Posted: 11/20/2004 8:16:51 PM EDT
Alright I got a ATI 9800 Pro graphics card from one of my friends for dirt cheap, but the problem is that my comp sux and does'nt have an AGP BUS for it and the card is AGP. Is there anyway to put the card in? Do they make a converter or something I can install to make it work? TIA 
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| Wow that computer really does suck, either shitcan the computer and buy new one or if it takes a standard ATX motherboard you can just replace that with one that has AGP and it would have to work with your existing processor and ram as well unless you want to replace those too with newer , bigger, faster etc. |
damn...how old is that computer? 
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Pretty much what he said. A mainboard with an AGP slot can run from $40-$200. But, like he said, if you do that, you might as well upgrade to a better CPU, and better RAM as well. |
Plus, the chances of a new motherboard with an 8X agp slot fitting his processor are pretty slim. |
Well, that sounds good to go then. So yeah, you could get away with just a mainboard that uses the processor you have and ram as well. Upgrade to a gig of ram if you could. Get another stick of 512. Can never hurt. ETA : If you do upgrade the RAM, make sure it's the same as the RAM you already have, or problems could occur. |
New motherboard needed. |
Lots of cheap boards with onboard video dont include the agp port to save cash. Which is why you don't buy computers with onboard video. :) |
Newegg has some nice refurb Asus motherboards with Intel chipsets for $25.00 and $1.00 shipping right now, they would fit the bill very nicely, plus will probably have features that your current board doesn't. The Asus boards are actually as good as or better than what came in your Dell so no worries there. I also believe that Dells have used standard power supplies for the last few years, but you may want to check on that, if your model uses a proprietary Dell Power supply, the adapter will run about ten bucks, and you will still be way better off than buying a new CPU. Also with that video card, gaming will be a whole different experience. ETA: Here is the link to the Asus board, I have dealt with Newegg many times, and they are a great vendor, with a sterling reputation. |
Hey thanks for the help I appreciate it. I'll look into that one. |
^^ Newegg owns hard.. :) |
Well it was a deal that was time sensitive and too good to pass up considering I got it for $50 so I jumped on it. |
You might need a new case or power supply too... the radeon 9800 needs to have a power cable run to it other than just being in the AGP slot. |
Is the case one of those skimmy cases. Is the card too big? You may be able to fins a micro ATX form factor motherboard and pop it into that case. But is you want to part with the card. I will pay you $50 + s&h to get it off your hands. |
No its a regular desktop tower, so I shouldnt have a problem getting one that fits. thanks though. |
I'll give you 55.00 Does the 9800 Pro require a seperate power lead also? I know some of the newer high-end cards do. You will also need to re-install windowsXP, plus the drivers for sound, netword and video. I'd just sell the dell and buy a pc with an AGP slot. Or sell the card. 60 bucks..
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| You should be ok without reinstalling windows. Just boot into safe mode, remove all drivers on the entire computer, and reinstall the drivers. You would have to uninstall the video drivers anyway. Your current power supply will most liekly have a open plug that you can use for the video card. |
Hm, I've never had to reinstall windows, sound drivers, or network drivers when swapping a video card, as I've done it on numerous occasions, and my computer runs just fine as when I first built it. All he'll need to do is go to ATI's site or whoever made the card, as other companies make 9800's, and download / install those drivers, and he's perfectly fine. I've never ever heard of reinstalling windows being a requirement in swapping video cards. |
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You may have to disable the onboard video through the BIOS. Here is a mobo you can use www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=MB-P4VMAM&c=pw should work fine. |
He's thinking about swapping out the Motherboard. Pretty sure winXP activation will have a cow over that.. 
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Maybe. I fried a mainboard by shorting it out, bought and installed a new one. Didn't need to reinstall windows XP. |
It might, but if it has been more than ninty days since he last activated it, no problem, at the worst you are looking at a five minute phone call to microsoft 800 number, tell them you swapped motherboards and you are good to go. You can piss off windows activation by changing your hardware setup more than a few times within 30 days anyway. I have had to call Microsoft for activation issues many times, and it has never taken more than a few minutes, and they have ver been terribly concerned about what I was changing out. |
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It's a Dell. Don't bother trying to buy anything for that computer. Use it as is or shitcan it and buy a REAL computer. 99.9% of new Dell computers use a motherboard / daughterboard set-up. If your Dell is a cheap-ass model it uses on-board video. You are fucked if you want to upgrade. |
Yeah, but his computer is a good machine for office/internet use. I'm sure at one time he though he'd never need or play games on his PC. |
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Changing a Motherboard is actually a fairly simple operation that a braindead mokey can do, using not much more than a No2 phillips screwdriver and a half hour of your time. An entire computer can be built from a pile of parts in well under an hour. I haven't dealt with a Dell in a few years, but at one time the Dells were outstanding computers. The old GX100 series computers were absolutely outstanding home/office machines. The Precision 400 series were also amazing workstations, they used high quality parts, and everything about them was goodness. |
As in I can't swap in a new mobo or I just can't upgrade a bunch of other stuff? I don't need a hard core gaming machine with amazing affects or anything. |
you an swap mobo You may have to disable the onboard video through the BIOS. Here is a mobo you can use www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=MB-P4VMAM&c=pw |
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One problem you may encounter is that at one time Dell used these funky proprietary mobo/power source plugs that were different from the standardized normal ones. $50.00 for a 9800Pro is a decent deal. At the worst I would say you would need a new case/power source depending on what you have. Just gut all the parts out of your Dell and stick them in the new one. Reauthorizing XP is no big deal. I have done it about 4 times now. |
| I went thru this already, your not gonna find a motherboard for that case. It's all Dell's own stuff. Is it still under warranty? If so leave it be. It's gotta be a Dell 2400 or the like. If you get a new mother board to fit, make sure it has the PCI Express slot. The power supply of the 2400 is not gonna handle the demand of 9800. Dell's power supplies are underated as far as wattage goes but still won't be enough. You would be better off buying a new Dell or a bundle kit from Newegg or TigerDirect.com. |