I need to buy a graphic card because mine is quite old. I am new in the graphic cards world and i want to ask you some questions:
1) My computer is the next:
Proccessor: AMD K7 Athlon XP 1600+, Palomino
RAM: 2*256MB SDRAM, PC133
Mainboard: Elitegroup K7S5A 3.1 DMA100, FSB266, DDR+DIMM

Right now my graphic card is :
ST Labs SIS315, 32MB

My question is, Can i buy any graphic card because my computer will support it? or should i look for documentation of my mainboard to see if it is supported?

2) I use my computer most of the time under linux so i will like to buy a graphic card which works properly in Linux. Which are the best graphic cards for Linux?

3) I bougth a 19" a month ago and i have a wird problem (that i think is caused because my graphic card does not support some frequences). The horizontal and vertical refresh frequenzes of the monitor are 31-80Hz Horiz and 56-75Hz Vert. Every time i boot my computer in linux, during the operating system booting process, the screens shows "Mode not supported H35.4Hz V86.6Hz" but once it loads the login manager it works ok. It works Ok because I edited the/etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file entering there my refresh rates. However it is a big problem because for example i can not install another O.S. with this monitor because it will not show me the installation manager.

Thanks in advanced for your feedback, i really need help to buy this graphic card.

i think you should just upgrade your entire computer. if you have pc133 memory thats really bad, and a 32mb video card?? wow. just go to tigerdirect.com and buy all the parts for a new pc instead of a prebuilt one though, it will be a lot cheaper. you can get a pretty nice computer for about 400 bucks if you build it yourself. i know i did... but mine is worth over 1000 dollars now.... i have no life i have a GeForce FX 5900SE 128MB DDR for a video card right now, i'm looking to upgrade it sometime soon.

i was satisfied with my old computer (i am not a gamer) but i need to buy a new graphic card because i am entering a game-development project and i need the game to run in my computer at home.
Can anyone else answer me about the questions i made before?
Thanks a lot for your answers.

That looks like an on board graphics chip, make sure your motherboard has an AGP slot, then if it does, look for AGP graphics cards. Ebay has lots of ATI Radeon 9700s for cheap these days, very good cards. Otherwise, Radeon 9600s are fine. GeForce 4 Ti 4200 will also work well with your computer configuration.

Anything newer or faster (like a Radeon 9800) will be limited by the RAM and CPU so its not worth the extra.

If you are into development you may also consider workstation cards like the ATI FireGL or the Nvidia Quadro.

But if you don't have an AGP slot, you are out of luck

Thanks a lot for your answer Alperuzi. That was the kind of feeback i was looking for. And yes, i do have an AGP slot. I will consider your recommendations and write back here with my final decision.

Mizako try to buy any AGP 4x video card!
And you have full access to you video system!

Hi,
I saw a new:
SAPPHIRE - Radeon 9800PRO, TV-Out, DVI-I, BULK -128MB DDR (256BIT Version)
For 188 €. What do you think?

for that kind of computer 9600XT (or similar) i enough...
because if you buy a better graphics card...the system couldn't use the card completley

Hi mizako,
Alperuzi's post is correct. The AGP card (with onboard memory) is the way to go for your config. No limits with your front side bus DMA installed memory on the motherboard- uses the on board memory instead.
Hope this helps,
RGPHNX

You should try upgrading your VGA adapter drivers. I think that will be the best solution for you.