hi guys and gals,

im guessing my graphics card has fried . ive checked other forums to get to this point and tried allsorts to try and get my comp working. but still nothing. so im going to get a new graphics card or 2 if its possible.

heres my spec.

compaq presario sr5129uk
intel dual core 2 cpu 4400 @ 2.00 ghz
ram is 1Gb
nvidia geforce 8400 gs

and os is vista 32bit

i have no knowledge of computers and whats good and whats not.
im thinking is it possible to put 2 of the 8400 gs cards in my pc and would this make the graphics better?

or

what graphics cards can i put in the computer to improve it without changing alot of internal parts? like i say i dont know what you can do. am i limted to nvidia cards or can i use other brands.

if any one has any advice i would accept it gladly.

all the best

ginge

First off.. What you need to do, is go into your computer, and check your motherboard for expansion slots. Depending on what type of slot your last one went into, that would be the corresponding type of slot that you would have. That is if you are trying to get the same graphics card. Also, before i go into more details, what would be the point of having 2 graphics cards? Unless you have two monitors. Having two graphics cards wont make your resolution any better if thats what you think.

Now for more details on your question.

First off, if you have a standard motherboard, chances are you wont have two of the expansion slots you need to install two graphics cards. Theres PCIxE, AGP, PCIxE-16 as well. These are all different VGA expansion types.. so you need to check to see which one of these you have. Go on google image and type in those names i just gave you, see what they look like, and match it with the one on your system. Easy as cake. Also, checking back on what i said before, chances are you dont have 2 of these expansion slots unless you have a gaming PC, even then it would have to be a select model. Also, putting in two graphics cards would DEFINITELY mean that you would need a new and way more powerful power supply then the one you probably already have. These graphics cards that your thinking of need lots of power going to them in order to have them work efficiently. So with that being said, thats about all that would change as far as internal parts go.

Look, if you want to get two graphics cards, then reconsider. Unless you have two monitors, its pointless... because what would you use the other card for.. once you have the only monitor you own.. plugged into it. But i mean, if you have two monitors and plan to put the other one to use, then by all means, go ahead. But even then you wouldn't need two graphics cards because most up to date graphics cards that you will buy, have the capability of supporting two monitors on just that one card.

If your looking for more intense graphics and enhanced performance, then your best bet would be to spend the extra money and get a really nice graphics card.

My suggestion:

Go for the nVidia 9 series.

You can see all of these graphics cards at Welcome to NVIDIA - World Leader in Visual Computing Technologies. They have some great graphics cards at reasonable prices. If you want a great graphics card that plays any video and any game you throw at it.. look into the nVidia GeForce 9600GT. This is the card that i have and it is completely amazing. Have not had a single problem with it and it plays every intense graphics game that i pop in the tray.

If you want more information on the cards that would be right for you.. check out these sites and research and read up on the graphics card that best suits your needs:

Video Cards | Graphics Cards | ATI Products and Technology
and
Desktop PC Solutions - NVIDIA
^ for this one, look at the top left menu bar and you will see all the series they have for graphics cards.

Also, if your short on money, but still looking for a good graphics card, check out these discount sites:

http://www.newegg.com
and
http://www.tigerdirect.com

Hope this helped!!

__________________
PC 1: eMachine; OCZ f4ta1 4GB RAM; nVidia GeForce 9600GT(512MB) Overclocked Edition;WD 250GB HDD; Samsung SyncMaster 720n PnP Monitor; Silverstone 1000W PSU; Dual Core CPU clocked at 3.5GHz.

Laptop: Dell Studio 15; 3GB RAM; 250GB HDD; ATI Mobility Radeon 3560HD(256MB RAM);Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 (2.2Ghz/800Mhz FSB/2MB Cache)

I'm not understanding this one. According to what I have found, the mobo in this unit has integrated graphics with one pciXpress 16 slot available. HP and Compaq Desktop PCs- Motherboard Specifications, P5LP-LE (Leonite). Here are the specs for your unit Compaq Presario SR5129UK Desktop PC- Product Specifications

If you have no video and they are integrated into the mobo, you could try a different monitor and see if it is the video in the unit or the monitor itself. This unit started manufacture in June 2007. Depending what month and year you bought it, you may still have a warranty.

__________________
EVGA 650i mobo with Intel e8400 Core 2 Duo
4 gigs OCZ 800 ddr2 ram and 160 gig sata hard drive
EVGA GTS 250 SC - Windows 7 - 64 bit
See my test at http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/sec.asp?conid=23014579

Also, to correct myself, you CAN have two graphics cards running, and giving you more graphics power to just one monitor. This is SLI by nVidia. Not entirely sure what ATI's side of this is. But on the newer graphics cards, they have ports on them, where if you had the right connector, you can connect the both of them and they will run simultaneously to give you a much better graphics experience. But the thing is, i think SLI is only on the nVidia GeForce 9 series and above. I dont think that the 8 series and below are SLI capable. Anyways, you should look into it if you still want to go through with getting a new graphics card, as well as two.

__________________
PC 1: eMachine; OCZ f4ta1 4GB RAM; nVidia GeForce 9600GT(512MB) Overclocked Edition;WD 250GB HDD; Samsung SyncMaster 720n PnP Monitor; Silverstone 1000W PSU; Dual Core CPU clocked at 3.5GHz.

Laptop: Dell Studio 15; 3GB RAM; 250GB HDD; ATI Mobility Radeon 3560HD(256MB RAM);Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 (2.2Ghz/800Mhz FSB/2MB Cache)

SLI is available on the GeForce 8 series except for the 8400 model. This guys board only has one pci x 16 slot anyway. GeForce 8 Series

__________________
EVGA 650i mobo with Intel e8400 Core 2 Duo
4 gigs OCZ 800 ddr2 ram and 160 gig sata hard drive
EVGA GTS 250 SC - Windows 7 - 64 bit
See my test at http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/sec.asp?conid=23014579

Thanks for that mel, and yeah, not many up to date motherboards have more than one AGP or PCI slot to begin with, so that pretty much sucks on his part :/ But still, that doesnt mean he cant go ahead and buy a really nice graphics card that would give him the same results of SLI with an 8 series graphics card.

__________________
PC 1: eMachine; OCZ f4ta1 4GB RAM; nVidia GeForce 9600GT(512MB) Overclocked Edition;WD 250GB HDD; Samsung SyncMaster 720n PnP Monitor; Silverstone 1000W PSU; Dual Core CPU clocked at 3.5GHz.

Laptop: Dell Studio 15; 3GB RAM; 250GB HDD; ATI Mobility Radeon 3560HD(256MB RAM);Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 (2.2Ghz/800Mhz FSB/2MB Cache)

He has never come back to let us know the results. He needs to try a different monitor before doing anything as his video is built into the mobo.

__________________
EVGA 650i mobo with Intel e8400 Core 2 Duo
4 gigs OCZ 800 ddr2 ram and 160 gig sata hard drive
EVGA GTS 250 SC - Windows 7 - 64 bit
See my test at http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/sec.asp?conid=23014579