Video Card problems

[RASH87]

I recentley installed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on my computer. When opening program it give me "video card or driver does not support dynamic textures". I have been searching all day how to solve this....and have came up with basically get a new computer. I was wondering if i could add in a video card myself or what i have to do to be able to play newer games. Here is what i have for SYS REQ:

Adapter Type   Intel(R) 82845G Graphics Controller, Intel Corporation compatible
Adapter Description   Intel(R) 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller
Adapter RAM   64.00 MB (67,108,864 bytes)
Installed Drivers   ialmrnt5.dll
Driver Version   6.14.10.4342
INF File   oem32.inf (i845G section)
Color Planes   1
Color Table Entries   4294967296
Resolution   1280 x 1024 x 75 hertz
Bits/Pixel   32
Memory Address   0xD0000000-0xD7FFFFFF
Memory Address   0xDFF80000-0xDFFFFFFF
IRQ Channel   IRQ 16
I/O Port   0x000003B0-0x000003BB
I/O Port   0x000003C0-0x000003DF
Memory Address   0xA0000-0xBFFFF
Driver   c:\windows\system32\drivers\ialmnt5.sys (6.14.10.4342, 789.06 KB (807,998 bytes), 3/13/2003 1:13 AM)


Could someone please help. Thanx

[Joey]

I see why it gave you that error message now. That video card is only good for going on the Internet and maybe playing the original COD.

In order for me to know if you can upgrade your video card and if so, which ones are compatible I need more info from your computer...

Is it a laptop or desktop? (if it is a laptop then don't answer any other question below, the video card will not be upgradable)

Is it a custom built desktop or was it built by a company like HP, Dell, eMachine? If it was built by a manufacturer what is the exact model number of the computer?

To obtain the following info easily you can use the free program Speccy. You can download Speccy here: http://www.piriform.com/media/10110/spsetup100.zip
If you need assistance using Speccy I created a tutorial for it: http://www.cleartechinfo.com/How-To-Lookup-Windows-Computer-System-Information-Speccy

What motherboard does your desktop PC have?

What CPU does your desktop PC have?

[RASH87]

It is a desktop.

Is this the model number: hp sn: mxd50502qr

I ran the program you gave me and here is what it came up with:

Operating System: MS Windwos XP Pro 32-bit SP3
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 Northwood .13um Technology
Ram: 1.0GB DDR @ 166MHz
Motherboard: Life-On Tech. 0888h (mPGA-478)
Graphics: Already stated in first response
Hard Drive: 40GB Seagate ST340015A (IDE)

Let me know what you come up with. I'm not too computer tech savy

[RASH87]

Here is the model number : DW984A#ABA

[Joey]

Thanks for all the info it really helped to clear things up and research your exact model.

I found detailed specs on your computer from the HP site: http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11709_na/11709_na.HTML#Overview

The video card that is built into your PC is part of the "AGP" slot generation. That is a couple of generations behind the current standard. Unfortunately your motherboard does not have any AGP expansion slots on it. The only expansion slots on it are the older and original "PCI" (not to be confused with the latest and greatest "PCI Express").

PCI video cards are 3 generations behind the current PCI Express 2.0 video card standard. A year ago I would have been 50/50 for you to go for the upgrade but now in 2010 I would recommend that you do not upgrade your computer with an older PCI video card.

I recommend that you save your money and buy a new computer. Just get the CPU tower and use the same monitor and speakers. This will save you money. You can get a good Call of Duty gaming computer for under $500 from HP right now.

[RASH87]

what computer tower would you recommend? i want to get online and play more games. I just had a crave for CD4 this morning and went and bought it not thinking my computer wouldn't handle it. But i guess it is getting to be a dinosaur. Which tower would you recommend this is an all around gamer computer that can be upgraded to stay with time also.  Thanx so much for you help. Appreciate it alot

[Joey]

Yes, I am also a COD junkie. Can't live w/o the game 

I went on the HP website and configured a good system for you.

I recorded a screen shot for you. http://i46.tinypic.com/zydk6r.png

Just go on the HP website and copy the config. 

[RASH87]

hey sweet! thanx so much bud! It kind of ruined my day this morning with the game not working and i have been craving it all week. I guess you have to pay the cost to be the boss. Now with the setup that you showed me will there be any lag when i play COD4 on the internet in multiplayer?

[Joey]

The computer will not be the bottleneck anymore.

The slowest part of your online gaming will be your Internet connection, mainly your UPload speed. Your Internet upload speed will dictate how much lag you get (the faster upload speed the better).

Download speeds are good for downloading stuff from the net and viewing streaming HD movies from the net. But for gaming your UPload speed is a lot more important.

It also helps when playing online to make sure you do not set the resolution too high, maybe 1024x768 or you can try 1280x1024.

Here is an Internet speed test if you so you can see how fast your connection is: SpeedTest.net

[Joey]

btw, the HP site sent me this link to the config I made for you: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/load_configuration.do?destination=review&email_id=1399787&jumpid=in_r329_emailconfig