Dinosaur asks for assistance

[AClaret]

Hey folks,

Ok problem, I have crappy ghraphics on an old comp

My system is sort of put together, I got the comp off a mate who sorta put them together, but he's on deployment just now, so can't help, I'll tell you what I've got, what I was looking for, and whether I'm on the right track

Please note, I'm more than well into my 40's, so not the most PC literate, so any answers (if any) in baby English, that an old fart may understand

My comp is basically a Dell box, inside is a pentium 4 2.3 processor, it has 1gb ram, a 160g hardrive, and it has a cd/rom drive fitted.

I fitted an Nvidia GeForce FX5200 video card about 18 months ago, it's AGP, it slotted right in, I used the CD to install the drivers, all was well, no worries.

But the problem is kids, they are playing online games, they tell me the comp is no longer up to the job, I'm on a very tight budget, so new comp is out of the question just now, been looking on e-bay for graphics cards, been told to get a 512mb one, told my current is only 128mb, so big difference , but there are so many, so a little guidance there would be great, but my real problem comes from the fact that they have power plugs on them, my old card just slotted in (once I was guided through it on the phone by a pal lmfao), so the power bit worries me, is this easy to do, or shall I just give up ??

So basically thats it, any help/advice much appreciated, sorry for the wall of text, thought I better give as much info as poss.

Cheers peeps

[cunny]

The major differance is the chipset not the memory.
Funny enough i was looking at them last night to see about upgrading one but still they are limited as they are majorly PCI-E now.
Heres where i was looking:
Graphics Cards - microdirect.co.uk
Again though if its the newest games you want to play then yeah it would mean a new pc with PCI-E graphics.
Hope this helps you out a little, if you find 1 you like the sound of, google the 1 you have, then the 1 your interested in and compare the 2.

[ITS A SCAM !]

Hey folks,

Ok problem, I have crappy ghraphics on an old comp

My system is sort of put together, I got the comp off a mate who sorta put them together, but he's on deployment just now, so can't help, I'll tell you what I've got, what I was looking for, and whether I'm on the right track

Please note, I'm more than well into my 40's, so not the most PC literate, so any answers (if any) in baby English, that an old fart may understand

My comp is basically a Dell box, inside is a pentium 4 2.3 processor, it has 1gb ram, a 160g hardrive, and it has a cd/rom drive fitted.

I fitted an Nvidia GeForce FX5200 video card about 18 months ago, it's AGP, it slotted right in, I used the CD to install the drivers, all was well, no worries.

But the problem is kids, they are playing online games, they tell me the comp is no longer up to the job, I'm on a very tight budget, so new comp is out of the question just now, been looking on e-bay for graphics cards, been told to get a 512mb one, told my current is only 128mb, so big difference , but there are so many, so a little guidance there would be great, but my real problem comes from the fact that they have power plugs on them, my old card just slotted in (once I was guided through it on the phone by a pal lmfao), so the power bit worries me, is this easy to do, or shall I just give up ??

So basically thats it, any help/advice much appreciated, sorry for the wall of text, thought I better give as much info as poss.

Cheers peeps

when you say online games, which ones ?? Personally myself, i do not play games...can you tell me what make and model motherboard you have....this will determine what graphics card you can fit. You will not get a 512mb graphics card to run on a old motherboard as it's "rating" will probably be X8...don't want to confuse you....so just provide me with the make and model motherboard and i wil try and point you in the right direction...P.S have you personally seen the games not working properly ? or are the kids just trying to get you spend some money.

[ITS A SCAM !]

P.S also let me know how much cash you can spare...

[AClaret]

Hmm ok, the PC was a Dell Optiplex GX260, don't know how to find out the motherboard spec, sorry, the game my kids, well my son actually, has been playing is Eve-online, seemingly they just done a big upgrade thing, my boy says a patch , it no longer works very well with the comp, the graphics seem stuttered (if thats a word ) or the comp freezes.

Budget will be about ?100, thats the most I'm gonna throw at a comp for a game, but if it means I can get by without buying a new comp for another wee while, then it's all good,

Hope this helps

ty guys

[ITS A SCAM !]

If you are capable of opening the case, you will find some details on the motherboard..or can you photograph it and upload it to this site...i used to have a ebay shop selling 2nd hand motherboards, so i will probably be able to identify it...or you could download software called "everest" that will give you all the info about your pc

[Krypton]

sisoft sandra will tell you all you need to know about your pc mate

[ITS A SCAM !]

try here Download Everest Home Edition 2.20 - Everest Home Edition - a freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution - Softpedia

[AClaret]

Ok downloaded the link you gave me, gives me lots and lots of info, but I will stick to giving what it says for the motherboard.

Motherboard ID <DMI>
Motherboard name Dell Optiplex GX260

Front side bus properties

Bus type - Intel Netburst
Bus width - 64-bit
Real clock - 133MHz (QDR)
Effective clock - 533MHz
Bandwidth - 4266MB/s

Memory bus properties

Bus Type - DDR SDRAM
Bus width - 64-bit
Real clock - 133MHz
Effective clock - 267MHz
Bandwidth - 2133 MB/s

Chipset bus properties

Bus type - Intel Hub Interface
Bus width - 8-bit
Real clock - 67MHz (QDR)
Effective clock - 267MHz

I hope that means something to you lot rofl, cos it's a foreign language to me, all I was gonna do was buy a card and slot it in, so maybe not that simple

[ITS A SCAM !]

ok, this seems to be your motherboard specs etc, and the max speed AGP card can be is X4...i shall have a look around to see what you can use

Technical Specifications: Dell OptiPlex GX260 Systems User's Guide

This will sort you out...but i do not know whether you have a ebay account.....Sapphire ATI HD 3650 512MB HD3650 AGP Graphics Card on eBay, also Graphics Video Cards, Graphics, Video TV Cards, Desktop PC Components, Computing (end time 04-Apr-09 14:01:45 BST)
Maybe More will RAM (memory) will help you as well

[AClaret]

Yeah I've got an ebay account, tyvm for all your help, and to all others who posted, it also gave me some insight to my pc

Once again, ty all

[ITS A SCAM !]

no problem..good luck

[chroma]

ever thought of getting a "barebones" system?

Asus V3-M3N8200 AM2 Barebone - NVIDIA GeForce 8200 - 300W PSU - Ebuyer
should suit you nicely.

a barebones system is essentialy a new pc that comes without a keyboard, mouse, monitor, hard drive, processor and memory.

bear in mind that you already have everything except a new processor and the memory so it wont cost you a new mortgage.

a budget processor will set you back a meagre 25 quid AMD Sempron LE-1250 Socket AM2 L2 512KB 2.2GHz Energy Efficient 45w Retail Boxed Processor - Ebuyer
this should be sufficiently powerful (its ahead of a pentium4)

memory is extremely cheap now too and you could hook yourself up with 2gb of memory for 20 quid Kingston 2GB DDR2 Memory - Cheap at Ebuyer!

the genius of this is that you can easily upgrade parts, for instance that processor isnt great but it will do the job, next month when you might have more expendable income you could hook up a newer dual core and get even more power, hell you could even opt for more memory at a faster rating without breaking the bank.
and you will have the satisfaction of building it yourself (its really not that hard, things just stick together like an old airfix kit)

it would also future proof you a little, if you find that the onboard gf 8200 (again lightyears ahead of a 5200fx) isnt cutting it, you have a system with pci-e so slapping in a new graphics board is effortless and you will have way more option to improve.

The problem with upgrading an older satem is the limited supply of parts that now sell at a premium, so by upgrading your older unit you may well wind up shelling out more.

[Krypton]

good post that chroma. i myself often tell people who seem amazed that i build pcs that it really is like putting together some meccano/lego in the case of the cpu stickle bricks .
how did the old quote go "if you can program a vcr to timer record, you can build a pc" or something like that

[AClaret]

I like that idea Chroma, I'm not the greatest at the pc stuff, but I can programme a vcr, and I used to build airfix models, used to have them hanging from my bedroom ceiling in dogfights, till my 2 younger brothers decided they were anti-aircraft guns rofl.

So the idea of getting a system and adding to it when financial constraints allow seems like a smart way to go, so ty