View Full Version : Upgrading advise needed
OK.. I am wanting to upgrade my computer and I am think about only upgrading my video card and harddrive. However, I am not sure if my sound card or anything else should be replaced too.
here is a link to my PC specs (a ton of information... more than I think I should post here)
http://www.aybnetwork.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard3/ikonboard.cgi?s=3cc330d60d1a41ac;act=ST;f=1;t=17
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The first time I installed Windows it took only one try. When I tried re-installing Windows at a later date it took 30+ tries before I got it right... go figure. =P
hiredgoonz
04-21-2002, 11:20 PM
Ok, that's a lot of pretty useless info...I see you have a Diamond vidcard, SB Live soundcard and 256mb ram...beyond that, I didn't see any info...what CPU do you have? How big is your hard drive?
Unless your system isn't doing something you want it to, it's probably not worth upgrading. Your Diamond card is old, but if you don't game, or only play old games, who cares??? There's a big difference between wanting to upgrade and needing to upgrade.
If you want to upgrade, go ahead, but unless you need to, it won't make a difference in how productive your system is...
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When all else fails, read the instructions.
Microsoft Knowledge Base (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;rid;kbinfo)
Drivers (http://www.driverguide.com)
Google (http://www.google.com)
I am currently running an AMD XP 1600+ with 256 MBs ECC ddr ram with two hds, one is a 4 gig seagate (slave) and the main drive is a 14 gig Maxtor. Right now I am able to play almost all the newest games on my old TNT2 card... that I do plan on replacing but should I also retire my SB live and get a Audigy or is there only a small difference? Also, anyone recommend a brand or specific NIC that does exceptionally well?
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The first time I installed Windows it took only one try. When I tried re-installing Windows at a later date it took 30+ tries before I got it right... go figure. =P
rond36
04-22-2002, 01:06 AM
I have a SB Live Value in my 1200MHz Athlon and a SB Audigy MP3 in my 2000MHz P4 system. They both sound good. The audigy card doesn't sound that much better than the SB Live but most games aren't encoded for 5.1 suround, Dolby Digital, or Dolby Pro Logic anyway and that is about the only difference between the two cards. If you do replace your video card get a gForce 3 or 4 AGP card with at least 64MB DDR or an ATI Radeon 64MB DDR AGP card
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How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q255867)
WindowsBBS.com (http://www.WindowsBBS.com/index.php?referrerid=115) Windows Help Forum Is back online, check it out. If you can't find it here you might find it there!
Which do you consider to be the better card company to buy from? ATI or Nvidia?
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The first time I installed Windows it took only one try. When I tried re-installing Windows at a later date it took 30+ tries before I got it right... go figure. =P
saphalline
04-22-2002, 03:22 AM
Which do you consider to be the better card company to buy from? ATI or Nvidia?
Well now, if that ain't a tricky question. It's been answered before in the forums, it's usually a matter of taste. However, I've found that most of the members here like NVidia, if only for the better driver support. I must admit that being able to install a high-powered graphics card without any hitches is worth a lot of my time. It also helps to be able to buy a game and not have to ask myself whether or not my graphics card is compatible. Forget powerful enough, I've seen graphical anomalies and glitches and they aren't pretty! I even had an older game that crashed on me because it was optimized for the now extinct 3dfx Voodoo2/3 (it was a glide-based game).
Go with NVidia, it'll serve you well. You can choose anything from the weak GF2 MX200 ($50) all the way to the uber-expensive GF4 Ti 4600 ($390)! Have fun deciding!
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Windows 95: A 32-bit extension of a 16-bit overlay for an 8-bit OS that was originally designed for a 4-bit processor by a 2-bit company that can't produce 1 bit of good software!
iisbob
04-22-2002, 12:42 PM
curious as too why you're running ECC ram?
Most mobo's don't support error correction in memory modules, and unless your system is a server, it's a waste of money.
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iisbob
Computer-Show me the Enterprise; no bloody A, no bloody B, and no bloody C-just the original...Mr Scott { from a STNG episode }
rond36
04-22-2002, 05:03 PM
I have a eVga gForce 2 MX 400 64MB DDR AGP card in my Athlon system and an ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500DV 64MB DDR AGP card. Comparing the two would be like comparing apples to bananas. The ATI card would be closer to the gForce 4 ti series cards. They both have great graphics and play games very well. I had some problems with the drivers for the Nvidia card in Win XP but it's all better now. I haven't had any problems with ATI drivers yet. My wife and I play Quake III, Halflife, and Unreal across the LAN all the time.
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How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q255867)
WindowsBBS.com (http://www.WindowsBBS.com/index.php?referrerid=115) Windows Help Forum Is back online, check it out. If you can't find it here you might find it there!
Well, I bought my computer online one piece at a time and the company that I was buying from was selling ECC ram for almost the same price as Non-ECC ram. So.. I figured I try out the ECC ram and see if I would get less occurances of the Blue Screen of Death... so far so good... for the most part. *grumble grumble* out of IRQs... *grumble grumble* blasted decoder card swiping NIC IRC.... Anyway, I have heard that Nvidia is faster.. but ATI has better picture qualitiy... and visa versa.... I am just going to have to download the specs and performance sheets for both cards and also look at some demo machines in a store somewhere.
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The first time I installed Windows it took only one try. When I tried re-installing Windows at a later date it took 30+ tries before I got it right... go figure. =P
saphalline
04-23-2002, 11:08 AM
Originally posted by Matt:
I have heard that Nvidia is faster.. but ATI has better picture qualitiy...
There's your answer. If you do a lot of photo/video editing then ATI is the way to go, better 2D image quality. If you primarily play 3D games then NVidia is the way to go, faster 3D rendering. If you do both, go for a dual video card set-up or go for 2 computers, one using ATI the other NVidia.
I like to play games mostly and have been starting to dabble in the world of mod creation, so 3D rendering is very important to me, thus I use NVidia. However, with computing power at such a low price (compared with program requirements) I would build a second computer to handle image tasks if the need arose (the networking for me is less of a hassle than a dual vid card set-up).
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Windows 95: A 32-bit extension of a 16-bit overlay for an 8-bit OS that was originally designed for a 4-bit processor by a 2-bit company that can't produce 1 bit of good software!
One last question on the subject of video cards... for now. Anyone know where I can buy a fairly cheap but stable GPU fan for a Diamond Viper V770 Ultra Video card. Since I have an older computer that I am rebuilding I don't want to let this card go to waste.. but I do not want to install a card that may have a month long life span on it due to that fan burning out....well... it has already failed a couple of times.. but no burnout yet.
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The first time I installed Windows it took only one try. When I tried re-installing Windows at a later date it took 30+ tries before I got it right... go figure. =P
saphalline
04-24-2002, 12:52 AM
Originally posted by Matt:
Anyone know where I can buy a fairly cheap but stable GPU fan for a Diamond Viper V770 Ultra Video card
Try Newegg's VGA cooling fans from Thermaltake: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=129&manufactory=1379&DEPA=1
The Blue Orb is only $7, the slightly better Crystal Orb is $11.50. Considering that shipping is $6 by itself it's probably worth the extra $4.50 for the Crystal Orb, and it looks cooler! Pardon the pun. As per my experience, if a vid card has/had a fan then the size is standard so these should work with a Diamond Viper Ultra. Even if you only buy the Blue Orb, Thermaltake is a well-known cooling company and the fan should last a lot longer than you'll want to keep that Diamond Viper around!
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Windows 95: A 32-bit extension of a 16-bit overlay for an 8-bit OS that was originally designed for a 4-bit processor by a 2-bit company that can't produce 1 bit of good software!
Thanks for the link. And as for the video card, hehe it is going to be in use for a very long time to come. I am going to install it on a computer that will be used as a file/print server and proxy server at home. So, while no one should be using it for any 3d gaming you never know... http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif . I just want to get this card to a good working condition. Getting rid of the "jet engine in need of a tune-up" noise wont hurt either.
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The first time I installed Windows it took only one try. When I tried re-installing Windows at a later date it took 30+ tries before I got it right... go figure. =P
rond36
04-25-2002, 12:54 AM
anyone recommend a brand or specific NIC that does exceptionally well? I use Linksys cards and they have never given me a problem. I also use Western Digital Hard drives.
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How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q255867)
WindowsBBS.com (http://www.WindowsBBS.com/index.php?referrerid=115) Windows Help Forum Is back online, check it out. If you can't find it here you might find it there!
[This message has been edited by rond36 (edited 04-25-2002).]
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