Help. I'm inept

Graphics cards mainly

from GalCiv2 Forums
I've been trying to figure these things for quite some time now, and I've gotten a little more than nowhere. When I try searching the internet for information, I end up finding people trying to sell me things. I've seen smart people that know far more than me comment in these forums, so I figured someone might be able to help me.

Here's my issue:
So I go out to buy a game, like Galactic Civilizations II for instance. There's a set of minimum requirements and recomended requirements. Recomended is something like, wait lemme find the box, a 128MB Directx 9.0c compatible graphics card. So I go out and purchase a 128MB graphics card. Yet, when I install the card, the integrated graphics on the computer worked better than the card. Why is this?  

I've noticed that the integrated graphics work better on other games, too.
The graphics card is a GeForce MX 4000 PCI Graphics card, 128MB DDR.

So did I just waste money by buying a cruddy card, perhaps I made a common mistake when I installed the card. Maybe there are just some things I don't know.
Oh, and if it is a cruddy card, which ones are better, and how does one know the difference?

Thank you for anyone who replied to this thing, whether you know things or not. If you have questions about my post that need clarification, I won't be able to answer them for the rest of the day (It's currently 10am where I am). I have to be at work in an hour. But I will return.  
off-topic
16,487 views 11 replies
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Did you install correct drivers for the new card? If you don't have the correct drivers, then XP will use whatever the default system one is, which is not meant for playing games -- it's just a simple driver that's good enough to use until you install the real drivers.

Also, I'm not sure that the GeForce MX 4000 is really a good card, though I could be wrong.
Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Without knowing a lot about you integrated graphics it's possible that they are better then the card you bought. I assume you don't have an AGP port on your motherboard (if you do then shame on you for buying PCI )

You should also make sure that you turn off the integrated graphics in the bios.

If you aren't getting the kind of proformance that you want I looked up some of the best cards for PCI and this is what I found:

Geforce FX5500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143059
This one is a directx 9 card with 256 megs of onboard memory and a 128 bit interface, on newegg it's 60 bucks

The best ATI card I could find was a 9250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102696
Only directx 8, 256 megs of memory and a 64 bit interface, on newegg it is 43 bucks

I'm sure there are plenty more, but if it were up to me I'd go with the former (the 60 dollar one). Neither of these cards nor any that use a PCI interface will give you awesome performance (mainly because they only have 4 pixel pipelines and the relatively slow transfer speed, these days to play the hottest games you should have at least 12 pipelines) but it should give your computer that kick that I think you are looking for.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You will have to find out which type your graphic card slot is:
PCI: really old pc's
AGP: just aged out in favor of
PCI-Express

A nice read on what graphic card is recommended (still from 2004):
http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/11/10/thg_graphics_card_buyers_guide/

The geforce mx series (also GF 5200, ATI 300) are actually serious dumbed down geforce cards (lacks modern transform & lightning,...)

To play a "modern" game you need:
a good graphic card that supports directx 9 (don't go freaky on mhz or ram, look also to pixel pipelines,shaders...)
plenty of (fast) memory >=1 GB (lower increases loading times)
reasonably fast CPU (not a dumbed down celeron or sempron)

My system consists of a Radeon 9700 (2002,http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1656)
,Athlon XP 2400 (old), 1 GB ram PC 3200.
Halflife 2: playable, choppy in certain area's
Galciv 2: no problem
Command & Conquer generals: no problem unless there is a great height difference
Call of duty 2: no problem with DirectX 8 shaders, DirectX 9 too choppy
Oblivion: playable, low framerates don't kill the game
Farcry: no problem

Good hunting
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
crap. umm, is there something so a PCIe card will work in a PCI slot, like an adapter? PLEASE tell me I didn't order a ~$200 card- still to arrive, been only one day- only to need a different mobo.

BTW, hi, new here, 'bout to get GalCiv II. loved Galciv 1, still do.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
First off, the MX is the "cost efficient" card for your wallet. Not necessarily for your computer.

Secondly, yes, PCI is going to be slower (and shared bus).

It's VERY possible that your motherboard has a solid performing integrated chip but that its 3D processing will slow down.

PCIe cards are not backward compatible as far as I know. Even if it was, you'd cry at trying to use a card that powerful on a motherboard.

---
My advice. Don't buy any nVidia MX cards unless you need basic video output for word processing or older games.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
No, PCI, AGP, and PCI Express are all different slots, so they are not backwards compatible. All regular expansion slots on the mobos are PCI nowadays, so the main question is whether or not your mobo has an AGP or PCI Express slot for changing the video card. You don't want a PCI graphics card if you have AGP or PCI Express slots at all.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Recommended system requirements can be misleading. There are lots of lackluster video cards that meet the 128M memory requirement. When shopping for a video card, you also have to consider things like GPU core speed and GPU architecture. Basicly, you gotta spend some money to see performance graphics. In fact, you'll spend more on a good video card than any other component in your computer. If your system has an AGP slot, you want at least a GeForce 6800 GT or Radeon 9800 Pro. If it has a PCI Express slot, a GeForce 7900 GT or Radeon X1900GT would do. Any of these cards will smoke the crap out of an integrated solution. If they don't, there's something seriously wrong with your computer.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
um, i don't mean backwards compatible as in fitting into the slot, I mean is there something like an adapter for it?
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There are no adapters between video interfaces, sorry. They are each very unique and can not be adapted to.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Wow. Thank you to everyone that added to this thing. I really do appreciate the input and knowledge   

Finally, I feel like I'm learning something!