SharinganTH1422

OK, I've been reading stuff and it seems that converting my machine to PCI-e and getting a new graphics card for that would be a good option.

Go search this page for: David (Sunn) and read it. It's not promising.

However, other reviews have said that the card has performed well, so it may have been some sort of fault with the reviewers computer. I won't find a better card for PCI, but for the same amount of money I could get a much better PCI-e card. But then that would bring in quite a few other costs.

I doubt it, but I'll give it a shot, does anyone have this card?

I'm wondering also about the costs of changing the motherboard (that's what you need to change, right?).

And also a 450 watt PSU.

(I also think a PCI-e motherboard would be good because I can't find any PCI PSUs).

I've just kind of found out that I probably will be able to get it installed by a friend of a cousin, who's friend's dog's dad is the pet of someone that can tinker with the inside of computers without breaking them, so it's all good.

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

Acreo Aeneas

If you purchase a new PSU nowadays, most will come with a 6-pin PCI-E power plug straight from the PSU. Even if the one you buy doesn't, you can usually get a 4-pin molex to 6-pin PCI-E power plug adapter at a computer store for a few dollars.

Honestly, if you look around on NewEgg (or the equivelent in the UK), you can get a card that's better than the X1550 for around $100. Don't regret spending an extra $20 or so for a better card. I've been getting subpar cards for a while now and trust me when I say that you'll regret the X1550 in less than a year's time.

The way I look at it, if you replace your motherboard, you'll end up getting a new CPU, new RAM, and maybe even new CD/DVD drives (of course you can always reuse your old IDE drives...even your hard drive).

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Acreo_Aeneas
Former 9th MID Member

SharinganTH1422

I understand why I would need a new PSU, but why drives and RAM?

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

=Sarc=

Drives, probably not but that depends on the new mobo. Motherboard manufacturers are starting to phase out IDE support so you may only get one IDE channel (good for 2 devices) and support for multiple SATA drives.

RAM is most definitely. You have DDR1 RAM and moving to a newer CPU would require DDR2 because there are very few motherboards that use DDR1 these days. Even then, the performance boost is worth the new RAM.

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JO Guides & Tutorials
Team Element - It's who you game with.

SharinganTH1422

Sorry about this, I know I'm asking a lot of you, but vould you just give me a rough idea of what I would need to upgrade my motherboard to a PCI-e and all the things that go with it. I know this would be a hassle and am not expecting a response, but anyone that could find time to do this, I would really, so very much appreciate, because I have no idea what I'm doing with this. If I'm gonna do this, I need to get a basic outline of what I'm getting and then I can find other people to work out the specifics later, and learn (hopefully lots) in the process.

Thanks in advance.

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

Lorax74

Now you're starting to see why I suggested a new PC vs upgrading the parts. If you have an eMachines PC now, odds are you are not interested in building your own, which can be a daunting task for some. I would strongly suggest pricing out the upgrades you want to make against the cost of a newer mid-level pc. Even a lower end PC might be better than what you currently have.

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TG-9th Lorax74

SharinganTH1422

Yup, guess I shoulda listened to the pros

Yes, I've had this machine for about 4-5 years, and I only have the minimum requirements to run BF2142. I got the game last Christmas, but couldn't install it until February, because I wanted to reformat, which brought in some other difficulties like lazy people and backing everything up on to a hard drive. I guess its time for a new PC, and guess I can get the money to get a new PC, around Summer or next Christmas. And you are correct, building one myself seems [i]extremely[i] daunting. I think a new machine would be the best for me in terms of value for money.

My dilemma right now is this (I play BF2142 only):

Addiction to TG

Why is TG so damn good? I can't play on any other server, I just feel so bored and empty, I don't know how I lone-wolfed for all of that time. I love the TG servers, but this leads me to another problem.

Low FPS

I always used to play on servers with low ping and no more than 32 players (sometimes 40), and I was fine (titan was always impossible, I used to give it a go, but it was disgustingly bad). Obviously TG servers have a high ping for me (because I'm in Europe) and my rubbish computer can't handle 50 players (I'd say my average FPS is about 5, maybe less). Loads of European players play on TG with high ping, but their lag is small. My internet connection is super fast, so the problem is clearly my terrible computer and my terrible graphics card. This leads me onto another problem. I want to improve my computer before I

Become an SM

I've been saying for the last month or so that I'm going to become an SM, but I really want my computer to be able to play on the TG servers. After I've made my investment in my computer, I can then pay the money needed for a yearly SM.

NB: I think I may be able to cope with looking at just machines. I've now got a very basic understanding of what I need, and will just look for that. If anyone has any suggestions I'm open to them. I'm not looking for anything other than the tower, no new monitors, speakers, mouse, etc, I've got good quality of all of that stuff.

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

Long Bow

I will try and give you a basic run down on the internal parts for your computer.

The motherboard is the component (big flat board with lots of connections) that all other components connect to. It holds the processor, ram, video card and sound card (or internal sound card). Your PSU needs to have the correct motherboard power connector on it to plug into the motherboard (there are 20 and 24 pin, most new mobos and psu's are 24 so if buying new items you should be fine). Things like the reset/power switch and hardrive activity light plug into your mobo as well.

All your hard drives and CD/DVD roms and burners connect via calbes (SATA or IDE) to the motherboard. I will assume you know what hardrives and CD/DVD drives do. Most of the new items all have SATA (SATA comes in different speeds but any SATA will connect to a SATA spot on the mobo) available for connection and its prefered.

The PSU powers everything. It plugs into the motherboard via a big connector, sometimes you need to plug small connectors into the motherboard as well (this info is available in the mobo manual). The PSU also powers all other items regardless of if they are connected to the mobo directly or via a cable i.e. video card is mounted on mobo but still needs power to it. You can power fans off the mobo connectors like the CPU fan, I prefer powering case fans off of a fan controller and not the mobo.

Now the important things to remember with the ram, cpu and video card are what socket type does your mobo support (as your finding out). If you stick with modern hardware things are easier. Currently DDR2 is the norm but DDR3 is available, CPU sockets are pretty much AMD2 (there is now AMD2+ for the new Phenoms) and the intel socket LGA775, and lastly the PCI-E for video card (some mobos are now going PCI-E 2.0 for the newest video card, it is backward compatible with PCI-E cards).

So for you to get your 8600GT (I would also look at how the ATI 3850 compares as well) you will need a mobo that has a PCI-E slot, pick your cpu (suggest intel currently = LGA775 socket), I would stick with DDR2 and most mobos are (go with pc6400 2x1gb) and a new PSU (suggest the Corsair PSU's 520w or 620w are plenty for you). I would suggest getting at least a new SATA connection hardrive and possibly CD/DVD drive though you could re-use your old one(s) for now (but remember they are not SATA so the mobo will need an IDE connection as well to support them). You can re-use your case possibly, key board, mouse and monitor. Your monitor may need an adaptor to fit the new video card (DVI output is the norm for video cards now, so if you have a CRT or LCD thats older it might not accept DVI).

I'm sure I missed somethings or certain parts are not clear. I hope this helps you out

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Acreo Aeneas

Roughly, the cost of getting a new mobo, new RAM, and a new CPU could run you anywhere from $200 to $500. It just depends on how high-end you want to go for those parts. 2 GB of RAM will float around $80-$100 price-wise. Motherboard and CPU pricing will vary greatly depending on the "bells and whistles" that come with either.

Here's an example (in USD):
ASUS LGA775 Motherboard: $47
Intel Allendale Dual-Core CPU (1.8 GHz): $80
G.Skill 2 GB DDR2 RAM: $45

Total: $182
Shipped: ~$200

And I'm sure you can guess at the cost for better, faster, more powerful parts.

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Acreo_Aeneas
Former 9th MID Member

SharinganTH1422

Wow, yes, of course it clears things up. Thanks hugely, I was waiting for someone to give me a basic rundown like this, all I can find on the net usually are huge, complicated blocks of text, but this was not confusing at all. You are my saviour man, thanks loads.

Yes, I'm looking into it now. I'm still thinking of getting a completely new pre-built machine, but after I've worked a few things out and asked a few people abut some stuff, I'll come to a conclusion about what I'm going to go with.

(Also, sorry for the late responses to both of you, I do hugely appreciate what you've done)

This thread is pretty much finished now, so I'm just going to say thanks to everyone who put forward suggestions and tried to help out a guy that knows basically nothing about computers. (although Long Bow, I do know what CD/DVD drives and hard drives are ) I very much appreciate it, and understand the patience and effort it takes to help someone out like this, and I thank you all very, very much.

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

rich73

From reading the reviews in the original post on the machine you have, you should check out your power supply, and if doing any upgrading, consider the cost of a new PSU as well, as it likely won't have the horsepower to power mid-level graphics cards.

SharinganTH1422

Thanks hugely to everyone, over Christmas I've paid a visit to a few people, and have come to the conclusion that a new machine all together is the best solution, I already thought this would be the case, and it has turned out this way. I very much appreciate the help of everyone, and it's help like this that reminds me why this is the best community ever.

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

Acreo Aeneas

Glad you made a decision.

Now we are in the same boat.

__________________
Acreo_Aeneas
Former 9th MID Member

SharinganTH1422

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...