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Post by speed on Dec 1, 2005 15:19:34 GMT -8
O.k i talked to my dad and he said that hes pretty sure i have an AGP slot, though its not being used right now. Is it on the back of my computer? how big is it? just so i can make sure before i go hardcore buying to find out that i did somehow have a PCI
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Post by Zangief on Dec 1, 2005 15:45:03 GMT -8
The AGP slot is on your mother board, you will have to open it up the case of your computer to see it. In all likely hood your current video card is in that slot. You can tell us your current video card by going to the device manager:
right click on myk computer
properties
click the hardware tab
click on device manager
double click on dsiplay adaptors
double click on your video card
under the general tab it will tell you the location, pci slot, agp, etc.
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Post by speed on Dec 1, 2005 15:57:01 GMT -8
PCI bus 1, device 0, function 0
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Post by killr on Dec 1, 2005 15:59:21 GMT -8
Wow my graphics card sucks. It doesn't make much sense for me to have 145 GB harddrive, have 512 memory, and have a stupid graphics card. Man this sucks. Oh well i probably won't make a montage anytime soon anyway.I hope you have a better luck Calico.
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Post by FrkUout on Dec 1, 2005 16:07:08 GMT -8
That should be your AGP card designation. Mine has the same information for my AGP cards. It might be an integrated AGP video card and not an add on AGP card. THe way you can tell is by looking at the back of the computer. If the monitor cable connects up by the parallel ports then it's integrated video. If it's down in the expansion slot area then it's a separate card.
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Post by speed on Dec 1, 2005 16:21:16 GMT -8
Its down at the very bottom by itself going horizontal.
so i probably have an apg right?
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Post by FrkUout on Dec 1, 2005 16:26:44 GMT -8
Yes that would be right. If you wanted to open the case to check you'd see the AGP card there. The only thing that could make it a built in card is if they ran the connector down to that area. The only way to check for that is to open the case. But only do this if your comfortable.
On a side note, since you have a fairly new processor you should have and AGP 8x slot. Like I said before if you know the manufacturer and model number I'll look up the specs so Jeremy and I can give you the best recommendations.
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Post by speed on Dec 1, 2005 16:27:48 GMT -8
Is the model number on the back? because thats on there.
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Post by FrkUout on Dec 1, 2005 16:52:02 GMT -8
yes it is...do you know if it's a dell, gateway, hp, e-machine, compaq, systemmax, or some other brand name?
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Post by speed on Dec 1, 2005 17:22:09 GMT -8
It's just generic computer.. GQ3121 Here, i found my computer exactly . NOW IM TAKING SUGGESTIONS!! My Computer |
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Post by FrkUout on Dec 1, 2005 19:23:38 GMT -8
Here we go.....Your motherboard can only support a maximum of 2 Gig of RAM. Upgrade to at least 512MB or go for the 1 GB if they'll let you. You most likely have an AGP 4x or 8x card installed. If you want to use an internal card for video capture you can either upgrade your current card with the AGP one's that Jeremy recommended or get a capture card add on instead of buying a whole new card. The internal card will give you a much fast bandwith because it's plugged in directly to the bus.
You can still use the USB option if you want to. That decision is going to be up to you. A 40 Gig hard drive isn't bad but I would suggest adding an additional drive to store your videos and whatever else. This serves another purpose because you can store information that you want to keep on the second hard drive so if the first one crashes you have everything safe and sound on the second hard drive.
You most likely have 2 PCI slots open so there's room for the add on capture card if you choose that route.
The one limitation that I found with the AGP slot is that it only supports a 1.5 volt AGP card. I'm not sure what the voltage is on the newer cards since I haven't bought one in a while.
I will tell you that when you get it all setup and working and you start on the first creation don't be surprised about how long it takes to render the movie. When I make DVD's it can sometimes take hours to render, compile and finally burn the DVD movie. (yes you can do that with you capture setup) When I made my montage preview it only took about 30 minutes to make everything. But a bigger one would have taken longer.
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Post by speed on Dec 1, 2005 19:38:39 GMT -8
Ok im going to get the 512 RAM upgrade at least. I am also thinking the internal card sounds like the better choice and am going to post a few things i find on the internet here and am hoping that someone will be able to tell me if its going to work out with my setup as it is, pretending that i upgraded my RAM.
ill edit my post with the items soon.
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Post by FrkUout on Dec 1, 2005 19:39:45 GMT -8
Good deal
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Post by speed on Dec 1, 2005 20:08:31 GMT -8
Alright well this is my first try at a setup, just tell me if it wouldnt work and why so i can try again ;D Hard driveVideo CardOh, and how do i find out what my power supply is currently? |
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Post by FrkUout on Dec 1, 2005 21:56:11 GMT -8
You power supply was in the description about your computer. It's 250 watts. But just to make sure if you want to check it's written on the label but you'll have to open the case to read it.
The hard drive you're looking at is the same one I just bought for my external enclosure for my laptop. It a good hard drive and will work just fine in your computer. It has a software program that'll set it up for you with a couple clicks...you can even divide it up right then if you wanted.
The video card is a good one and it combines the capture features you're looking for. It does require a power connection and from the pictures you'll need to have a free floppy drive power connector for the video card. Shouldn't be a problem.
I would say that you're probably not maxing out your power supply with the current PC configuration but I would consider getting a larger one just in case. Again, it's only a suggestion.
So as it sits right now it'll work but you may have some power problems when you try to really push you machine. Short answer is yes it'll work.
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