Hello,

First timer here. I'm thinking about buying a new video card so I can play a couple of games that have recently caught my eye. They are Unreal Tournament 2003 and Command & Conquer: Generals. I can't run Generals at all. I downloaded the demo for UT2k3 and it's very choppy even with details on the lowest settings and special effects omitted. It doesn't make sense because I have the recommended system requirements for it and i've updated all my drivers and such. My current video card is a nVidia TNT2 32MB 64 Pro. I'm wondering if it makes a difference if a video card has SDRAM or DDR. It probably just depends on the slot. I'm thinking about maybe getting a nVidia GeForce FX5200 256MB card because I saw one at Wal-Mart for $50. Seems like a great deal to me because that's what I paid for my current card several years ago. However, do you think this would be a wise decision? Or is there something I don't know about that's causing UT2k3 to run choppy. I even have the minimum amount of programs running in the background as well. Please help me out! Thank you.

Unfortunately for you your processor is a bit on the weak side, but your graphics card is much weaker. For a system like that you would probably put a 128Bit/128Mb Radeon 9550 in it or go as far as a 9600Pro or 9600XT. But I'm not very familiar with those games. A card like theese two would be good.

9600Pro: $56
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

9550: $51
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

This will definately improve the gaming performance of your computer, but your computer is getting a bit old and isnt going to cope with high settings at all. Though it will be playable.
I was surprised by my sisters computer being able to play the Sims 2, 600MHz K7, 320MB Ram and a 9550SE. It actually plays ok even under the reccommended requirements, playable anyhoo. Maby you will have good luck too.

Mattwizz3 : )

Sempron 2600+ @ 2.2GHz
1Gb DDR400
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
200GB SATA
2X 80Gb IDE
256Mb MSI 6800 Ultra

Before you spend any money, make sure this system is enough to play these games besides the video card. You don't want to spend any money on an AGP video card if you're gonna need to upgrade the motherboard anyway. New motherboards have the newer PCI-e graphics card slots, not AGP.

Keep in mind that in most cases, the "minimum requirements" are exactly that - what you must have in order to run the game, not necessarily what to run it well.

Also, before you buy a card, make sure you have the correct slot. TNT2's were made in AGP and PCI. You may very well need a PCI video card.

"How many squirrels had to die to make you look fly?!"

And if you do upgrade your card, you'll usually get a much better deal online. For instance, this BFG FX5500 OC is much better than the Walmart FX5200 & it's $20 cheaper:

http://www.pcdirect.com/product.asp...

If you type PRICEWATCH in the Promotion Code box, you'll get free shipping.

Obviously you'll need to confirm that you have an AGP slot 1st.

Here's an oldie but a goodie at the same site...Geforce2 Ti 64MB/128-bit DDR for just $15. No where near as good as the FX5500 OC, but a definite improvement over the TNT2. Same free shipping deal as above:

http://www.pcdirect.com/product.asp...

Thank you all for your responses. I have all PCI slots but it looks like I may have an AGP slot after all. They are brown, right? I have one brown slot that is about 3 inches long and another one that is about 1 1/2 inches long. That GeForce2 Ti 64MB card looks very nice for only $15 :) but can someone confirm that I even have an AGP slot? I don't really need to have high details... Just medium would do fine just as long as UT2k3 runs smoothly. On some sites it says that UT2k3 requires a 1Ghz CPU and others it says it requires a 733MHz CPU. Unfortunately, I think it requires 1Ghz which is what I have. I have more than enough ram at 512 because it only requires 128. Probably just my video card needs upgraded. I have another question... How do you know which CPU will fit in your motherboard? I see things like AMD blah blah Socket XXX. How do I know what socket I need to aim for when purchasing a new CPU? Thanks again!

If you could tell us the motherboard model that would be a great help. To find out, download Belarc Advisor and it will give you details on your motherboard.

You could have either a Socket A or Slot A system. Either way its not really worth upgrading both the CPU and graphics card on such an outdated system.

Mattwizz3 : )

Sempron 2600+ @ 2.2GHz
1Gb DDR400
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
200GB SATA
2X 80Gb IDE
256Mb MSI 6800 Ultra

You can't necessarily go by color, because board manufacturer's can use whatever color they like...but generally, PCI slots are white & AGP are brown. The AGP slot is the upper most slot & it sets farther away from the back edge of the board than PCI slots do. Here's a pic:

http://www.cheapcomputersandparts.c...

Without knowing the make/model of your motherboard, we can't verify what you have. As for the CPU socket type, the Athlon 1.0GHz is either a socket A (aka socket 462) CPU or a Slot A CPU. The slot A type kinda resembles an old Sega Genesis cartridge & stands upright on the board, like this one...notice the AGP slot between the CPU & row of PCI slots:

http://www.keycity.ca/ebay/amd.jpg

Thank you again for your responses. I must say, I am pleasantly surprised to see the number of people on this site willing to help others. I ran a computer analysis and my motherboard is a; Micro-Star International Co., Ltd MS-6330. It definitely looks like I do have an AGP slot. I have a brown slow just below the CPU that's further out than the other slots. So that's good news :). Your help is ALWAYS greatly appreciated.

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Is this your board?

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/...

That's basically my board. I mean, it isn't exactly but it's pretty darn close. The only real difference I can see between mine and that one is that the blue and white slots go horizontally on that one but vertically on mine. My motherboard isn't a K7T Turbo 2 though. Very, very similar though.

This appears to be my exact motherboard;

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/...

Actually, it could be either;

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/produ...

or

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/produ...

I'm not really sure if I have version 3.0 or not. I guess if I update the driver to 3.0 or over I will automatically have MS-6330 LE3?

You can't turn your board into something it's not. The model number & the version are printed right on the board, between the PCI slots. If you wanna be sure of what you have, all you need to do is look.

get an ATI Radeon 9800 PRO/SE 128MB for AGP. its your best bet for an AGP, if you can find it of course. Its really rare. Geforce 5 series is crap, dont bother.

Pentium 3-750ghz
256MB RAM
3dfx Voodoo 5 5500 64MB AGP
20gb barracuda hard drive
19" Sony trinitron

There's a HUGE difference between an SE & a PRO. And they're not rare...Newegg has a few different brands, as do other online sites.

AdrianF06,

If you do consider something like the 9800Pro, be aware that it must be plugged into the power supply because the AGP slot doesn't supply enough juice. The extra plug-in is typical of higher end AGP cards. But if your PSU isn't up to handling the extra load, you'll run into all sorts of problems.

I saw the model number but I never saw the version. I've looked time and time again. Yeah, I heard you have to plug a power supply into higher end cards. I'm not really looking for a higher end card though. I'm just looking for a card good enough to run UT2k3 smoothly at like medium details. Something that is somewhat powerful, yet inexpensive.

Yes! After closer inspection, it looks like I DO have a MS-6330 K7T Turbo Lite3!

I downloaded the K7T Turbo(MS-6330 v3.0) manual, looked at a diagram of the motherboard, and saw that it has SIX PCI slots. I only have five... It must be what I have because it says "K7T Turbo VER3" right under one of my PCI slots.

Is the board red or green? If it was the LITE version, there'd be a "Lite" sticker on the chip to the right of the PCI slots.

Regardless of all that, we know you have an AGP slot so all you really need to do is decide how much you're willing to spend on a new video card. For $30, you can't beat the BFG GeForce FX 5500 OC...especially since it's a straight up deal (no tax, no shipping with the PRICEWATCH promotional code). The OC in the model means 'overclocked'...so it's faster than a standard FX5500. Plus it has a lifetime warranty! It's a good match for your system specs & should give you decent gaming results. Here it is again:

http://www.pcdirect.com/product.asp...

Yeah, I know. My motherboard has the Lite sticker but there is a regular Lite and Lite version 3.0. I imagine I have Lite version 3.0(or known as LE3) because under my PCI slot it says "K7T Turbo VER3" and I have the "Lite" sticker on my motherboard. Put those together and I guess I have Lite version 3? Yeah, that card may be what I get. Thanks for showing it to me, Jam.