I need help/advice on purchasing a new V-card

Looking for suggestions on a new video card to buy I have the following system. I am looking to buy something cheaper (so many out there) It has been a while since I have done any upgrades or anything internally with a computer so any tips on installation and shutting off the onboard graphics would be appreciated. Last time I did anything like this I built a Pent 166 from scratch (With an awesome 4mg graphics card) Thanks in advance

PCI express slot available
Windows XP Multimedia Edition

MB: MB, MS-7184 RS482 939P
CPU: CPU,AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ Processor (64-bit with AMD64 Technology)(2.20GHz, 2000MHz FSB, 512KB L2 cache)
HDD: HDD, 200GB 7200rpm
Memory: Mem, DDR DUAL-RAM 1GB (Max. 4GB)
ODD1: DVDRW,MF N3LC DLYR 16X
ODD2: CDROM, 48X N3LC
Modem: MODEM, V.92 56K 56PSV-A
Power Supply: PS,300 WATT
LAN: 10/100
Keyboard Model: KB,9908,ES105K,PS/2,EM Black
Mouse: MOUSE, SILVER WHEEL, BLACK GLOSS
Speaker: SPEAKER,SP-30A(AMP)
Video: Video, integrated ATI Radeon® Xpress 200 (PCI-Express® )
Up to 128MB DDR shared video memory
PCI-Express® (PCI-E x16)
Multimedia Reader: Media Reader, 8in1
Chassis: Chassis,Nexgen 3 MAIN FRAME
Bezel Assembly: BEZEL,NEXGEN3LC COMPLETE FRAME ASSBY

How much do you want to spend? The PCI-E slot will let you upgrade to any current card. Your power supply is only 300W though; if it's a decent quality one, it might be able to power a 7600GT... if not, you'd have to replace it.

Less then $100 US thinking about going to a 256 meg it is just for gaming no tv or anything special

You should be able to change your video options in CMOS, there you can let the mobo know what to check for first, onboard video or an installed video card.

If your just pricing things out, you should take a look at www.newegg.com and search through their selection of video cards. Should give you a good idea of what you want and the price range.

ATI RADEON X1050 256MB DDR PCI Express Graphics Card

This is the card I found and it is pretty cheap 63.00 US on sale. Any comments?

Also how will I know if I have to manually shut off the onboard graphics when installing a new card? I read some where that some Mother boards recognize a new card and auto shut off the on board graphics.

If I have to manually do it I am under the impression you need to go to devise manager disable the driver. Shut computer down. Open install new card. Start computer (hit f2 for bios) Change to PCI express (Right now it states PCI not sure why it is an on board chip? But anyway) save changes exit bios let system boot up install driver. Ready to go Hopefully this is correct

Download the drivers and save it somewhere. Then uninstall the drivers using control panel. Shut down, install the card, change BIOS, etc like you said. (Or change it to PCI-E before putting in the card, or look for an option that's PCI-E + Onboard, which automatically uses the PCI-E card if detected.) Turn it on, install the drivers that you already downloaded, and reboot when asked.

With your budget, definitely this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130062

Only $90 (or $75 after rebate)... and way better than the x1050.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2C18%2C21%2C20

The 7600 or 8500 from Nvidia

Follow-up note –

I purchased a VisionTek RADEON X1550 256MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card
Powered by the 500MHz ATI RADEON X1550 graphics processing unit (GPU)
256MB DDR2 memory
PCI Express x16 interface

Best buy for $106 (20% off on sale) had some gift cards to use so it was my only choice for purchase location. (Plus if I screwed up the would take it back)

Thanks for all the suggestions

Installation was a breeze except I needed to bend the metal bracket so to slide around the MB a little better.

FPS went from an average 20-30 to 60-65

Also went from 872 system Ram to 1 Gig which will help overall (shutting off the onboard graphics)

Resolution is awesome at higher settings Not the max settings, but good enough for me. Never seen weapons and armor so clear before.

Anyone out there thinking about upgrading an aging computer - Go for it