

Sorry for the multiple questions but I am not the most knowledgeable in this field....

 

[boostedf22]

We all have different ideas - mine would be to spend the cash on upgrading the RAM in the system which I would expect to give more bang for the buck. The choice is yours!

The system already has 2gb of ram, could I get more in it since there are no more slots available. I never seen 2gb pc2700 184 pin ram sticks. Even with 2gb ram, on board chip I only get 40 FPS in CS.

 

[AlbertLionheart]

This opens a whole new set of options!
1 - there is not much more you can do with the RAM unless you can tweak the BIOS to reset the amount of RAM allocated to the graphics function to maximum.
2 - New system - I don't know where you are so cannot make a sensible suggestion. Generally speaking if you buy a prebuild machine this is better for office use. For a games machine you should build your own.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

A machine built yourself will not only be cheaper, but afford you warranty on each individual part.

As an estimate, $500-800 can get you a computer capable of playing all the latest games with most (if not all) of the detail options maxed out. The actual amount will vary depending on how much you can pay, where you're located, and what resolution you play at. You could also buy a decent barebones PC and upgrade that part-by-part.