Quick question. I've got a budget computer with an MSI G31M3-F motherboard. I wanted to add a video card for supporting a Blu-Ray reader. I don't do any gaming. Would this one be a good bet? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121250 The mainboard has one PCI Express x 16 slot. Thanks for input.
That should work; just about anything will work for blu-ray...is the onboard video so bad that it will not do blu-ray, or are you buying for the digital ports? If it is just stuttering, you might fix this by allocating more memory to the video.
Thanks for getting back to me. The integrated video is an Intel G31 chip. The VGA port I have now seems fine for standard DVD and the internet. I got the impression from reviews of the board that it could not handle hi-def or Vista's fancy graphics either (I have XP).
It can't, Intel integrated graphics can not produce HD video. ATI and nVidia can, but within limited boundaries. You would be better off buying a separate card, it need not be expensive. The HD3450 is ok, but for true 1080p, you might be wise to step up slightly to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125250
Thanks, Sam. That's good advice. My only remaining question is this: The board I have says it has a PCI x 16 slot, and this card is listed as PCI 2.0 x 16. Are those two things compatible? (I'm very new at all this, just now learning. Afterdawn has been a great help, just like it was when I wanted to learn how to burn DVDs.)
