ned some quick helpfor the proper video driver

[digitalduck]

OK, so my friend just bought this all in one Dell

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1218091498682

it has a Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 for the graphics... does that even have an updated driver or is he stuck...games like FraCry look horrible.. what can he do? I know its a graphics issue, but can he do anything to make his games look half way decent?

THanks

 

[BushLin]

Make sure the game is patched as well as updating the drivers, you'll still have to turn image quality settings down to get a reasonable FPS with onboard Intel graphics even at 1024x768.

 

[digitalduck]

Thanks, what about an updated driver though in addition to the patch?

Thanks! ill patch it now! He wants to instlal UTIII and i just want to make sure it will even run I know nothing about the on board videdo chipsets

 

[BushLin]

What about the driver? Download the latest from the Intel site.

 

[digitalduck]

That's what I mean. I'm a geforce guy how do I know exactly what to look for down to the model. Or is it just one for all?

UPDATE: I saw the driver utility on the site..i hope that improves things Thanks!

 

[dguy6789]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your friend will probably have a seriously hard time running Unreal Tournament 3 on that machine as is even with a driver update. To make matters worse, it's a thin desktop so normal graphics cards won't even plug in. Find out if the machine has a PCI Express x16 slot. If it does, have your friend buy this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102829 That is the absolute best thing he could put in that machine to improve gaming. It would help a ton.

 

[digitalduck]

dguy6789.. Thanks Ill have to look inside to find out... is it any different from a standard pci slot? Sounds stupid but I use my agp ad pci slots... wjat would a pci express slot look like?

Thanks!

UPDATE:

From Dell:

PCIe x16(1), PCIe x 1(1), PCI(2) On the 537 but he has the 545 but i dont see that on the site... either way, it should work

 

[dguy6789]

Sounds good.

PCI Express x16 is a slot for graphics cards usually. PCI Express x4 and x1 are superior to PCI, but serve the same basic purpose, just general add in slots. PCI is kept around just because it's old and tons of add in cards still use it.

 

[zagood]

You're going to need a low profile card PCI-e card with low power requirements. My cousin has the same one and its a pain in the butt to work in. Lots of little screws.

What's his budget?

 

[digitalduck]

50-100 I would imagine would that one one Newegg from above work? Or is it not low profile nough?

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your friend will probably have a seriously hard time running Unreal Tournament 3 on that machine as is even with a driver update. To make matters worse, it's a thin desktop so normal graphics cards won't even plug in. Find out if the machine has a PCI Express x16 slot. If it does, have your friend buy this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102829 That is the absolute best thing he could put in that machine to improve gaming. It would help a ton.

No this would be the best: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814187061

 

[zagood]

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem

Originally posted by: dguy6789
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your friend will probably have a seriously hard time running Unreal Tournament 3 on that machine as is even with a driver update. To make matters worse, it's a thin desktop so normal graphics cards won't even plug in. Find out if the machine has a PCI Express x16 slot. If it does, have your friend buy this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102829 That is the absolute best thing he could put in that machine to improve gaming. It would help a ton.

No this would be the best: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814187061

I agree the 9800gt is more powerful, but the 4670 doesn't need an external power connector. Might want to check if he even has one coming off the psu.

FYI the i545s comes with a 300w PSU, if you're worried about power requirements.

 

[dguy6789]

That's pretty cool, I've never seen that card before, good to know. Indeed it is a much faster card, but does his system meet the power requirements?

 

[digitalduck]

Awesome, thanks guys ill take it apart later today and see what kind of PSU we're looking at...
WaitingForNehalem.nice card.. i have the 9800gts so that would be a nice compliment..

 

[digitalduck]

Yeah, looks like its 300W enough for both cards?