The Mother Board

robd1968 · Pilgrim Joined: 05 Jul 2011 Posts: 3

Trying to get the best I can get for this system. The onboard video is terrible for even older games. I don't want to over-spend money on a video card for this system (preferably under $100) and looking for ANY SUGGESTIONS.

I "think" the mobo takes a PCI express x16 card but I'm not really sure. I can't tell by looking at it and it's an older HP. Here's what Belarc says plus the ram I added. Any suggestions greatly appreciated, thanks! -Rob

Model: HP Pavilion 061 ER101AA-ABA M7330N 0qn1114RE101AMETM00
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (build 2600)
Processor: 2.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core
-256 kilobyte primary memory cache
-1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache
-64-bit ready
-Multi-core (2 total)
-Not hyper-threaded
Board: AMETHYST-M 1.0
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD 3.37 11/11/2005
RAM: 2 gig (4 x 512)

Toby B. · Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:44 pm Post subject:

Your board does indeed accept PCI Express x16 Graphics cards, but according to the manual there is only mention of v1.x compliance. Not sure if a newer v2.x generation card work work in the system..

http://www.ctechinfo.net/manuals/amethystm_manual.pdf
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rob1968 · Pilgrim Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 6

Thanks Toby, I had found that manual but the "MS-7184" part in the title made me unsure. I am always unsure of stuff like this when it comes to name brand comps. The socket in the picture looks like what I have so I figured that mine was a PCI Express x16 also even if the HP version of the mobo was slightly different. I also have no clue if it accepts any of the newer PCI Express formats so I'm willing to just use the bext PCI Express x16 card I can get for under $100.

Note to all, I'm not building my dream gaming machine here. My old DIY rig is toast and I'm trying to upgrade an older family comp that can maybe play some of my games. Anything has to be better than the stock video card that came with the comp a few years ago. Thanks again to Toby and any else that can help!

Rob

Toby B. · Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:49 pm Post subject:

robd1968 · Pilgrim Joined: 05 Jul 2011 Posts: 3

Cracked open the case and this time really studied what I could see of the MB with a flashlight. no luck. About a 3rd of the MB itself is covered with crud I cant see behind. The row of trays where all the front drives fit cover most of it, the PS and it's tray cover the rest. The rest of th MB looks exactly like the diagram in the manual you mentioned including the slots as well as the placement of the battery and chip in the mobo that says ATI SB400.

Here's my prob w/ the diagram. It shows the pci slot with a short space on the left, then one long space to the right. My comp's pci slot has a short space on the left, a long space in the middle, AND a short space on the right. What the heck?

Rob

Toby B. · Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:54 pm Post subject:

robd1968 · Pilgrim Joined: 05 Jul 2011 Posts: 3

Hi Toby I went to photo the motherboard today and low and behold "MS-7184" is there in giant letters right under the PCI slot. I guess I was to busy trying to read the fine print of the rest of the motherboard and overlooked the obvious.

That said, the MSI manual you suggested is totally correct and my motherboard definately takes a PCIE x16 card.

Now all I need to know is the best suggested card for this board for gaming. Also, from what I understand the PCIE x16 2.0 and 2.1 are backwards compatible with the original PCIE x16 boards as long as they are passive with no fan. Not sure if thats true but I may post a seperate thread on this subject for newbs like me. Thanks again for your time bro!

Rob

Toby B. · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 pm Post subject:

I do not know the specifics of backward compatibility.. Hopefully others here can shed some light on the subject.
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bdub · Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:25 am Post subject:

i can tell you that an hd4670 works in my work computer with a pci-e 1.0 slot in it.
the passive cooling idea is something i've never heard of.
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evasive · Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:07 am Post subject:

What is the power rating of your power supply? That is the other specification we need.
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