20 replies to this topic

[Uncle Hammer]

Hello all. I'm in a bit of a sticky situation. I'm trying to beef my computer up with a graphics card of some sort. I play alot CS 1.6 and my FPS is horrible. Part of the reason is my shitty set up. I have what has been refered to as an "onboard chip" for a graphics card and my processer is weak. It's an intel celeron running at 2.6 ghz I also have 256 RAM. So my questions are...

1. Are there any graphics cards that will run off a celeron procceser? All the ones I have looked at haven't had any sort of system requirements or needed a Pentium processer of some kind.

2. What the hell is PCI and all this mumbo jumbo? I have some pics of my mother board and what not so maybe one of you guys could tell me what the hell I can support.


I'm assuming this is where the graphics card would go.



All of the insides


All help is appriciated

[NinjZ]

Well since it appears no one in your family doesnt know anything about computors, you will probably be better off taking it someplace to be looked at. A computor store, or even Best Buy should be able to help you get what you need.

[ompa]

Graphics card now-a-days come in PCI or AGP format. I believe AGP is the older format. If your computer is old, check if it has an AGP slot, and buy a graphics card accordingly. If you have PCI slots, buy accordingly.

Also, for the love of all things holy upgrade your ram to at least 512.

~ompa

[Uncle Hammer]

Someone told me I have PCI slots and that a good graphics card needs a PCI express slot. I think that means I need a new motherboard.

[Nerferc]

Buying a new motherboard, getting a new video card, and getting more RAM (you also would probably want a better processor if you are upgrading everything else). You might as well get another computer.

[Illadar]

In the first picture PCI slots are the white things at the bottom middle, they are used for expantions(tv cards that sort of thing) they also house graphics cards and lans. But I have know idea about PCI express...

[boltsniper]

You need a new computer dude. You aren`t going to find any decent graphics cards for PCI. Probably none that will improve what you already have on you motherboard. But if you decide to try one. You can get PCI cards for dirt cheap off ebay. The hierarchy of graphics cards goes PCI, AGP, AGP4x, PCI Express. The latter 3 are proprietary ports for graphics cards and distinct to the board chipset. The current technology is PCI express which as far as I know is only available with the new Pentium 4 architecture, LGA775 socket, and its chipset, Intel 925. There is probably an AMD equivalent but I don`t know what it is. PCI Express is not a conventioanal PCI slot.

Video cards typically don`t rely too heavily on CPU speed. But your game will only run as fast as your slowest component.

I would say get a new MB, CPU, RAM and a decent GPU. Use your same case, and drives.

[Death]

boltsniper, on Nov 15 2005, 11:30 PM, said:

You need a new computer dude.  You aren`t going to find any decent graphics cards for PCI.  Probably none that will improve what you already have on you motherboard.  But if you decide to try one.  You can get PCI cards for dirt cheap off ebay.  The hierarchy of graphics cards goes PCI, AGP, AGP4x, PCI Express.  The latter 3 are proprietary ports for graphics cards and distinct to the board chipset.  The current technology is PCI express which as far as I know is only available with the new Pentium 4 architecture, LGA775 socket, and its chipset, Intel 925.  There is probably an AMD equivalent but I don`t know what it is.  PCI Express is not a conventioanal PCI slot. 

Video cards typically don`t rely too heavily on CPU speed.  But your game will only run as fast as your slowest component. 

I would say get a new MB, CPU, RAM and a decent GPU.  Use your same case, and drives.

Actually, PCI-Express is a (relatively) new standard. High-end Intel and AMD boards both support PCI-Express cards. Some newer boards will even have two or more PCI-Express slots.

AGP (Advanced Graphics Port) is the previous standard, though still very widely used. If you're looking for an inexpensive upgrade, AGP's the way to go.

Celeron chips suck for pretty much anything. I'm an Intel fanboy, so I always recommend the Pentium 4 line, but currently, AMD's 64-bit chips are top of the line, as far as gaming goes.

New motherboard means new RAM. That means you'll be looking at DDR or DDR2. Just make sure your RAM has clock speeds of 400 MHz or better. Usually, you'll see this in the product name, ie DDR400 or DDR2 (533), or somesuch.

To be honest, in order for you to build even a low-end gaming rig, by today's standards, you are probably looking at around $500 worth of upgrades.

In summary, my suggestions:
- Pentium 4 Motherboard w/AGP or PCI-Express slot(s)
- Pentium 4 Processor
- At least 512 Megs of DDR 400 (or better) RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series or better, AGP or PCI-Express

Edited by Death, 16 November 2005 - 11:34 AM.

[boltsniper]

Good point. But the 16x slot is likely only to be used with a graphics card as no other peripheal will likely need that kind of data transfer capabilty. You're right though, PCI Express in general will replace exisitng 32bit PCI slots altogether

[Death]

boltsniper, on Nov 16 2005, 01:00 PM, said:

Good point. But the 16x slot is likely only to be used with a graphics card as no other peripheal will likely need that kind of data transfer capabilty. You're right though, PCI Express in general will replace exisitng 32bit PCI slots altogether

Currently, the most practical purpose for a motherboard with two PCI-Express slots is running an NVIDIA SLI setup with two GeForce cards, doubling your graphics processing power.

To a lesser extent, you can also do this with ATI's half-assed Crossfire technology. However, ATI blows.

[jamesmiller]

Nerferc, on Nov 15 2005, 09:50 PM, said:

Buying a new motherboard, getting a new video card, and getting more RAM (you also would probably want a better processor if you are upgrading everything else). You might as well get another computer.

Yea, I know I'm ten, but I've been around computers all my life. And I have seen and help my brothers take them apart, upgrade them, and put them back together. Nerferc is right, your better off with a new computer. (Boltsniper too said this)

[The Infinite Shindig]

Ten, eh? We all know what that means...

jamesmiller,
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[Uncle Hammer]

Well I'm going to do what bolt said. Get a new MB,CPU, video card, and RAM. Hopefully keep the case and I'm saving all the drives.

[Nerferc]

Uncle Hammer all of those upgrades might still be the same price of getting another computer. See how much the upgrades would cost then check around computers. (Holiday sales are coming up )

[Uncle Hammer]

The thing is... I checked everything out and and it cost about 400 dollars. With the graphics card that makes it alot cheaper than a computer that you would go out and buy.

[boltsniper]

You can build a far superior computer from scratch than one you could buy for the same price.

[Uncle Hammer]

If anyone is interested I have links to the components I'll be installing.

The graphics card


The CPU

The memory

The motherboard

Power supply

I'm gettin this for about 400 dollars and installing it in my old case with the nessecary dirves already there.

[murakumo32]

Well since we're on the topic of computers:

I've been looking at some notebooks and laptops and I found a Mac.

Apple Macintosh iBook 500

* Internet Ready
* 500MHz G3 Processor
* 128MB RAM
* 30GB Hard Drive
* CD-ROM Drive
* 56K Modem
* 10/100 Network Card + Airport
* No Floppy Included
* Sound And Video
* 12.1 Inch Active-Matrix Display
* O/S 10.0 Preinstalled
* Grade B: Light Scratches on Outer Casing (Minor Wear and Tear); Missing LCD Feet
* 90 Day Depot Warranty/30 Day Warranty on Battery
* ( Reconditioned/Refurbished - Used Notebooks / Laptops )

I was wondering what I would need to be able to play music, surf the web, and run some miscellaneous tasks such as RPG Maker or Game Maker. I don't know a lot about Apple or Mac, so can someone help me?

[Jester]

Hammer, I like your video card choice, but I suggest you upgrade your RAM to 1GB.


~J

[Nerferc]

Looks nice, I would also suggest bumping up to 1 gig of RAM.

Murakumo, I would suggest in my humble opinion to go up to 512.

Edited by Nerferc, 16 November 2005 - 08:42 PM.

[Uncle Hammer]

I've actually managed to save a dollar too. I found a better video card and a cheaper motherboard. This card uses AGP 4x/8x so I managed to save a dollar in the switch. Check it out.

New video card

New motherboard