Open up your case and look where your gfx (graphics) card plugs into your motherboard. On the side of the slot it will say "PCI-E x16" if it is a modern PCI-E slot. If you do have AGP, you still can buy high end graphics cards, but they will cost you slightly more than a PCI-E card.
Serunson
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Most likely if you are running PCI-E x16
What power supply do you currently run on? A better graphics card will require more power to run it.
Serunson
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The easiest way to check the power of you PSU (power supply unit), is to open up your case and look at the label on the side of your PSU. This will then tell you a value in Watts (W). Most common values range from around 230W upwards, depending on the age of your machine. Too run top of the range graphics cards a PSU of around 500W is best. Anything lower than 400W, and you Graphics card will struggle to work at optimum performance.
Serunson
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If it's only a year old, i would think it would have PCI-E x16. Mine is 3/4 years old as has PCI-E x16.
Taking off the case side panel is an easy thing to do and won't harm your computer. As long as you do it when your PC is turned off. If you would like instructions on how to check the PSU and the gfx card slot type I'll type them up for you. Did your friend look in the computer, to see the PCI-E PEG type 1x slot?
Serunson
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Does your monitor plug into a gfx card of any sorts, or is it just connected to the motherboard? If it is connected to the motherboard you are using on-board graphics, otherwise you are connected into some sort of graphics card. But the best way is to look to the slot itself.
Serunson
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