Graphics Cards

[seemore907]

Hi! I have recently received Amnesia: The Dark Descent as a gift. I have also learned it does not work on my computer due to the fact that I have Intel Integrated Graphics. Oops! I have heard that I ca purchase and install a new graphics card directly into my PC. Is this true? If so, I found two cards that might be an option.
VisionTek - ATI Radeon HD 3450 512MB DDR2 PCI Graphics Card-
or EVGA - NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 2GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card

I will post the links from BestBuy if requested!

I have a Dell PC with Intel Core and Windows 7. I apologize but this is really all I know about the hardware. Can someone please tell if it would be possible to buy one of these cards and install them directly into my PC?

And, most importantly, would Amnesia work with either of these cards or do I have to keep looking?

Any help is welcome and if I sound like a complete idiot, let me know and I'll delete this forum! Cheers!

[Googolplex]

None of them.
The Radeon HD 3450 would be too weak.
The GeForce GT 630 is also not powerful enough, even with 2GB of memory.

When it should be cheap and still good, I recommend the following:

- MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB GDDR5.
Costs 100 EUR.

- MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB GDDR5.
Costs 160 EUR.

- Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB GDDR5
Costs 160 EUR.

See the difference here:
http://www.hwcompare.com/13624/geforce-g...e-gtx-660/

I would buy a nVIDIA graphics card. The GTX 660 would be a good choice.

[jens]

Do you have a model number for your computer? It is not possible to know if you can have a graphics card in it without more details.

If it is a laptop then you can't add a new graphics card.

[seemore907]

Thanks for the advice! Are these cards guaranteed to work? I would hate to have to buy a card only for it not to be able to run Amnesia.

[7heDubz]

Thanks for the advice! Are these cards guaranteed to work? I would hate to have to buy a card only for it not to be able to run Amnesia.

No, you should check the compatiability with your computer. They need to be compatable with your motherboard in order to work on your computer.

[seemore907]

Thanks for the advice! Are these cards guaranteed to work? I would hate to have to buy a card only for it not to be able to run Amnesia.

No, you should check the compatiability with your computer. They need to be compatable with your motherboard in order to work on your computer.

How would I be able to check if it's compatible with the motherboard of the computer? I apologize, I am not tech savvy in the slightest.

---

Do you have a model number for your computer? It is not possible to know if you can have a graphics card in it without more details.

If it is a laptop then you can't add a new graphics card.

No this isn't a laptop, it's a Dell desktop. Once again I apologize for having a complete lack of computer knowledge, but how would I be able to find the model number for it? All I really know about the computer itself was put in the original thread post.

---

None of them.
The Radeon HD 3450 would be too weak.
The GeForce GT 630 is also not powerful enough, even with 2GB of memory.

When it should be cheap and still good, I recommend the following:

- MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB GDDR5.
Costs 100 EUR.

- MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB GDDR5.
Costs 160 EUR.

- Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB GDDR5
Costs 160 EUR.

See the difference here:
http://www.hwcompare.com/13624/geforce-g...e-gtx-660/

I would buy a nVIDIA graphics card. The GTX 660 would be a good choice.

NVIDIA - GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card. Would that be a good card? I searched up nVidia GTX 660 graphics card online and that's what came up. Is that what you had in mind? If so, I'll start saving up my money. Of course I won't purchase until I've done more research.But would the "MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB GDDR5" work well too? I mean, that's the least expensive so I'd rather get that one. Of course, I still have to do research.

[Ashtoreth]

Do you have a model number for your computer? It is not possible to know if you can have a graphics card in it without more details.

If it is a laptop then you can't add a new graphics card.

No this isn't a laptop, it's a Dell desktop. Once again I apologize for having a complete lack of computer knowledge, but how would I be able to find the model number for it? All I really know about the computer itself was put in the original thread post.

Hi,

In order to find the model number, go to the Windows start menu and in the "Search programs and files" field, type msinfo32. Select the program, and it will open a window with your system information. Check if there's any value under "System Model".

[Kreekakon]

Well, about compatibility there are two factors as far as I'm concerned for graphics cards:

1. Graphics Card Slot:

There are mainly two variants for this: One is AGP, and the other is PCIE 16 (Note that you are looking for PCI 16 as the graph in the wiki page will show) Just take your Motherboard's box, manual, or anything like that, and look for the the name of the one you have. Or if you have none of those you could always open your computer, and see for yourself.

All this being said though...unless your computer pre-dates something like 2005-6, it's very unlike y you have AGP as it's a very old model which has pretty much already died out.

2. PSU Power Supply

This is a box which is typically located on the back-top of your computer case. You can easily identify it as the box where you plug your computer's main power into.

PSU's are most generally measured in power by their watts (W), and although there are other factors this is mostly the most important one to look out for especially if you're a newbie. The watt number is typically on stickers on the side of the PSU.

The higher tier the graphics card, the better power supply you'll need to support it. For instance some mid-tier graphics cards can run nicely on 400w-500w while bigger ones may need up to 650w at least to be safe. It all depends on the card, and you should look out for the minimum requirement before purchasing.


EDIT: Oh and the GeForce GTX 660 Ti is a fairly powerful card (Even better than mine lol), and it'll serve you well for gaming as long as you're not into insane stuff. 650 is quite awesome too. You can run Amnesia on max no problem with either of them.

[seemore907]

Do you have a model number for your computer? It is not possible to know if you can have a graphics card in it without more details.

If it is a laptop then you can't add a new graphics card.

No this isn't a laptop, it's a Dell desktop. Once again I apologize for having a complete lack of computer knowledge, but how would I be able to find the model number for it? All I really know about the computer itself was put in the original thread post.

Hi,

In order to find the model number, go to the Windows start menu and in the "Search programs and files" field, type msinfo32. Select the program, and it will open a window with your system information. Check if there's any value under "System Model".

Under System Model it says Inspiron 580s

[Kreekakon]

If you're really as un-tech savvy with computers as you say you are then I'd think it might be easiest to caryy your computer to the nearest store, and ask them to do all the necessary things for you. Also considering the fact that the graphics card needs to be installed after buying it which involves plugging in the card properly as well as attaching external power supply cords. This may be a simple task for computer builders, but might be daunting for someone like you.

Would be much more direct, and information would flow much easier than asking a bunch of random people on the internet lol.