Has Anyone Stuck A Graphics Card In An EMachine ?

[Steve Larsen]

eMachines C3060 AMD Sempron 3000+ / 512MB DDR / 160GB HDD / DVD±RW Dual-Layer
/ CD-ROM / Flash Media Reader / NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX Video / 10/100Mbps LAN
/ Windows XP Home /

Form Factor Tower

PCI Slots (Total) 3

AGP Slots (Total) 1

Expansion Slots 4

Processor Brand AMD
Processor Class Sempron
Processor Number 3000
Processor Speed DT 3000+ / 2.00GHz
Memory Type DDR
Total Memory 512MB
Interface EIDE
Ultra ATA/100
Capacity 160GB
Optical Drive Type DVD±RW Dual Layer
CD-ROM
Audio Description Integrated Audio
Graphics Description Integrated Graphics
Communications Description Integrated LAN Support
56Kbps PCI Modem
Data Transfer Rate 10Mbps
100Mbps
Power 300 Watt


Would anyone know if the AGP slot is occupied by the modem, or what card
might actually work in a low-end Emachine ?

The system was dirt cheap, right out of the box,
and has never (!) crashed or stalled, playing
2-3 year old games very well.I figure with a budget of
$120 I can upgrade the graphics card and install 512MB more
RAM.

 

[Larry Roberts]

eMachines C3060 AMD Sempron 3000+ / 512MB DDR / 160GB HDD / DVD±RW Dual-Layer
/ CD-ROM / Flash Media Reader / NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX Video / 10/100Mbps LAN
/ Windows XP Home /

Form Factor Tower

PCI Slots (Total) 3

AGP Slots (Total) 1

Expansion Slots 4

Processor Brand AMD
Processor Class Sempron
Processor Number 3000
Processor Speed DT 3000+ / 2.00GHz
Memory Type DDR
Total Memory 512MB
Interface EIDE
Ultra ATA/100
Capacity 160GB
Optical Drive Type DVD±RW Dual Layer
CD-ROM
Audio Description Integrated Audio
Graphics Description Integrated Graphics
Communications Description Integrated LAN Support
56Kbps PCI Modem
Data Transfer Rate 10Mbps
100Mbps
Power 300 Watt


Would anyone know if the AGP slot is occupied by the modem, or what card
might actually work in a low-end Emachine ?

The system was dirt cheap, right out of the box,
and has never (!) crashed or stalled, playing
2-3 year old games very well.I figure with a budget of
$120 I can upgrade the graphics card and install 512MB more
RAM.

The AGP is for AGP videocards only. It is at least 4X
suppored, if not 8X speed, so you could pop in any current AGP
videocard.

 

[visions of effty]

The AGP is for AGP videocards only. It is at least 4X
suppored, if not 8X speed, so you could pop in any current AGP
videocard.

I looked at the specs for this. It appears the AGP slot is an odd one. It
is AGPx2!!! Most AGP cards will not work.

I was curious because I've seen a few recent bare bottom eMachines that have
PCIe x16 slots! That's obviously kinda cool for such cheap PCs. This is
not one of those.

HTH!

~e.

 

[DaveW]

The only card that the AGP slot can use is a video card. But you may need a
more powerful PSU depending on what video card you plan on using. 300 Watts
is rather small.

 

[Brian K]

I looked at the specs for this. It appears the AGP slot is an odd one. It
is AGPx2!!! Most AGP cards will not work.

I was curious because I've seen a few recent bare bottom eMachines that have
PCIe x16 slots! That's obviously kinda cool for such cheap PCs. This is
not one of those.

HTH!

~e.

E-Machines are made with low budget equipment hence the AGP 2X
specification. If you want to noodle around with popping in an AGP
card, you might find a 2X card at a computer fair. You could also try
to google "Legacy AGP" or variations on that search argument. I did
that once and found a reseller who stocked nothing but older AGP cards.
But I have a feeling that you aren't going to see the kind of gain in
speed and color that you are seeking.

If possible, you might consider additional DDR ram. If your system can
support 1g DDR ram go for it. If you've had this E-Machine for a while,
it might be time to do some bare bones or component shopping. Then you
can do a custom build, where you may be able to pirate some of the
better parts from your E-machine. If you decide to do that, do a lot of
research up front before you buy and build.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

 

[Paul]

eMachines C3060 AMD Sempron 3000+ / 512MB DDR / 160GB HDD / DVD±RW Dual-Layer
/ CD-ROM / Flash Media Reader / NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX Video / 10/100Mbps LAN
/ Windows XP Home /

Form Factor Tower

PCI Slots (Total) 3

AGP Slots (Total) 1

Expansion Slots 4

Processor Brand AMD
Processor Class Sempron
Processor Number 3000
Processor Speed DT 3000+ / 2.00GHz
Memory Type DDR
Total Memory 512MB
Interface EIDE
Ultra ATA/100
Capacity 160GB
Optical Drive Type DVD±RW Dual Layer
CD-ROM
Audio Description Integrated Audio
Graphics Description Integrated Graphics
Communications Description Integrated LAN Support
56Kbps PCI Modem
Data Transfer Rate 10Mbps
100Mbps
Power 300 Watt


Would anyone know if the AGP slot is occupied by the modem, or what card
might actually work in a low-end Emachine ?

The system was dirt cheap, right out of the box,
and has never (!) crashed or stalled, playing
2-3 year old games very well.I figure with a budget of
$120 I can upgrade the graphics card and install 512MB more
RAM.

This page has some useful info on AGP video cards.
If your AGP slot is 3.3V only, as identified by the
plastic keys in the slot, then there are a couple
types of cards that will work. In the "Practical Motherboard
And Card Compatibility" table, see the top line, where
either a "Universal AGP Card" or a "Universal AGP 3.0 Card"
are listed as options. The next table down classifies
video cards and makes finding one that will match the slot
a bit easier.

http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html

Paul

 

[Victor]

I looked at the specs for this. It appears the AGP slot is an odd one. It
is AGPx2!!! Most AGP cards will not work.

I was curious because I've seen a few recent bare bottom eMachines that have
PCIe x16 slots! That's obviously kinda cool for such cheap PCs. This is
not one of those.

HTH!

I'm betting the specs are wrong.Any motherboard new enough to take a
Sempron 3000 is 4x/8x or 4x at the very least. My wifes' machine was an
AthlonXP 2000 geforce2 integrated graphics until I installed an ATI
9800pro 4x/8x card to keep the grand kids off my machine.Do some more
research on your motherboard/system on the emachine site or Google.