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Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 11:18 pm
by fate6
ok so I can't exactly afford a new PC so I figure why not upgrade the one I have

since its a single core x86 I assume (and Xian has actually recommended it) that a P4 is the best possible CPU I can get for it
RAM wise 4GB is max since its 32 bit but now I need to know what is the best GFX card I can get?

one thing to take into consideration is that this PC does not have PCI-E only PCI so its a bit tricky finding cards for it >__<
(well for me it is)

here is one I have been looking at
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130872226159

is that good? is there better? is that one the best for the price?
(remember I don't have much money)

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 11:21 pm
by pspfanMOHH
I recommend niVidia video cards if its for gaming and programming

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 11:39 pm
by fate6

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 3:25 am
by pspfanMOHH
Yes, the DDR2 is 512 mb same as vita's ram twice ps3's video ram. Or else no reasoning for such high pricing.

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 4:19 am
by codestation
Since you are restricted to PCI then i guess that the card linked in the previous post is decent enough. Just try to stay away from Ati (their drivers sucks on Linux and a little less on windows).

Also don't buy the card that you linked from ebay. Isn't a complete graphics card, is just a physics processor that is used in tandem with a graphics card and not all games have support for it.

Note: nvidia bought the physx technology and merged it with their graphic cards since the 8xxx series (sadly there isn't a PCI variant for these type of cards).

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 5:03 am
by fate6
codestation wrote:Since you are restricted to PCI then i guess that the card linked in the previous post is decent enough. Just try to stay away from Ati (their drivers sucks on Linux and a little less on windows).
ok I will be going with that one then
Also don't buy the card that you linked from ebay. Isn't a complete graphics card
err I actually alredy bought it but the seller does take returns so I can get my money back and use it on the GeForce
(yes I know I need to learn more about hardware >__<)

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:59 am
by pspfanMOHH
fate you have linux?
@codestation: does that mean linux can't use niVidia Graphics Card?
Don't know much about linux have windows.

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 11:39 am
by DMTea
You'll need to find out what your Motherboard supports. PCi graphics cards are expensive not because of age but of the connector it uses. Same with DDR1 Ram under 400MHz is more expensive than DDR3 which is the norm now.

Amazon/newegg have decent prices for parts although I'd suggest buying parts locally as shipping may defeat the purpose of upgrading.

You might be able to put the Pentium 4 H/T 3.2 - 3.4GHz into your motherboard I used to own a P4 box myself.


Oh and if your Motherboard ONLY supports DDR1/2 it's time for an upgrade. Example DDR1 Peaks at 400MHz or so transfer rate so whilist you may have 2-4GB it's going to feel slow because of the slower nature of the Ram. Your motherboard is the basis for your upgrades so investing in something that will take on next gen CPUs is always good. Most custom built quadcore towers can be had locally for 250$ no problem, although being last generation quad core it's really all you need as far as CPU power goes. Single core boxes bottleneck lots IMO especially something as old as a 2002 P4 lol.

OHYA!!!! 32 Bit operating systems only utilize 3GB of Ram so installing 4GB is redundant as the system won't be able to use the full 4GB. I doubt DDR1 OEM motherboards support 4GB but don't waste your money!

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:03 pm
by hammer_420
honestly if your motherboard is so old that it doesn't have PCI-E then that should be your first upgrade.
buy a decent CPU and the cheapest supported RAM you can find at least 2gb.(more if you plan on gaming)
the GPU you buy depends on what you want to do high end if you want to game or low end if you just want to be able to watch HD content.
oh and if you are planning on making a gaming rig, chances are you will need a new power supply too.

Re: Help upgrading my old PC!

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:12 pm
by codestation
pspfanMOHH wrote: @codestation: does that mean linux can't use niVidia Graphics Card?
Don't know much about linux have windows.
Uh? where i said that? The propietary nvidia blob works well out of the box in Linux (the same cannot be said for Ati drivers, a lot of times they have bugged releases and are lagging behind xorg/kernel releases).

TL;DR: if you need a graphics card with propietary drivers on Linux just stick with nVidia.