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"Graphics cards.."

Lately when i have been playing some of my new games on my pc, i have noticed that the graphics seem a bit smudged , and not very sharp. Also that with the more sophisticated games i have noticed more glitches and some places in a level , especially outside that the detail gets very messed up and sometimes there are bits of the backround missing.
So if i bought a graphics card for my computer would it help these problems and make the game look sharper etc ? Also if it is a graphics card i need is there any ones that you could recommend to me as a first time buyer?
Last thing is are they hard to fit , and is it best to let a special reserve technichan fit it for me.
Will be greatful for any advice on this topic, or some answers to my questions.
Dave :)

Turbonutter wrote:
> B******s, Uncle Albert.

Not at all. It appears (and I'm supported by Reaper here) that disabling the graphics chip first is sometimes required.
Besides, I'd always disable the old stuff first, just to be sure.

Turbonutter wrote:
> B******s, Uncle Albert. I have that onboard card and my Voodoo 5 went in and
> worked straight off. As long as you've plugged the monitor into the new card
> then it'll be fine.


Yeah, I was about to say. It seams that his card is mobo built in. Like mine was, but after installing my Voodoo 3 2000 PCI is was fine. Plug and play. No need to do anything about jumper settings. So Weird kid, what you do is either pay SR, or do it yourself.

1)Disconnect power

2)Open case

3)Locate the PCI or AGP slot using your computer manual

4)Install

5)Put the moniter lead into the new grpahics port which sticks out the back

6)Check its installed properly

7)Put case back on

8)Turn power on

9)Horrah! New Graphics for you. Windows will recognise the new card and just install the drivers from the cd that they give you.

Heh, said I'd reply to this, little later than I thought..

Yes, get the GF2 mx400 - as long as it's an original MX or a 400 you're fine, the 200s are pap...only other sub-£100 card I'd consider is the kyro2, but that has no Hardware T&L, so it'll put more strain on your cpu. Might be worth looking at second hard cards, I've bought quite a bit of second hand hardware, just check the seller's rating on Hexus or suchlike..

Fitting depends on the chipset and how thorough you want to be, I'm never overly cautious with hardware (other than cpus...), as proved by the fact that there's currently a geforce2 on the carpet next to me..You should be fine sticking the card in and installing the new drivers for it, as long as you plug the monitor in to the card and not your current port. If that doesn't work, then yes, you may have to manually disable the on-board graphics in the bios and/or motherboard.

And avoid that TNT2 like the plague..

Oh - so it wont be very hard to fit ? Also will i have to worry about it being uncompatiable with my computer or should it be fine ?

B******s, Uncle Albert. I have that onboard card and my Voodoo 5 went in and worked straight off. As long as you've plugged the monitor into the new card then it'll be fine.

Any time. :)

K - will buy Geforce 2 64mb card once i have enough money whenever that is :( . But any way thanks for the help has been very useful.

1) If you paid Special Reserve to install that card, they would sort out everything and get it working perfectly for you, without you having to worry about the old chip at all!
2) I strongly DON'T recommend buying that TNT2 card. Yes, it's a criminally low price and yes, it used to be the pinnacle of accelerated 3d graphics but nowdays, it's just old hat and I doubt you'd hardly notice any difference from what you're using currently.

The Sparkle 32mb Riva TNT2 M64 is only £40 at the moment if im right, and if i bought that the money left over could go to buying something else. Would this card be adequate for me at the moment, or wouldnt it make much difference ?

Does seem quite complicated , if i bought it from special reserve would they do all that for me aswell as fitting it ?