advice on upgrading ram and video card

[The Phoenix737]

Manufacturer:        
Dell Inc.
Processor:      
AMD Turion(tm) 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-56, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~1.8GHz
Memory:      
894MB RAM
Hard Drive:      
74 GB
Video Card:      
ATI Radeon Xpress 1150
Monitor:      
Default Monitor
Sound Card:      
SigmaTel Audio
Operating System:        
Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp.051011-1528)

so anyway i have a dell inspiron 1501 and i spent about 1000 on it, its new like only a month old and im already runnin into problems.well i asked around and people said for fsx to work well im gonna need a new vid card and i was already thinkin about upgrading my RAM i can get another 1024 sized chunk of ram from dell for $115 and i was wondering what vid card would be good in the $200-300$ dollar range that would work with my system.i dont know if i even need to upgrade ram thats just what i was told. any suggestions?

[ctjoyce]

Lol, FS on a RAM eating laptop. Grab a 2GB kit of DDR2 OCZ or Corsair Value Notebook RAM from newegg. Its going to be much better than the crap dell will sell you. As for a new GPU, no hope dude. Your laptop has a built in GPU that cannot be upgraded.

Cheers
Cameron

[The Phoenix737]

cant be upgraded? im not that tech savvy but why not i cant just get a better vid card?

[congo]

Because there is no card, the GPU is built into the motherboard.

Laptop technology sucks, it's only a matter of time before some whizkid makes a fortune building mobile PC's that are upgradeable, but it hasn't happened yet as far as I know.

As long as Dell and the other biggies control the mobile market, it won't happen either, at least not until they are threatened, they like it just the way things are, so go and buy a new one

[The Phoenix737]

well... crap.... a month old and im alreedy lookin for a new one.... if i was to buy a destop what would be good to get  i dont know that much about computers so bear with me would an alienware be good i hear their good for gaming im thinkin about an alien ware 7500 would that be alright for gaming for atleast a couple years?

[ctjoyce]

Oh god, you are a newbie.

For laptop tech, go look at ASUS's CES launches. They have come up with an extirnal laptop GPU card. Aparently it works very well.

As for desktop, don't buy.....build. Whats your budget, and we will get you setup with a parts list and show you how to put it together.

Cheers
Cameron

[congo]

............or you could buy an alienware, but buy the time you fix it up you may as well have built a custom PC and got it right the first time.

The trouble is that you want to choose the mainboard yourself, and Alienware and others don't give you that option, there are several other considerations that make building a simming PC the best option for many, but if you don't have the time to learn, sure, buying an alienware will seem like a good option, but you will eventually spend the time trying to sort it out. There are always some nasty surprises lying in wait for people who buy pre-builts, as you have just found out first

[DizZa]

Also you can get a laptop with a intergrated X1900 in it. I forget who makes it though...

[ctjoyce]

Also you can get a laptop with a intergrated X1900 in it. I forget who makes it though...

Voodoo, Falcon Northwest, Dell XPS, Alienware.

Some laptops DO actually have stand alone GPUs, and upgrading a laptop GPU isn't unheard of. Finding a laptop that actually has a doughter board is a b***h and a half to find, unless you're paying $2000+ for it.

Cheers
Cameron

PS: Mobility 7950GTs in SLi is now avalible from the above mentioned retailers.

[The Phoenix737]

the most i can spend will probably be 1000 to 2000 but that will take me forever to come up with... so im guessin like 12 1300. where should i buy parts from... i looked at newegg, but how is it so much cheaper than everythingelse? its gonna take me at least a couple months to come up with that much money... so i should probably plan ahead with my parts, because thats atleast. realisticaly its probably gonna take me 4 or 5... suggestions because untill now i just bought stock computers ive never made one... i just sort of know how they work...

[ctjoyce]

Parts List

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
Gigabyte GA-P965-DS3
2GB Corsair XMS DDR2-800
160GB Western Digital SATA3
ATi Radeon X1950XT from Sapphire Tech
Samgsung DVD +/-RW
Hiper Type R 580W PSU
ThermalTake Soprano DX
Windows XP Home.

That will run you about $1300

Cheers
Cameron

[congo]

i looked at newegg, but how is it so much cheaper than everythingelse?

It's cheaper because you are buying selected quality parts and not generic rubbish. The equivalent parts available in pre-builts for example, would cost nearly double by the time you customise them, and still you won't get exactly what you want.

It's cheaper than local stores because of the huge volume of sales newegg does, they buy cheap so you save. They don't have huge overheads through a network of shopfronts.

If you can buy locally for a similar price, I recommmend doing so. The ability to physically persuade the shopkeeper to honour his terms of business can be most satisfying, and buying local may require action like this from time to time.

If you shop around at different online stores, you will find cheaper parts, but they won't have everything you want, so it saves buying from newegg and big online stores because you can get it all in one shipment.