I have a Sony PCV-RX640, with a 32MB Graphics Card. I have never installed or removed a graphics card in a computer before, and I have no idea which one to get. I have no idea which one's are compatiable with my computer. I'm not sure which one to get because some video cards have plugs and ports of which I don't know what are. Mainly I just want to know if all video cards are supported with my computer. I have 2 PCI, and one AGP (or what ever it's called). Please no vague or stupid answers.
2006-07-16 06:29:00 · 5 answers · asked by Ben J 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
just go to sony's web site and enter your make & model # and they will tell you exactly what to get.
2006-07-16 06:33:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Either AGP or PCI will do. but AGP is made for graphics cards, so that would be the best bet. Second your 32MB is enough memory to run most games. But if you what high end graphics then you might want to upgrade to a card that has at least 56MB surely no more then 128MB. Now there are two main top of the line video card company out there ATI and Nvidia. Do a search on http://www.newegg.com and search for one thats in your budget.
2006-07-16 15:38:57 · answer #2 · answered by Tinkertron 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have to tell you that the next answer by Tinkerton is completely wrong. Sorry Tink, let me explain. The absolute minimum for a modern graphics card is 128 MB. You actually need a minimum of 256 or even better 512 MB, and the best cards have DDR3 RAM, the latest and most expensive type. They don't even make DDR3 cards with less than 128 MB of RAM. You will need this type of card to play games like HALF-LIFE 2, FAR CRY, QUAKE ....any cutting edge games especially flight simulators. You will definately need this type of card to run WINDOWS VISTA in the future. And almost all graphics cards are now PCI Express, it is actually a better and faster slot, but there is really no performance advantage for PCI Express...YET. PCI Express does has far greater bandwidth, but cards are just starting to exploit this bandwidth. All the information in Tinkertons answer is completely incorrect. Again, no offense Tink. ( But Newegg is a good place to buy.)
Now to answer your question....
You have an AGP slot on your motherboard, here is the Sony support page for your system;http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=PCVRX640&LOC=3
Right now is a great time for buying a video card, but some are better than others, it just depends on what you can spend.
With the following cards you won't have to worry about other connectors just one run of the mill 4 prong 12 volt plug. The extra power plug you've heard about is strictly for the highest end cards. Video cards are really easy to install, just slip it in the slot, but before you remove your card you need to push down on the white tab by the bottom of your card on the end towards the front of your computer (on the board) this locks the card to the board . Look online if your nervous, there are many illustrated tutorial about upgrading. Here is a good one from Case Western University.http://biorobots.cwru.edu/server/howto/buildcomp/cards/
Recommendations;
Budget Nvidia 6800GT (don't bother with a 6600 series)
Mid range 7800GT (I have an AGP board and I use this card, it can run anything)
Luxury Card (out of my budget) 7900GT, but they don't have an AGP model yet (may never happen).
UPDATE!!!! BAD NEWS; You have AGP 4x not compatible with newer cards (8x AGP), sorry! New Motherboard is opportunity to get PCI Express motherboard. You can get one for $50 but need to rebuild. Sorry to give you this news. Good luck.
2006-07-16 13:38:41 · answer #3 · answered by ferdinand 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, it really depends on what you want to do. The best way is to go look around the minunim/basic specs of the software you wish to run a buy a lilttle higher then that. a good site to go to is www.newegg.com, they will tell you complete spec's of the videocards. Since you have AGP and thas a lil dated now since new technalogies are based on PCI-x I would start looking at Nvida 6600Gt series minunimly. and go up to the 7900GT but, beware, make sure you buy a compatible card with your mobo.
2006-07-16 13:34:17 · answer #4 · answered by chimeitekisentou 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you have the handbook from the motherboard you should find there what video card are compatible. If you don't have the handbook, look over the internet, at their website
2006-07-16 13:34:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋