If I need to go buy a "16MB 3D video card", what is it that I need to go out and buy?

[yoyodyne]

You can only put in a PCI card (not PCI-E). I doubt you’ll find one at a Circuit City, but any of these should work ok.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

@Mr. Slant

Your box is fully depreciated.
In your computing shoes, if I had $500 of fully expendable savings and a decent amount of reserve savings, I’d just get a new one.

Yeah, that’s what it’s starting to look like. Need to discuss this with the Goose Financial Committee (me and Hubby), but looks like it…

Thanks, all, for the advice.

[Waverly]

“If I need to go buy a “16MB 3D video card”, what is it that I need to go out and buy?”

A time machine! It’s been a long time since a 16MB cards were common equipment.

[asterion]

@Duck Duck Goose

Okay, so, what I’m hearing is that there probably isn’t a quick fix where I can just go down to Circuit City and point, “Those. I want one of those.” If I’m going to have to go find out what my AGP’s voltage is–which is going to entail, first, finding out what an AGP is; second, where it is; and third, how I determine its voltage; and then after that, I get to figure out what, and where, its “slot” is–then frankly the whole project is definitely beginning to sound like it’s way out of my league.

The computer is a eMachines “Tower”. It has stickers on the front that say, “Celeron”, “Intel Inside”, and “633 IDS”. That’s the sum total of my knowledge.

AGP stands for Accelerated Graphics Port. Everything you could need to know is explained here, which would also tell you what voltage and slot the card is.

According to this, you need at least a 500 MHz processor and 128 MB of RAM. If you don’t have both of those, getting the new video card is just one part of what you’ll need.

Anyway, is this your computer? If it is and the base model with 64 MB of RAM, you’ve got the CPU for it, but not the RAM. You’d also have an AGP 2X slot, so one of the ones I linked to from NewEgg would work.

[Lemur866]

DDG, you can get a really cheap new machine that is 100 times better than that clunker you’ve got now. Oh, you’ll probably want to get a WindowsXP machine if you can get one, rather than Vista…a low-end system will choke on Vista.

[yoyodyne]

@asterion

Anyway, is this your computer? If it is and the base model with 64 MB of RAM, you’ve got the CPU for it, but not the RAM. You’d also have an AGP 2X slot, so one of the ones I linked to from NewEgg would work.

It doesn’t have an AGP slot, the onboard video is AGP 2x.

[iamthewalrus_3]

Hell, I might just have an old video card that will work. I’ll check tonight. If I do, you’re welcome to it.

FIrst check to see how much system memory you have. If it’s only the base 64MB, you’re going to have a tough time, even with the new video card.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

You are so kind. Thanks anyway. The Better Half and I spent the afternoon looking at computers online and at various Big Box stores, and the upshot is that he just now got back from Circuit City with an eMachines with a modicum of extra RAM so Vista won’t suck the guts out of it before my game even gets rolling.

So I won’t have to figure out where my AGP slot is after all (heaves sigh of relief ).

End of crisis, I guess. Thanks again to everyone.

[Epimetheus]

Anytime! I hope you enjoy your game.

[iamthewalrus_3]

Have fun with your new toy, Duck Duck Goose.

It turns out I didn’t have an old PCI video card anyway. But if anyone wants to add some faster USB ports with a PCI USB2 card, step up to the bar.

[asterion]

@iamthewalrus(:3=

Have fun with your new toy, Duck Duck Goose.

It turns out I didn’t have an old PCI video card anyway. But if anyone wants to add some faster USB ports with a PCI USB2 card, step up to the bar.

I’ll offer up a 2-port 6-pin Firewire card, also PCI. I don’t need it anymore since Apple changed the iPod to no longer work with Firewire and I’d rather go Ethernet crossover for physical connections between my Macbook and my desktop. And if someone really does need the aforementioned video card, a few bucks for shipping and it’s yours.