Computer Upgrade

Maniacal

the green Napoleon
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Messages
18,778
Location
British Columbia, Canada
I am planning on upgrading my computer soon. I have:
256 ram
Pentium 4 2.20 ghz processor
Intel *insert bunch of #s and slashes* Graphics Controller
SoundMAX Integrated Difital Audio
C; drive: 55gigs, 18 gigs left.
Dell
PCI?

Can't think of much else that affects games, but I don't know much either.
I pland to raise my ram to 2 gigs and I have decided on a ATI Radeon x800xl graphics card. And i'm not sure if I need/should to do anything about the audio. Also, should I bother with more memory (is that possiable?) as I will be unitnstalling several games. And I don't want to lose anything I've saved or exceed $1000 CANADIAN unless I have to, I want my comp to be able to play say, AOE3 + Civ4, (I already have checked with the possiable specs for AOE3). Also, the 2 gigs of ram, um, should I get that much or just one gig? Also, prices pls?
Thanks for your help.

*READ MY NEXT 2-3 POSTS*

Maybe list:
x800xl or 6600

Definately:
200gig hard drive
1 gig of ram
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
 
If you're sticking with that CPU and motherboard, I probably wouldn't bother with 2Gb of ram. Your computer does take DDR ram, not RDRAM, right?

Are you sure you want to spend money on an X800XL over a 6600GT? Your CPU is going to be the limiting factor in most games anyway, and if you build a completely computer in the future, it probably will take a pci-express video card, so this one won't be compatible. You can offset the CPU bottleneck somewhat by cranking up AA/AF and getting real nice visuals.

Audio is relative, I would never use an onboard solution, but I also wouldn't be caught with any sub-$500 sound system matched to my computer. ;)

Getting another hard drive would be easy to do, it could show up as a D: drive or whatever, and you could put future things on it, keeping whatever your currently have on your C: drive. Does your computer have any s-ata ports?

Here are some prices, if you post your motherboard model, I can change any parts that aren't compatible.

Ram - $122.99
NVidia 6600GT - $209.98
X800 Pro - $329.46 - Sorry, I wasn't able to find an AGP version of the X800 XL on NCIX, feel free to browse other sites though.
200GB Hard drive - $109.99
 
Er, I only understood half of what you said. DDR ram? RDRAM?
"X800XL / 6600GT" are these about the same quality?
pci-express video card? CPU bottleneck somewhat by cranking up AA/AF?
Ok, thanks for the prices though!
EDIT: The ATI still sounds better, but maybe It's jsut the description.

Ok, so I'll get the D: drive 200gigs then and only 1 gig of ram.


Origionaly my dad DID SAY he WOULD BUY a NEW computer, but he backed out. So, it will be a while before I can get a new comp for my mom's house (whenever she finds one). Stupid divorce.
 
If you've got a $1000 canadian budget, you might as well upgrade the sound too. Sound Blaster Audigy will run you around $150US.
 
Ok, *adds to possiabilities* anyother sound suggestions? And um, it is more like MAXIMUM 1000$ preferable a few hundred less. Oh, and it's an upgrade or a 2 year old mac or a laptop..... *shakes fist in dad's general direction*
 
PrinceScamp said:
Er, I only understood half of what you said. DDR ram? RDRAM?
"X800XL / 6600GT" are these about the same quality?
pci-express video card? CPU bottleneck somewhat by cranking up AA/AF?
Ok, thanks for the prices though!
EDIT: The ATI still sounds better, but maybe It's just the description.

DDR ram RDRAM are different and work on different motherboards.
If you don't know the model of your motherboard, can you download CPU-Z, go to the mainboard tab and post back what is listed under Manufacturer and Model?

PCI-Express video cards are a newer standard than AGP, and only work in PCI-Express motherboards. They are not backwards compatible with AGP.

The bottleneck is the component of your system that is limiting speed. With a 2.2GHz P4, adding a more powerful video card is not going to help after a certain point, as the CPU will be the limiting factor in game performance.

AA/AF (Anti-aliasing/Anisotropic filtering) - AA will reduce the pixelated, jagged edges on diagonal lines you see in 3-d games, while aniso filtering will improve the look of textures. These incur a sizable performance hit, but if your CPU is the bottleneck of your system, you'll be able to enable them to a certain level without noticing any performance drop in certain games.

The X800 XL is quite a lot better than the 6600GT, also more expensive, and I wasn't able to find it on NCIX. The 6600GT would nicely match your processor, while the X800 Pro I linked is more powerful and pricier.

Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS - $79.67 - This is the same card I have, and is pretty good. (I got the retail version though, which is the same except includes Angel of Darkness and Raven Shield, which I sold for $20 each anyway.)
 
If it's a Dell with onboard graphics it probably hasn't got an AGP port (my personal experience), so it might be that you'll need a new mainboard as well (but then my Dell was a 2400, so things might be different with yours).
 
PrinceScamp said:
*smacks self for not mentioning that eralier* Whats an AGP port anyways? *checks* Erm, I have a serial and parrael ports... I knew I should have slept in some more.

AGP is port for graphic cards, quite fast and it costs dell probably $2 per computer to put on, i.e. millions of dollars.

we think you re screwed.
 
Second question is easy: You can't install a graphics card. Normal PCI ports are too slow for today's heavy graphics, therefore the AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) port was invented. It is specially designed for use with graphics cards, and can't be put into a PCI port.

In case you wonder where all this PCI and AGP stuff is, they are inside the cabinet on the mainboard. They have no external plugs.
 
Ok, so, jsut wondering what would be a good graphics card to make my computer run better? SInce I cannot get a new computer here, and it needs to be faster for me. Aslo, what amount of RAM should I get? (total of) 1gig? ANything else?
 
I wrote out a reply last night that I wasn't able to post since the forums were down... will post it when I get home tonight.
 
PrinceScamp said:
Ok, so, jsut wondering what would be a good graphics card to make my computer run better? SInce I cannot get a new computer here, and it needs to be faster for me. Aslo, what amount of RAM should I get? (total of) 1gig? ANything else?
well a video card wont make the computer run faster so to speak. Its nessecary to run most games nowdays and also alot of dvd players etc. To play most games these days a good one, minimum 256mb on board is an essential.

Ram is something that the more you have the better u are. Call 4 help( tv show on tech tv) did a study on amounts of ram. and well there wasnt all that much change after 512. I think the performance difference between 512 and 1G was like 12%, and 1G-2G was like 3%. Now this is also controvesial, I can hear everyone yelling ( especially hardcore gamers) MORON! but these numbers are meant for general purpose machines. Gamers... the more Ram the merrier. I know a friend who has 3G.... and is trying to find a way to get more.

Id make sure yer hard drive is a high speed one, like a 7400rpm that will help. Get a good antivirus program, more than 1 if u can.... there are free ones that are great. AVG pops into my mind. Also more than 1 spyware protector. Just dont have too many things running in the background. That will make things slow down all together. Now about how to tell if u have an AGP slot... its a dell so take one of the sides off, and look inside. Better yet, take a pic and post it for us. AGP slots are most times a dark brown in color. Hope this helps.
 

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Ok... I'll go with 1 gig as I don't plan on adding many games to this comp (I'll porbabyl download more but they won't be very new. I'll check my pc.. jsut, I don't really want to have to turn it off right now and take the case off... and my computer specs I've checked say PGI bus 3 times and no mention of AGP. ANd do you mean processor or harddrive? As all I can find about my hard drive is that it's got 55.8 gigs in total and 18.9 left.. as to what took .5 I don't know.
 
if u buy a harddrive thats.... 40G, its actually 38G, but ive also seen 41G, theyre never exact.

To find the speed of your Hard drive u might have to take it out of the slot and look up the model number on the internet.

should say something about your video card in the Device Manager....under display adapters i think. Hard Drive shouldnt be a problem. most new ones are ok.
 
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