upgrades to a free computer?

[skysurfer2010]

thanks for all the replies! but so many different opinions, i'm clueless which card to pick. i don't mind spending a little extra money on a higher end GPU, but only if it'll be a noticible difference. I have a feeling i'm going to get stuck using this PC for at least a year.

and this is my mobo: Intel(R) 82801BA Ultra ATA Storage Controller - 244B

i figured out i needed to install drivers for my eithernet card, and after getting really frustrated realized it didn't have one from dell. so that's all sorted out now and now i'm trying to figure out my next problem. i can't get any audio now, but i tried downloading new audio drivers but that didn't work.

[Spades]

Your 8200 is EXACTLY like mine was when I got it....Except it only had a 20 GB hard drive, 256MB RAM and I paid $75 for it. Here's what I did to it, with only $60.
Upgraded the RAM to 512 MB (cost:$60)
Upgraded the graphics card to a Geforce 5200 (stripped from a friend's dead PC)
Added an 80GB Hard Drive (off the same dead PC above)
Added a second CD-ROM drive and changed out the oringinal for a DVD drive. (came in a box of stuff given to me by the guy who sold me the computer)
Added a new fan, the old one gave out.
Now, all I want to do is upgrade the sound card and add a 5.1 sound system to it. It runs FS9 smoothly and will run most any other pre 2005 era game smoothly. All the other new games aren't as fun anyway .

All you really need to do is upgrade the graphics and probably add more disk space. Also, you could probably upgrade the RAM to 1GB (go to Newegg, the have the RAM) and upgrade the sound card and sound system.

Remember, the graphics are only part of the mix, the sound and feel are what really immerse you into the gameplay. Nintendo 64 is even fun if you have Surround Sound!

[skysurfer2010]

nice to know. does it run FS9 with settings set high smoothly? i'm debating on the FX 5200/5500 or a higher end gaming card like a 6600GT. not sure yet though.

i already am using up all 4 slots for ram for a total of 512mb. i think it'll get too costly to upgrade to more. i think i'm just going to be patient on that one and hope i get a new PC within the year.

[GunnerMan]

A 6600gt wont be a bad choice, the cpu will be a tad of a bottleneck for it but its all good, at least games like fs9 that like strong gpus can work well. Prolly wont be running fs9 maxed out on that thing though, I could say medium high to high with some tweaks etc.

[skysurfer2010]

thanks for the advice!

[jimcooper1]

nice to know. does it run FS9 with settings set high smoothly? i'm debating on the FX 5200/5500 or a higher end gaming card like a 6600GT. not sure yet though.

i already am using up all 4 slots for ram for a total of 512mb. i think it'll get too costly to upgrade to more. i think i'm just going to be patient on that one and hope i get a new PC within the year.

At the risk of repeating myself..updating your RAM will be very costly...so with the combination of CPU and 512MB RAM the FX5500 is the best card.

[Spades]

I'm thinking a 6200 might not be a bad bet either. My PC runs the settings high (90% maxed) decently smoothly. It could benefit from a bit more powerful graphics card. You'll need to keep it pretty clean (monthly or bi-monthly defrag, adware scans, etc) to run smoothly though. You can always get Coolbits for your nVidia cards and overclock them anyways. I do that sometimes too.

[skysurfer2010]

Is this card compatible? eVGA AGP e-GeForce FX5500 256MB VRAM

The reason I ask is because of the "vram". I'm not too sure what that is. I also assume the 256mb version is better than the 128mb, right?

Thanks for the help!

[jimcooper1]

Is this card compatible? eVGA AGP e-GeForce FX5500 256MB VRAM

The reason I ask is because of the "vram". I'm not too sure what that is. I also assume the 256mb version is better than the 128mb, right?

Thanks for the help!

VRAM = Video Ram ....it's just the type of RAM they put on graphics cards...don't worry about compatability.  The 256 will allow more buffering of scenery...but a 128 will cope easily unless you're running a huge resolution (multiple monitors)

Regards

Jim

[skysurfer2010]

Thanks for all of the help! I ended up buying the Evga FX5500 AGP 256mb VRAM off ebay for $32 shipped.

Hopefully one day in the near future I can build a nice gaming PC. For now this will have to hold me over! I appreciate all the input.

[Triple_7]

If your looking for a bigger hard drive...happen to have a brand new Western Digital 160GB that I bought for my new system but realized after it was to late for a return that it wasn't what I wanted...its uses your standard IDE cable...(really need a SATA-300 which was ordered today).  Unused, still in package, would part with it for $50 and I'll eat the shipping if its only going to NJ.  Once your done with this system it could always be bleached and transfered to another computer in the future.  $60 and I'll through in an Ultra dual fan cooler as well...(also new but cant be fitted with my cases HD bays.)

PM me if your interested  It wont do me any good so someone might as well put it to work.