Bought a computer-upgrade video card?

[xxclaro]

I finally went out and just bought a computer. It's fine and all, but when I play my games at the higher settings, it gets really jerky. This makes me a bit worried about what it will do when I start editing and playing HD video from my camcorder on it.Do I need to upgrade the video card?If so, what would you recommend?Heres' the system info I can find:
Acer Aspire 5201
AMD 9550 Phenom II Quad core processor
4.00 GB Ram
Vista 64
ATI Radeon HD 3200
1919 MB availble gaming graphics
Primary hard disk 233 GB total
Total Hard disks 582 GB
Dedicated graphics 256MB
Shared system memory 1663MB
Primary Monitor resolution 1920x1080
That's all the info I can find. What need uprgading,and what's okay as is?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Well, you'll need a video card to play any high demanding games. The on-board HD 3200 is a low end solution, but it should do OK playing and editing videos. It does have an available PCIe x16 slot.

Before you can think about a new graphics card, we'll need to know how much power your power supply has. If you can open up the case, have a look at the sticker on the side of the PSU ans tell us the output voltages and watts.

 

[xxclaro]

Well, you'll need a video card to play any high demanding games. The on-board HD 3200 is a low end solution, but it should do OK playing and editing videos. It does have an available PCIe x16 slot.

Before you can think about a new graphics card, we'll need to know how much power your power supply has. If you can open up the case, have a look at the sticker on the side of the PSU ans tell us the output voltages and watts.

What is this PCIe x16 slot of which you speak,and what can I do with it?
I'll see if I can open the case without breaking anything.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

A PCI Express x16 slot is a high speed interface designed for a video card. If you ever want to upgrade your graphics, you'll need a card that uses the PCIe x16 standard.

 

[jikifreak]

Here is a pic of what the slots look like.

The black one is the X16 slot where a video card would go.

 

[xxclaro]

Here is a pic of what the slots look like.

The black one is the X16 slot where a video card would go.

Awesome, thank you! I'll see if I can spot that thing inside my computer. How much extra power does a decent card need? I saw a couple cards with decent ratings on Newegg for about $60. Could you recommend me a card that is compatible, decent, and well priced? Also,can you spot anything else on this rig that looks like it might need improvement?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Without knowing how much you PSU supplies, my best guess would be one of these:

ASUS GeForce 9600 GSO

XFX Radeon HD 4650

Neither of them are barn burners, but they are much better than the onboard graphics and they have been known to run on lower wattage power supplies.

 

[xxclaro]

So what are the two white slots for? Should I stick something in there while I'm at it? I'm going to get one of the video cards AR mentioned soon,maybe I should get something for the other slots too,seems a waste to just have them sitting there,no?