Hi,
I installed Debian testing on a Dell 2400 Dimension, which has a built-in (crappy, of course) video card. And as expected, I couldn't find any way to set up the Xserver.

Well, what I would like to know is if there is a good video card (ATI or NVidia one, or even something else), that would give me honest results. Would there be any trouble in installing another video card ?

I am not a gamer, don't care much about 3D and all, watch an occasional DVD and use my comps mainly for browsing the net, typing things for my lessons and that's about all.

Also, I would like to know the difference between AGP and PCI and even PCI express buses. Since this box is fairly knew (bought it in June last year), has a Pentium 3.2 Ghz, 1Gb RAM, I wonder if I could use any type of card or be limited with just one.

Thanks

not sue here... but I use linux on hundreds of dell desktops and servers...ati always seems to work unless a laptop. Choose a vesa driver and you will at least get a GUI.

Regards
Richard

Samuel,
just joined this site today with a question for my own Dell Dimension 2400 and found your question and I think I have the perfect answer for you! Way back in 2005, I got Halo for my Dell which ran terribly on my integrated graphics. At best it did about 8-10 frames per second on the lowest settings! In 2010, I saw a PCI graphics card and when I popped it in, I was able to play Halo at medium settings (mostly, anyway) at a smooth 15-30 fps (slowed down only when there were too many enemies on screen).
The card that I used was an
NVidia 3D Fuzion 5500

The best one I believe is the 3D Fuzion 6200

As for your other questions, the difference between PCI, AGP, and PCI Express is that the PCI is the slowest, AGP is used for graphics cards mainly (it stands for Accelerated Graphics Port) and PCI Express is the fastest and came out a few years after the Dimension 2400 debuted. the only one in your Dell is PCI which is more than enough for what you want to use it for. I recommend the 3D Fuzion 5500 since it performs great, is really cheap (around $20 on ebay) and has both VGA and S-Video out. just hook up the S-video to a cheap HDMI converter and you can hook your Dell up to your tv via HDMI!

I hope my reply was helpful, have a great day!