Need Help Choosing an NVidia Video Card for Windows 7

I upgraded my XP system ( IBM 8291-E2U) to Windows 7 yesterday, knowing the video adapter on my motherboard was not fully Windows 7 compliant. My HP w2207 monitor's optimal resolution is 1068 x 1050 @ 60 ghz.

The video card I am considering is an : NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card


My concern is that this may not work with my mother board which is :
*Chipset*Intel i915G/GV/GL/P/PL/i910GL

Can someone comment as to the viability of this card and give me a process to follow from install to operation -- i.e. how to disable VGA and when ?

shut your system down plug it into your PCI slot connect DVI output to monitor boot to BIOS disable onboard video then save and Boot to windows install drivers and your good to go ?

I have the 9800GTX+ and It roks in all games so far

ickymay said:

shut your system down plug it into your PCI slot connect DVI output to monitor boot to BIOS disable onboard video then save and Boot to windows install drivers and your good to go ?

I have the 9800GTX+ and It roks in all games so far

That depends on your resolution and settings, I would choose an ATI 4670. That gpu is obsolete.

porkr said:

IThe video card I am considering is an : NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card

You don't really want a 8400GS if games are a concern. It is worse than much older cards, and is really only good for desktop and office stuff, not for games. If you don't want to play graphically more intense games (basically anything other than the type of games that come with Windows 7!), then it is an option, as it is better than an on-board system, has dedicated memory, passive cooling and does not need to be connected to the PSU, and it is inexpensive. It just won't run games.

If you do want to play games, two question: How many watts does your power supply unit have? And: How much do you want to spend? Oops, I lied, here is a third question: Do you have a case that can hold a 8-9" long card?

ickymay said:

shut your system down plug it into your PCI slot connect DVI output to monitor boot to BIOS disable onboard video then save and Boot to windows install drivers and your good to go ?

I have the 9800GTX+ and It roks in all games so far

Thank you for the advice and procedure -- unfortunately bought a PCI express and my unit only takes PCI -- then I looked and saw power supply requirement of 300W -- my unit only has a 250W supply.

Will this be a problem ?

I am not doing any gaming with this -- only seeking better resolution than the on board adapter.

Frostmourne said:

ickymay said:

shut your system down plug it into your PCI slot connect DVI output to monitor boot to BIOS disable onboard video then save and Boot to windows install drivers and your good to go ?

I have the 9800GTX+ and It roks in all games so far

That depends on your resolution and settings, I would choose an ATI 4670. That gpu is obsolete.

TY for trying to help but ATI 4670 requires :

"....400 Watt or greater power supply (550 Watt for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode) is recommended"

I only have 250W power supply and hoping this won't be an issue

In all honesty without a power supply upgrade, and MB your not going to be able to purchase a card that will proive you any real increse in preformance.However if you did purchase an inexpensive BRAND name PSU this is probably the best PCI card for you. Please keep in mind this is just my opinion. Fabe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161283

With a 250W PSU, your options are very limited. The 8400GS is an update to what you have and it is supported in Windows 7, including Aero glass effects. I have one of them sitting here (came with a box that I put a different card into) and they are small, using only one slot, and have passive cooling. They also don't need to be connected to the PSU, so the 75W they get from the motherboard are sufficient.

As others said, unless you upgrade the PSU and possibly the motherboard (which I don't know if it's an option), the 8400GS may be your best bet after all. It's definitely supported.