   Graphics cards?
  Hi, I am interested in developing a 3d game but i dont think my graphics card is up to scrarch, well to tell you the truth i dont know if i even have a graphics cardAnyone know how i could find out, i''m on xpAnyway, i was just searchin around e-bay but i dont have a clue what i''m looking forI''m using opengl and sdl, so i want someting aimed at opengli seen this onehttp://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2745233692&category=180QDI NPACK GeFORCE 4 AGP4X 64MB DDR/TV $79.95would that do the job?sorry, i don''t know anything about hardware reallyAnd the stuff on google was confusingThanks 
  Download a demo of a commercial game and test it.  ;quote:Original post by Elite19  Hi, I am interested in developing a 3d game but i dont think my graphics card is up to scrarch, well to tell you the truth i dont know if i even have a graphics cardBrr, frightening..Anyway, even a TNT2 would do the job if you''re learning.I''d personally get a cheap Radeon 9x rather than a GeForce MX though.;  Well I bought the computer out of a newspaper and a graphics card wasn''t one of my requirements. Graphics havent been an issue up till now cause i''ve spent all my time learning c++. It runs quakes 3 well without problem and 3d studio max 5 good as well. It was only recently i tried to switch to directx with max and at startup it said couldnt find 3d acceleated support using software rasterizer or something like that. I never noticed b4 cause i was always using it with opengl with no problems.The info in my directx dialogue said the display driver was a Sis 650i did a quick google on it and heres a little info from the Sis siteIt integrated a high performance 2D/3D Graphic Engine, Video Accelerator and Advanced Hardware Acceleration MPEGI/MPEGII Video Decoder for the Intel Pentium 4 series based PC systemsDoes that mean its a graphics card?well everything runs well, all the nehe tuts were no problem so i''m wondering if i''m software rendering or hardware. Thanks for your adive on the card but is it still worth getting one?I really should learn this stuff ;  If you can play Quake 3 stable, you must have a graphics processor somewhere in your computer. You may not have a graphics card however, you may have integrated graphics. This means that your graphics capabilities are build right into the motherboard, and not being processed on a seperate unit. The good thing about them is they''re generally cheaper. The bad thing about them is that you can''t upgrade. Graphics cards, however, get plugged into the motherboard. There''s a port called the AGP port (Accelerated Graphics Port) which connects the two devices. If you are using integrated graphics, chances are you don''t have an AGP port so chances are you can''t upgrade your graphics card. For one, if you are using an Intel motherboard, many of their desktop boards use integrated graphics and many major companies (like COMPAQ and DELL) buy their motherboards from Intel.A general test for if you have a graphics card or integrated graphics is if you take a look at the back or inside of your computer, see where your monitor cable plugs into. It should be blue as standard. If it''s located towards the upper section of your case (where the motherboard i/o is located - probobly also where your keyboard and mouse goes in), then you have probobly have integrated graphics. If it''s located towards the lower section, with your PCI cards (in rows), then you probobly have a graphics card. Beware, however, that if you''re going to upgrade, check which version your AGP port is. My old gateway had a graphics port that was very old, and didn''t fit new cards strangely.   ---Brent Gunning | My Site;  Thanks RapidStunna, that was a great help ;  In XP, go to control panel->System icon. Then Hardware tab, and 'Device Manager'. Look for something like 'Display Adapters', expand this option and it should show the card you have installed.Odds are it'll be an MX card of one variety or another, which is probably good enough for starting GL programming.Edit: and since Q3 runs, go to NeHe.gamedev.net and download some of the tutorials. If they run then start looking at the code  [edited by - OrangyTang on August 4, 2003 10:08:40 AM];quote:Original post by Elite19  It integrated a high performance 2D/3D Graphic Engine, Video Accelerator and Advanced Hardware Acceleration MPEGI/MPEGII Video Decoder for the Intel Pentium 4 series based PC systemsDoes that mean its a graphics card?well everything runs well, all the nehe tuts were no problem so i''m wondering if i''m software rendering or hardware. Thanks for your adive on the card but is it still worth getting one?I really should learn this stuff  Yes, that''s your graphics card and by the word integrated means that it''s a graphics chip on your motherboard, which basically does the same thing as the graphics card you are thinking of buying expect maybe less powerful.By having windows XP installed you should have a working version of direct-x and it will work with work you got. The 3dsmax problem is something you will have to do a more in depth search on as it''s very unlikely to be a hardware problem.I would suggest reading a little more on the graphics card subject if you really want a better one but from what I can see you don''t need one as the games you play like quake 3 are running fine. ;  Cool, thats good to hear, i''ll look into the max problemThanks everyone;  The problem with integrated graphics is that it shares memory with the main CPU, and thus won''t run very fast, and will eat your main RAM.If you have an AGP port free in your computer (big brown slot next to the row of smaller, white slots which are PCI) then the best upgrade you can get for your computer is a graphics card. Very good value right now is a GeForce FX 5200, which can be had online for about $79. 