NBrooks

Hey guys, Im new here and I really could do with some help :)

I have an ASUS M2N-MX SE motherboard and Im looking for a new graphics card.
I know for a fact that it has a PCI-E X16 slot on it, so I was wondering if this would be compatible..

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/618434...d/Product.html

I read somewhere that PCI-E X26 2.0 cards are backwards compatible, which I assume is good, and came to the conclusion that it should work, but really I need some confirmation :)

Just for the record, I know nothing about computers whatsoever

Any help would be amazing, thank you :)

EDIT: I have just read the sticky on PCI, PCI-E and stuff like that and am now aware that 2.0 cards are not compatible with PCI-E 1.0 but are campatible with PCI-E 1.1, how do I know which mine is? Im rather confused. Thanks again.

Phædrus2401

It should work.

Here are some cheaper options:
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=9500GT&x=0&y=0
Any of those except the really cheap one (the Inno3D) should work.

Make sure you have a decent 500W power supply before buying one of these cards.

NBrooks

Excellent thank you, do you know I can find out what version it is? 1.0 or 1.1? All I know is that it isnt 2.0 :)

Phædrus2401

1.0 or 1.1 doesn't really matter a ton. You may have to perform a BIOS update if the board is more than a couple of years old. But the branded boards will usually support PCIe 2.0, again at worst requiring a BIOS update.

NBrooks

Right, I'll have to look in to that, because Im now even more confused :P
If I got a 1gb that was not version 2.0 like below, would I be able to get away without updating the BIOS?

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/955628...d/Product.html

NBrooks

Right, I now have a plan!
I am going to go for this card..

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/955628...d/Product.html

It says I need a 350W power supply which I have, so I wont need to upgrade (saves me some dosh, its not easy being a student ya know), it is only PCI-E X16, doesnt mention 2.0 anywhere, and its pretty cheap concidering its the 1GB version.

Now, will that work, and will everything be fine? :P

Phædrus2401

Hate to say it, but never trust the company's power requirements. I ran a near-identical card (actually the first one you linked to, the BFG 9500GT) on a 350W power supply and it was barely stable. Glitching in games, occasional crashes, etc. If I'd used it on that PSU for more than a few months I'd have wrecked the computer, either by killing the graphics card (due to bad voltage from the PSU) or by killing the power supply from overstraining it.

For a 9500GT I'd say it needs a minimum of a quality 400W to function correctly at all, and 450-550W if you plan to keep this computer more than a year or two.

Something like these:
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?sort=pr...imit=10&page=1
The first three on that list. The CX400W is the *minimum* you'd need for the card to work correctly. The VX450W is what I'd recommend as a minimum, and I'd recommend the VX550W if you can afford it.

NBrooks

Awesome thanks mate, I'll look in to it all :D

One last question.. Will ANY power unit work? Or do I need something specific? Really Im only looking at a new card so I can run 2 monitors, not really in to gaming whatsoever.

Phædrus2401

In that case you don't need the 9500GT, go with something cheaper like the 8400GS:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145354

You need an ATX-compatible computer power supply of at least ~400-550W. I'd recommend the Corsair ones because they're very high quality, will last for years before failing, can actually deliver their rated power, and they won't damage your hardware like a cheap-o might.

NBrooks

Excellent thanks very much :)