Hi,

I am a complete novice so please bear with me... I have a Medion Professional Computer Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.80GHz 2.79GHz 480MB Ram and Windows XP Home. My young children are showing an interest in games ie Lego Star Wars. I tried to load it and now realise I need a graphics card. As my son is only four years old it is going to be some time before I need a more powerful computer but trying to work out what graphics card I need so we can buy games is mind boggling. Please help.

Hi and welcome to D-A-L

by looking at the specs you've supplied it's using 32MB of RAM for the graphics.


do you know anything about the machine?

for details on the machine please go > here <download belarc advisor and run, it should give you lots of details about your PCplease go here download belarc advisor and run, it should give you lots of details about your PC

Thanks, this is the information it has supplied. Unfortunately doesn't say much to me besides what I already knew.
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600) MEDIONPC
Enclosure Type: Desktop
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
2.80 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD MS-6719
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG 11/12/2002
Drives Memory Modules c,d
60.02 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
39.39 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

IDE DVD-ROM 16X [CD-ROM drive]
MITSUMI CR-48XETE [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

ST360012A [Hard drive] (60.02 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 3KC09VH9, rev 3.30, SMART Status: Healthy 480 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'A0' has 256 MB
Slot 'A1' has 256 MB
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0) 29.98 GB 12.10 GB free
d: (NTFS on drive 0) 27.41 GB 26.22 GB free
e: (FAT32 on drive 0) 2.62 GB 1.06 GB free

Network Drives
None detected

That motherboard is specific OEM to Medion so it is very difficult to get specs:

MD6719 MSI MS-6719 MD1567, MD1620 04/10/2003-SiS-651-6A6IXM4FC-00
W6719M7 V1.15 033103 13:20:00 MEDIONPC

Try this scan please: http://www.d-a-l.com/hardware-scan.php

It should show if you have an AGP slot or PCI_E etc. towards the bottom of the post.

Here is the information. Is it enough or do you need all the info?

Expansion Slots:
Property Value
Slot Designation PCI0
Slot Designation PCI1
Slot Designation PCI2
Slot Designation AGP

I have been to PC World trying to find out what I require. They did suggest a graphics card if I had an AGP slot but did say that I would have to open the machine to find out. As I wouldn't have known what to look for, your information is greatly appreciated. There was only one graphic card that they had available on the shelf which was about £80, but unfortunately I cannot remember what it was. Do you think a novice like me would be able to install it? I am happy to open the machine up and my husband may be able to help. I used to work for a software company and have a book called "How computers work". It is talking about 95/98 software but would it point me in the right direction?

I am also looking for an external hard drive. Anything specific I should be looking for?

Most likely that board takes an AGP 8X/4X card. They are quite common.

All you do is open the case and slide it into the slot.

I would try to verify your specific computer however. The Medion site/ Download library shows how to ID it and we can look at the manual.

Hi Jephree,

I found the serial number and keyed it in but I am now a bit lost. It states that there are manuals but the novice cannot find them. The serial number is 11326020070330. I got to the AGP Chipset Driver SiS and downloaded the info but couldn't find anything that made sense to me, so I looked at the details but again could not find anything that made sense. Sorry to be so useless...

Karen

There is no manual there but just drivers and a BIOS.

Any idea what the model is called?

Anyway looking at those drivers I am still fairly sure that it is a standard AGP 8X/4X.

Is the computer a full size tower? Or a flat desk top model?

I see that motherboard in one case is in a Medion powerplus 2880

Anyway here is a place to start looking:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&r...US&q=agp+8X+UK

As you mentioned Pounds I am assuming UK in that search.

Hi Jephree,

The model is an PC MT5 and the type is MT 175. It is a full size tower. What does 8x/4x mean? I have been looking at prices but I don't understand what I should be looking at. For example there is a PNY VERTO GEFORCE 6200 AGP8X for about £40 and then HP nVidia GeForce2 MX200 8x AGP 64MB with DVI-I for about £66. I am scared that I will buy something and then it will not work. The nVidia is not owned by HP is it? If so, the company my husband works for has been bought out by HP so perhaps I can get a discount. There is also Sapphire RADEON 9600 XT - Graphics adapter - Radeon 9600 XT - AGP 8x - 256 MB - Digital Visual Interface (DVI) - TV out to name just a few. Should I have a certain amount of MBs on the graphics card?

What will run a reasonable amount of games for a 4 and 7 year old who are not so far that much into games, even though the 4 year old is showing more interest? The Lego Star wars game that I bought and has started this whole saga says CPU Pentium IV 2.4GHX, Ram 512MB, Graphics 100% DirectX compatible 64MB Direct 3DCard with pixel shader 2.0 support (Geforce 6 series/Radeon x series) recommended. Is my machine up to it if I buy the appropriate graphics card?

Once again thanks for all your help so far... perhaps I will learn something about computers after all. I do find it interesting but do feel I am out of my depth. Yes I am in the UK.

Thanks

Karen

i'd opt for the 6200 or 9600XT. the higher the amount of RAM on the card, the smoother the games will be. however, lego star wars is a very undemanding game so for a 4 or 7 year old, either the 6200 or 9600XT should be more than enough.

the Geforce2 is an antique though. so... not a good idea.

your computer should be able to use the cards perfectly and also run the games smoothly. as i believe your current RAM is 512.

i've played even more demanding games on a lowly 512 as well. so yeah you can buy that two cards without worry.

edit: come back and check the forum every once in awhile. believe me you'll learn alot. i did.

2nd edit: you can run the Detailed PC Scan link on my signature as well. it'll tell you which cards are safe to use.