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General discussion

Will 64 bit PCI video card work in 32 bit slot?

Jan 28, 2005 11:07AM PST

I'm thinking, no; but since I already bought the card, I'd give this question a shot, here. I've an old eMachines 333cs, and thought I'd upgrade over the pitiful 2MB of memory in my ATI AGP card that was built in. After 5 years of computing I'm still a tech newbie...

Discussion is locked

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graphics card
Jan 28, 2005 12:23PM PST

I would say yes it should work just fine, but tell what card you have to get a definite answer.

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Gee PaulsZ...
Jan 28, 2005 3:54PM PST

You say your emachine has a ATI AGP card. Well the PCI card will not fit into a AGP slot, but a PCI card will fit into a regular PCI slot. Never heard of anyone downgrading their graphics from AGP to PCI.

Also thought most all the old emachines (including my wife old emachine, and even most of the new emachine had Integrated (on board).

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Yeah...
Jan 30, 2005 1:25AM PST

First, Ernie; the PCI card I have is the ATI Rage Pro 3D, (64 bit).

And, John; I recently had my monitor blow out. And then both monitors I tried afterward were unsharp, thus I thought (after hunting around, for example, on driverguide.com for the proper monitor drivers) that the AGP had gone bad--though a technician told me this rarely happens. I thought it less likely that both these monitors were unsharp. My original monitor that blew was a 15 inch, and the newer ones I tried later were both 17.

Yes, I've heard this would be a downgrade, from AGP to PCI, but I don't run games, though I thought the slow redrawing of the screen would go away with more memory. This ATI Rage Pro 3D card, which I got off eBAy, according to various online sources is at least 4MB in the memory department. but I read somewhere that it could be only 2 as well, in which case I'd be back in the same boat.

I've done some tricky things like try to install a bigger hard drive, but I've been stymied by the @#$#%#&$ OEM version of Win98 that was installed on the computer. (I recently installed Win98 SE from an upgrade disc, and that isn't entirely satisfactory either, and caused some programs to not work). Its just that video is one area of the PC that I never tinkered with, up until now, that is; because it always impressed me as being very geeky (and it's difficult to understand from available info).

I have 2 16 bit ISA bus connectors and 2 32 bit PCI connectors in my machine.

Any help appreciated. I connected my current 17 inch monitor to a PC at work and it was unsharp, so it may just be both monitors were unsharp. I already returned the other (used) monitor to the place I bought it for refund.

Thanx

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Yeah
Jan 30, 2005 7:58AM PST

PaulsZ, I would plug it in, installed the drivers and see what you've got. That's the only way you'll know for sure, and it's not a lot of trouble to do.

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Old Machine.
Jan 30, 2005 7:07AM PST

I am currently shopping new computers and ALL the eMachines I see have INTEGRATED graphics! Your PC is so old, you should not be wasting money on new video cards your computer can't do justice to. You can buy a fairly decent eMachine computer (refurb) for less than $400....Don't try and revive a very old nearly dead computer because it's one thing after another until you spend double what a new machine would cost! If you want a new machine (or refurb) try Tiger DirectHappy

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old machine
Jan 30, 2005 8:17PM PST

if u put it in it should work if not try and find a used one

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Will 64 bit PCI video card work in 32 bit slot?
Jan 31, 2005 1:19AM PST
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Thanks folks!
Jan 31, 2005 2:07AM PST

Yes, I know I'm probably throwing away the bucks and a new eMachines I can get for four bills, but I guess I'm just stubborn! Happy

eMachines is actually Compaq now, isn't it? I was warned off those by a guy who has a closet full of Compaq junque.

Well, if you think it won't do much harm to install the PCI card, I guess I could try it. Only thing is, when I put the second of the 17 inch monitors on, there wasn't a driver in Win98 for it (Envison), and it made a squealing noise while it was operating--likely on the wrong refresh rate--with a 15 inch monitor driver that Win98 loaded. I guess the newer OS's don't have that quirk any more.

I'm just wondering about the proceedure--I know it's all plug n' play, but I'm thinking I'd still have to disable the old card somehow, perhaps in the BIOS.

See, I'd like to keep this computer to do minimal internet stuff with, and when I get a new one, I'd use that mainly for creativity. No sense spending all that loot if I'm gonna make it vulnerable to internet attacks, blah blah. (Yes, I've got full protection on the old one, Firewall, Anti-virus, Anti-spyware,etc.)

Are we having fun yet? Well, I get your point, and yeah, this thing has been a headache big time, but i'm willing to tough it out untill I get it stabilized.

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FYI; I have it on good authority,
Feb 2, 2005 2:13AM PST

that a 64 bit PCI card will NOT work in a 32 bit slot.

Sad

Thanks anyway.

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eMachines
Feb 3, 2005 5:48PM PST

is now a part of Gateway and has no connection with HP/Compaq. HP aquired Compaq and Gateway bought eMachinesHappy