I have a compaq D51C with new 450 power supply, 512mb ram and no idea which vid card to use. I've been told there is agp, pci and pci express. any suggestions? thx.

Hope you mean upgraded ram to 8 GB 8 mb is not much ram to run a computer.

To upgrade your computer's graphics card, unfortunately you can't just simply purchase a card and install it to your computer. Before purchasing a card, you must first confirm what is compatible with your motherboard. Graphics cards use either AGP or PCI Express technology. Many older computers use AGP. AGP cards can vary in version and bandwidth, whereas PCI Express cards can vary based on their lane . Moreover, the card itself is not your only consideration when looking to upgrade your computer's graphics. You must also consider the strength of your computer's power supply as well, since most newer cards use a lot of power. Download, install and run SiSoftware's Sandra (see link Below) to find out information on your motherboard. http://download.cnet.com/SiSoftware-Sandra/3000-2086_4-10556571.html Click the "Mainboard Information" icon, then write down the information next to "Manufacturer" and "Model." Navigate to the motherboard manufacturer's website. If you are not sure of the website's URL, enter the manufacturer's name into a search engine to find the company's website. Go to the support page and enter your motherboard's model. Download the motherboard's manual or review the specifications. Search the manual or specifications for "Expansion slot," "AGP" or "PCI Express." If the expansion slot uses AGP, note the version (AGP comes in 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0), as well as the bandwidth (1x, 2x, 4x or 8x). If the expansion slot uses PCI Express, note the amount of lanes (x1, x4, x8 or x16). Search the manual or specifications for "Power," "PSU" or "Power Supply." Write down the power supply's voltage (3.3V, 5V or 12V) and amp rating (designated by "A"). Not all manufacturers list the amp rating in their documentation, so you may need to contact the manufacturer for more assistance. Compare the graphics card you want to buy to the motherboard's expansion slot. AGP cards won't work in motherboards using PCI Express, and vice versa. Similarly, AGP 3.0 cards won't work in motherboards using AGP 1.0. A PCI Express x8 card will not fit in a PCI Express x1 slot. Check the voltage and amperage of the video card to the voltage and amperage on your motherboard. A video card that requires a higher amp rating requires a powerful PSU. Hope this helps.

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Hello
I dont think there are any agp to pci ex riser cards.As pci e x16 is part of the motherboard circutry.

There are pci to agp riser cards.If your going to be playing some of the latest games.Most games in the past 3 yrs require a pci x16 vid card.

I suggest geting another motherboard,chipset,and memory.Along with a Pci e x 16 card min 512mb.

Hi,

PCI-Express videocards will not work in standard, older PCI slots. They are very different interfaces.

You can find older video cards that are PCI, but they are not very fast and have not been popular for ~10 years.

drivers vga.dll version 5.01.2600.000(english)date 2/28/06 04;00:00 whql logo'd:yes mini vdd:vga sys vdd:n/a ddl version:unknown directx feture directdraw acceleration:not available direct 3d acceleration: not available agp texture acceleration :not available teste draw test direct3d the system is using the generic video driver please install video driver probided by the wardware manufacture. directdraw test result:all test result: all tests were successfull: direct 3d funtionality not available.you should veryfi that the driver is final ;from the harware manu facture. ram 512 mb storage capacity 160gb raid no graphics card:intel graphic media accelerator 900 gm primary optical driver dual-layer dvd+/-rw

The one you bought is 16x but your MB supports only 8x..................sodeep

what you will need to do is accertain which cpu format you have in your machine and find out if you have pcie 1 or 2

regards rich

You cannot add more ram to your graphic card, If you want more ram for optimum system performance I recommend buying a new ATI, or NVIDIA graphic card to replace the old one. they both have the best cards on the market and visit their site at NVIDIA or ATI.com for more cards information and where to buy them.
REMEMBER TO PURCHASE THE CORRECT BOARD TYPE FOR YOUR SYSTEM. IF YOU HAVE PCI BUY PCI CARD, AGP=AGP CARD AND PCI-EXPRESS= PCI-XPRESS CARD
I recommend 256MB RAM for PCI systems, 512MB RAM for AGP systems and 1GB RAM for PCI-EXPRESS systems.

the card you have is a PCI express 16X your board is for PCI express 8X. I think some cards can run at a slower speed but I believe you have the wrong card for your board

U need to insure that the new Vid card is compatible to Ur pc. Does the pc power up without the new Vid card? If so it sounds like the card may be defective and shorts out the pc power supply.

I suggest XFX GeForce 8500 GT 512MB DDR2 PCI Express video card. No need for an upgrade & it has a lifetime warranty. The price is great! Your Asus P5VDC will run it. Here is the link:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006326
Enjoy!

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