Am very new to having to sort out computer problems...so am hoping the kindness of strangers will prevail.

Have discovered I need a new video card. I currently have

Chip Type: GeForce4 MX 440
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Memory size: 64 MB

I am wanting to use some 3D software, and it is not displaying, so am figuring the problem is that my card is 2D (guess it is a bit old and basic).

Anyhow, as I am so new to all of this, can anyone advise me what sort of things I need to look out for in buying a new card, any recommendations on what to avoid etc.

Hope this question isn't too basic...feels only one step further than "yes, the power is on".

That is a 3D card, but it is old. It is based on the GeForce 2 GPU architecture which is even older. In computer years it is a fossil.

A upgrade could be a good idea, but to be able to recommend something I need to know more exactly what you are planning to do with it, details on the rest of your computer hardware and a budget.

Well I start off by naming a few things to look out for.

1, Recomended power supply. Make sure you have enough power.
2, Don't be fooled by large memory sizes, their usualy jsut to make people think it's really good.
3, Just because the model number is higher, doesn't mean it's better. Like the Radeon X1300 is actually much worse then the Radeon X800.