I need a video card?

Question

I had set up an older HP for my kids and they insisted on playing runescape. The conclusion? One day the computer froze up, they turned it off and the video will not reboot the video. You can hear it trying to boot up but there is no video at all.

It is an HP, 800MHZ, 128MB RAM, 20 gig hard drive.

It's not working anyway so I figured I'd give it a shot as a computer project of my own...but what type of PCI video card should I go for? What MB, etc?

I forgot to mention---It is loaded with 98se.

Originally had ME but it was just too unstable for me.

Answer 1

Any video card will do, as long it was compatible with the slot on your mother board, since it was PCI then you may try NVDIA, for the MB they have until 64 MB, try this also so your games will run as smooth as you want.

Just don't forget to ask for the driver. some shop don't give the cd driver for this.

Answer 2

Warning! You should *not* assume that the video card is the culprit. This is not at *all* clear by the symptoms that you describe.

However, it *is* a quite reasonable idea to *test* the video - it certainly *could* be the problem. Since this is the case, I *highly* recommend that you buy a video card from a dealer that does not charge a restocking fee. Many dealers charge 15% or more for items returned if they are not defective. Since you are only testing a theory, there is no point on you spending $ for a video board that might not be of any use to you.

The second thing you need to make certain of is the card slot type. I suspect that you have already checked and determined that your PC has only PCI slots. However, you should be aware that there are other types - namely, AGP, PCIe and PCIe x 16. These are *not* interchangeable. Make certain you choose a card that has the correct slot. Be *especially* careful not to confuse PCIe with PCI. PCI never has a x 16 identification.

Here is a great site for pricing just about anything computer related

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/video-cards/p/5/popup2%5B%5D=2:596/sortby=priceA

It should be listing only PCI boards for you - but you still need to make certain (before buying) to read the description and verify that what you want is PCI, not PCIe. The nVidia boards generally are faster the higher the number is. Thus, an FX 5200 is faster than an MX 4000. THe eVGA 6200 looks like a great deal. Includes 256 MB of RAM, which is also very useful for gaming.

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/video-cards/m/47800561/

eVGA has a solid rep, and so does nVidia (the chip they use). I would check newegg, frys and zipzoomfly for rebates as well before purchasing. Again, check to see if you can find a vendor that does not charge a restocking fee. If your mother board is dead and you have to replace your system, you will never need a PCI video board.

Jim, http://www.life-after-harry-potter.com

Answer 3

I bought a Visiontek ATI Radeon 9250 PCI card, 128MB ram, at Walmart for $67 bucks,(plus tx. of course!) Requirements on box state Pentium III processor, you meet that, Win98,ME,2000,WinXP, you meet that,(probably runnin' Win98), 250 watt power supply, or better. This might be the shortcoming. Check your psu, look for the wattage,and see if a power supply might be in your budget.Might want to check Directron.com for psu's: http://www.directron.com/standardatx.html Nvidia makes a better vid card, easier to change options, some say better graphics. Read the System Requirements on the end carton of the graphics card box, to know if this computer will handle it. See if your computer has a AGP slot, or is it PCI. You need to match your vid,(graphics),card to this. More questions, we're here!

Answer 4

Hi. One of the lesser expensive PCI cards should be fine for Runescape. Its not very graphics intensive. 64MB or 128MB should be fine. You can always get a better card and move it to a newer PC when you upgrade though.

Answer 5

If there just playing runescape u won't need that big of a graphics card at all even 32mb graphics card would work. either ati or radeon brand are good..If they plan on useing it for more games than that ud have to see what the game requires for it to be played and get one based on the game settings.

Answer 6

Theres your problem, WinMe has more drivers than 98se. Thats what i'm running on my 333ghz presario. I tried 98se, but all I could get was 16 color I had integrated video. But as soon as I got Winme my color went to 32 bit at 800by600 or 16 bit at 1024 x 768 which is fine with me.

Answer 7

i have a pci 7300 ati and it works really well at just over a hundred