Age of Empires 3 will launch soon. I have downloaded the trial version only to be informed when I tried to run it that my graphics card was not good enough.

I tried the utility to see what spec my PC is but it did not work (have Windows XP).

The information is that you need the following to play the game:

* Microsoft® Windows® XP
* PC with 1.4 Ghz equivalent or higher processor
* 256 MB of system RAM
* 2.0 GB available hard disk space
* 32x speed or faster CD-ROM drive
* 64 MB video card with HT&L
* Sound card with speakers or headphones
* Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
* 56.6 Kbps or better modem for online play
* DirectX 9.0c or above

I am looking at buying a new card via eBay. One I have looked at is an XFX NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB AGP8X TV-Out Graphics Card.

Is this a suitable card and is it easy to install? Do I need to be aware of anything before opening up and removing the old card (when I find it)?

Try this scan:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Post what is listed under these 3 headers:

System Model

Main Circuit Board

Display

Originally Posted by jephree

Try this scan:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Post what is listed under these 3 headers:

System Model

Main Circuit Board

Display

System Model:

MEDIONPC

Enclosure Type: Desktop

Main Circuit Board:

Board: MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD MS-6701

Bus Clock: 133 megahertz

BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG 02/22/2003

Display:

Radeon 9000 [Display adapter]

MED MD 1798 OE [Monitor] (15.7"vis, September 2002)

From what i see that board will handle an AGP 4X or 8X card.

The NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 should work fine.

Installing is simple. Just be sure that you are grounded when working inside.
You will need to disable onboard graphics if that is what you have.
This is easily done in the Device Manager & or BIOS.

I am a bit confused about the Radeon 9000 [Display adapter]. This could either be an onboard chip or a card.

If you want to check its' ID further here is another scan:

http://www.lavalys.com/products/over...ng=en&pageid=1

Look under: Display | Windows Video

Also try:

Start/Run/ dxdiag | Display

Installing is simple. Just be sure that you are grounded when working inside.

What do you have to do to ground yourself?

You will need to disable onboard graphics if that is what you have.
This is easily done in the Device Manager & or BIOS.

What will I be looking for?

I am a bit confused about the Radeon 9000 [Display adapter]. This could either be an onboard chip or a card.

Does this image provide the missing information:

What do you have to do to ground yourself?

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,82184,00.asp

What will I be looking for?

Start/Run/ devmgmt.msc Display Adapters
What is there now? If you have an on-board chip and add a card then the two devices will be listed there. Then you would disable the one that appears now. If you currently have a card then removing the card will remove the entry.
There might also be an entry in your BIOS setup. This depends on your machine. Are you familiar with entering the BIOS setup when you start your machine?

Does this image provide the missing information:

Still hard to tell. You do have the 64 MB of RAM required but perhaps not the HT&L features.
* 64 MB video card with HT&L

Try the D-A-L Hardware Scan:
http://www.d-a-l.com/hardware-scan.php
This should show if your RAM is being split to your graphics chip which would confirm on-board.

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,82184,00.asp

That seems a bit over the top. When I have been in computers in the past I have never gone to that extreme. I seem to remember a friend touching a radiator or something to ground himself when doing some work a few years ago.

Start/Run/ devmgmt.msc Display Adapters
What is there now?

It shows the same as before.

Are you familiar with entering the BIOS setup when you start your machine?

Have not been into the Bios for a few years now but know how to get there (I think)

Try the D-A-L Hardware Scan:
http://www.d-a-l.com/hardware-scan.php
This should show if your RAM is being split to your graphics chip which would confirm on-board.

This is what showed up:

Video Card:
Property Value
Adapter Compatibility ATI Technologies Inc.
Adapter RAM 67108864
Description Radeon 9000
Installed Display Drivers ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version 5.1.2600.0
Driver Date 25/07/2002 02:17:10
Video Mode Description 1152 x 864 x 4294967296 colors

Did you know this scan will not work with Firefox?

I agree that link is overkill but thought it made the point

I like to be bare foot on concrete and keep in contact with the case.

BIOS setup are usually the <Delete> key or perhaps <F2> depending on the manufacturer.

What I was looking for in the scan was the RAM section e.g.

Memory (RAM):
Property Value
Bank Label RAS 1 & 0
Capacity 268435456

Bank Label RAS 3 & 2
Capacity 268435456

Total Memory Deteced in Hardware: ~512 MB
Memory Reported to Operating System: 511MB

If your chip is on-board then you will see a 64MB discrepancy between Total Memory Deteced and Memory Reported.
This is due to on-board chips sharing your main RAM.

The scan does not currently run in FF.
http://www.d-a-l.com/help/showthread...2957#post72957

What I was looking for in the scan was the RAM section

This was the result:

Memory (RAM):
Property Value
Bank Label Bank0/1
Capacity 268435456

Bank Label Bank2/3
Capacity 268435456

Total Memory Deteced in Hardware: ~512 MB
Memory Reported to Operating System: 511MB

You have plenty of RAM in the PC and, apart from the unexplained missing 1Mb, which is pretty common, Windows is seeing all of it. That means that the 64Mb of graphics memory that you have at the moment isn't an on-board shared graphics chip as that would be decreasing the available system RAM that Windows could see (i.e. you'd have 448Mb available to the operating system). Therefore, you already have a separate graphics card fitted inside the PC. Just seems that it isn't good enough for that game.