newbie!

[elwellnick24]

hi all, im a newbie here, but ive been flyin for about 6 months now an im (slowly) figurin it all out. my question is....
my pc-
intel celeron 2.8 ghz
512 mb ram
80 gb hard drive
ge-force 5700 le graphics

i would like to upgrade my processer because the one ive got isnt exactly brilliant. can i replace it with a pentium one or am i stuck with a celeron? the pc itself is less than a year old, but i'd like to improve it
 cheers all    :)

[asda_price]

I think there is no doubt that you should change your CPU. Depending on your budget, I would say for you to buy a completely new PC. Go over to http://www.overclockers.co.uk where you will be able to find very good gaming PCs for a bargain. That is, if you live in the UK. If you live anywhere else (e.g the US), then I would say to get the ultra-cheap Dell Dimension 8400.

If you don't want to buy a new PC, then buy a new CPU (Intel Pentium IV 3.2 Ghz w/HT), a new video card (I recommend the nVidia GeForce 6800 GT, AGP version or the ATi Radeon X800 Pro) and upgrade your RAM to 1GB or more. I think that 1GB is enough these days. Your current video card is quite poor as it is the 'LE' version. You should avoid these cards at all costs.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Rob

[elwellnick24]

cheers mate.  i cant really run to a new pc, so think ill change to pentium. any idea where the best/cheapest place to buy one is? and roughly how much is it gonna cost me?  and finally, is it easy to change them over?  i did a college course a while back, so i can change graphics cards, ram etc, but i have no idea how to change a processer. many thanks  :)

[asda_price]

You can buy good priced OC'd Pentium IVs on OCUK. I gave you the site link in my previous post. You'll also be able to find some bargains on ebay. As for changing the processor, if you could supply me with your motherboard, then we'll be able to deduce from there.

Here are some links to the OCUK site with the products I recommend:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Pentium_4_LGA775.html
Have a look at the 4th processor down, the 3.2Ghz. Ultra-cheap!


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/GeForce_6800_GT.html
The second video card down (the Asus V9999GT/TD GeForce 6800 GT 256MB) is excellent value for money.


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Kingston.html
Have a look at the seventh option down (the Kingston HyperX 1GB (2x512MB) DDR PC3200). It's very good memory at a very good price. If it's a bit too expensive for you, then look at the fourth option down.

Don't forget to reply with your motherboard specs!

Cheers,

Rob

[elwellnick24]

ok how do i know what motherboard i have? im a bit thick when it comes to these things! i can tell you its a compaq pressario s6150uk if that helps!?  cheers

[asda_price]

I think if you go to Control Panel -> System -> Click on Hardware tab -> then Device Manager -> then expand the System Devices part. You should find your mobo there.

Cheers,

Rob

[elwellnick24]

ok, could this be it?
device instance id
acpi/pnpoco2\i  

cheers

[beaky]

Your current video card is quite poor as it is the 'LE' version. You should avoid these cards at all costs.

I'm curious as to why you poo-poo the "LE" cards- I'm using the same one as "newbie" and have attributed any problems to having only 512 RAM and a 1.2 CPU.  It's pretty weak with MSFS(avg. 18-20fps),  but I easily get 30+ fps in IL2/PF, and way more in FPS games like HitMan. Planning to upgrade RAM and CPU soon... in your opinion, should I not bother unless I also replace the gfx card?

[asda_price]

Planning to upgrade RAM and CPU soon... in your opinion, should I not bother unless I also replace the gfx card?

What is your CPU and memory amount? If they are both good, then I would say you should definitely change your graphics card. If you could tell me how much you're willing to spend on the graphics card, then we can be able to choose which graphics card is best for the price. Please reply back with your budget and you current specs, rottydaddy.

Cheers,

Rob

[asda_price]

[quote]ok, could this be it?
device instance id
acpi/pnpoco2\i

[bm]

He shouldn't need a new pc - Id try to hold off getting a new one if you can until the new windows comes out next year . Add 512Mbs RAM & either a new GPU or CPU or both should do fine. What sort of performance are you looking for?

You probably won't have an LGA socket on your celeron PC which the CPU asda_price recomends requires. Its more likely to be a socket 478 processor with a limitatation of either 400FSB (P4a), 533FSB (P4b) or an 800FSB (P4c/e). Unless its the latter I wouldn't bother upgrading your CPU.

You may mot be able to upgrade your Graphics card if your mobo has the 5700 integrated with no AGP slot. I think this is less likely with that sort of card. Another restricting factor may be the PSU supplied by the manufacturer - some use different sized PSU's for some BS reason.

Things you need to find out:

Mobo specs rather then Mobo -
Socket type (socket 478/LGA775) -
FSB (400/533/800) -
Graphics bus (i-AGP/AGP 2x/4x/8x/PCI-Express) -

Ram -
Speed (PC2100/2700/3200) -

then I would say to get the ultra-cheap Dell Dimension 8400

Never buy a cheap home (non-corporation) dell desktop if you can avoid it!

Your current video card is quite poor as it is the 'LE'

It is however still an FX5700 - not the worst you can get. Perhaps a GeForce 6600 might be ok - I havent looked at Gcards for a while now.

Birdman.

[elwellnick24]

"on Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System"

does that help? thanks for your patience!  

[asda_price]

For elwellnick24,

In the system devices tree, there should be something like 'Intel(R) 925X' or something. Check if you see anything like that.

Cheers.

[elwellnick24]

i cant see anything like that.  i can see "motherboard resources"  and "system board"  

[asda_price]

Elwellnick24,

Follow the quide on the following link to determine what mobo you have, then come back and tell us:

http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/CS-009015.htm

Cheers.