Q: Hi, I have Windows XP in a Dell Dimension 2400 and I’ve got an NVIDIA 6600 512mb PCIe video card. But I have PCI. Is there any type of adapter I can use or do I have to change my motherboard? I also have a sound blaster AudigySE PCI video card. Also, I have DDR memory. How can I keep my same stuff?

A: Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate any sort of PCI to PCIe adapter on the Internet. Indeed, the general consensus on the internet appears to be that PCIe hardware running at PCI speeds would yield unsatisfactory results anyway. In the case of a video card you would most likely notice poor frame rates and similar performance issues.

Luckily, your RAM situation is a bit different. According to the owner’s manual for the Dimension 2400, your computer has two RAM slots. Each is able to support 512MB of RAM, for a total of 1GB. Your computer supports DDR RAM at speeds of PC2100 (slower) and PC2700 (faster). If you are using two sticks of different speeds, your entire system will run at the slower speed. Basically, if you want to use PCIe or DDR2 hardware, you will need to get a new motherboard.