PCI video cards?

[DaCalebMan]

Hello,

I am looking into buying a better graphics card, most likely Nvidia, for my HP D330 DT...
How do you tell if the graphics card is compatible with your machine???

Also, here's my Hardware stats.

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82865G/PE/P DRAM Controller/Host-Hub Interface (rev 02)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82865G Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev c2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801EB (ICH5) SATA Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 02)
05:02.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5782 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 03)


One more thing, is there a way to tell if my GPU is an, AGP, PCI, or PCI express without opening my computer??

[oz]

Your owner manual for your computer or the motherboard manual should tell you what you have in the way of interface types. If you know the exact motherboard model (or computer model), you should be able to look it up online and see what interface types it has.

[jmadero]

it looks like here are the tech specs

HP Compaq d330 Intel Business Desktop PC - Intel Celeron 2.4GHz, 512MB DDR, 40GB HDD, DVD-ROM, No OS, Small Form Factor, Off-Lease RB-DT-NOS-HP D330 at TigerDirect.com

You won't have an express on that computer, looks like you have 3 pci ports, 2 of which are available for use. You have to be a little careful about not getting a card that is way more powerful than your computer can take but I think you should be fine. With a compact computer like that the big issue is overheating, graphics cards get hot, really really hot.

I'd say an Nvidia 512 or 256 would be fine. You should buy from a good dealer like newegg where if something doesn't fit right it's easy to return.

Hope that helps

[DaCalebMan]

EVGA 256-A8-N401-LR GeForce 6200 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

* Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
* Core Clock: 350MHz
* PixelPipelines: 4
* Memory Clock: 532MHz
* DirectX: DirectX 9
* OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0
* D-SUB: 1
* DVI: 1
* Model #: 256-A8-N401-LR
* Item #: N82E16814130465
* Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy

And this sound card...

Creative sound blaster Audigy SE 7.1 channels 24-bit 96Khz PCI interface sound card OEM...

* Sample Rate: 96KHz
* Digital Audio: 24-bit
* Line In: Yes
* Line Out: (Front / Rear / Side / Center / Subwoofer) or Headphone Out
* SPDIF Out: SPDIF Out for Stereo Digital Speakers or SPDIF In/Out with Creative Digital I/O Module (sold separately)
* MIC In: Yes
* CD/Aux In: Yes
* Remote Control: No
* Model #: 30SB057000000
* Item #: N82E16829102003
* Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


How do I tell if they're compatible??

~Caleb

[jmadero]

the nvidia one almost guaranteed it is, the creative one I almost guarantee it's not.

Matrix:Main - AlsaProject

[DaCalebMan]

Woah, so the Sound blaster won't work??

is there anything you recommend???

Shame about the sound card...

[waterhead]

I see by the link that jmadero provided, that this has an AGP slot. You may want to get an AGP video card.

AGP = Accelerated Graphics Port

Although AGP cards are getting harder to come by, there still are plenty of them around. As for sound cards, keep checking cards against the alsa supported cards list. Most Creative/Sound Blaster cards are supported, so I am surprised that this one isn't.

[waterhead]

For a sound card, something like this may be OK:

Sabrent 8-Channel 7.1 High Performance Surround Sound 3D PCI Sound Card SND-P8CH at TigerDirect.com

It appears to have a C-Media chip on it, but I can't tell which one. C-Media is well supported in Linux. Be aware that most 7.1 sound cards are full height cards, because of the number of output jacks. Your small sized PC may need to use a slim card.

[jmadero]

well from the list is says that the Sound Blaster card is "partially supported" but says "needs more development"....my biggest issue with ALSA is that they'll leave a card in that state for years. I had a creative express card that was in the "in development" for ....18 months or so before I finally sold it and got a USB one...that one didn't work well either so now I'm just using a splitter without surround sound.

I'd recomment trying to see how well it does work and then if you aren't happy go search for a new one, maybe even the one that waterhead suggested....not sure about the price on that one

[DaCalebMan]

Hey guys

I think I mucked up a little,
I must have missed something while on my route for the cheapest one!

I only have two speakers (not counting the on board one...) so I won't need a surround sound card.

He, he... sorry for the messup.


Anyway, you were saying that my computer has 2 of 3 PCI ports available. Does my computer have any AGP ports? And what's taking up the first PCI port?

By the way, what is it with sound blaster that is incompatible, is it incompatible with Linux or the motherboard?

Oh, and which do you say would be best for a two speaker system on Linux?

Thanks,

Caleb.

P.S, when my computer tries to display any form of video not in a web browser, the player crashes! do you think this is my GPU, or my graphics codecs?

I ran a system test. But, it's so huge, even I wouldn't read it!

So I won't send it to you...