Upgrade your 3D graphics

By Rich Brown,


In the case of the HP Pavilion Media Center a1640n desktop, we don't even care about games, we just want to ensure a smooth, good-looking Windows Vista experience. To that end, buy yourself a cheap 3D graphics card. It'll give you added video-processing punch, and it will free up more system memory (the integrated 3D chip on the system's motherboard doesn't have its own stash, so it needs to borrow some). That combination of benefits will improve overall performance and let you run all of Windows Vista's flashy new visual effects. And if you have the time, it might even let you play a game or two.