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September 21, 2008
Spore
Jennifer has a new computer game called Spore, but it won't run on my computers because my video cards are not supported video cards
My PC has an NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti 4600 video card.
My web server has an NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX400 video card.
So, I could, in theory, buy a different video card off of eBay or Craigslist. But, it gets kind of tricky because my computers have PCI slots, and a lot of these newer video cards use PCI-Express slots.
I opened up my PC, and to get a peek at my slots. I have 4 slots at all look the same, and then a different type of slot for my video card. Turns out that I've got 4 PCI slots, and one AGP slot for my video card.
Expansion Bus
Bus types: PCI and AGP
Bus speed PCI: 33 MHz; AGP: 66 MHz
AGP connector: one
AGP connector size: 172 pins
AGP connector data width (maximum): 32 bits
AGP bus protocols: 4x/2x modes at 1.5 V
PCI connectors: four
PCI connector size: 120 pins
PCI connector data width (maximum):32 bits
Turns out the web server has the same connectors:
So, now we're getting somewhere. What it boils down to is this - is there an AGP video card that Spore supports?
According to some posts on this forum, I should be able to use the following AGP cards:
Nvidia 7600 GS
ATI Radeon 2600 Pro
# Supported Video Cards
# NVIDIA GeForce series
# FX 5900, FX 5950
# 6200, 6500, 6600, 6800,
# 7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
# 8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
# 9600, 9800, GTX 260, GTX 280
# Intel® Extreme Graphics
# GMA 950, GMA X3000, GMA X3100
# ATI Radeon™ series
# 9500, 9600, 9800
# X300, X600, X700, X800, X850
# X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950
# 2400, 2600, 2900
# 3450, 3650, 3850, 3870,
# 4850
Posted by Rob Kiser on September 21, 2008 at 7:33 AM
Comments
According to my inventory, I have an ATI Radeon 9800 somewhere around here. Let me see if I can find it.
PS -- Leaving this in comment section, because for some reason, e-mail is being rejected.
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Posted by: Robert R. on September 21, 2008 at 12:50 PM
once you resolve the video card issue - curb your enthusiasm - the sound card may be next to be replaced.
Posted by: cal on September 23, 2008 at 11:47 AM
Hmm. This is a valid point. This gets to be a little tricky though, as the Spore ReadMe file lists supported video cards, but not supported audio cards for whatever reason. Furthermore, they suggest running this clever little utility called EasyInfo:
How do I access the EasyInfo tool?
The EasyInfo tool is installed on your system automatically as a part of your game installation.
1. Click the Start button on your Windows Taskbar.
2. Select All Programs.
3. Select the EA GAMES or EA SPORTS menu (depending on your game).
4. Select the game title from the menu.
5. Select EasyInfo.What does the EasyInfo tool do?
The EasyInfo tool is a great way to quickly figure out if your system meets the minimum system requirements for the game. The top of the EasyInfo menu is a basic system requirements check where EasyInfo compares your system specifications against those required for playing the game.
Right. Only it doesn't work for me. Because when I go Start - Run - EA - Spore, I get an error that says my video card isn't compatible. Nice try, EA. Well done.
Posted by: Rob Kiser on September 23, 2008 at 9:17 PM