Are diff video cards compatible with different computers?

if i want to buy a video card are video cards all the same or do i need to buy one compatible with my computer?

Are diff video cards compatible with different computers?
you need to buy one with the right slot and one that fits in your power supply's limitations
Reply:The type of video card you are going to buy will depend on:





A. the interface supported by your motherboard (pci, pci-express, agp)


B. features you require (directx 9 or directx 10)





Since directx is available for windows vista exclusively, you have to take that in consideration.


If you could specify your needs and system configuration, I could help you more.
Reply:You need one that fits in the available slot of your computer





that could be


PCI older


AGP fairly new


PCI-e (express not like PCI) newest





Make model of your computer?
Reply:yes you have to buy one compatible for your pc


just go to a best buy or circut city and they will help you with it


but give them all the info on the pc
Reply:There are three different types of video cards: PCI, AGP, and the newest PCI-E (PCI Xpress or Express)





Newer computers will support PCI and PCI-E. PCI is the oldest type, running the slowest and giving you the least in performance.





AGP came after PCI, and unlike PCI which supports a wide range of devices like modems, sound cards, TV tuners, etc., AGP only handles video. AGP can be up to 8 times faster than PCI, giving you a huge boost in video speed for heavier graphics tasks, usually 3D rendering like in CADD or gaming.





PCI-E is the latest, and it gives you the best performance of all, up to 8 times faster than AGP 8x (I may be off on that ratio, but it's much faster regardless). There are a few different types of PCI-E, denoted by the number of pipes that they use. PCI-E X1 is for things like modems, sound cards, etc and gives you the least bandwidth. On the other end is PCI-E X16, which is strictly for video and gives you the most bandwidth, and thus the greatest speed.





You need to know what your system will support. If your computer is less than 2 years old, you *probably* have a PCI-E X16 slot. However, some OEM computers (Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, Sony, eMachine) only give you onboard video (built into the main board and thus not removeable or replaceable) and a few PCI/PCI-E X1 slots.





Also, some PCI-E X16 cards and mainboards support multi-GPU, or having more than one video card to theoretically double the video performance. These mainboards have very specific PCI-E bus controllers and will only support video cards with matching chips. The two big players there are ATi (Crossfire) and nVidia (SLi), and in order to use the multi-GPU features for either you have to match up ATi video cards with ATi chipsets and nVidia cards with their chipsets.





If you don't plan on using either SLi or Crossfire, then it's not quite as important, although you're likely to get better (or any) performance with proprietary features for both if you match the card with the board.