Video Card or Monitor?

Alright Folks, here's one I can't figure out: When I try to install MS Plus for XP, it tells me not all of the features will be installed because I don't have 16 MB or more of memory for my video or something or another. I checked and I only have 4MB of memory for the video. The question is, do I need a new Video card or a new monitor? And if the answer is a new video card like I think it is, what are some good steals that are out there? Could I get anything between $30-60 dollars that would be sufficent enough for me to install Plus??

Plus how much does memory go for these days? I currently have 256MB of memory, but I'd like to have more....maybe like 512 or something. I have an intel celeron 500Mhz Processor. Would 512MB of memory give it boost in performance(like with Programs like Virtual PC), or would I see no noticeable differences??

TCM

[JacKDynne]

TCM,

1. I am reasonably sure you need a new video card and you *should* be able to get a 16mb one for a little around the high end of your price range, if not less.

2. Memory is still cheap and I always believe that the more ram you got, the better off you are. It's been one of the cheapest ways to 'upgrade' your pc and get the most bang for your buck.

Note: This is all my opion. Feel freee to see other doctors to put your mind at rest...

Not sure on where to get the best deal on a buy, perhaps some other members can help in that regard....

Hope this helps.

/JD

I shopped around online and found several 32MB video cards within my price range, so thats very cool. Also found a 512 DIMM Memory Module for only $139 dollars too, and thats pretty darn cheap. Found it at CompUsa. Eventually I'd like to Upgrade my processing power...and leaning towards one of those AMD Athalon XP's. Anything over 1Ghz would probably provide me with sufficent speeds to breeze through XP. I just wonder if i'd have to go and get a whole new motherboard just to upgrade my processor?? I hope not.

Anyways, Can only do one thing at a time. 1st...perhaps next week or weekend i'll take care of the video card. Than maybe a month or two down the road when SP1 is final, I'll go get that 512 DIMM of memory I saw.......just hope the price of it stays down. For now 256MB of memory is sufficent......but I know I need more than that for noticeable performance.

[richardc2000]

Here is a pretty good page for those looking to upgrade and want to follow prices. There is also a Canadian version.
_http://mark099.homestead.com/buyers_guide_us.html

[kamikazee]

Look at [link]http://www.newegg.com[/link] they have some of the best prices and customer support around..

[Jessica]

[link]www.pricewatch.com[/link]

Or...my personal favorite
[link]www.ebay.com[/link]

New problem.....I think my Video card is onboard. I opened up my computer and I don't see any easy way to remove it myself. I also bought a ATI Radeon7000 with 32MB of memory to replace it. If there's a way to disable the other one somehow so I can use the new one, someone please tell me ASAP. Thanks.

TCM

[Jupiter2k]

If you have a MB handbook check it
some have a jumper to disable the onboard Video Card..
Some onboardvideo card will auto disable when additinal PCI/AgP video card is installed!

you may check whether the bios option is available to disable the onboard video card ?
My onboard soundcard can be disabled using the BIOS..

Well, the bios has no option for letting me disable it, and when I installed the new video card, it didn't auto-disable the other one, it just froze up.....didn't even load. Any other suggestions??

[Sephiroth]

had this prob with my old hp, try changing the drivers for your onboard video to standard pci graphics adapter, reboot, then disable it in device manager, shutdown the pc, install the ati card, boot back to windows, install drivers for the ati card, and you should be good to go