I've been habing a bit of trouble with my new 8800GT (XFX alpha dog xxx 256 bit edition)

Does anyone know if it is even compatible with my ga-8I915pm Motherboard?

Hey Matty, welcome to PCHF, nice card.

Well the card is actually PCI-E v2. The motherboard is either PCI-E v1 or v1.1.

Now the PCI-E v1 slots do accept v2 cards, however the card itself needs to be backward compatible, and should be able to operate at the lower speed supported by v1. If a card shows that it will only work on PCI-E v2, then it will not work in your PC.

Also, even if the card was backward compatible, you would still have problems if you were running v1.1. This issue can sometimes be resolved by updating the latest version of your BIOS from the gigabyte website: GIGABYTE - Upgrade Your Life

If your card is compatible with v1 (I don't think it is), it may show on the XFX box, download SIW to find out the PCI-E version: http://www.gtopala.net/download.php?file=2

Thanks for the quick reply

Now I've got a good understanding of the problem (I had tried other help websites with no success)
I did some research, and the 8800GT chipset does seem to be backward compatible with 1.1 PCI slots. But, when searching for the specs of my motherboard, it only seems to say PCI Express x 16. No specification on whether its 1.0 or 1.1

My BIOS is Award, will I still be able to find an appropriate update for my BIOS on that website you linked, or should I have a look at the Award website?

I had considered getting a whole new motherboard, but I really don't have the money (maybe some day )

Thanks again.

I updated my BIOS to "20u". I got it from the packard bell website (typing in my pc's serial number, etc)
It doesnt seemed to have done much at all. I did a quick fps check on Company of Heroes, and it was almost identical to my last test. I think it may be time for a new motherboard...
Can anyone recommend a cheap (£60 or cheaper if possible) motherboard with a PCI 2.0 16x slot?

Oh, and thanks for all the help so far.

Hi Matty this would depend on if you are keeping your CPU.Is CPU Intel,AMD,etc?What socket it is?Compatability etc.

Gigabyte mainboards

Asus mainboards

AMD mainboards

If you list make and model of your CPU and a few more bits of your hardware we could maybe get you better help on buying a new mainboard.

Silly me, I only realised I hadnt posted my specs just after my previous post.

My pc box supports 775 size motherboards.
GA-8I915PM Motherboard installed.
I have a pentium 4 proccessor 3.06ghz (I'm not planning on upgrading immediately, but I will get a dual core when I have the money).
Running on XP.
1GB RAM installed.