High Performance... 4 years ago!

[yorikatl]

Help me upgrade on the cheap –

Here is what I have –

CPU – Intel Pentium 4 2.8ghz Northwood
MB – ASUStek computer inc P4T533-C AG version 2.0 transfer rate 4x
Memory – RDRAM 512
Graphics – RADEON 9700 Pro AGP 128mb
Sound – SB Audigy

I opened up my computer to find out about my power supplyÂ…

Looks like Enermax Model EG365P-VE

http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/enermax350man/


HereÂ’s my tower:

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/1q00/cmatcs/cmatcs-1.html

I can play HL2 just fine with this, on med settings, but IÂ’m having a hard time with newer games. IÂ’d like to be able to have an easy time with games on par with oblivion.

How can I do this on the cheap? Let me know if I should provide other information. Thanks!

p.s. win xp direct x 9.0

p.p.s. I won't be overclocking - I'm noob and this will be my first time working inside a pc.

 

[vipercrazed]

whyd you list your old comp? you want to upgrade? sounds to me like u want a new system...

m,aybe your mobo and p4 are ok but 512 and your vid acrd are not worth keeping the least bit....(more rdram is hard to find and overpriced)
and with new ram and vid card youll need more than 350w psu

 

[yorikatl]

Ya - I want an upgrade and was wondering if anyone has lower priced ideas for a good upgrade.

I just posted my system for the heck of it. I guess I'd need a new motherboards, or buy more rdram, which looks like it's pretty expensive.

Now if I get a new power supply, graphics card and some rdram will I be set? Or should I do the motherboard too?

 

[aliasaid]

you had that PC 4 years ago? wow thats pretty good, its still a pretty decent computer. funny how they have a review for your powersupply but they don't list the amps on the voltages.. oh well it doesn't matter, it looks like a pretty good powersupply anyways...

RDRAM could be a problem... you say you have 512mb; is that 1 stick or two 256 sticks? oh and how many RAM slots are free? (if any)

best upgrade for your computer for games would be another 512 of ram (1gb total) and a better video card. that should hold you for like a year... then after that you can build new.


i just looked at RDRAM prices, and.. LOL.. holy smokes thats ridiculous... $212 for a 512mb stick. i think maybe just sell your pc and start fresh

 

[yorikatl]

you had that PC 4 years ago? wow thats pretty good, its still a pretty decent computer. funny how they have a review for your powersupply but they don't list the amps on the voltages.. oh well it doesn't matter, it looks like a pretty good powersupply anyways...

RDRAM could be a problem... you say you have 512mb; is that 1 stick or two 256 sticks? oh and how many RAM slots are free? (if any)

best upgrade for your computer for games would be another 512 of ram (1gb total) and a better video card. that should hold you for like a year... then after that you can build new.


i just looked at RDRAM prices, and.. LOL.. holy smokes thats ridiculous... $212 for a 512mb stick. i think maybe just sell your pc and start fresh

It's two 256 sticks and I have 2 more slots available. Ya I'm going to build a new one in the next couple years - just can't afford it now.

I found this and this - what's the difference?

http://www.memorysuppliers.com/sam5180non18.html

http://www.memorysuppliers.com/sam5180ecc181.html

If I could get away with just getting more ram and graphics card I'd be pretty happy. Any graphic card suggestions?

How's ram buying on ebay, looks like I may be able to find a couple 256 sticks...

http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...=1&shortcut=0&from=R41&query=rdram&category0=

 

[aliasaid]

ones ECC and one is not... ECC is for servers and stuff... something to do with extra stability.. i dont' really know, but you shouldn't worry about that. as for your upgrade, since you have 2 free slots, you could do this:

buy two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820151102

and this (or something similar..6600gt, x1600pro, 6800xt are all in the same price range): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ....com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125039

 

[vipercrazed]

wow ebay does look cheap....

yea i said earlier rdram is a B*tch
try and find what pin ur mobo though probaly rdram is all the same
maybe 2gb to last you a year, 1gb is almost reaching minimum now(for games)

so if you upgrade you looking probaly
$250 video card
$80-$100 psu
$xx for ram(whatever you find)

the mobo maybe change then you have unlimited possiblities really

you should be able to keep dvd and hdd depends on the mobo

 

[aliasaid]

viper, that doesn't seem to be the best upgrade...

yori, tell us your available budget for this upgrade and we can tell you the best way to go about your upgrade.

 

[yorikatl]

viper, that doesn't seem to be the best upgrade...

yori, tell us your available budget for this upgrade and we can tell you the best way to go about your upgrade.

I'd like to keep it as low as possible - I don't need a top of the line card, just one to keep me gaming for the next year or so. $200-300 would be optimal.

How do you feel about ebay ram?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Dimension-8...6QQihZ001QQcategoryZ11152QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Even cheaper..

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Dimension-...9QQihZ005QQcategoryZ11152QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't think I'd trust a graphics card on ebay, but ram seems pretty safe and easy to ship...

If I upgrade the CPU i'll need to reinstall windows right? I'd like to shy away from that if my CPU is good enough to get me by another couple years.

 

[vipercrazed]

yes your p4 is ok. lemme get u a gfx card

its agp, so here, there arent as many options as pci-e but they have some good ones


ati
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814142073


nvidia
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143046

these are both 4x/8x your mobo is 4x, i dont know how agp works but 4x im guessing will match up

your card now is a 2x/4x

with a new $80 mobo you can really buy anything you want..... but its up to you

though your p4 is socket 478.... are there s478 full pci x16? that socket is so old i relaly dont lok around there

YOUR MOBO IS SOOO COOL YOU HAVE TWO RAM SLOTS ON TOP AND TWO ON THE SIDE OF THE CPU, is that always 478? never seen it before...