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I want to get microsoft's new flight sim but the website says my vid card will be too slow. It has 2.8 ghz proc. and 2 ghz ram. Is the vid card easy to install? Will it set itself up automatically?

 

Can you post a link to shutting down uneeded background processes on xp?

XP is a lot different than ME was.

"This place may be bombed and we will be killed.

We love death. The US loves life.

That is the big difference between us."

 

Osama Bin Laden. nov. 2001

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Posted
I want to get microsoft's new flight sim but the website says my vid card will be too slow. It has 2.8 ghz proc. and 2 ghz ram.

 

Actually, your computer is the one with the 2.8 GHZ clock speed and it's 2 GB of RAM from what is sounds like. Those are your computers specs and they should be able to run Flight Sim X just fine.

 

 

Is the vid card easy to install? Will it set itself up automatically?

 

When you buy a better video card, it comes with a disc to use to install it's "catalyst drivers" to make the motherboard interact with the video card AFTER you have already put the video card in your computer...

 

Firstly, you need to know what kind of video card slot your computer supports. From what it sounds like, your computer probobly supports AGP or PCI-Express. In order to find out, you should open up your PC and just take a look at the slots that look like this...

 

This is an AGP Slot...

 

.

 

This is a PCI-Express slot...

 

.

 

If you're having trouble with identification, take a look at this...

 

[attach=full]1085[/attach]

 

Make sure you print this off as your computer should be off when you open it unless you're looking to fry yourself or short-circuit your motherboard.

 

Now that you have found out what kind of card you need... Lets find you the right card for a good price...

 

If you have a PCI-E slot. I recommend to you the following cards...

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2231768&Sku=E145-7874

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2367969&Sku=B52-7850

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1879885&CatId=1560

 

If you have an AGP slot. I recommend to you the following cards...

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2265955&CatId=318

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1892411&CatId=0

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2149104&CatId=0

 

These cards are for near to serious gamers but Flight Sim X takes a good graphics card to get even a decent FPS.

 

Now for the installation... Read my next post.

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Taking it up the poopchute from Allah since 1990.
Posted

Illustrated How to Replace an AGP Video Card

 

Video cards are pretty reliable, though some of the newer ones run so hot that they have their own cooling systems, and if the fan fails, the video processor can't be too far behind. Almost all systems you crack open these days will feature an AGP video card, only the oldest system have PCI video and only the very newest feature PCI Express. The first step to installing a video card is opening up the case, which varies with non-standard systems, but for a normal mid-tower, it means two screws at the most. You want to remove the side that's above the motherboard, which you can easily determine by looking at the back of the case. The I/O core at the bottom with the ports is attached to the motherboard. As soon as the lid is off, we remove the video card hold-down screw.

 

[attach=full]1086[/attach]

 

The truth is that there are few PC jobs easier than installing the video card. Most AGP slots lack the latch that the cards were designed to accept on the back edge. That latching point is clearly visible on the old ATI video card we're replacing, you can see the "L" shape under the four video memory chips on the right side of the card. If the motherboard had supported a lock, it would have closed over the "L." In fact, the primary failure mode for AGP video cards is when they pop partially out of the slot on their own (or because the monitor cable pulls them up), so before you assume any video card is dead, you should reseat it in the slot and give it another try.

 

[attach=full]1087[/attach]

 

Our replacement 3D AGP video card is shown here over the brown AGP slot. Yes, they are always brown, or at least they're supposed to be. You can see the key slot in the card edge that with a few orphan exceptions, will prevent you from installing the wrong voltage video card in the slot. Only the oldest 1X and 2X AGP video slots had any compatibility issues. The 4X cards were probably the most common, they are now being replaced by 8X AGP, but PCI Express will take over soon, so the majority of PCs in use will never feature the 8X AGP cards. You usually have to replace an AGP video card with the same speed since the existing card will be the fastest the motherboard could use. Handle the video card by the corners and don't touch the gold contact fingers because the oil from your skin can degrade the electrical signals.

 

[attach=full]1088[/attach]

 

Once you have the video card positioned properly over the AGP slot, seat it evenly by pressing down on the top edge at both the front and back of the card (left). Once it's seated, install the retaining screw on the back rail (below), then inspect the card to make sure it's still fully seated in the slot. On poorly designed motherboards or cases, installing the screw can cause the video card to pivot on the back of the slot and lose contact with the front of the slot. That pretty much covers how to replace an AGP video card, unless you count installing the software drivers as a step. Just use the CD that comes with the video card and hopefully there'll be a wizard:-)

 

[attach=full]1089[/attach]

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Taking it up the poopchute from Allah since 1990.
Posted

And the final image...

 

[attach=full]1090[/attach]

 

It's pretty much the same to install a PCI-E card if you have a PCI-E slot instead of an AGP slot. It's typically the same proccess, screw out the screw from your current card, you slide out your old card, slide in your new one and screw everything back in.

 

I hope I helped :).

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Taking it up the poopchute from Allah since 1990.
Posted

Shutting down background prcesses is easy: Just use msconfig.

 

Click on your start menu, then click on Run.

 

Type in msconfig in the pop up box and click enter.

 

Click on the Startup tab

 

you will see a lot of programs, and every one of them with a check in the box is running everytime you start your computer.

 

Then go here:http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php and use the search feathure to see what each of the processes are and whether or not you need them. Most you do not need and they just suck up the prescious lifeblood of energy that makes the earth go around.

 

Unselect the ones that you are comfortable with doing without and resart your machine. Click the little box that pops up after restart and all will be good.

I'm trusted by more women.
Posted
Just call on the geek squad!

"You can't stop insane people from doing insane things by passing insane laws. That's just insane!" Penn & Teller

 

NEVER FORGOTTEN

  • 1 month later...
Posted

Hey Phreak. Do you still have that world news web site bookmarked? I can't remember the name of it and I can't find it in Google.

I'm trying to find a story that happened to a co-worker about a month ago in the Amazons.

"You can't stop insane people from doing insane things by passing insane laws. That's just insane!" Penn & Teller

 

NEVER FORGOTTEN

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