Will a new graphics card improve my performance?

[freshforce]

I have a Dell Dimension B110. I didn't know how much computers have changed until I wanted to upgrade my parts. I am looking to buy the ATI 2400 HD Pro PCI at newegg for about 70 bucks. My current graphics card uses the Intel Extreme 2 integrated graphics that uses 64MB of system memory.

My computer specs
Windows XP - real
Intel Celeron D 2.53 GHz
1 GB ram
Only PCI slots
2 80 GB Hard Drives


I would like the ATI 2400HD to play HD on my HDTV and also get better performance. I'm not much of a gamer but I do plan on video editing in the future. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I've looked into buying a motherboard, new cpu, etc but it seems overwhelming. I'm not looking to buy a new computer, but would like to know if this setup will last.

[BC_Programmer]

Windows XP - real

as opposed to what? Windows XP "Virtual"? Or are you simply saying it is genuine?



Almost any graphics card will beat integrated graphics.

[squall_01]

I agree an he means that its not a copy or crack or anything like that.

[freshforce]

Yeah, genuine. I was reading the faqs and thought it was something I should mention. Back to my question, right now, playing a game like "Second Life" or "MapleStory" gets my cpu to 100% nearly the whole time. Would this graphics card help as well as with the HD I want to get? Hulu has some content in HD that will be available which is why I ask about the HD.

[squall_01]

No it will make it look better but other then that it wont help process the info.  Theres something running that is using the space.  Bring up task manger then go to processes it should show whats using it.

[soybean]

This is worth repeating here.

Almost any graphics card will beat integrated graphics.

Of course, you may have other issues affecting your system's performance.  What does CPU usage run when you're not playing games?

[freshforce]

around 15% when surfing the web. 40% when opening an application. Should I try a benchmark or something?

[soybean]

If you pause for a few seconds, no mouse or keyboard activity, does CPU usage drop down to a single digit number?

[freshforce]

yeah, to around 5%

[soybean]

That's fairly good.  Do you use any spyware detection/removal tools?  Any disk cleanup utility?  I recommend CCleaner for disk cleanup and also for safe scanning of Windows Registry; get the Slim version at http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds .  And, defragment your hard drive periodically.

[freshforce]

I use McAfee. I've purchased my item and will let those know my experience.

[soybean]

I've purchased my item ...

You mean the video card?

I use McAfee.

Both McAfee and Norton can cause some performance degradation; they're resource hogs.  At some point, you might look at some alternatives, including free ones such as AVG Free Anti-virus or Avast Anti-virus (also free for personal use). 

[homer]

No it will make it look better but other then that it wont help process the info.

umm excuse me? dedicated graphics cards have their own processor on the card. this keeps all calculations and graphics processing operations off of the CPU thereby increasing the overall system performance. also, the onboard RAM on the video card will free up whatever RAM the comp was using before for graphics processing.

[freshforce]

I'm so glad you said that. I wasn't sure about the whole GPU with my current Intel Intergrated Graphics. Doesn't exist. Any videos I view on my comp that are full screen lets my CPU coast at 100%.

[DwayneZ]

I have a Dell Dimension B110. I didn't know how much computers have changed until I wanted to upgrade my parts. I am looking to buy the ATI 2400 HD Pro PCI at newegg for about 70 bucks. My current graphics card uses the Intel Extreme 2 integrated graphics that uses 64MB of system memory.

My computer specs
Windows XP - real
Intel Celeron D 2.53 GHz
1 GB ram
Only PCI slots
2 80 GB Hard Drives


I would like the ATI 2400HD to play HD on my HDTV and also get better performance. I'm not much of a gamer but I do plan on video editing in the future. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I've looked into buying a motherboard, new cpu, etc but it seems overwhelming. I'm not looking to buy a new computer, but would like to know if this setup will last.

It can do something with the performance depending on what you do.