video card selection

Ok new to the forum and have done some reading and have already learned some stuff so awesome forum you guys got here.



With that said my main machine I built a while back kicked the bucket and I have two hp compaq machines (d530 and dc5100) sitting around so I figured i'd pickup a video card for them and get back to online gaming.



Im not really sure what kind of bus or slots they have so im not sure what to go with in terms of pci, pci express or agp so I was wondering if anybody could help me out on that and possibly suggest or point me in the right direction for a decent video card for these machines.. They will be using XP Pro sp2, 1 gig ram and will be used for NHL 07, Enemy Territory and some other games that don't demand the most



SO what would you suggest video card wise for these two machines with cost of $150 and below in mind? I have two gforce fx5500 256mb cards sitting around but neither seem to be the correct bus or slott type



Thanks for your time



- Ryan

The card you are using uses AGP slot which means that you have AGP slot.For AGP my recommendation is 7600GT.

Yea I figured they would both use a AGP slot now that i look at them because the slot is far back from the back of the machine's casing.



I like the 7600gt's but the only issue I see is that these cases require a smaller card width-wise or more low profile of a card which i tihnk is the problem im running into when trying to find at least a 256mb card that can handle games.. any other ideas or recommendations?



thanks



ryan

You case must be a mini case then? That is the what I call the curse of the prebuilt PC. Vendors like HP and Dell all use non standard cases and configures, so upgrading it would be a pain, to force you to go back to them for an upgrade. I strongly suggest you get out and buy yourself a standard case, they are not that expensive, the budget ones are really cheap and then transplant your computer into that standard case.
Then you have the freedom of going down to your local computer store and pick up any card you want knowing that it will definitely fit in your case.
Yeah, the 7600GT is the best value AGP card to get. Its just not worth it to get a more expensive AGP card because they have no upgrade path whatsoever, you are better off spending the case on a new computer.

Yea it's called a "small form factor" style case.. and I totally agree with you about buying a new case or bare bones setup but the reason for me wanting to use these compaq machines is because my current machine's mother board died and im very poor.. plus I have two dc5100 and one d350 that I got in a trade awhile back so I want to put them to use instead of putting out money again to build up another machine when Im really low on funds and have our first baby due soon

So you guys say go with the 7600gt agp card.. that's what i'll try

thanks for the help fellas

Yeah the 7600GT would be the way to go if you are on a budget.

It's a good card! You can play all sorts of games maxed, CPU willing. Oblivion, The witcher (just released), overlord, whatever. It plays the crysis demo medium, though not with the bestest of fps.

The 7600GT requires a minimum of 350W and 18 amps pushing the +12V rail. Double check the label on your power supply and make sure it meets these requirements.



Twice I tried to upgrade the GPU in my Sony Vaio. The 280W PSU in the Sony could not handle the GeForce 6200, for example. Unforunately, the PSU is usually an overlooked factor when people go to upgrade their video cards in OEM machines.

For the 7600GT, a 300W power supply should be enough.

With all due respect, it will not be enough. Further, I doubt the PSU in either machine will have the amps necessary to power the video card. Remember, HP/Compaq uses very low quality power supplies in their business oriented machines. In fact, these computers are not designed to run next generation components.



In a previous post, Elitehacker recommended removing all the components from the OEM case, and moving them into a standard ATX case. This case could be a mid tower or a full tower. Hopefully, the motherboard is micro ATX. If you can confirm this, that's the best scenario.



I would recommend browsing the HP support site, and possibly chatting w/ a customer service representitive. Click here for the dc5100 and here for the d530. They should be able to tell you the form factor of the motherboard. If it's micro ATX, you can move the parts into almost any case.



Look, I'm not trying to shatter your dreams of getting a new video card. You can get a new one if your motherboard conforms to an ATX standard. Unfortunately, you'll need a new power supply (at least 350W w/ a +12V rail pushing 18 amps) and a new case.