Tom's Guide > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > can i upgrade integrated GFX?

can i upgrade integrated GFX?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - can i upgrade integrated GFX?

TomsGuide.com: Over 800,000 questions and answers to address all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Word :    Username :           
 

hello, i need some help. i have learned that i have an integrated GPX card. i heard that i cannot upgrade.
but then i did more research and figured out that i could. please help. i wanna upgrade my GPX to play CoD4 and have some decent performance on other first person shooters. i am asking if sombody can reccomend a GPX card that can support my power suppy and my specs please help and thanks. P.S. sorry if i put too many specs
here are my specs::P

Product details
General
Type Personal computer

Processor

Type Intel Pentium 4 641 / 3.2 GHz
64-bit Computing Yes
Installed Qty 1
Max Supported Qty 1
Processor Main Features Hyper-Threading Technology, Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology

Cache Memory
Type L2 cache
Installed Size 2 MB
Cache Per Processor 2 MB

Mainboard
Chipset Type Intel 945GC Express
Data Bus Speed 800 MHz

RAM
Installed Size 512 MB / 2 GB (max)
Technology DDR2 SDRAM
Memory Speed 533 MHz
Memory Specification Compliance PC2-4200
Form Factor DIMM 240-pin
Features Two DDR channels
Configuration Features 1 x 512 MB

Optical Storage
Type DVD±RW (+R DL) - IDE
Read Speed 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD)
Write Speed 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD+R DL)
Rewrite Speed 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW)

Card Reader
Type 15 in 1 card reader
Supported Flash Memory Cards CompactFlash Card type I, CompactFlash Card type II, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Microdrive, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, SmartMedia Card, Memory Stick Duo, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick PRO Duo, miniSD, RS-MMC, MultiMediaCardmobile, MultiMediaCardplus

Graphics Controller
Type PCI Express x16 - integrated

Graphics Processor / Vendor Intel GMA 950
Video Memory Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0
Max Allocated RAM Size 224 MB

Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.

Who built the computer? open the case and see what card slots you have open.

------------------------------ If you don't know what OS/2 is, you don't understand.
Reply to rockbyter

You did not list your power supply.

Is this a pre-built PC? Like a Dell?

Based on the chipset you should have a PCI-e x16 slot. However, depending on the motherboard/case your PC may or may not be able to support a dual slot video card (to exhaust heat out the back).

------------------------------ Q9450 |Corsair XMS 4GB DDR 800 | ABit IP35 Pro | HD 5850 | Audigy 2 | Seasonic S12 550 | Cooler Master Centurion 532 | NEC LCD2690WUXi and Planar PX2611w | WinXP

Peace on Earth by means of the destruction of all life on Earth.
Reply to jaguarskx

That's good and all but what resolution do you play at?

you have a PCI-E 16x slot so u can take advantage of some great "best bang for your buck" GPU's

Another question is what is the 12v amperage on your power supply?

wattage is great, but more importantly your main 2 pieces of information that are missing are your wattage for your PSU, and more specifically the 12v rail(s).

and of course what resolution do you use???

key-
red = important read this, and then re-read it for better comprehension
yellow = not as important but good to know
blue = the meat and potatoes of what we need to help us, help you!

Reply to FrozenGpu

Id say start all over. You have 512 ram.

I remeber this statement, " You have to pay to play".

Time to pay and buy a new PC.

------------------------------

 

Reply to Conumdrum

You should be able to. Maybe a 4670 ATI card. No extra power connector needed, low power draw, and itll play games, but you should add more ram, and yes give more specs, if we know who made it, we can find out more about your rig. Give maker and model number

------------------------------ I went drifting, thru the capitols of tin, where men cant walk and cant freely talk, and sons turn their fathers in
Reply to jaydeejohn
- 0 +

its an emachines T5088 and i am buying 1 more gig of ram

Reply to aj95
- 0 +

however my power supply is stock i did not build my computer and i cant seem to figure it out. when i looked over my specs on http://shopping.msn.com/specs/shp/?itemId=767742123

all it said was:
Power

Device Type Power supply

Reply to aj95
- 0 +

oh and 1 more thing i opened my CPU and i have 1 slot open. im pretty sure GFX card goes there

Reply to aj95
- 0 +

jaydeejohn wrote :

You should be able to. Maybe a 4670 ATI card. No extra power connector needed, low power draw, and itll play games, but you should add more ram, and yes give more specs, if we know who made it, we can find out more about your rig. Give maker and model number



That p4 will highly bottleneck the 4670. There is no point. Better get a cheaper 3650, or a 8600gt at most.

Consider something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] rder=PRICE


Message edited by dagger on 09-16-2008 at 12:44:20 AM
------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger
- 0 +

dagger, does that support CoD4?

Reply to aj95
- 0 +

i am looking for somthing that my system can handle and can play CoD4 well too

Reply to aj95
- 0 +

Yes, it's enough for CoD4.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger
- 0 +

ok thanks

Reply to aj95
- 0 +

oh and 1 more thing i have a PCI-express slot ok?
that one is PCI-Express 2.0 is there a difference with the 2.0?
and by the way i like the one you showed me but which one is better yours?
or this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150257

Reply to aj95
- 0 +

aj95 wrote :

oh and 1 more thing i have a PCI-express slot ok?
that one is PCI-Express 2.0 is there a difference with the 2.0?
and by the way i like the one you showed me but which one is better yours?
or this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150257



Pcie2.0 is backward compatible, so it'll work fine. The card you listed is slower but cost more. Get the other one.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger
- 0 +

ok thank you for all of your help dagger. i appreciate it :hello:

Reply to aj95

get a 4670, as the other cards wont perform near as well, bottlenecked or not. Put it this way, if you had a better cpu, and used a 4670, youd get maybe 70 fps in a game. Having your cpu, youd get maybe 55-60 fps. Now buying a lessor gpu, you wont even get 55 fps, because the gpu is too weak. Always get what you can afford, and always get the best gpu you can, as itll have the greatest impact on your gaming

------------------------------ I went drifting, thru the capitols of tin, where men cant walk and cant freely talk, and sons turn their fathers in
Reply to jaydeejohn
- 0 +

jaydeejohn wrote :

get a 4670, as the other cards wont perform near as well, bottlenecked or not. Put it this way, if you had a better cpu, and used a 4670, youd get maybe 70 fps in a game. Having your cpu, youd get maybe 55-60 fps. Now buying a lessor gpu, you wont even get 55 fps, because the gpu is too weak. Always get what you can afford, and always get the best gpu you can, as itll have the greatest impact on your gaming



Look at the specs. That p4 is not capable of 70 fps anyway. It'll bottleneck 4670 heavily (it's known to bottleneck similar performing 8800gs/9600gso heavily enough). So it's twice the cost for no real gain. 3650 is fine.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger
------------------------------ I went drifting, thru the capitols of tin, where men cant walk and cant freely talk, and sons turn their fathers in
Reply to jaydeejohn
- 0 +



No links. Benchmarkers don't do tests on cpu bottlenecking. Lots of people can testify though. And I do have personal experience of an 2.8ghz p4 bottlenecking x1650 in CoD4.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

I believe you. But heres what Im saying. A 3.2 pent is akin to a 1.6 C2D. Those benchies should be able to find a few. Anyways, the gfx card is going to give you a much better increase between cards whether its an old cpu or new. The 4670 is far superior to the 3650, and itll allow the OP to at least have some sort of gaming experience. Cause surely a 4670 tied to a 3.2 pent will clobber a 3650 with one

------------------------------ I went drifting, thru the capitols of tin, where men cant walk and cant freely talk, and sons turn their fathers in
Reply to jaydeejohn
- 0 +

jaydeejohn wrote :

I believe you. But heres what Im saying. A 3.2 pent is akin to a 1.6 C2D. Those benchies should be able to find a few. Anyways, the gfx card is going to give you a much better increase between cards whether its an old cpu or new. The 4670 is far superior to the 3650, and itll allow the OP to at least have some sort of gaming experience. Cause surely a 4670 tied to a 3.2 pent will clobber a 3650 with one



Core2Duo architecture is incomparable to P4, so 3.2 pent is far below 1.6 core2duo, at least in dual optimized games like CoD4, which accounts for nearly all new games. Trust me, p4 will bottleneck in a big way. You'll get hardly anything out of the 4670, it's a waste on that cpu for twice the cost.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

Check these old benches http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=2802&p=9 http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/ [...] 00/11.html http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/c [...] html#sect0 It appears you lose around 20% in fps using a e6300 at 1.8Ghz. My comparison was valid. About the same for 3.2 pentium vs a 1.6 C2D. The best thing a gamer can do is to always get the best card he can afford, regardless. Using the old 3650 will stifle his chanes too much to be able to game, as the cpu bottleneck will continue all the way down to 3650 levels as well, and make it even slower, so, his best chance at gaiming is a better gpu

------------------------------ I went drifting, thru the capitols of tin, where men cant walk and cant freely talk, and sons turn their fathers in
Reply to jaydeejohn
Tom's Guide > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > can i upgrade integrated GFX?
Go to:

There are 16 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Google ads