JATON VIDEO-338PCI-DVI GeForce 6200 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Low Profile Video Card $92.99 at Newegg.com

doesn't specify power needs

I have a HP that supports PCI only, only 250w power, What should I do? My son wants to play his games with out waiting on the video to catch up.

As a gift for Christmas, I was shopping, oh no, need an education to do this. Can I replace the motherboard, which might increase and cooling, and then buy a really good video card? Or will that mess up all the other hardware? This is complicated when you con't know anything.

What games does your son want to play?

If he is looking to play the current lineup of games then the chances of you upgrading more then the video card are high?

Also give more details of your system and what are you willing to spend in upgrading.

P.S: Also try looking in local computer junkyard stores. I'm pretty sure you can find a PCI card better then the 6200 and for way less

Insanity is doing the same thing over & over & expecting different results. Now unplug it & wait a few minutes & plug it back in and see if it works

It depends on which games he wants to play. Personally, I think $93+ is WAY too much to pay for a PCI card. How about this Geforce 5500 256MB/128-bit for $65 instead?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

"Can I replace the motherboard, which might increase and cooling, and then buy a really good video card? Or will that mess up all the other hardware?"

It's not the hardware that you'd need to worry about. After the board swap, Windows will no longer work & will have to be reinstalled. And the HP CDs will no longer be useable because they will only work with the original board.

BTW, how much memory do you have? For decent gaming, you should have at least 1GB.

Which integrated graphics chipset are you using right now?

If it's an ATI X200 or Intel GMA950 or higher, then a PCI graphics card wouldn't be much of an upgrade.

Even the lowly GMA950 easily outperforms the FX5200/5500 PCI cards in 3DMark01 and 03.

The PCI 6200 wouldn't be much faster than the FX5200/5500, simply because of PCI's limited, shared bandwidth.

PCI cards also decrease the speed of standard 2D GDI redraws. While this isn't too noticeable in many apps, the slower 2D redraw speed can easily be seen in programs like Photoshop or even Flash.

The Movie PC:
PIII-S 1.4@1.66GHz, 158MHz FSB, 512K L2
2GB DDR333
nVidia 7950GT AGP
Optoma 1280x720 projector
JBL 5.1 amp and speakers
104 upconverted WMV-HD flicks!

easiest (not the cheapest) thing to do is buy a new pc. This is the same reason I bought myself a new pc from Digital Storm. Definitely worth the money, especially considering how much use it gets and that it is almost future proof.

"it is almost future proof"

LOL, there is no such thing!

almost was the key word. and yes u r right about that. pc's are like b.o.a.t.'s...break out another thousand

DigitalStorm, Stacker 830, XP Pro sp2, nForce 680i SLI, Kentsfield, 2gb, 2 8800GTX'S, X-FI Fatal1ty, 244T