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Contributor
349 Answers
- Posted on Apr 05, 2010
Re: I was just wondering if there is any way to upgrade...
Yes. It already has a decent video card but it has 3 pci slots available and you can use one of these for a better video card. My advice is anything Nvidia. The higher the number the better the card and higher the price
Primer: The Dell Dimension 3000 Desktop PC comes with Integrated Graphics. This is a graphics chip that is soldered directly to the motherboard. Another term for Integrated Graphics, is OnBoard Graphics. On the motherBoard. There is no way to increase the graphics performance of integrated graphics. Chip and Chipset are slang terms for IC, or Integrated Circuit. Proper computer speak for graphics chip is GPU. Graphics Processing Unit. The Dimension 3000 uses an Intel Extreme Graphics 2, GPU. When referring to a video, or graphics adapter card, you are referring to a dedicated graphics card, which has a GPU soldered to the adapter card, not to Integrated Graphics. A graphics card is removable, and is installed in the best expansion slot on the motherboard, for graphics. To upgrade graphics performance I suggest you use a graphics card. Since the Dimension 3000, only has PCI expansion slots for using a graphics adapter card, (Graphics Card), you need to use a PCI graphics card. (PCI slots are white in color. Use any PCI slot you wish, as long as it is open, and available) The Intel Extreme Graphics 2 GPU uses some of the system resources. Specifically the Processor, and Ram Memory, and a lot of it. A dedicated graphics card does not, or uses very little. This is because a dedicated graphics card has it's own Processor (GPU), and graphics ram memory. A computer that is using only Integrated Graphics, will slow down in performance, when a graphics intensive program is being used. Such as a intense game. The Processor and Ram Memory has to keep the Operating System going, as well as the game's graphics requirements. (Characters, background, shading, etc) With a dedicated graphics card the system resources are greatly freed up, increasing computer performance.
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