Computer Ugrade

[perry_weekley]

Hello, I'm planning on bringing my computer up to 2008-2009 standards.

Here are my specs:
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz (2793 MHz)
Graphic card: GeForce FX 5500
Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
RAM:512 MB

edit:
CPU: http://alphathewolf.deviantart.com/art/My-CPU-92321109

Now the area's I want to upgrade is the Graphics Card and the RAM.

I am trying to find a cheap 2 gig card which needs to be able to be installed without the need of a PCI slot.

I am also trying to find a new Graphics Card. I am going to stay with GeForce, but I can't seem to find the newest and greatest model. Once again it needs to be able to be installed without a PCI slot.

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

 

[Euphod]

I'm very confused.

RAM does not require a PCI slot, you don't list your MOBO specs, so I can't recommend any.

Graphics card has me puzzled as well; what expansion slots do you have for a card...PCI-E, or AGP?

 

[perry_weekley]

I'm very confused.

RAM does not require a PCI slot, you don't list your MOBO specs, so I can't recommend any.

Graphics card has me puzzled as well; what expansion slots do you have for a card...PCI-E, or AGP?

I'm sorry I'm new at this stuff.

Here is my CPU-Z. I uploaded it to my DA account for easy access.
http://alphathewolf.deviantart.com/art/My-CPU-92321109

I'll put a link in the original post also so it is easy to find.

 

[johnwhelan]

Go to Crucial.com and down load their scanner.

It looks as if you have four slots so just drop in two 1 gig memory modules and keep whatever is in the other ones with luck you will end up with 2.5 gigs of memory. Buy from newegg.com their prices maybe better.

Turn Microsoft updates on and upgrade to sp3 for xp.

It has an AGP graphics slot and to be honest ATI own the performance part of AGP with the 3850 AGP graphics card but it would require you to use driver cleaning software.

See tomshardware.com for graphics cards.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-cards,1965-5.html

if you look at the following page it will give you the nVidea / ATI comparisons.

Do your homework on the power supply.

Cheerio John

 

[perry_weekley]

Found the RAM and found a nice graphics cards. Only problem is it needs 400 watts and my PC only puts out 250. Even the second nicest thing to that is a 300 watts.

My PC may need a complete makeover it looks like.

Edit: I am looking at a 2 GB Promos OEM DDR2 DDR 2 800MHz PC2-6400 RAM 240. Would that fit into my PC? Like I said I'm new and still learning about this stuff.

 

[Capt_Scarlet]

Found the RAM and found a nice graphics cards. Only problem is it needs 400 watts and my PC only puts out 250. Even the second nicest thing to that is a 300 watts.

My PC may need a complete makeover it looks like.

Edit: I am looking at a 2 GB Promos OEM DDR2 DDR 2 800MHz PC2-6400 RAM 240. Would that fit into my PC? Like I said I'm new and still learning about this stuff.

I dont think that motherboard will accept a DDR2 memory module. You probably need to look for the older DDR memory modules instead.

In my opinion you would be better off getting a new motherboard, power supply ( approx 500 watts ) , cpu ( core2duo ), memory ( 2GB DDR2 ) and graphics card ( ATI 4850 pci-e or equivalent ) which is in effect nearly a new pc though of course what you get depends on your budget.

John

 

[perry_weekley]

I dont think that motherboard will accept a DDR2 memory module. You probably need to look for the older DDR memory modules instead.

In my opinion you would be better off getting a new motherboard, power supply ( approx 500 watts ) , cpu ( core2duo ), memory ( 2GB DDR2 ) and graphics card ( ATI 4850 pci-e or equivalent ) which is in effect nearly a new pc though of course what you get depends on your budget.

John

Well a new computer wouldn't be too far out of my league or thoughts. Sadly I share the computer with my parents. Additional parts? I'm allowed to buy those. A new PC? According to them not till I've used it for over 8 years or till I move out.

I have tried many a time to convince them that now 4 years is all it takes to make a processor and system too old. They think I'm lying and that it still takes 6 years before a PC becomes old.

I thank everyone for taking their time to try and help me, but it seems this is going to be impossible to upgrade without buying a whole new computer.

 

[johnwhelan]

Well a new computer wouldn't be too far out of my league or thoughts. Sadly I share the computer with my parents. Additional parts? I'm allowed to buy those. A new PC? According to them not till I've used it for over 8 years or till I move out.

I have tried many a time to convince them that now 4 years is all it takes to make a processor and system too old. They think I'm lying and that it still takes 6 years before a PC becomes old.

I thank everyone for taking their time to try and help me, but it seems this is going to be impossible to upgrade without buying a whole new computer.

First you have to define the requirements. Browsing the web a 6 year old computer is fine. Running Trainz its not so good.

Run the hardware benchmark http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=17294&highlight=benchmark

This will give you an idea of what your current system will do in frames per second. Look at the other machines and see if they are any better. If they are look at what you can do to upgrade your machine.

Armed with the benchmarks then you have the requirements and itstime to talk to parents unless you have funds of your own.

Talk to them and show them the tomshardware.com bit on graphics cards. Show them where your current graphics card is and compare it to the newer stuff.

Next check to see if your power supply can be replaced with a more powerful one. Dell sometimes used an odd sized power supply especially on the low profile machines. Get an estimate on a new 500 watt power supply check Tomshardware.com for brands and look at newegg.com, I like ANTEC green ones. Get an estimate on upgrading the memory to 2 / 2.5 gigs, include an antistatic wrist strap in your estimates. If parents approve the sums then email me jwhelan0112@gmail.com and we can talk about the video card.

Cheerio John

 

[perry_weekley]

First you have to define the requirements. Browsing the web a 6 year old computer is fine. Running Trainz its not so good.

Run the hardware benchmark http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=17294&highlight=benchmark

This will give you an idea of what your current system will do in frames per second. Look at the other machines and see if they are any better. If they are look at what you can do to upgrade your machine

I performed it and received: Averaged 9.225718fps over 216.893677sec
According to weevil 10 fps over 5 mins. is a poor system.

Armed with the benchmarks then you have the requirements and itstime to talk to parents unless you have funds of your own.

Talk to them and show them the tomshardware.com bit on graphics cards. Show them where your current graphics card is and compare it to the newer stuff.

I'm going to use my own money that I earn from my job to buy the new items. I have one hundred set back for emergencies but I have nearly have another one hundred for spending. I believe I can compare any new graphics card with my Nvidia GeForce Fx5500.

Next check to see if your power supply can be replaced with a more powerful one. Dell sometimes used an odd sized power supply especially on the low profile machines. Get an estimate on a new 500 watt power supply check Tomshardware.com for brands and look at newegg.com, I like ANTEC green ones. Get an estimate on upgrading the memory to 2 / 2.5 gigs, include an antistatic wrist strap in your estimates. If parents approve the sums then email me jwhelan0112@gmail.com and we can talk about the video card.

Cheerio John

Alright I'll do that.

Edit: I found a nice power supply by Antec and it's in my price range of 10- 100 really. I've been looking at the Antec Basiq BP500UB 500W ATX12V Version 2.01 Power Supply 100. Will it do the job? I don't know yet. Ram is the second thing I looked at but my worry isn't with the price, but will it work in my computer? I was looking at a WINTEC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory . It's not a DDR 2 so it's boosted my confidence, but I'll stick pessimistic so I don't get my hopes up.

 

[johnwhelan]

I performed it and received: Averaged 9.225718fps over 216.893677sec
According to weevil 10 fps over 5 mins. is a poor system.

I'm going to use my own money that I earn from my job to buy the new items. I have one hundred set back for emergencies but I have nearly have another one hundred for spending. I believe I can compare any new graphics card with my Nvidia GeForce Fx5500.

Alright I'll do that.

Edit: I found a nice power supply by Antec and it's in my price range of 10- 100 really. I've been looking at the Antec Basiq BP500UB 500W ATX12V Version 2.01 Power Supply 100. Will it do the job? I don't know yet. Ram is the second thing I looked at but my worry isn't with the price, but will it work in my computer? I was looking at a WINTEC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory . It's not a DDR 2 so it's boosted my confidence, but I'll stick pessimistic so I don't get my hopes up.

Run the scanner from crucial.com for the memory. Or go to http://www.kingston.com/ and look there for specific modules. Then check the price at newegg.com. Stick to the higer quality brands such as Crucial or Kingston, or sometimes the mother board manufacturer such as ASUS qualifies memory modules for a particular motherboard. I don't suggest going Brand X.

I think its a mini tower but I'm not certain. We need to check the physical size of the power supply some how to make certain its a "standard sized one."

Have a dig on the Dell web site and see if you can come up with a specification for it.

Don't buy anything for the moment.


Thanks John

 

[perry_weekley]

http://www.swnetworksolutions.com/hp-p2507f3c-p.html
This is exactly what I have in my machine for the power supply.

Still looking at RAM but I'm defiantly going with Kingston.

 

[johnwhelan]

http://www.swnetworksolutions.com/hp-p2507f3c-p.html
This is exactly what I have in my machine for the power supply.

Still looking at RAM but I'm defiantly going with Kingston.

Perfect, looks close enough to a standard sized power supply.

OK with the upgrades including an upgraded video card you can expect 37-40 fps on the benchmark. New machines should be able to do around 60 but 30 fps is respectable and things will appear to move. A Dell with a 3860 video card is about $700 by the way.

Newegg.com price for 2 gigs of memory for your system is about $100 plus shipping.

Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 550W ATX12V Power Supply with Three 12V Rails - Retail $59.99 newegg before 7/31.

or the Basiq looks fine as well.

Rosewill RTK-001 Premium Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail


$4 don't forget this.

Video card I have an ATI X850 PE XT lying around in the junk box but it is a bit wide and takes two PCI slots up so check to see if it would fit. I think its fairly long as well. If not then you are looking at an ATI 3850 video card.

Check the ratings of the video cards on Tomshardware.com.

SAPPHIRE 100228L Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail

$139.

Possible problem areas, if you have Windows Home XP it gets upset if you change the video card and memory sometimes, you may need to call Microsoft and tell them the video card failed and has been replaced to get a new activation code.

Second even with professional computer engineers changing the memory sometimes kills the motherboard, its very very rare but I have seen it done. Talk to aged parent about the risk and get their agreement before doing anything first.

Replacing the power supply means unplugging and then plugging in lots of power cables. Take a photograph before you start. If the machine doesn't power up when you switch it on the first time check the cables going to the hard drives they sometimes get loosened as you push the other ones in.

Switching from nVidea to ATI means possible problems with the video drivers. There are two ways to handle this, the first is to completely reinstall the operating system the second is to use a software tool to clean out the traces of the old drivers. Search the forum for suggestions.

If possible you show have a second machine so you can look up things on the web if things go wrong.

Finally there is the antistatic problem. I leave the computer plugged in so its earthed and work with an antistatic strap. I cannot recommend this method to you. Read up about it on the web and talk with your parent about what is the safest way to proceed. Static can substantially shorten the life of your computer and is not a good thing to have around.

There is a lower cost option, drop in an ATI 3650 AGP card and up the memory to 2 gigs. The performance difference between the 3850 and 3650 might not be very much as you're probably limited by the cpu. The 3650 is about $90.

Cheerio John

 

[johnwhelan]

Check your monitor, its probably a vga connection, the 850 supports this but the 3850 may not, so upgrading may involve buying a new flat screen monitor.

Basically you do the homework first then it should all drop into place with no surprises.

Cheerio John

 

[perry_weekley]

Thanks Everyone!

Thank you Ed,John,and Capt_Scarlet.

A special thanks to John who, unintentionally, provoked my parents to just buy a new computer. They were sick of my continuos talk about how to upgrade our computer. :hehe: I'm taking your suggestions with me as me and my parents pick out a new gaming computer.

Capt_Scarlet I thank you for your suggestion of the Dual Core. That seems to be the most likely for my next computer.

Ed you helped me get the help I needed by asking the right questions.

Once again, thank you all. You have all helped me in one way or another and I will keep your advice with me as I go computer hunting.

 

[johnwhelan]

Thank you Ed,John,and Capt_Scarlet.

A special thanks to John who, unintentionally, provoked my parents to just buy a new computer. They were sick of my continuos talk about how to upgrade our computer. :hehe: I'm taking your suggestions with me as me and my parents pick out a new gaming computer.

Capt_Scarlet I thank you for your suggestion of the Dual Core. That seems to be the most likely for my next computer.

Ed you helped me get the help I needed by asking the right questions.

Once again, thank you all. You have all helped me in one way or another and I will keep your advice with me as I go computer hunting.

Who said it was unintentional? Quite often if you can give hard facts and figures such as the benchmark scores and the possible problems when upgrading its possible to provoke some one into actually looking at the problem and discussing the possible solutions.

Cheerio John

 

[Ferngren]

johnwhelan wrote:

"I leave the computer plugged in so its earthed and work with an antistatic strap."

Please don't! That is not true earth or ground, it's "protective earth" looping back to 0 or N - in order to blow the fuse if the phase comes in contact with the casing. True earth would be a waterpipe, radiator or a sink.

If something goes wrong with the earth-lead or N in your PSU, you'll be fried in your strap. This has already happened to lots of people. Play it safe...