The Dude wrote:
> The motherboard chipset is NVIDIA MCP73VE (i think) - does this imply
> that I need to get a nVidia card? Or will Ati cards work?
>

When using a single video card in a computer, they're interchangeable at
the connector level. If the slot is PCI Express, then *any* brand of
PCI Express should work.

The issue with SLI or Crossfire (dual card configs), is the drivers
restrict where those modes will work. The hardware is still compatible
at the connector level. But depending on what brand of chipset is
involved, the drivers may refuse to go into SLI or Crossfire mode,
if the wrong brand of chipset is detected.

And if the computer is a pre-built, rather than something you
assembled yourself, check the power supply. If it is a low
end supply, it may be a little low on power for a big add-in
card. (The picture below has only a 250W. Shocking.) Some
of the add-in cards are long (10"), and bump into the lower
hard drive cage. Or cover up SATA connectors and the like.
A clue the power supply is not up to the job, is when the
power supply lacks any 2x3 PCI Express auxiliary power connectors.
For video cards over about 48W, they put extra connectors on the
end of the card (2x3 or 2x4), and that is how you know they're
going to need more power. Fortunately in this example, it may
be possible to fit a higher capacity supply, to fix the problem.
As long as the supply is a standard ATX pinout and form factor,
two of the three dimensions are fixed. The length dimension varies,
with some of the original high capacity supplies being significantly
longer than the supply they replace. In this picture, there is some
room for a longer supply.

http://images.tigerdirect.com/itemde...all05-ozpr.jpg

Paul