Greetings,

The computer I'm using is a HP720n, P4 1.99GHz, with onboard video the Intel Extreme Graphics chipset. The only reason I bought it because it only cost me $100. The only problem I have is that there isn't an AGP slot to upgrade the video card with. So it seems the only options I have is to get a PCI video card or to get a new mother board... Any thoughts?

The driving factor is that my oldest daughter bought Enter the Matrix with her birthday money. It really shocked her when I explained to her why the game was unplayable. The Intel Extreme Graphics chip-set doesn't support Hardware T&L which seems more and more games are requiring.

Also if anyone knows of a better forum to ask this question that would also be appreciated...

Thanks,
Frodak

Some GF 4 MX come in PCI and I think I've seen some GeForce FX 5200. They're also not that expensive because they're for the low-end market.

I'd definitely vote for GeForce, also. Great cards with excellent OpenGL support, fairly low-cost, and well-supported in Linux. In my experience, though, PCI 3D cards are more expensive than equivalent AGP cards. For example, according to pricewatch, a PCI GeForce FX5200/64MB card is $77.00, while the same card as AGP is only $55.00. Probably has something to do with a lower demand for PCI cards nowadays; the difference between AGP and PCI may also influence the number and cost of components in the cards, too.

If you already have a good AGP video card, it might be better in the long run (if a little more expensive) to go ahead and get a new motherboard, if that is even feasible. I know HP/Compaq has a history of designing computers that aren't very upgradable, so a new motherboard might not be an option.

I understand that the AGP cards are supposed ot be faster then the PCI, but what kind of cases are you going to see the differance?

Here's a good comparison of the two. I don't know whether you'll actually see any difference, but if you do any kind of serious graphics-related stuff (3D software, games, high GUI screen resolutions, etc.) then it'll make a significant difference.

The PCI version of the ATI Radeon 7500 is also good, retailing around $70 (last I checked).

One thing to mention with PCI video cards is that they can cause problems, especially with newer games that really tax video GPUs. Some MBs have a hard time with a PCI video card and a PCI audio card. It's almost as if there is not enough bandwidth on the PCI bus to handle the demands of the vid card, the audio card, and any other PCI cards that are there. You may or may not have problems, but If you're comfortable with a mobo change then I would spend the extra 70$ for a decent mobo with AGP 4x and then get an AGP vid card.

slight

This is true. PCI uses shared bandwidth, so there's only so much data that can be going to the PCI bus at any given time. I've personally experienced bizarre sound card problems when attempting to use certain video cards - even ones that were not 3D accelerated ones.