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VBach37
Joined: 27 Aug 2004
Posts: 1867
Location: New Hampshire
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| Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 4:53 pm Post subject: graphics card? |
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| How does one find out what kind of graphics card is on one's computer? For that matter, what about the other various things involved in making a game run, like video drivers and such? |
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Rankor and Pissing
Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 9037
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| Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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If using XP - go to your desktop, right click, pick Properties.
Click on the Settings Tab - in the drop down box, it should identify what video card you're using.
Another way is to go to Start - then right click on My Computer - pick Properties - Click on the Hardware tab, then click the Device Manager button - find the line that looks like:
+ Display adapters
Click on the + sign... if it has something generic like Microsoft Driver or something like that - you have generic drivers loaded. Therefore, you have to either crack open your box and see what card you have - or if it's an "integrated" chip on your motherboard, you need to search for your mobo model / manufacturer and you should be able to see what type of chip it uses.
Once you have that - you can find the drivers by going to one of the hundreds of drivers sites or the chip makers site for the latest drivers. |
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Aqualung
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 2145
Location: Washington
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| Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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Rankor and Pissing wrote: If using XP - go to your desktop, right click, pick Properties.
Click on the Settings Tab - in the drop down box, it should identify what video card you're using.
On my computer (which is also running XP, but maybe we're running different things, like XP pro vs Home Edition) when you click on the settings tab, you have to then click "Advanced" and then click on the Adapter Type tab. So, it should be someplace in that area. |
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FCTE
Joined: 11 Mar 2004
Posts: 18649
Location: Illinois
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| Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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What kind of games are you looking to run??
After you figure it out, state what graphics card you currently have.
Also, when you right click on my computer and then properties it should state your processor and amount of ram, list them.
How old is the computer?
The key things for running current games are: Processor, Ram, and Graphics Card. If your processor and ram are dated, getting a new graphics card alone will not do it.
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Minimum specs for gaming IMHO
Processor: You need at least a 2Ghz P4 or AMD Athlon XP.
Ram: You need a minimum of 512, but this is still kind of low, 1GB is almost becoming mandatory.
Graphics Card: You can get by with a Nvidia Geforce Ti4600 or a ATI 9600 Pro, with at least 128DDR, but better cards are HIGHLY recomended. |
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Patriot911
Joined: 03 Feb 2005
Posts: 6793
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:38 am Post subject: |
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| Best way to find out all the info on your computer for games is to click start, then run, then type dxdiag. |
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Ek0nomik
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 2065
Location: La Fleur
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| Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Buy nVidia. |
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Protostar
Joined: 30 Jul 2004
Posts: 9630
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
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| Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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Ek0nomik wrote: Buy nVidia.
The voice of reason. |
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FCTE
Joined: 11 Mar 2004
Posts: 18649
Location: Illinois
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| Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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Protostar wrote: Ek0nomik wrote: Buy nVidia.
The voice of reason.
ATI has some nice cards, they are just problematic in Linux, but even that is going away. |
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Melcar
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 2618
Location: Stuck between inmaturity and getting a job
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| Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:23 am Post subject: |
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Ek0nomik wrote: Buy nVidia.
ATI currently has the fastest single card out there. As for the crappy Linux drivers, they are getting better. And with the recent merger we can only expect good things. However, for a budget/mid-range card I would go nvidia. |
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sparsely
Joined: 20 May 2006
Posts: 1768
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| Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:15 am Post subject: |
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| win key+pause|break > hardware > device manager > display adapters |
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adleberg
Joined: 20 Jun 2006
Posts: 164
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| Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:45 am Post subject: |
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| type 'dxdiag' into the run screen - it works for most windows systems |
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Ek0nomik
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 2065
Location: La Fleur
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| Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:39 am Post subject: |
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Protostar wrote: Ek0nomik wrote: Buy nVidia.
The voice of reason.
Are you mocking me? |
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Protostar
Joined: 30 Jul 2004
Posts: 9630
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
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| Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 10:42 am Post subject: |
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Ek0nomik wrote: Protostar wrote: Ek0nomik wrote: Buy nVidia.
The voice of reason.
Are you mocking me?
:lol: No dude. Your right IMO. nVidia rocks ass. Never had a problem with an nVidia card. Had an ATI chipset once in a laptop; nothing but problems. nVidia 4ever!! |
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Ek0nomik
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 2065
Location: La Fleur
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| Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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Protostar wrote: :lol: No dude. Your right IMO. nVidia rocks ass. Never had a problem with an nVidia card. Had an ATI chipset once in a laptop; nothing but problems. nVidia 4ever!!
k. I figured you were mocking me because of my lack of explanation. :lol: |
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