Gonna Upgrade Some Things!

[Jockstar]

Some of you remember a few years back i got a pC built for me in Bangkok. I used the knowledge of a few on here. Mainly Firefox , Monty and a few others. So since this was a few years agao I am gonna upgrade a few things. RAM , HD and graphics card.

Currently i have this....

Athlon 64/3000 Socket 939 CPU

Mainboard with 939 socket with VGA slot

NEO 2

2x 512 Ram(400)

160GB HD (MT)

Geforce FX 5900. Bare in mind my card is not PCI and i'm pretty sure my PC isnt either. Hence the graphics card. Its still a great card. But would like to upgrade to a newer faster card. One with at least Pixel shading 2. So what card would the experts suggest? Another thing. How easy for me to install RAM and HD on my own?

[Mozikillah]

For AGP , a faster card would be a XFX GeForce 7600GT that cost around 6,7XX baht! But getting this card is not needed unless ur playing games..!

As for RAM, its easy as pie.. just slot it in place and ur done! And for HD, that can be abit tricky..

[Jockstar]

For AGP , a faster card would be a XFX GeForce 7600GT that cost around 6,7XX baht! But getting this card is not needed unless ur playing games..!

As for RAM, its easy as pie.. just slot it in place and ur done! And for HD, that can be abit tricky..

Will definatley be playing games and hopefully the top games at the highest settings.

[Jockstar]

XFX GeForce 7600GT that cost around 6,7XX baht

You sure about that price? My card cost me 10k baht 3 years ago.

[A_Traveller]

One problem is that as the motherboard ages the peripherals become less main-stream and can therefore rise in price. As an example if one had a PIII motherboard and wanted to increase memory, the correct memory chips are now more expensive then new much faster 'standard' ram. AGP cards are now at a premium for this reason. Though hopefully someone out there can contribute some suitable suggestions.

Regards

[Mozikillah]

Yea.. the price is right >> http://www.busitek.com/forms/pricelist.html

But to be honest, i say do a whole system upgrade!

Athlon 64/3000 Socket 939 CPU >> << Go for Athlons X2 cores..

Mainboard with 939 socket with VGA slot >> << Go for a PCI mainboard

2x 512 Ram(400)

160GB HD (MT)

And wait for a PCI XFX Geforce 8600GT for less than $180..

I myself, is waiting for a XFX Geforce 8600GT DX10..

[Jockstar]

###### that. It will be like building a brand new PC. I dont have that kind of cash

[Mozikillah]

O well, then go for the XFX GeForce 7600GT AGP!! It will do you good.. But dont exspect it to be the best.. Cuz its not! Need an upgrade to PCI will do u goooooood!

[Tywais]

O well, then go for the XFX GeForce 7600GT AGP!! It will do you good.. But dont exspect it to be the best.. Cuz its not! Need an upgrade to PCI will do u goooooood!

I assume you mean PCI-Express because going to PCI is actually a step backward.

Technology change sequence: ISA > EISA > PCI > AGP > PCI-Express

[LivinLOS]

Looking at getting Vista smooth on one of my machines..

P4 2.2 (478 ?)

1.25 GB Ram (there was a 256 stick in the drawer)

Radeon 8500 AGP..

Its an older machine spec but its my HTPC and media PC only (does nothing else is wired to projector) and I dont have much hidef stuff to strain it.. Would like vista for the improved MCE and interface only so not looking to really do an awful lot or spend much (need to really rebuild the desktop fully first, that next PC based spending)..

Any AGP cards that make vista smooth.. Running a similar specced machine on my desktop had some pauses and stutters and no Aeroglass.. Guess I am trying to decide if I should just hold out until I go all new spec or polish the turd a little for vista on that hardware.

BTW you can put me in the camp of liking vista just find its a resource hog.

Edited April 15, 2007 by LivinLOS

[gavstah]

Will definatley be playing games and hopefully the top games at the highest settings.

This will depend on your budget.

To play the "top" games (unreal tournament, etc) at the highest settings will require that you have:

1) 256 MB video card

2) minimum 2 GB RAM (I say two because when it comes to RAM, more is always better)

3) fast processor

4) fast hard drives (the newer SATA 3.0 GB/s work very well)

Remember that the processor and motherboard and RAM are always tied pretty tightly together - so replacing one usually means replacing the other as well. And if you buy a newer motherboard, you'll need to get the recommended RAM for it as well.

I agree with the other poster - you may want to look at just building a new system - which if you do it yourself, can be done for about 1/2 the cost of purchasing from a vendor.

[solo siam]

Looking at getting Vista smooth on one of my machines..

P4 2.2 (478 ?)

1.25 GB Ram (there was a 256 stick in the drawer)

Radeon 8500 AGP..

Its an older machine spec but its my HTPC and media PC only (does nothing else is wired to projector) and I dont have much hidef stuff to strain it.. Would like vista for the improved MCE and interface only so not looking to really do an awful lot or spend much (need to really rebuild the desktop fully first, that next PC based spending)..

Any AGP cards that make vista smooth.. Running a similar specced machine on my desktop had some pauses and stutters and no Aeroglass.. Guess I am trying to decide if I should just hold out until I go all new spec or polish the turd a little for vista on that hardware.

BTW you can put me in the camp of liking vista just find its a resource hog.

I've got a 6600GT AGP, should be enough for Vista.

[LivinLOS]

Went looking for a 512 AGP the other day.. Could only find a 256 and IIRC it was nearly 8k whch at over 200 USD I thought was high for that much memory..

Whats a 6600GT go for ???

[solo siam]

A new 7600GT (256mb) is 6,800 baht, should be plenty fast enough for Vista and Media Centre.

Hopefully you can get Vista MC up and running and help me work out how to show DVD Cover art as Video Thumbnails (without using My DVD's).

[LivinLOS]

I might have a play with dual booting the Media PC into Vista MC.. Liked what I toyed with on a desktop but not had much playtime on media PC side..

My buddy got a lappy that came with a card size bluetooth media remote.. Dead handy for the MC side and DVD / Audio playback.. Nice little extra for a laptop I thought..

[cali]

A new 7600GT (256mb) is 6,800 baht, should be plenty fast enough for Vista and Media Centre.

For that price get the new 8600GTS which is a DX 10 card.

[solo siam]

DX10 isn't really necessary for a HTPC, although if its the same cost obviously its a no brainer, I haven't seen any 8600GTS here yet I didn't think they were available.

[Tywais]

A new 7600GT (256mb) is 6,800 baht, should be plenty fast enough for Vista and Media Centre.

For that price get the new 8600GTS which is a DX 10 card.

Guess you missed the part about AGP only support on his mainboard. However if a card is DX10 compliant it should be Vista ready.

7600GT for 5,780 Baht here > http://www.thanni.com/index.php?main_page=...roducts_id=3874

The 7600GT should be fine. I have a 256MB 6600GTX and haven't found a game that it couldn't handle. Battlefield 2 all features set to full, now trying S.T.A.L.K.E.R. out and so far no problems

Edited April 16, 2007 by tywais

[Jockstar]

Might have to take my PC to some vendor and see what they say. ask questions etc and Then maybe do it all myself.