Upgrading a eMachines

[Dustin_Broke]

There is someone who said this but is this true?



"You're on the right track. Some PCI cards would be an upgrade from what you have, but they're so limited by the PCI bus, that it's not worth it.

The only things that can be upgraded on the machine would be the amount of RAM, hard drive, and the processor. It's not likely to become much faster though."


So does this mean that even if the GPU is better on the PCI card that my AGP2X onboard video is better? Or is there a PCI card that will be better than the AGP2X onboard video card I have?

 

[95BlackGA]

So does this mean that even if the GPU is better on the PCI card that my AGP2X onboard video is better? Or is there a PCI card that will be better than the AGP2X onboard video card I have?

No, as we said already. Since your GPU is so old, it's slow compared to PCI cards released within the past few years, because they're based off of newer GPU technology. The AGP 2X bus is faster than PCI, but since it's integrated, and using an old onboard gpu, it's significantly slower than if you were to have an AGP slot, with a card in it.

 

[Dustin_Broke]

I know that if I added a new AGP2X card then the added AGP2X card would be better than the onboard but since my motherboard can only have PCI if I wanted to add a new card. What I needed to know is that if I were to add a PCI card not AGP since I don't have an AGP slot will the onboard AGP2X card be better than adding a PCI card? Or is it still the same answer that since my GPU is older that most PCI cards will still be better even it's slower than AGP2X that is onboard.


Remember I don't have an option to add an AGP card I only have the option to add PCI video type card. You did say that if I add an AGP card then it would be better than the AGP oboard card and I know that would be true but in this case it's little different since I have no way of adding an AGP card so from what I heard from someone else they said that my AGP2X would be better than adding an PCI card but I was wondering if that part is true.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

To echo what was said earlier I wouldn't spend any money trying to upgrade that system. You could spend a lot of money on more ram, an new graphics cards etc but even after all of that the system will still be obsolete.

Even a cheap new system with a Sepron and HD 3200 igp will be many times faster than your current system, even after upgrades. I'm not trying to be a jerk by pointing this out but merely trying to illustrate how far computers have come in the last decade.

 

[Slaymate]

Your on-board video sucks. Period.

Get a PCI based card or a new computer.

How much money are you willing to spend on the video card?

 

[Dustin_Broke]

I found a ATI Radeon 7200 PCI card for $20 with shipping but will this card be not as good as my AGP2X? Or do I need a video card like the ATI Radeon 9000 series to be an upgrade from my onboard AGP card? I assume that my AGP2X card is better than an PCI ATI Radeon 7200 card.

 

[Slaymate]

Your on-board video sucks. Period.

Anything is better.

 

[Dustin_Broke]

Well to tell you the truth I' am acutaly confused now but some of you guys said that some PCI cards are better than my AGP2X now one person says that any PCI card is better which is true? On a different forum someone said that some PCI cards might be better but since PCI is slower my AGP2X would be better than lower end cards like the GeForce 2 series or ATI Radeon 7000 series. I just need to know forsure that is my card is better than something like the GeForce 2 series.

What I think is since the GPU might be better on the GeForce 2 series but the bus speed is PCI so what I think it might end up that my onboard AGP2X might be the same. But one said that since the PCI bus is slow my AGP2X would be better.

What I was saying is that there might be a trade off like better GPU but slower bus and lower end GPU but faster bus. So it would probley end up the same as GeForce 2 series that has 32mb and ATI Radeon 7000 series that has 32mb since the onboard video card has 32mb I found out.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Old Intel igp's like you have are the worst of the worst when it comes to performance, even smartphones have faster gpus. You aren't likely to find any card thats slower than what you have now.

Edit: You current gpu is a slower version of the intel i740 gpu. The i740 is #196 on Graphics Performance List

 

[Dustin_Broke]

So even AGP2X is a faster bus it's still going to be not as good as the GeForce 2 series?


Well if so will the ATI Radeon 7200 32mb PCI card work on my machine? I can afford that one since it's around $20. Does my system meet what it needs to somehow run it?


Here are some specs for my machine



MPN T1100
Key Features
Form Factor Tower
Processor Intel Celeron 1 GHz
Installed Memory 128 MB (SDRAM)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
HDD Size 20 GB
Optical Drive Type CD-ROM • CD Burner
Recommended Use Home Use, Business
Processor
Processor Type Intel Celeron
Processor Speed 1 GHz
Processor Manufacturer Intel
Processor Upgradability Upgradable
Max Processors Qty. 1
Motherboard
Bus Speed 100 MHz
Video Output Interface AGP 2x
Memory
RAM Technology SDRAM
Installed RAM 128 MB
Max Supported RAM 256 MB
Installed Cache Memory 128 KB
Hard Drive
Hard Drive Capacity 20 GB
Hard Drive Interface DMA/ATA-66 (Ultra)
CD / DVD
Optical Drive Type CD-RW
Optical Drive Read Speed 2x (DVD)
Other Drives
Floppy Drive 3.5" 1.44 MB floppy
Audio / Video
Audio Output Type Sound Card
Max. Video Resolution 1600 x 1200
Modem
Modem Type Fax / Modem
Dimensions
Width 7.01 in.
Depth 14.5 in.
Height 14.26 in.
Weight 22.49 lb.
Warranty
Warranty 1 Year
Miscellaneous
OS Certified Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Family Line eMachines T