128 6200 (add $69) or 256 6600 (add $219)?

Thanks so much for the walk-through. I could easily be one of those Driver
Cleaner people myself!

"Bob Knowlden" wrote in message
...
Sounds like doing your own upgrade would be the best course.

The normal way to do this is:

Start with the old card in the system.

Have the drivers for the new card on your hard drive. (If you use nVidia
drivers from www.nvidia.com, they usually provide an installer.)

Uninstall the old card's driver from the add/remove software control
panel.
(Compulsive people, as myself, might also use Driver Cleaner Pro from
www.drivercleaner.net , after restarting the PC. I've never had it remove
anything that I regretted removing, although I have read claims that it
might.)

Power down the PC, rather than rebooting. (Rebooting is OK, though you'd
have to shut it down again after.)

Remove the old graphics card.

Install the new one.

Start up the PC. It will autodetect the card, and start to search for
drivers.

Rather than permitting Windows to continue the search, cancel out of that.

Run the nVidia installer.

You'll have to reboot once more.

I don't know what happens with a DVI interface, but in regular VGA, the
machine comes up at 800X600 at 60 Hz. The display settings need to be
changed to the proper ones.

With any luck, you won't need to tweak the system. Some machines are
unstable if Fast Writes are left on in the system BIOS, but I've had no
problem with it. (Athlon 64 system, Asus A8V Deluxe mainboard, 6800GT AGP
graphics card.) I'm not sure that it's even an option on a PCI-Express
based
system. If you feel adventurous, look up nvtweak: it allows the use of
settings nVidia hides in their drivers (including overclocking the card).
I
would be surprised if there were any significant compatibility issue with
a
mainstream system from a major vendor like Micron. If you wish to play
safe,
get an upgrade graphics card of one of the same types as sold by Micron.
(It
shouldn't be necessary to try match the manufacturer.)

I've assumed that you'll be running Windows XP. Things are probably a bit
different with Linux, FreeBSD, etc.

Besides nVidia cards, you may also find it worthwhile considering ATI
products. Their new X1000 series is supposed to be interesting, although
they have limited availability at the moment. Matrox users seem to be
loyal
to the brand, although Matrox has pretty much vanished from the mass
market
(especially for gaming).

"Ellen Hall" wrote in message
hlink.net...

(snip)

Yes, RF, US prices. It's Micron (now called MPC). I have one that I've
loved
and it's time for a new one. Even I noticed that gap, once I started
reading about the 7800GTX. Almost had myself convinced I had to have it
because it sounded so cool. But it can be purchased for less than what
Micron is asking for the upgrade.

Thanks to all for the comments. I think it would be wise to not do the
upgrading with Micron. And the 6600GT sounds like a good choice. I've
removed all the cards in my present computer and put them back with no
problems. Should I look forward to some tweaking to upgrade from the
base
card (128MB ATI Radeon X300 SE PCI Express Graphics Card [DVI-I,
TV-Out])
to
something like the 6600GT, or possibly hardware incompatibility? Part
of
why I've been tempted to let them upgrade is that they test the system
before they send it to me.

I appreciate all the input!
Thanks,
Ellen Hall