Playing the Video Card Game

Ask Juan - Question and Answer

Playing the Video Card Game

Question:
Dear Juan I have a Intel 845GVSR motherboard with P4 processor 2.4 Ghz, 256 MB Hynix Ram, 80 GB HDD. I want to play some high graphics game like NFS Most Wanted, Prince Of Persia two Thrones, Tomb raider Legend, etc. I had looked everywhere but friends say I cant play those games, as I don’t have an AGP Slot. I have also heard about an add-on card but I don’t know very much about it. So, can you help me regarding this matter? How can I put a graphics card in my motherboard? Regards Sunny

Answer:
Sunny, playing these high end games does require having a high-end computer. In most cases a specialized graphics card is necessary. Until recently graphic cards were either AGP, PCI, or built into the motherboard. Depending on their architecture, the difference between these three types of cards is how fast each of them can render the graphics of your game. AGP is the fastest, PCI comes in second, and the built in graphics card is up for grabs. It all comes down to how many bits they can process at one time.

The real question is “What does the game require?” Look at the side of the box of the game. Read the requirements. If you are buying the game online, read the requirements. Do this before you buy. Compare against your system. Do you have enough memory, processing power, or disk space? Ask ALL the questions and if any of your answers is no, then you probably won't have a good experience with that game.

If the only thing holding you back is the video card and you don't have an AGP slot available, see if you can get a PCI card with enough memory to run your game. Your system, as described, does not seem to be too bad. You might enjoy it better with some more RAM, but you did not mention the type of graphics card you already have.

I am not a gamer but I have heard that for these games to be truly enjoyable, you must not only meet the requirements you must surpass them. Sometimes they advertise both the minimum and the optimal requirements. If you only meet the minimum don't expect too much of your game.