Hello all,

I'd like to upgrade my current video card which i've just learned won't work with any of the newer games. Its an integrated system (see below). I've apparently got 3 slots available 3 PCI and 1AGP slot. Being somewhat computer illiterate, I don't know what this means. What i'd like to know is if its possible to upgrade this system (even bypassing the card on the m'board) and if so, with what? The NVidia GEForce has been recommended as well as ATI RAdeon (9000+). I'm wondering if either will work. Thanks in advance for your help.

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)

Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 2200 MHz (11 x 200) 3200+
Motherboard Name Asus A7V8X-LA (Kelut) (3 PCI, 1 AGP, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8378A UniChrome KM400A
System Memory 448 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (02/09/04)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP (64 MB)
3D Accelerator VIA/S3 UniChrome
Monitor HP F1703 [17" LCD] (CNC4481PNK)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller

AGP is a newer technology than PCI and you should choose a video card that installs in the AGP slot for best performance. And, yes, you should be able install an AGP or PCI video card and disable the onboard video. You may need to access your BIOS to disable the onboard video. Do you have a motherboard manual? It will tell you how to access your BIOS and how to disable onboard video if necessary. If you don't have one (manual), I suggest downloading one from http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us. Note that this page came from a search on A7V8X; I don't know about the LA (Kelut) part of your info.

Unless the manual specifies ATI or nVidia, you should be fine with either. Your SELECTION will, of COURSE, depend somewhat on your budget for this. But, you'll get better gaming performance with a range of cards; an independent card, even the inexpensive ones, practically always yields better performance than onboard video. Of course, if you want to play high-end games, the more powerful, expensive, cards will give you better gaming performance.