Hi Becky,

You don't describe your video card and processor specs however, there are some basic parameters
- If you have an onboard video card you can't upgrade just the video card, because it is an integrated unit
- In my opinion, onboard video cards and chipsets(almost all of them) have low performance for rendering purposes
- In my experience, just a good video card doesn't solve the issue--> you'll need a good "render set"--> good processor (2.6 GHz or up)+ plenty of memory (4 Gb or up) + a good videocard (512 Mb or up).

Now, if you wish to go to better levels, say RAM= 8 Gb, notice that not all the OS are able to handle this, so you'll need a 64 bits OS

If you wish to post all the specs of your computer, and additional questions, I;ll glad to help

Patricia

Hi Becky,

Yes, this is the information and nope, you can't upgrade the system unless you change the motherboard, and in this case, I'd suggest to buy a new computer.
If you see your specs and numbers, they are very clear--> you have a chipset --> this means that, for rendering purposes, you have just a chip in your motherboard. For this reason, you don't have dedicated video memory.
Now, check the interesting part--> you stated that you have 286 MB Graphics Memory --> System Video Memory 128 MB --> Shared System Memory 158 MB --> Dedicated Video Memory 0 --> Notice that 128 MB + 158 MB = 286 MB--> so as your shared system is consuming resources for rendering calculations, there are low resources for graphic purposes, because they are shared resources

In other words, if you intend to do serious rendering, I'd suggest a new computer with a dedicated video card (with a good cooling system), plus good processor and enough memory

If you wish to be sure you are buying the right computer, post the new specs here or email me

Patricia

Hi Becky,

the brand of the computer is not very important (BTW my laptop is Toshiba), but the brand, model, type and capabilities of the components are very important
Processor--> I'd recommend Intel (2.6 GHz or up)
Video Card--> I'd recommend ATI Radeon (512 Mb or up)--> The ATI Radeon cards manufactured by HIS have a double deck cooling system and work like a charm. The new NVidia cards work fine, however, not all of the models work with full accelerations
Memory--> 4 Gb or up

Good luck with your new computer!! :-)

Patricia