Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[*MAFIA* BassSlappa]

I actually think I have an old AGP graphics card I can send you if you want.  As long as you are willing to pay the cost of shipping and daring enough to PM me your address (or someone else's you can get it at).  That can save you some more money to put towards a power supply, RAM, and/or hard drive.  Let me know and I'll see if I can find it...

That'd be awesome, so long as it'd be enough of an upgrade to warrant you taking the time to ship it haha.

[*MAFIA* Scooby]

daring enough to PM me your address

Forward this PM to me also.

[*MAFIA* BassSlappa]

Forward this PM to me also.

He lives like an hour away from me, don't give him my address.

Also, how much work is involved in replacing a processor? I found a good deal on a moderate upgrade on e-bay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-2GHz-Dual-Core-Pentium-D-Processor-CPU-SL8WQ-MODEL-940-3-2GHz-4M-800-/330757734890?pt=CPUs&hash=item4d02b281ea#rwid

EDIT: Scratch that, I did a little more searching around and it looks like i'm stuck with the processor I have...and i'm not sure I can overclock it.

[*MAFIA* Beatlejuice]

Also, how much work is involved in replacing a processor? I found a good deal on a moderate upgrade on e-bay

I'm not sure, I've never tried that, but somebody else can probably help you if you change your mind.

Here is an old graphics card that I don't use anymore.  I can put it back in my computer and test to make sure it works, but from what I remember it ran BF2 just fine.  If you check out the specs and ratings, it is not as good as this card.  So I guess it just comes down to which games you want to play and how much money you have to spend.  Also, if you want the card I have, you'll have to wait about 3 weeks until I'm back home.  

How is your search on power supplies going?

[*MAFIA* BassSlappa]

I'm not sure, I've never tried that, but somebody else can probably help you if you change your mind.

Here is an old graphics card that I don't use anymore.  I can put it back in my computer and test to make sure it works, but from what I remember it ran BF2 just fine.  If you check out the specs and ratings, it is not as good as this card.  So I guess it just comes down to which games you want to play and how much money you have to spend.  Also, if you want the card I have, you'll have to wait about 3 weeks until I'm back home.  

How is your search on power supplies going?

I'll see if I can't hunt down that 4670 I was going to buy, theres a few people selling one on eBay for half price, but I don't want to get in a bidding war and end up paying more.

  And as for a power supply, I've found a few good deals, but I don't know which ones are compatible with my computer.  There's a manual showing my current power supply here http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4600/en/4600i/sm/techov.htm

And the one I was looking at is here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPHK/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0E98YMJ51R582RHC9YNP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

It doesn't look like the power cables connecting to the motherboard are the same, are they?

[Loaded]

The PSU you posted, should work... The 4 extra pins (the +4 talked about) for the MB on the new PSU will disconnect from that MB plug (just move them aside, don't use them for anything)...

Like so

[*MAFIA* BassSlappa]

The PSU you posted, should work... The 4 extra pins (the +4 talked about) for the MB on the new PSU will disconnect from that MB plug (just move them aside, don't use them for anything)...

Like so

Oh ok thanks. The only other potential problem I see is that on my current psu, there are five of those peripheral plug things, although only two of them are being used for my DVD drives. So I guess three is fine, but I wouldn't have any more after that since the graphics card will take up the third one.  It's also got a lot of plugs I don't need, like all those SATA plugs (I only need one for my hard drive), and the pci-e plug that I don't need at all. But I guess I can just use this power supply for whatever my next computer will be.

But before i buy it, What are the risks of keeping my current power supply though? The 4670 graphics card recommends a minimum of 400watts, but I read reviews of people saying that their 250watt psu worked fine.  Is it just bad to put that much of a load on it?  I mean im not powering that much, I have a lot of unused plugs.  And since the graphics card has sound built in, I can take out the sound card, I can take out the network adapter since im getting a wireless USB one, and I can unplug the floppy drive.  Shouldn't taking out all that make up for the extra load of the graphics card?

[Loaded]

Chances are because of your low power eating CPU, you "might" be ok with what you have with your choice of GPU. But if it was me I would go with the new psu to be safe. Using it for later, maybe, I say that because up to date systems with 4 or larger core CPUs and power hungry video cards chances are even this new psu wouldn't cut it. You would need at least 800 watts to get a new system going.

Risk in low power... No start of the box, video artifacts, the psu could shut down and or burn out.

Plugs on the new unit... You will be fine. Even if you run out of flat plugs, they have jumpers/pigtails that you can buy to make them go farther.

One last thing, if the box doesn't have a rear fan, buy the biggest one that will fit to cool the box off because of the new GPU.

[*MAFIA* BassSlappa]

Chances are because of your low power eating CPU, you "might" be ok with what you have with your choice of GPU. But if it was me I would go with the new psu to be safe. Using it for later, maybe, I say that because up to date systems with 4 or larger core CPUs and power hungry video cards chances are even this new psu wouldn't cut it. You would need at least 800 watts to get a new system going.

Risk in low power... No start of the box, video artifacts, the psu could shut down and or burn out.

Plugs on the new unit... You will be fine. Even if you run out of flat plugs, they have jumpers/pigtails that you can buy to make them go farther.

One last thing, if the box doesn't have a rear fan, buy the biggest one that will fit to cool the box off because of the new GPU.

Well the GPU has its own fan, plus there's a rear fan in my case for the processor, and the fan on the PSU obviously.  So I think it should be nice and cool in there.  I might as well just get the new PSU for only thirty bucks. Because that HIS 4670 Is becoming really hard to find, and really expensive, I'm going to go with the sapphire one which recommends a 500watt psu. 460 should be fine.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sapphire-Technology-ATI-Radeon-HD-3850-11124-00-20R-/160838804679?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2572bd64c7#ht_500wt_922
I just hope nobody bids on it haha.

[*MAFIA* BassSlappa]

Sorry for the double post, but another route I could go is a whole motherboard upgrade.  The graphics card I wanted will probably go up in price in a bidding war, and my processor will hold it back anyways. Buying it new would be 170 Dollars, and i'd never be able to upgrade the computer any further. So, for 240 dollars, I could get:

A new motherboard: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H6W56A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

A new processor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z4PB3O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=A33Y0YQUZ2NYD5

8 gigs of DDR3 RAM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OSUU6Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A1C0E2G2LZFK00

A decent Graphics Card: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004DCA8W6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A2NG4HB43UEDVL

And a cheapo PSU: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X1R5HM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A27BY0PMIPQ0S2

As far as I can tell, everything is compatible with each other, and I can keep my old case, my IDE hard drive, my DVD drives, my wireless adapter, and just return the DDR2 RAM i bought.   See any problems with this?   It'll be a pain to put together, but I'll finally be able to say I built my own computer. And my parents said they'd chip in a hundred bucks, so i'd only have to pay 140 for a "brand new" computer.

[*MAFIA* Beatlejuice]

A new motherboard: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H6W56A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

A new processor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z4PB3O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=A33Y0YQUZ2NYD5

8 gigs of DDR3 RAM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OSUU6Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A1C0E2G2LZFK00

A decent Graphics Card: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004DCA8W6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A2NG4HB43UEDVL

And a cheapo PSU: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X1R5HM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A27BY0PMIPQ0S2

If that is the route you WANT to go, then do it.  I personally would not want to get the new motherboard and processor, but if you don't mind the work, and have the money to spend, then I don't see why not.  As long as all that stuff is compatible with each other and plays the games you want to play, have at it.  Let us know how it goes, or if you need any more  help.

[*MAFIA* BassSlappa]

If that is the route you WANT to go, then do it.  I personally would not want to get the new motherboard and processor, but if you don't mind the work, and have the money to spend, then I don't see why not.  As long as all that stuff is compatible with each other and plays the games you want to play, have at it.  Let us know how it goes, or if you need any more  help.

It would play just about all I want it to except for BF3.  But this is just plan B. first im going to see If I can get that card for cheap on eBay. 14 hours left and still only one bid.

[*MAFIA* Beatlejuice]

Bidding ended on it at $69.25, not bad at all.  And free shipping:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sapphire-Technology-ATI-Radeon-HD-3850-11124-00-20R-/160838804679?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2572bd64c7#ht_500wt_922 

Was that you who won?  What was your max you were willing to pay?

[*MAFIA* Scooby]

This thread is full of fail.

[*MAFIA* BassSlappa]

Bidding ended on it at $69.25, not bad at all.  And free shipping:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sapphire-Technology-ATI-Radeon-HD-3850-11124-00-20R-/160838804679?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2572bd64c7#ht_500wt_922 

Was that you who won?  What was your max you were willing to pay?

Ya that was me    I put my max at $70 and with 15 seconds left, some guy tried to outbid me but his max was at only $68.25    I ordered that 460watt power supply I was looking at too.  I'm on vacation right now, so it'll all be waiting for me to put together when I get back.  When I eventually get a better computer, I can sell that graphics card for twice what I paid for it and get all my money back plus some.

As for installing it though, all I have to do is uninstall my current onboard graphics drivers, shut the computer off and put the new graphics card in, and then install the new drivers?  And for RAM, i just have to put it in the slot and make sure the computer recognizes it right?