[Krix]

First off here are the specs on my pc LINK

Its a Sony VAIO pcv-rx860. Ive had it for a few years now and it is the best pc ive owned. Its been a very reliable pc for me.

My issue is the video card. Its still "stock" i guess you could say.
I dont play many games mainly because my PS2 is enough for me. I plan on getting AOE:III because I love the others, but my video isnt up to par.
Min is 64mb video and im at 32mb. I dont need a top of the line card. I need somthing that will get the job done....cheaply.

My main question is on the AGP. I have AGP 4X but can I use a card that is AGP 8X? I googled it a little bit and I'm confused. I know enough to get by and thats about it.

Basically can i use an 8x card? and any suggestions? i would like to get atleast a 128mb card and depending on the price a 256mb.

 

[crxfisher]

While it is possible that some 8X cards will work in your 4X motherboard, I would not recommend it. You should just stick with a 4X card if you know your PC has a 4X slot. If it isn't matched up perfectly, you could damage your card and/or board.

 

[Lumpy53]

Here is one the best places I know to to shop for computer parts. http://www.newegg.com Best prices around and you can search by excatly what your looking for. Also some of the cheapest and fastest shipping I have seen. Usually around 3-5 bucks on smal parts and I get them in about 3 days. Also they have great customer reveiws to help you make up your mind. good luck!

 

[Krix]

thanks for the link Lumpy, i may have found what I need...among other things as well. LINK seems like a good choice to me.

If it says 4x/8x that means its compatible w/ either one correct?

 

[Lumpy53]

Yea that means it will run at 4x or 8x. Gota love that 4 day shipping for only 4 bucks!

 

[crxfisher]

I agree about NewEgg. They are awesome!!! Can't beat the prices.

 

[toxiclows]

I run my whole computer shop off of newegg.... cant say enough good things about them.. that is a great card that you have selected for the money...

that should fill the bill..... depending on how your computers bios is layed out. . . . you may need to go into the bios and disable the onboard video...

the other advantage of having a seperate video card is that it has dedicated video memory... and will free up 32 meg of systemram for you ... so it is like getting a small system memory upgrade at the same time. . .

Chris

 

[joshman]

I have an extra AGP card laying around now that I have switch PCI-x. It is a 9500 Pro modded that is running at 9800XT speeds. Best price I could do would be $100 though considering I spent $50 in cooling alone. Here is a pic of it in my old rig. Kind of hard to make out but it has Arctic Cooling fan on it with copper ramsinks.

Newegg is amazing. I spent thousands of dollars there for my systems as well as systems for friends and have yet had a problem.

 

[Krix]

thanks for the offer Joshman but its a little more than i was looking to spend. sounds well worth it though.

Im not very demanding on my computer other than movies. After seeing some prices on other parts Ive decided ill probably just start upgrading this one instead of buying a new computer.

After the video I might bump the HD from 80gigs to somthing a little bigger and upgrade the ram.

Toxic: when i get the card i might need some help some help on disabling the video. I tried it on my last computer when i upgraded the video but never got it so it kept that ram dedicated to the video i wasnt using.

 

[Neo_ART]

yeah. keep looking newegg.com i spent only $1200 off there and have an amazing computer. http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814102410
thats the video card i got. and it rocks. and was pretty cheap compaired to most video cards within the same stats, that youd find in stores.
(i actually have a whole list of all my computer parts from newegg if you ever want to know [pm])[/url]

 

[toxiclows]

Toxic: when i get the card i might need some help some help on disabling the video. I tried it on my last computer when i upgraded the video but never got it so it kept that ram dedicated to the video i wasnt using.
_________________

count me in..... id be glad to help.. .

Chris

 

[joshman]

Just in case, you have verified for a fact that your computer has an AGP slot? A lot of intel motherboards that had integrated graphics did not have an AGP slot.

 

[Krix]

i havent popped the case yet, just going by sony specs. I'll pop it open before I order it though.

 

[Neo_ART]

stats from the link you gave on your computer

Video Output

* Graphics processor
* SiS 651

* Video output form factor
* Integrated

* Video output interface type
* AGP 4x

* Video output type
* Graphics adapter

im pretty sure that the AGP 4x thing means you can use any video card that is compatible with AGP 4x

 

[joshman]

That can also state that the integrated graphics is running off the agp bus already built into the chipset. It does not state whether or not it actually has an AGP slot but if I remember from back when I worked at circuit city I believe the SIS motherboards used by Sony do in fact have an AGP slot.