Bob gets another boost. Really!

[DukeLeto]

I think I've finally found a sure-fire way to get my parents to upgrade Bob (Bob is my computer, to those of you who have been living under a rock since I joined.): Pay for and install the new parts myself. ::)

BUT, they won't let me replace the motherboard (bad, bacuase the one in there really sucks, to be frank), though they may pay for the new hard drve (good, because I'm not exactly made of money).

Here are my specs now:

HP Pavilion 700 Configurable Desktop PC

AMD Athlon 1800+ XP

512 MB PC2100 DDR RAM

eVGA GeForce FX 5700LE 256MB AGP

80 GB Hard drive (Slot 1, Slot 2 is empty)

SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Value

ASUS (gag) AMD A7M266-M Motherboard

Here are some basic limitations of the MB:

-No more than 1GB RAM, PC2100 RAM at that (which leads me to a question...I'll ask that later.)

-4x AGP slot

-Not more than an AMD Athlon 2100+ XP processor

So, with that in mind, the new specs will be (changes in bold):

HP Pavilion 700 Configurable Desktop PC

AMD Athlon 2100+ XP

1024 MB PC2100 DDR RAM

eVGA GeForce FX 5700LE 256MB AGP

80 GB Hard drive (Slot 1)

120-160 GB Hard drive (Slot 2)

SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Value

ASUS (still...gag) AMD A7M266-M Motherboard

Mind you, that's not "tomorrow", but hopefully "before December/January".

The order will be:

Graphics card (Done!)

RAM (Because RAM is fun to say...and it's cheap and simple to install.)

Processor (Because it's vital and cheap, though a somewhat daunting task.  At least, my parents think it is.)

Hard Drive (Because it doen't do much good to have disk space if you can't run anything.)

Cost to me: Approx $350.

Notes:

1. The stats for the MB say the RAM slots are designed for PC2100 RAM...will installing PC2700 RAM cause fire/explosions/klaxons/etc.?

[Andrew]

Shouldn't the computer you have be good enough?

I have a p4 1.7 ghz 512 ram, 80 GB Hard drive and a crappy video card (TNT2).

It works fine for me.

It only runs slow when working with large (and I mean large, 3000*3000 20 layers, or a 9300*5500 pixel image). I know making one image took me about 10 minutes to do just one function at a time.

Sure I cant play new games, but I'm pretty sure I could if I had a decent video card.

What is the purpose of this new computer?

Games? Or just speed, like decreasing time to load a program?

[DukeLeto]

I'm not getting a new computer, just updating a few components.  And I use it primarily for gaming, a la DOOM3.  And what do we need for DOOM3?

MORE POWER!!

;)

[Megashrap]

Not too shabby, just got my parts from fed ex i spent around that well, a little more.

VGA APLO|GF FX 5200 A5200 8X AGP R        1  $54.00

MB GIGABYTE|GA-7VT600-RZ KT600 RET MOBO  1  $54.00

CPU AMD|3000+ /333 ATHLON XP BARTON%      1  $132.00

HD 40GB|MAXTOR 6E040L0 72R ATA133        1  $47.50

CPU FAN AMD/INTEL VOLCANO9 A1365 R        1  $23.99

CPU THERMPASTE|ARCTIC SILVER5 3.5G        1  $ 7.59

DDR 512MB|KINGSTON DDR400 CL3 PC3200 RTL      $79.00

DVD-R NEWEGG DRD-47-4X-NG 5PK%                .00  frebee  :)

     

All that i'm upgrading from a Via 266 mobo,1800+ AMD. geforce-4mx 440 64.

should have it goin today sometime,and should be one hell of a diff. hehe

[Nyarlathotep]

Notes:

1. The stats for the MB say the RAM slots are designed for PC2100 RAM...will installing PC2700 RAM cause fire/explosions/klaxons/etc.?

No, but it's best to stick to the recommended.

2. I actually have two choices with the graphics card:  The one listed above (GeForce FX 5500 256MB AGP), or a GeForce FX 5700 128MB AGP for $50 less.  I'm thinking the 5500 (especially with being limited to 4x AGP), but suggestions welcome.

Convince your parents to upgrade your mobo. Drop the extra HD if needed. With an upgraded mobo, you can get abetter graphics card, a more recent model. The extra memory (128mb) doesn't change anything in the current games. With an upgraded mobo, you can have a AGP 8x card (or PCIe), faster memory, faster processor (if needed). You're right about your assumption that the graphics card is the bottleneck in most systems.

[erjin999]

Notes:

1. The stats for the MB say the RAM slots are designed for PC2100 RAM...will installing PC2700 RAM cause fire/explosions/klaxons/etc.?

It will just run at the slower speed, so if there is a price difference get the right one.

[Super-ness]

Ohhh, do you have a spare molex connector?

[erjin999]

Rather then send one cross continent, why not look for one locally !  8)

[Cybopache]

Well lucky you !

I can see that prices are really low over there. 8)

If I had to buy all your upgrade stuff I proably should have paid a lot more, but hey congrats to both you leto and scar with the upgrades.

See you on the battlefield Scar.

Cybo

[DukeLeto]

Hell yeah!  I got my new graphics card:

eVGA GeForce FX 5700LE (AGP) 256MB DDR - $149.99

*Happy dance*

There is something difinitively sweet about being able to run UT2004 at MAXIMUM graphics settings.  I'm talking 1024x768 resolution, 32 bit color depth, trilinier filtering, Pixel Shader 2.0, highest texture and model detail and physics settings, everything.  (Only thing excluded is shadows.)

DOOM3 is slightly less impressive speedwise, but Pixel Shader 2.0, bumpmapping & specular, and 2x AF provide some rather impressive graphical feats, while providing playable speed, if I disable HQSE and shadows.

The MoH: Pacific Assault demo runs fine with Pixel Shader 2 and medium graphics, though the full version is supposed to be a lot faster (and given the difference between the Generals multiplayer test and full version, I'll buy that.)

Halo seems to be roughly the same as before, with some improved graphical quality  (due to Pixel Shader 2).  However, the worlds slopppiest PC coding (it's Microsoft, so what do you expect) triumphs over all attempts to make it run smoothly.

If you can't tell, the GeForce FX series supports Pixel Shader 2.0, whereas my old GF4 supported only 1.1.

Next up on the upgrade docket is either RAM or processor, though that could be a way off.

*(All games tested with 1024x768 resolution, 32-bit color depth, and 72Hz refresh rate.)