I need to know how to read and be able to tell the different type of graphic card, can anyone tell me please??
for example my old PC is running a Asus GeForce FX 5200 128MB DDR AGP DVI/VGA Video Card. what should i really pay attention for? and what does all those numbers and letters stand for? Can i use a xxxxx DDR3 xxxxx video card replacing this old DDR?
The main thing you need to pay attention to is what GPU the card has.
Your GPU is the "GeForce FX 5200". That is the model of your GPU.
Nvidia make all of the GeForce GPUs and ATI make all of the Radeon GPUs.
Nvidia and ATI ship the GPUs to video card manufacturers (such as Asus) who then solder the GPU to a video card.
Now, DDR (Double Data Rate) is the type of memory that your particular video card uses. DDR2 (Double Data Rate 2) is faster than DDR; DDR3 (Double Data Rate 3) is faster than DDR and DDR2. You may come accross GDDR5, this stands for Graphics Double Data Rate 5. This type of memory is made specifically for video cards.
There is even DDR5 (Double Data Rate 5).
AGP is the cardbus of your video card. The is also PCI and PCI express. You can only use a video card that is a particular cardbus with a motherboard that has the same cardbus as your video card.
DVI and VGA are the two types of video input. Your card has one VGA input and one DVI input.
You can use a video card with DDR3 memory if you want. Unlike RAM, the memory type doesn't matter as far as compatibility goes.
Refer to this guide, it will tell you what GPUs are more powerful than what you have:
ATI RADEON 9550SE 128MB DDR AGP VIDEO CARD W/DVI TV-OUT, NVIDIA QUADRO FX1100 128MB XP DUAL DVI AGP VIDEO CARD, ATI RADEON 7000 32MB DVI WITH DUAL CABLE AGP VIDEO CARD, Diamond ATI Radeon 9600XT 256MB Dual Display DVI VGA Win7 Vista AGP Video Card, ATI Radeon 7500 64M DDR AGP DVI/VGA/TV Out Video Card, New ATI Radeon 9550 256 MB DDR2 Memory AGP DVI S-Video VGA Video Graphics Card , NEW ATI Radeon 9250 256 MB DDR 128 Bit AGP Video Graphics Card VGA TV-out DVI, MATROX 7082-0401 128MB AGP VIDEO CARD WITH DUAL DVI OUTPUT, AIW 9800 Pro 128MB AGP DVI S-VIDEO - With TV Tuner Used, Brand New Video Graphics Cards / NVIDIA G Force FX5200 256MB DDR TV DVI AGP 8X, Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon 9550 256MB AGP VGA/TVO/DVI-I Graphic Video Card, Dell/NVIDIA 128MB DVI AGP Video Card G0773 Model P118 low-profile, PNY GeForce 7600 GS DDR2 512MB PCI-E AGP Video Card (DVI / VGA / S-Video), ASUS GeForce FX 5900 Ultra AGP 8X 256MB ASUS V9950ULTRA VGA DVI S-Video, Nvidia/Dell Quado4 900XGL 128MB DDR AGP F1057 / 3N245 Video Graphics Card DVI, Visiontek Radeon X1550 256MB AGP 8X Video Card DVI/VGA/S-Video 900131 , nVidia Quadro FX 2000 128mb Dual DVI/TV-out AGP Video Card [VCQFX2000], nVIDIA GEFORCE4 MX440 AGP VIDEO GRAPHICS CARD DVI/S-VIDEO!!!, Dell nVidia Quadro FX series FX3400 AGP 8x 256MB DDR Dual DVI Video Card X2692, MSI Nvidia GeForce FX5200 128MB AGP Video Card + DVI-D/TV, Dell ATI Radeon 9700 TX 128MB AGP Video Card 7T753 VGA/DVI/TV Tested Working, NVIDIA QUADRO FX P192 128MB S-VIDEO + DUAL DVI AGP VIDEO CARD FULL PROFILE, NVIDIA QUADRO 4 900 XGL P83 DUAL DVI + SVIDEO FULL PROFILE AGP VIDEO CARD, LOT OF 3 DELL CN-0G0770 NVIDIA P117 64MB AGP DVI SVIDEO LOW PROFILE VIDEO CARD, ATI Radeon 9700 Pro AGP Video Graphics Card 128MB DVI VGA TESTED, HIS ATI RADEON X1650 PRO 512MB DDR2 128bit 4/8X AGP Video Card + DVI/TV, Sapphire ATI RADEON HD2400 PRO 512MB DDR2 4/8X AGP Video Card + DVI/TV, LOT OF 3 DELL CN-0G0770 NVIDIA P117 64MB AGP DVI SVIDEO FULL PROFILE VIDEO CARD, ATI 1029423031 RADEON FIRE R300 GLX DELL CN-09Y130 AGP DUAL DVI 128MB VIDEO CARD, ATI Radeon 7500 64 MDDR AGP Graphic Card VGA / DVI / S-VIDEO Video Card, VisionTek ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO 8x AGP Graphics Video Card 512 MB DDR2 2 DVI , Dell Nvidia P162 128MB AGP DVI VGA Video Graphics Card , NVIDIA QUADRO 2 PRO AGP 64MB VIDEO CARD 180-P0032-0100 DVI + VGA FULL BRACKET, NVIDIA Quadro 4 P80 700XGL 64MB AGP Video Card DVI VGA, Brand New Video Graphics Cards / NVIDIA G Force FX5200 256MB DDR TV DVI AGP 8X, Brand New Video Graphics Cards / NVIDIA G Force FX5200 256MB DDR TV DVI AGP 8X, Brand New Video Graphics Cards / NVIDIA G Force FX5200 256MB DDR TV DVI AGP 8X, ATI RADEON 9600LE VIDEO / GRAPHICS CARD 256M DDR AGP 8x w/ D-sub, S-video & DVi , Sapphire ATI Radeon HD3650 HD 3650 512MB AGP Dual DVI Video Card 288-80E52-005SA, PNY nVidia GeForce 6200 AGP Video Card 256MB VCG6225APB DVI + VGA Graphics, Nvidia EVGA GeForce 6200 256 MB DDR2 AGP VGA S-Video DVI-I , New ATI Radeon 9550 256 MB DDR2 Memory AGP DVI S-Video VGA Video Graphics Card , LOT OF 3 ATI Radeon AGP VGA/DVI Video Graphics Card X800 XT 128 MB UNTESTED, Apple Power Mac G4 nVidia GeForce 4 Ti4600 128MB ADC/DVI AGP Video Card 603-2645, SAPPHIRE Radeon X600 Pro 128MB 1024-2C45-0C-SA AGP Video Card VGA/DVI/S-Video, PowerMac G5 NVidia GeForce FX4200 64MB AGP DVI ADC Video Card 603-3254 630-4862, Dell 0G0170 G0170 Nvidia GeForce FX5200 128MB AGP Video Card AGP and DVI P118, PNY GF4TI4200AGP8x VGA/TV Out/DVI Video Card, nVIDIA VIDEO CARD DUAL DVI TV 128 MB DDR3 AGP VIDEO CARD 6600GT, G0772 Dell Card Video 64Mb Agp W/Dvi/Tv-Out,
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