Gateway E4100

[jinlai68]

I am wanting to upgrade my graphics card on my Gateway E4100. I can't find out which AGP graphics card is compatible. I'm looking for a 128 or 256 MB card. Any suggestions what to look for and the cost?

[Raptor]

I wouldn't bother spending too much on it, AGP is becoming outdated and the cards are far too expensive considered to PCI-E, which your mainboard is not capable of supporting. If you do buy an AGP card, buy one that doesn't cost more than 100~120 dollars or so otherwise you'll end up with a card that might make the rest of your system a bottleneck for performance

MB RAM doesn't mean a lot. It's the processor core and RAM speed on the videocard that makes the biggest difference. Plus the amount of pixel pipelines. In any case; the higher, the better.  

What games do you plan on playing?

[jinlai68]

Nothing too graphics intensive. I was looking more for a mid level card that could handle some games and Windows Vista when it comes out.

[Raptor]

I wouldn't bother buying Windows Vista for your current PC, when Vista comes out it will be cheaper to buy a new computer that comes with Vista  (OEM) than it will be to purchase the OS in its retail form.

Besides, I don't think they're bringing out any Vista-ready AGP cards anymore, like I said, the technology is too outdated. It is now PCI-Express that is taking the lead. This doesn't mean that you can't install Vista on your current machine, though.

What kind of videocard is currently installed?

[jinlai68]

Here are the relevant specs on my computer:
 Intel Extreme Graphics 2 controller
 Universal 0.8 V / 1.5 V AGP 3.0 connector supporting 1X, 4X, and 8X AGP cards or an ADD card

[Raptor]

Any new videocard would most likely make a vast improvement in the 128-256MB range.

[Neil]

How much do you want to spend? It can very from £20 to £200+. Have a look at 6600GT for a starting point and go up or down from there.