How do I get answers about motherboard?

Question

Problem is I bought the computer over a year ago from someone who is no longer in business. It was one he built and I have no manual on it...no info at all other than what the computer itself tells me. How do I find out if I need ATI or whatever compatible video card?

Answer 1

Most motherboards will use both Nvidia and ATI video cards. What you really need to figure out is if you have an AGP slot, PCIexpress slot, or just PCI slots. Unfortunately, the only way I know to tell this is to open the case and look at the motherboard visually. You should be able to find pictures of what each slot looks like online.

*edit* Just recalled another way. Download Belarc Advisor:

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

Once you run it, it should tell you what kind of motherboard you have along with several other bits of info about your computer. This could help you track down more information on your motherboard.

Answer 2

There are several hundreds of types of motherboards out there and it is almost impossible to track them down from the information given. If you need to track down your motherboard model, get as much information as you can from wherever you got the motherboard. Get all the numbers you can off of the board and then try this list at the AMI BIOS site, or try this list of junky motherboards. You could also try checking Motherboards.org and Wim's Bios Page. If that doesn't work, go onto AltaVista (or your other favorite search engine) and type in the string or part number that you were going to send in. See what you find.

If you put processor xyz into a motherboard you didn't know would support it, what can we say about that? Try another processor from your friend, or buy a real motherboard with a real manual. You can get a cheap one for US$80. How much is your time worth? You should never, ever, ever, ever, ever get a motherboard without a manual. Even when you do get a manual, you might have trouble sometimes.

Answer 3

Motherboards don't require ATI or whatever compatible cards. Graphics cards come in PCI, AGP, PCI Express versions.

First, look at the motherboard - many well known brands will print a model number on the board and often the brand of board as well. If you can identify the model and brand you can download a manual.

Given the PC is about a year+ old, it PROBABLY uses an AGP or PCI Express graphics card.