Well, you were correct (He says with chagrin). I had noted on this site that I have a new computer and that a few of you had depressed me about its potential for problems. I have moved from depression to irritation, hostility, profanity and other negative characteristics. It won’t play most of the new games I’ve been acquiring. THAT’S WHY I BOUGHT COMPUTER!!

While I’m still muddling through the new processes of windows 7, here’s what I know of my machine:

Gateway DX4860; Intel core I5 processor
8.00 GB RAM; 64-bit operating system; processor cores - 4; total size of hard disks – 917GB
Display adapter type - Intel (R) Graphics Family; Total available graphics memory – 1946 MB; Display adapter driver version -8.15.10.2353; primary resolution – 1440x900; DirectX 10

Note that I am generally unaware of what all that stuff means, but it is what I found.
Here’s what has happened to the five games I tried to load and play.

(Old game) Hidden Expedition: No problems

Black Mirror II: installed and ran without difficulty (And it looks great!)
Gray Matter: Seemed to install without problem, but when I attempted to play it I was flagged with a “d3dx9.43.dll ” problem. (Note that on the web this appears to a fairly common problem, but there seems to be no clear opinion about whether or not the program should simply be downloaded.)

The Whispered World: Again installed with no flags. When I attempt to play it, I see the ‘loading bar’ and get all three Logos, then the game dumps me back to the desktop.

Barron Wittard: [This was the game I REALLY wanted to play.] This too seemed to load without problem, but when I start it I get beautiful music and a black screen. This goes on without end (OK, I waited for ten minutes.)

There it is. I have tried no more games. Any help you can provide will be appreciated. Any mockery you wish to make will be understood and accepted. All “I told you so” statements will be quietly absorbed. I will now post this and then go for a frustrated walk. Hopefully I will come across a few small dogs that I can kick. Thanks in advance for whatever you can offer.

That problem can be resolved by installing the latest DirectX 9.0c from Microsoft.

Microsoft Download Center

The other issues are most likely related to the Intel graphics processor. Intel is well known to have issues with games.

Unfortunately the PC only has a 300 Watt power supply, which would have to be replaced in order to upgrade to a better video card.

The Intel graphics is really the only problem you've listed. Also, from what I found, the DX4860 comes with only a 300W power supply, so in order to add a video card you need to upgrade the power supply as well. Someone in ***this forum at tomshardware.com*** had the same problem and got some recommendations for power supplies.


That may be solved by installing the latest DirectX 9.0c from Microsoft. DirectX 10 and 11 are not backwards compatible. Installing DirectX 9.0c won't replace your current DirectX, but will add .dll files that it's missing. Unfortunately dll errors can also be caused by an insufficient graphics card, but you'll need the DirectX 9.0c for other games. You may have to reboot after installing it.


Most of these games require dedicated video memory. Intel graphics "borrows" graphics memory from the rest of the computer instead of having its own discrete video memory. Intel graphics also has poor drivers for running games other than casual games. Adding a good video card along with a more powerful power supply should fix things.

Haze, no "I told you so's" at all. We just expressed concern that you - and about a gazillion other people - were equating "new computer" with one that is good for gaming.

The good news is that you have a very nice computer for general use. All you need is a better power supply and a good video card and you will be set for a long time. Just as an example, Newegg has a nice Cooler Master 550 watt power supply on sale for $60. The better video card will cost a bit more. Just as another example, Newegg has an Asus Nvidia GeForce GTX 550Ti for $130 including a $10 rebate. I'm sure there are better deals or choices out there - those are just examples. For probably less than $200 you can upgrade your nice new computer - very well equipped otherwise - to a really good gamer too. It's possible it would be better to do it this way rather than have selected a stand-alone video care at the time your purchased it because I would not have trusted them to also upgrade the power supply.

Jenny and Inland have great advice for getting the games to play and there is a thread on Windows 7 and gaming stickied at the top of the Glitches forum. I think you "did good" on your new computer. You just need to upgrade it a bit to be a gaming computer.

Haze, can you return that puppy for a refund? The Intel Value Series @ E-College offers decent value. Models start above the mid three hundreds and another at $445. You can most likely build what you need for less than the costs of the Gateway DX4860.

There are plenty here who can help. Drac is very good at that. You should be able to get what you need for less than 600 and have room to grow as money and needs present.

If you had some sales individual represent this computer as "great for gaming," oldmariner may not have a bad idea. I checked and with a good video card it would probably be something closer to $800 at eCollege PC. But you can still upgrade the one you have.

Thanks for all the suggestions and thoughts. Please be assured that I was never in any way irritated or upset with anyone on this site. (Oddly, I never have been and that is not the case with other sites.) I appreciate all the ideas and have copied them to a file where I can use them after I get up the nerve to tell my wife we need to spend another $200.00 or so.

I doubt that returning the computer is a possibility, but I'll check it out. No matter what, thanks for the help. There are many technical neophytes out here who learn a lot from all of you.

Now, I think I'll go kick myself some more. After all, there's really only one person to blame for the situation...ME! (DRAT IT!)

Don't kick yourself too hard, Haze. You are far from alone. And if some sales individual was involved, I blame them.

Jenny and Inland may have some suggestions for those games that wouldn't play. Try seeing if there are some options to turn down video settings and see if that helps.

A points to consider. If Adventure gaming is your primary type of game there are quite a few decent cards at New Egg in the seventy five dollar range.

You have to dig deep for the information but there are some Nvidia cards 1 gig that will run with a 250-300 watt power supply. It is possible to pull that trick off. Later when things are better you can upgrade the power supply and buy a better card.

I know this because six months ago I needed a new card for a Dell XP with a 350 watt ps. I did find a few but you need to search the card manufacturers site and some do not offer the info.

The Sparkle GeForce GT 240 requires a 300 watt ps and has a lifetime warrantee

$69 @newegg

GT 240

Good idea, oldmariner. Even that low end GT 240 would be better that the Intel 2000 graphics in the Core i5 processor. Unfortunately, it's discontinued.

I did find this Zotac GT 430 which only needs a 300 watt power supply for $70 and $55 after a mail-in rebate.

Zotac GT 430

Then later when you hit the lottery, you can do that big upgrade. You have a decent enough computer to do that.

I did not notice the discontinued thing. There are some out there and that series does well on adventure games.

I just looked again and it says Out of Stock, not discontinued. Shows you how closely I pay attention too!

If you get this one, be sure your case has adequate case fans. Since it doesn't have its own fan, but has a big heat sink instead, it depends on your case fans to cool the heat sink.

And it's not showing as "out of stock" at the moment, so Newegg seems to have got more in.

Good point, Jenny - I missed that and should know better. Like all companies, Gateway gives very little information on details like the case. Just looking at the pictures, I will bet there is one small exhaust fan on the back and that's it.

It was the GT 240 that oldmariner linked to that is out of stock. At least that one has a small fan.

As soon as you start looking at cards with fans, you go up to at least 400 watt requirements on the power supply.

Well, there's always ebay -

Geforce GT 240