Graphics Card Help

    I intend to upgrade my graphics card over the next couple of days and would like some advice,please.

My motherboard is an Asus P4s8x-x and only supports AGP8x.



I presume I want an Nvidia card (my old one is an ATI Rage 9500Pro and isnt great)

I am not into playing games much but I do use graphic programs like Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro.

I do watch DVDs on my PC and would probably like HDMI capability at some stage. I need a DVI connection too.

I usually shop here as it is 15 mins drive from my house:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.ASP?CatID=15&Category=Graphics+Cards&Thumbnails=yes

I am prepared to spend up to around £100.
I have never installed a graphics card before so would be interested in a few basic installation tips.


Thanks in advance

BTW,I am thinking of buying this:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=462643

thoughts?
    
    
    

Edited by Tony R - November 09 2006 at 09:51

Thanks Nicholas.

Meant DVI not DVDI...sorry.

    

Edited by Tony R - November 09 2006 at 09:52

Yes,this issue of static worries me - do I need to purchase an antistatic strap?

Without sounding thick what exactly do you mean by "grounded metal surface"?

Tony R wrote: Yes,this issue of static worries me - do I need to purchase an antistatic strap? Without sounding thick what exactly do you mean by "grounded metal surface"?

I have been building PCs from scratch and exchanging components for ten years, and I'm perfectly fine without any professional anti-static "devices".

All you need to do is to touch the PC case with both hands shortly before you take the card out of the box and exchange it with the previous one ... also make sure you touch the case again after walking around in the room, especially if you're wearing sneakers or synthetic socks on carpeted surfaces.

BTW: The card is ok - currently there are no cards with HDMI interfaces, and I don't think it makes sense to wait for one - better upgrade the whole system next year, when Windows Vista / Direct X 10 and HDMI/HD-DVD/Blueray are out of the beta stage.

Before I built my PC I'd never done anything to the insides of a computer so it was very daunting for me when I saw all those expensive bits and tried to figure out how they all went together.

N Ellingworth wrote: Before I built my PC I'd never done anything to the insides of a computer so it was very daunting for me when I saw all those expensive bits and tried to figure out how they all went together.

For me the most difficult task is always to connect the LEDs/switches of the case to the mainboard. The documentation almost always sucks, so it's trial and error ...

Brilliant guys thanks.

I am reasonably confident and will attempt it tomorrow afternoon.

So this will be easy right,nothing can go wrong.......

well it has all gone pear-shaped.
I installed the card and driver after uninstalling the previous card's driver. Then I downloaded the updated the geforce drivers and installed them.
Every time I try and play any video media my pc either grinds to a halt or latterly my system went off and rebooted.

ok. that figures.

If I try and play any video,DVD,video file on PC then my PC crashes...