which graphics card should I buy and will it be compatible?

[krisdeguy]

Hi ,

My mine craft and other Low Spec games (half life 2) are extremely laggy and my pc meets all the requirements , i put all the game settings to low and it is still laggy i then downloaded a program called game booster 3 surprisingly it helped allot and mine crafts lag stopped a little bit and it got a bit smoother but all my games are seriously laggy so What can i do my specs are : 2GB RAM , Windows 7 professional , integrated graphics So i think its because i dont have a Graphics card but im not sure ??

[Plastic Nev]

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help.

Can you please post details of the make and model of your computer, or if a built to order machine the motherboard make and model number, those details will help enormously in helping you and finding what is best for the machine.

 

Yes, to the question do you need a graphics card, the integrated graphics are basic at best, usually OK for normal document handling and viewing video or other media, but for games it is best to get a card.

 

I would also suggest an upgrade of memory too, but that depends on knowing your machine specs as to what can be installed.

 

Nev.

[krisdeguy]

I do not know exactly The pc is in a Dell Optiplex case (GX620) but the parts have been changed when i brought it refurbished and with better specs the proccesor is Intel Pentinum 4 HT Allso I did a crucial .com system check and it says the most memory i can upgrade to is 4gb Edited December 28, 2011 by krisdeguy

[Plastic Nev]

Hi again, OK to save actually going inside to look, we may get the motherboard information from one of these free downloads. First is Speccy, which is reasonably good at finding hardware details and numbers which you can download from here=

 

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

 

The other one is Belarc Advisor, which gives a much more in depth analysis of your system here=

 

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

 

Both handy things to have anyway as they can give useful info for other purposes too.

 

Try Speccy first and let us know what that tells us about the motherboard, we may also ask for other details from what speccy can tell us.

 

Nev.

[RandyL]

It might be the Minecraft servers. Minecraft is played online and the servers do get busy at times. This causes lags and choppiness. Just a thought as my grandson plays it.

[KenB]

Hi

 

If I can add to what has been said:

 

Playing games - even basic ones - needs a reasonable video card. On-board graphics, as Nev has already pointed out, just aren't good enough to cope with the amount of data handling needed.

 

To advise on a suitable card we need to know what motherboard specs you have - particularly the slot where a Video Card to be located.

 

I found this:

click here

If this is your machine it suggests it is an ultra Small Factor - which in itself limits the choice of Video Card.

 

I cannot see any mention of PCI or PCIe expansion slots.

This is what is necessary to house the Video Card.

 

Let's see what the software comes up with - but you may be unlucky and your motherboard may not be equipped to accept a video card.

 

You could always take the side panel off and let us know the reference number on the motherboard.

 

Also - it looks as if your PSU is 220Watts.

If you can add a video card this would need to be upgraded too.

[krisdeguy]

the computer originally was a dell but all have he parts have been refurbished and changed the better and newer ones so i do not think it will be on there website Im going to open the case in a minute and check all parts and if there is no pci

express slots could i get a APG one ?? i was Looking through my computer Things and I Realised i had a old nVIDIA GeForce4 MX -440 128MB ddr Graphics card could this be suitable?

[krisdeguy]

i just used berlac and my specs are : Windows 7 Professional (build 7600) ,3.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4,Dell Inc. OptiPlex GX620 ,Board: Dell Inc. 0FH884 ,2040 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory, Intel® 82945G Express Chipset Family

[KenB]

I think this is your motherboard:

click here

If it is ...

There is 1 PCI express slot.

 

You should, therefore, be able to fit a low profile (not a standard) PCIe Video Card.

 

Next problem ..... You will need to upgrade the PSU if yours is only 220Watts

[krisdeguy]

yep thats the one but mine has loads of masive metal parts ontop i tried putting in the graphics card i allrerady have in but the metal thing at the end with the VGA was to long im thinking about getting this power supply

[h=1]650 WATT Power supply Alpine Black 650 WATT Silent Quiet PC ATX PSU http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511yGLeR4xL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/h]and this Graphics card: VTX3D 1GB Radeon HD 5450 DDR3 Graphics Card with Low Profile Brackethttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419xUP5PMNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Edited December 29, 2011 by krisdeguy

[KenB]

The Video Card looks as if it should be OK.

 

The PSU looks like a standard ATX one - is this the same size and shape that you have on your present system?