on board graphics

conZ

i have an on board graphics card and want to up-grade it.
what can i do?

strat

1. buy a graphics card
2. fit new graphics card
3. disable onboard one
4. install new graphics card drivers

conZ

thx m8.

Blitzkrieger

Originally posted by StrataGIST
[C]disable onboard one

He means select the new one as your default card by right-clicking on your desktop, going to settings-advanced-change. Don't disable it by hitting it with a hammer. ;)

Inspector Gadget

Originally posted by Blitzkrieger
He means select the new one as your default card by right-clicking on your desktop, going to settings-advanced-change. Don't disable it by hitting it with a hammer. ;)

Could he not mean "disable it in the BIOS so that only one graphics card shows up"??? That's what I'd do anyway...

Gadget

spooky donkey

And dont forget to check if you have an AGP slot on the board, you probabally dont and so you will have to buy a PCI card, which is a little harder to get youre hands on and a little more expensive.

conZ

ya, my card is AGP.
its on-board...,
so will i just be able to slip in another AGP card and the drivers and then disable it, will it be working then??

Inspector Gadget

Originally posted by conZ
ya, my card is AGP.
its on-board...,
so will i just be able to slip in another AGP card and the drivers and then disable it, will it be working then??

Assuming you disable the on-board one [edit]and you've got an AGP slot to stick it into[/edit], yeah, it should be fine (a PC can only have one active AGP device at a time)

Gadget
P.S.> I'm guessing that sig, poignant and all as it is, breaks the rules on size...?

Zab

To make sure you digested what spooky donkey said: The fact that you have AGP on-board graphics does NOT mean you have an AGP slot. Your going to have to open up the computer and see if there is an AGP slot on the motherboard. If there isn't, you'll have to go with a PCI card.


Zab.

Quigs Snr

Just to add. If you are unsure about the difference between AGP and PCI slots if you are opening up your pc. The PCI slots are the white ones, there should be normally between 3-5 of them. There will only be one AGP slot and it will be in the middle of the board, next to the PCI slots. The AGP slot will normally be BROWN. and will be set slightly further away from the edge of the board than the PCI slots.

There are also other considerations such as the speed of the slot. 1x, 2x or 4x.

Most manufacturers claim 'onboard AGP' graphics, however many and if not most of these boards do not have an AGP slot at all, especially older boards.

If you have to get a PCI card then I would seriously consider a new motherboard, if you are a serious gamer as the PCI cards tend to be slower, and also they are not really made anymore. The best you could hope for is really a Geforce 2 MX (there may be other slightly better ones about). The Geforce2 MX I think is probably slightly behind the average card these days, although still a reasonable budget choice. However PCI cards tend to be rare these days and because they are made in such small quantities they cost a bit more too.

What make is your PC/Motherboard ?

conZ

got my computer made by this lad i know and everything seems to be SiS ****., presume the motherboard would be that too...
ill check it out.

conZ

k, just got a pic of my motherboard(thx to swiss) and it goes like this:

This is the left-hand side of the motherboard

---

This is the right-hand side of the board(both are meant to be side by side but there isin enoug space and the pic cam in 2 parts)

---

- There is one 4x AGP slot and 5 PCI slots.

>would my existing graphics card(which is an on-board card) be in the above 4x AGP slot?
>would that mean i would have to get a PCI card or what???

Inspector Gadget

Originally posted by conZ
- There is one 4x AGP slot and 5 PCI slots.
>would my existing graphics card(which is an on-board card) be in the above 4x AGP slot?
>would that mean i would have to get a PCI card or what??? [/B]

"On Board" means that it's built into the motherboard - seeing as it appears to be a "one chip chipset", probably under that gold-coloured heatsink I see there. This means your AGP slot is free - good news for you, and no need to get a PCI graphics card.

Gadget

conZ

sweet..
thanks gadget:)

Quigs Snr

I have used that particular board before. AGP card no problem It will take anything you throw at it.

It is a singlechip board as well, you are correct in that, this is how it can be manufactured so cheaply. The chip is under the orange heatsink, which by the way is attached with an awful double sided tape whcih doesn't conduct heat very well.

A lot of people with ECS boards have removed the heatsink, cleaned off the tape and reattached it with some Artic Silver and superglue to give it better thermal conducting properties. I do this with all ECS boards and in some cases it has gotten rid of certain intermittent problems. But thats a discussion for a different day. Leave well enough alone if you are happy with performance.