Member Avatar for concort

Hello All....Newbie here‚

I am trying to get a video card for my Dell Dimension 2400. Under the hood it's got a Pentium 4 processor, 768 MB RAM and a crummy Intel(R) 82845G video controller....This is what I need to upgrade. I've put in a ATI Radeon 9250 (512MB) video card and disabled the onboard graphics and tried to play Battledfield 2 and Medal of Honor but to no avail. Well I did find out from EA Games that that special series of card is NOT supported...oh well, so now I found that I need a 9500 or 9800 series card. However I talked to the people at ATI (the maker of the card) and the one dude there said that Battlefield 2 will not run on a PCU card....??....Is this true? Why can't I get a 9800 or 9500 series card from ATI and install that into my PCI slot? Won't that run the game? Sorry for the ignorance here...I'm more of a MAC person but am learning a lot here. Can someone enlighten me. I really want to get this Dell set up by Christmas so my kid can play MOHPA and actually have it launch and play....But I also don't want to break the bank. Can anyone recommend an economical card that will be sufficient to run these games....I don't need to go crzy here with performance...I just need to get the minumum to run it.

Thanks so much for any help here!

Concort

  • 2 Contributors
  • 1 Reply
  • 114 Views
  • 1 Month Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by NZer

Dani AI

Generated

Quick, practical checklist for and — steps that address compatibility and the common detection issues you described.

Before buying

  • Verify the motherboard expansion slot and physical clearance by checking the exact model/manual or by opening the case and comparing the connector shape to official references.
  • Confirm the system power capability and whether a card needs an auxiliary power plug; many older small-form cards do not, but some do.
  • Match the card features (DirectX and shader support) to the game’s minimums, and compare candidate cards using a GPU database or benchmark site to ensure real-world parity. See an aggregate GPU comparison resource: VideoCardBenchmarks.

If a card is installed but not recognized

  • Make sure the monitor cable is plugged into the new card, not the motherboard video output.
  • Update the motherboard BIOS and chipset drivers before or after installing the card; some older BIOS versions will not initialize newer adapters properly.
  • Reset CMOS if the system refuses to hand video to the new card.
  • Cleanly remove old display drivers (use vendor cleanup guidance), boot to safe mode if necessary, then install the correct vendor driver for your OS.
  • If possible, test the card in another working machine to rule out a defective board.

Cost and buying tips

  • For an inexpensive, reliable upgrade, prioritize cards with verified driver support for your OS and proven shader/DirectX capability rather than headline memory numbers.
  • Buy from sellers with a return policy and check community benchmark comparisons before committing.

Cautions

  • Some older OEM BIOSes are picky with video Option ROMs; a BIOS update or choosing a card known to work in that OEM model is sometimes required. For BIOS files and model-specific support, use the system vendor support site for the exact model.
Member Avatar for NZer

Hello All....Newbie here‚

I am trying to get a video card for my Dell Dimension 2400. Under the hood it's got a Pentium 4 processor, 768 MB RAM and a crummy Intel(R) 82845G video controller....This is what I need to upgrade. I've put in a ATI Radeon 9250 (512MB) video card and disabled the onboard graphics and tried to play Battledfield 2 and Medal of Honor but to no avail. Well I did find out from EA Games that that special series of card is NOT supported...oh well, so now I found that I need a 9500 or 9800 series card. However I talked to the people at ATI (the maker of the card) and the one dude there said that Battlefield 2 will not run on a PCU card....??....Is this true? Why can't I get a 9800 or 9500 series card from ATI and install that into my PCI slot? Won't that run the game? Sorry for the ignorance here...I'm more of a MAC person but am learning a lot here. Can someone enlighten me. I really want to get this Dell set up by Christmas so my kid can play MOHPA and actually have it launch and play....But I also don't want to break the bank. Can anyone recommend an economical card that will be sufficient to run these games....I don't need to go crzy here with performance...I just need to get the minumum to run it.

Thanks so much for any help here!

Concort

Hi Concort,

I have the same computer as you, and I'm also more of a mac person. PCI is really slow compared to the newer AGP or PCI-E slots, so PCI graphics cards only exist for people like us who don't have a AGP or PCI-E slot.

Actually, I'm hoping you might be able to help me. I have bought the Radoen 9250 PCi cards also, but can't get the computer to recognise it at all. Are you able to tell me how you got it to run?

thanks,

Chris

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.