-----Original Message-----
No ....
It's not available separately.
If your motherboard has a graphics chip onboard, there is sometimes an
option in the BIOS to use more of the PC's memory for the graphics card..
it's called 'shared memory'. Allocating more to the graphics chip will mean
less for the PC itself.
And I said sometimes, because it's not always an option. Even if it is an
option, if you allocate more to the graphics card, you may need to add more
Dimms to the PC or it will slow down everything else too much!
If it's a separate graphics card, the way to go is to go out and purchase
another graphics card with more memory. A bottom of the range AGP card can
be had for as little as about $39.99 with 64mb of memory. A top of the
range card is going to cost you more like $400+.
Examples:
Typical Bottom of the range: http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3266101
(Actually my husband's PC has one of these. It does the job)
Typical Top of the range: http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3721566
(No, before you ask, I don't have one of these! Just a plain old simple ATI
64mb DDR VIVO card, long discontinued but I need the analog video in
feature. I really should look for a newer VIVO unit!)
So you see there's a huge range and price difference. It's impossible to
recommend anything without knowing what you do with your PC. If you play a
LOT of new and graphic intensive games and need fast changing graphics, you
need to aim for the higher end of the market. If you just surf, email, play
a few older games, probably a lower end card will do just fine.
First thing to do is find out what you have in your actual PC to find out
what you can look for..... if you do NOT have an AGP slot on your
motherboard, you'll be limited to a PCI card. These are older design and
work slower. But if you don't have an AGP slot, your options are limited.
Your PC manual may tell you what motherboard you have or what slots are
'open' on the board.
Cari
www.coribright.com
.