Right now, my only halfway decent computer is still using an integrated graphics chip with 8 megs of memory. Obviously, it lags slightly in most games I play.
Specs:
HP Pavilion 7845 with Windows ME
-P3 @ 866
-256mb PC100 RAM
-132(ish)-watt PSU (it was this on an identical PC, so I assume that's what I have)
-Free PCI slot (no AGP or PCI-e, just plain old PCI)
I'm looking for an inexpensive upgrade to hold me over for about a year and a half (till Vista is out and the price has gone down on it and the Conroe chips). What graphics card would you recommend?
At nearly every card I've looked at that would be compatible with my computer, it says it requires a 250 watt PSU. Would I need to upgrade mine, or is this just set as a "minimum" because it's the lowest most modern power supplies go? If I do need to upgrade mine, is there one you could recommend?
Because the comp is old, I would really like to not spend very much money on it (perhaps $100 USD for a graphics card and PSU if necessary).
Thanks for your help.
Specs:
HP Pavilion 7845 with Windows ME
-P3 @ 866
-256mb PC100 RAM
-132(ish)-watt PSU (it was this on an identical PC, so I assume that's what I have)
-Free PCI slot (no AGP or PCI-e, just plain old PCI)
I'm looking for an inexpensive upgrade to hold me over for about a year and a half (till Vista is out and the price has gone down on it and the Conroe chips). What graphics card would you recommend?
At nearly every card I've looked at that would be compatible with my computer, it says it requires a 250 watt PSU. Would I need to upgrade mine, or is this just set as a "minimum" because it's the lowest most modern power supplies go? If I do need to upgrade mine, is there one you could recommend?
Because the comp is old, I would really like to not spend very much money on it (perhaps $100 USD for a graphics card and PSU if necessary).
Thanks for your help.