Video card memory question

[voltagexx]

Back again with another question that will probably sound stupid to the computer pros out there. I'm looking to upgrade my video card at some point and I'd like to get one with HDMI output to possibly hook up to the TV. However, I want to make sure I get something that will work with my computer. A while back I bought memory upgrades (hooray Circuit City liquidation...) only to realize (and this was my first time ever even opening my computer, let alone trying to work on it) that I needed regular DDR memory, and I had bought DDR2.
So I see on all these video cards, they'll say DDR2 on them. Because I have DDR memory, would DDR2 video cards not work?? Arrrgh. Thanks everyone.

[MrWicked1968]

first, make sure you buy a videocard with the right interface for your motherboard. It's going to be one of three things, PCI, PCI express or AGP.

the memory on the video card won't matter.

[370forlife]

The video card memory type does not matter in terms of being compatible with your computer.

As wicked said, its your interface, and also your power supply if you are getting a faster card that requires a connection.

[voltagexx]

Cool cool, thank ya. Now, another stupid question. Is there a way for me to tell the interface of the motherboard without taking the computer apart right now? Like can I check somewhere in the control panel or properties or something? ha.

[mp666]

If you know the motherboard's make & model you can check it from its website. If not there are a lot of hardware tools that can be useful. Like this one :
http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

[Zero82z]

Can you post some information about your computer? With that, hopefully we can figure out what kind of motherboard you have. If it's a pre-built machine (HP, Dell, Acer, etc.), please list the specific model and any system specs that you know. If it's a custom-built PC, download CPU-Z from here, run it, go to the motherboard tab, and tell us what it says under the Manufacturer and Model headings.

[voltagexx]

Well, it is a Dell Dimension 8300, Pentium 4, 3.00 GHz. Pretty well stock (basically I've just added memory, a hard drive, and replaced the DVD burner [which still doesn't work, apparently because of the power supply]). It also sounds like it's about to explode most of the time, so I'm looking at getting a new case with better fans/ventilation, along with a power supply.

[Zero82z]

The Dimension 8300 has an AGP slot, which is unfortunate because all modern cards are PCI-Express. However, it isn't really worth upgrading your system altogether, because the entire thing is pretty outdated. You'd be better off saving some money and building a new PC from scratch. Depending on your budget, you should be able to put together something half-decent for $300-400.

[MrWicked1968]

I kind of doubt it's the PSU that's preventing your new dvd drive from working, although it's certainly possible. You could have a dying motherboard.

jeezus, but that was an expensive system back in the day.

$3800 in 2003 and stocked with an ATI 9800 Pro. http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/produ...sion_8300.html

[voltagexx]

Originally Posted by MrWicked1968

I kind of doubt it's the PSU that's preventing your new dvd drive from working, although it's certainly possible. You could have a dying motherboard.

I was on another forum a while back and someone seemed to have the same problem I did (computer would go to a blue screen and then restart whenever putting in a blank CD/DVD) and they said the power supply solved the problem, which is what made me think that.

You'd be better off saving some money and building a new PC from scratch. Depending on your budget, you should be able to put together something half-decent for $300-400.

Y'know, I've thought about that too. I guess the problem is that I don't want to lose some of the stuff I've got now, so I'm just kind of wondering what parts I could salvage from what I do have. All my disk and hard drives are IDE and I know most stuff is SATA now, but I'd prefer to keep all the ones I have, especially since some of them are newly purchased. I also just got the memory upgrades and those are DDR, not DDR2 or 3 which I'm assuming it's what's compatible with most of the motherboards I would find nowadays. I guess that's less of a worry, and maybe I can re-sell the ones I had picked up. I also have no problems with my sound card and things of that nature. Am I correct in assuming if I did build a new system, the sound card would not work with it, or is that completely different than the video card?