Video Card upgrade question, Please help this confused gal.

[LaLaLand]

I want to upgrade my video card to the GeForce 4 ti4200 that Best Buy has on sale, I have a old integraded shared video card. I have one open AGP expansion slot but don't know if it's 2.0 or higher as the website says it requires -> PNY Ti4200 What is the easiest way I can find out if I can use this card? Is there a list of compatible and non compatible boards?

Also it says that a 350 watt power supply is required I have just 250 watt power supply now. How hard is it to upgrade this?

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ANY HELP! I can provide any more info about my system if someone can help me out please!

 

[gregor7777]

There's a few things to think about here actually (Welcome to AT BTW):

One : what kind of setup do you have (CPU, MB, RAM) Why? Because sometimes newer video card may not really help all that much if the rest of your system is not up to snuff. But seeing how bad onboard video can be, almost anything will be an serious upgrade for you.

Two : Depending on the deal you get on the ti4200, it may be a very good option. There are a few other cardsa out there (ATi 9000, GF4 MX, ATi7500) that are not quite as nice as the ti4200, but due to the rest of your system not being able to keep up will be just as fast.

Three : The power supply. 250 is a bit low. Many a system out there run on 250 and even less, but really, ytou should get at least 300-350 in your system if you're thinking of upgrading with quality components. Dificulty? Well, it depends on how much you know. It's not really all that bad (4 screws and you just need to connect it to your drives and motherboard where the old supply was connected). But then again, installing a car battery is supposed to be easy but I know nothing of cars and it would be time consuming and difficult for me I'm sure.

Anyhow, check out the main Anandtech site to find comparisons and pricing info.

Good luck to you!

 

[styrafoam]

If you have integrated video I would make absolutely sure you have an agp slot. Agp slots are dark brown, while pci slots are an off white color. Having integrated video and an apg slot is uncommon among name brand pc's such as Compaq, Gateway, and HP.
I am currently running a GF 4 ti4200 and have a 250 watt power supply, so it is possible to get by. If there are unexplainable problems like random reboots and such after you add the card maybe getting a bigger power supply would be a good idea. The PNY website lists the power supply as a requirement to simplify things for themselves, or so it would seem.
If you were to post your system specs and part brand/models, or if it is a name brand computer then the model number it would make it easy to give you specific answers.

 

[CurtCold]

If you were to post your system specs and part brand/models, or if it is a name brand computer then the model number it would make it easy to give you specific answers.

Bump


If the rest of your system is low end, you probably would be better off with a GF2, or a Radeon 8500 series, for the price, also look around the "Hot Deals" forum for a better price on that video card.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Agree completely with everything said, so what can you tell us about the rest of your system LaLaLand?

As a rough guide so long as your CPU is over 1ghz then you will almost certainly have an AGP2.0 slot. 250W is doable but it would be a very wise idea to get a 350W PSU, pref branded Antec, Enermax, ToPower, SFlower or Sparkle.

If your CPU is below 1.4ghz and you don't plan to upgrade in the near future then GF2, GF4MX, Rad7500, Rad8500 and Rad9000 are better alternatives as you won't get the most out of your GF4TI.

What do you plan to use the PC and particularly the gfx card for?