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I went ahead and bought a new graphics card for my computer, thinking that my old one was broken. I got me a spanking brand new AGP 256MB DDR 128bit Winfast nVidia GeForce FX5200 by Leadtek. That set me back a good RM235.00 (approximately USD62.00). While I was making the purchase, I found out some interesting facts.

First and foremost, the card is more powerful than my computer. It has 256MB DDR which exceeds my computer’s 256MB SDRAM. It has a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Although it is running at a lower speed, it is actually more powerful than my old Intel Celeron 1.1GHz processor. In terms of specs, it exceeds my current setup in every way, shape and form. Except for the fact that it can’t function as a computer on its own. Although I wish it could.

They are phasing out the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP). Newer cards are running on the PCI-E (PCI-Express) slots which is an extension to the old PCI slots and the replacement for the AGP. I was scratching around the internet looking for the specifications for this new technology and came across this and this articles that explain it pretty well. Read it if you like more information. The adoption of the PCI-E standard as the defacto graphics port means that my newest purchase will become obsolete and useless once the older stock of motherboards are sold out. That means that the AGP card I bought yesterday could be useless next month. Makes you think twice about the investment, doesn’t it?

Thirdly, all the slots and sockets that I used to know when I was dabbling in computer repairs and upgrades have since become obsolete. That is the way technology goes, I suppose. Three months is the usual shelf life for most technologies before it is moved down a rung on the ladder. Eventually, they just fall off the ladder altogether. Having said that, it means that I can no longer find a motherboard that will work with my old Celeron CPU. That means that if the problem is NOT with my graphics card but instead with my motherboard, then I’m screwed.

Well, life has a strange way of sticking it to you. I got home late after a short ‘karaoke’ session at WL’s place. The first thing I did was of course to break out my spanking new graphics card out of its box and plug it into my system. Power on and I’m greated with the graphics memory check. It is nice to see 256MB in place of the old 32MB being displayed. Run through the boot process, and then nothing. Then comes the damned bouncing message. Shisit! It wasn’t the graphics card!

Serves me right for jumping the gun. I ran some tests to see if I could fix it to no avail. So now I’m left with a computer that is still broken and a fancy new graphics card that doesn’t have a home. I’m thinking about my next move but the prospect of dishing out more cash isn’t very appealing. However, it is starting to look like the only available option. I think its time to take a step back and seriously think about the situation before proceeding. But in the meantime, the lack of access to a computer at home is starting to take its toll. Only now do I realise how much I have come to rely on the computer to pass the time. Is this a good thing or a bad one? I really can’t tell.