Quake3World

I aint good with computers so bare with me.

Because i want to play Quake 4, and other new games, i decided it was time to get a new graphics card (and possibly some RAM but thats not important right now). On my old heap it says i got something called a S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR, which i've never heard of.

So i went searching on the good old internet to get some idea of how bad it was. I didn't find much. Now i think it is a chip built onto the motherboard, so my question was if i bought i new graphics card, would i have to get a new motherboard or can they be removed successfully? I have no idea how these things work .

And also tell me if you know anything about a S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR because i am most likely completely wrong. *awaits flames*

Bdw3 wrote:What it the exact make and model of you computer?

oook, coming straight from dxdiag:
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2200+, MMX, 3dNow, ~1.8GHz
System Model: AWRDACPI

don't know if that helps or if you need anything else.

aye, thats a onboard gfx chip u got there and it sux, especially for gaming.

if you were to buy a new vid card, its as simple as disabling the onboard video in the bios and installing the new gfx card..

i believe that's built into the mobo. easy way to check is crack open your case, and see where the vga input is connected to. i'm betting directly to the mobo and not a card. also, i'm sure it does, but check for an AGP slot for your new card.

ok, thanks guys.

aye .. you can disable the other video card in the bios and in some cases you may have to
alter some pins on the motherboard.
read your mobo manual or visit mobo's website

Yea. You can tell if it's onboard or not without looking inside. For onboard video cards, you plug your monitor in right in the same little cluster of plugs where your mouse/keyboard and such plug in. If it's not onboard, then the plug will be in a different place, where your expansion slots are.

But I would bet 20 bucks that it's onboard, just because it's an S3 ProSavagewhatever. And those chips really suck for gaming.

When you get a new one, you can just plug it into the motherboard with the PC unplugged. Then go into the BIOS and disable the one on the motherboard.

Crinkly, your going to need a whole new system to play Q4 and any other modern day game, your current one isnt worth upgrading.

VertigoX wrote:Crinkly, your going to need a whole new system to play Q4 and any other modern day game, your current one isnt worth upgrading.

lies

all he needs is a gig o ram plus a 6800 or better if he can afford it and hes set.

My brother plays Q4 on a very similar system. XP 2500+., 6600 GT, 1g ram. Plays pretty well too.

Hey guys, do we even know if his motherboard has an AGP slot? Who knows what it is...

I have that exact same on board graphics with my XP 2200+. It's complete crap that doesn't even run Q3 decent.

scourge34 wrote:I have that exact same on board graphics with my XP 2200+. It's complete crap that doesn't even run Q3 decent.

q3 runs alright for me..

SoM wrote:

VertigoX wrote:Crinkly, your going to need a whole new system to play Q4 and any other modern day game, your current one isnt worth upgrading.

lies

all he needs is a gig o ram plus a 6800 or better if he can afford it and hes set.

that's certainly what i was planning, just gotta start savin

And thanks a great bunch everyone :icon14:

did you determine weather or not you have an AGP slot?

SoM wrote:

VertigoX wrote:Crinkly, your going to need a whole new system to play Q4 and any other modern day game, your current one isnt worth upgrading.

lies

all he needs is a gig o ram plus a 6800 or better if he can afford it and hes set.

It wont help much, a 1.8Ghz cpu will just bottle neck a 6800. I have a AXP running @ 2.4Ghz with bus pretty high and an overclocked Radeon 9700 Pro, all watercooled with a gig of Corsair XMS Ram. It runs Q4 like sh33t. I even dumb down the graphics to the point where the text is blurry in the ingame browser. It still dips way down under 60fps in MP. Q4 is just really cpu/memory intensive.

A new video card and memory in that system will be a waste of money and a disappointment regarding performace, let alone the fact if the PSU in that computer can handle a 6800.

CrinklyArse wrote:Now i think it is a chip built onto the motherboard...........

If the monitor plugs into near the mouse and keyboard inputs,etc, then it's an onboard video card.
If it plugs into the bottom away from the other ports than it'll be plugged into an expansion port.

Here's a goog lil program to download.
It'll run from the exe and you won't need to install it.
I keep it on my thumb drive.
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php