I need help with a video card that will work with my crappy specs. This is my Motherboard:

* MB manufacturer name: ASUS A7V8X-LA
* HP/Compaq name: Kamet2-GL6E

I'm thinking about upgrading the 512MB of memory to 1.5GB or 1GB, but i want something that will work either way. If its not possible
then i completely understand and will just do everything with the laptop im buying next summer.

complete info on what i have now

Compaq Presario S6500NX
Video: VIA SG3 Unichrome IGP 64MB Max
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 3000+ 2.2GHz
and 512MB max Of RAM

~Reilly~

You apparently know a fair amount about the board in your Compaq, so you should know that it will accept an 8X AGP card & up to 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2700:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...

A high end AGP video card *may* require a power supply upgrade though. It depends on which card you choose & the specs of your current PSU.

As for your comment about a laptop...if gaming is what you're after, you're not gonna get it with your average $500 laptop. You'll have to invest twice that much for a "gaming laptop". The video "card" generally isn't upgradeable, so make sure to get a laptop with decent graphics to begin with.

OK Thx for the help, and im putting away $1800-2200 for a laptop, so im not worried about that

~Reilly~

sorry for double posting, but i was look at this video card, and wanted some opinions on it:http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?sku=7559384&oext=1038A&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=7559384

~Reilly~

Make sure any ram you buy is compatible with your mboard BEFORE you buy it.
See response 5 in this for some info about ram compatibilty, and some places where you can find out what will work in your mboard for sure:
http://www.computing.net/hardware/w...
Correction to that:
Mushkin www.mushkin.com

You can use either the Asus mboard model or the Presario model to look up which modules are compatible (some ram manufacturers or distributors have mostly brand name system listings, some have only mboard model listings, some have both).
Once you find the module ID strings that work, you can get them from anywhere that has the same modules with the same ID strings.

i was going to use 4allmemory.com here is the direct link : http://www.4allmemory.com/index.cfm...

they swear its compatible

~Reilly~

Why are you shopping at these oddball sites? That's way too much to be paying for a 7600GS. Are you from the US?

EVGA GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP - $85 (after rebate)

Notice that the video card requires a direct 4-pin plug from the power supply. That's why you're gonna have to make sure your PSU can handle the added load. If you don't have enough amperage on the +12v rail, you're gonna have all sorts of problems.

The RAM you picked is way overpriced too:

Crucial 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 333 (PC 2700) - $52

Since that ram is on a page specifically for your model it will work fine - it is guaranteed to be compatible when you look it up like that.
The mistake many people make is to buy ram with the PCxxxx rating they want without looking up whether it is listed as compatible somewhere.
However, you may be able to find one at a better price, or find one at a local place that may have compatible ram (the module ID string must be compatible) for a price good enough such that it is cheaper than if you have to pay for shipping if you order it online (the smaller places that build custom systems and have lots of parts are most likely to have what you need, and they often have web sites). You often have more modules to choose from if you use the mboard model to search with if you know what it is - HP/Compaq doesn't make the mboards - in many cases modules for brand name systems have different module ID strings and there are fewer to choose from, but if you know the actual mboard model, any module that works in that mboard model will work fine - even if HP/Compaq uses an OEM only version of a mboard (slightly modified to their specs) the ram requirements are identical.
And there is often ram on sale or that has a linmited time rebate in the Xmas shopping season, if you wait a bit.

Your graphics card choice is probably fine, but I'm not familiar with NVidia chipset cards - I'm an ATI video chipset fan - the newest one I have is a Sapphire 9600XT 4X/8X AGP, 128mb.
For a given gpu type, the more ram installed on the card, the better it performs at higher resolutions - if you don't use those higher resolutions less is fine, performance is identical.

Thx for the help everyone, just one more thing, i need to upgrade my power source, and that is one part of a computer i know absolutely nothing about, so im going to need help there

Oh, and are you sure those RAM upgrades you sent me are compatible, cause i did the simple thing of comparing the pictures and they look different
~Reilly~

I've been told by someone who builds custom systems you don't need any more than a 350 watt power supply for any mboard and system that doesn't have PCI-E slots, unless it is a server - this mboard and system in fact may work fine with a 300 watt one, or less. If the video card you get has no need for an extra power connector to be plugged into it, you're fine with whatever you have, but if it does have one, a 350 watt one will cover any situation.
You could get one with more capacity for a future mboard, 500 watts or so will be more than enough for most systems, but brand name system cases often have a one piece connector for the power switch, power led, hdd led, the reset switch if the case has one, and the case speaker, that may not be wired right for a newer mboard header for the same things.
Brand name systems sometimes have proprietary sized power supplies that fit only in their cases - a smaller microatx one if the case is smaller (microatx, slim desktop), or an otherwise oddball physically sized power supply - standard PSs are PS/2 sized - 86mm high, 150mm wide, 140mm deep, or 3 3/8" h x 5 7/8" w x 5 1/2" d , or very close to that, though the depth can be more or less for some PSs.
Buy a known good brand name PS model - the warranty should be at least 3 years - don't buy the cheapest PS you can find - el-cheapo PSs are a lot more likely to fail and are a lot more likely to damage your motherboard or other components when they do.

What the ram looks like isn't important as long as it's confirmed to be compatible - e.g. some have more chips, some have less.

Ok thx for the help everyone, i was looking at Power suppliers and im going to upgrade from my HIPRO HP-D2537F3R to a HIPRO HP-P4017F5W i think, will there be any compatibility problems?

~Reilly~

Your original PS is merely 250 watts.

I WOULD NOT buy that PS if I were you!
I would not buy any HIPRO PS!
That HP-P4017F5W is an el-cheapo PS! So was the original one!
You're rolling the dice when you use an el-cheapo PS! It may be fine, but it is a lot more likely to eventually FRY YOUR MBOARD or other components!

I checked out what you need for your model - there's nothing about your model that requires a proprietary PS - you can use any standard ATX PS/2 sized power supply.

Things that indicate to me HIPRO is a brand to avoid:
- you can easily get the HP-P4017F5W on the web for $20 or so - too cheap - think about how much it cost them including shipping to them if they are making a profit at that price.
- the HIPRO web site is very minimal
http://www.hipro-us.com/ATX.htm
- when you click on warranty info on that site, you get:
"Please contact your local sales representative for warranty details on your specific product."
Decent PSs clearly state their warranty on their web site, if not in the specs where they are sold - bare minimum it should be a year - much better if it's 3 years or more.

Search for 400 watt power supply.
Don't look at anything less than $30.
Make sure it is standard ATX, PS/2 sized (most are)

e.g. Here's a much better example of the minimum I would buy - $40 or so:
http://yahoo-ssp-cnet.com.com/power...

Another good but cheaper brand? AOpen.

Since you can use any standard PS, you don't necessarily have to buy it on the web. Keep in mind that you often have to pay shipping as well when you order on the web. Local medium to small sized places that build generic or custom computer systems and have lots of parts probably have decent prices for some decent brands - the price can often be less than a lesser price plus shipping when you order the same thing on the web. Check out the web site of whatever brand to check out what the warranty is.

Prices of really good brands such as Antec, Enermax, etc, vary quite a bit depending on where you are and they have at least a 3 year Warranty - Others - Corsair, Coolermaster, Thermaltake
e.g. I can get a Thermaltake 430 watt for $43 locally.

Others who answer may have lots of other decent brands to suggest.
Personaly I buy Enermax - they're just as good as Antec and an excellent price where I am.

Your mboard requires a 20 position - "pin" - main connector. Many new PSs say they have a 24 "pin" main connector, but it's almost always a combo 20/24 position main connector - one part is 20 position, a second 4 position connector clips onto it's end and is easily removed if already attached.

Ok thank you very much for the help

~Reilly~