Help me with what i should get *upgradin ...

ok, so here is the deal, im a complete n00b to PC games, i was considering getting a high end laptop *like XPS, voodoo pc, alienware mALX* but i have decided to wait til next year and buy it when i graduate. So here is the deal my father gave me a PC long ago, its specs are as follows:Intel celeron processor 2GHz256MB RAMummmm as for mobo i dont know *how do i check*?Either way i wanna give it like a GB of RAM, and possibly a GPU, what should i get?Also lol how do i know how many watts my PSU supports?Help me with what i should get *upgradin ...
any1?Help me with what i should get *upgradin ...
You should ask your Dad to get you a new mobo that has a PCi-e x 16 slot. If your using an older model board with an AGP slot for the graphics, you need to toss that for gaming.
Some mobos don't have any brand or model numbers on them, but usually you'll find that info right on the boards face.RAM is really cheap now so I'd go with 2gb min depending on what type your new board takes.
DDR400 is reaally super cheap now. DDR2 is cheap also, but not as much as the older type.I use all Intel CPUs but you might want to use AMD. Socket 775 is fairly cheap and you'll get loads of baords that accept that and also upgrade to the newer Core 2 Duo when your ready to spend huge. As long as you have a ''PCi-e x16 slot'' your upgrading needs will be taken care of, but be aware of the other factors as well.(If your loaded with cash then go for an SLi type board with 2 x PCi-e x16 slots)
[QUOTE=''DarkManiaN_1979'']You should ask your Dad to get you a new mobo that has a PCi-e x 16 slot. If your using an older model board with an AGP slot for the graphics, you need to toss that for gaming.
Some mobos don't have any brand or model numbers on them, but usually you'll find that info right on the boards face.RAM is really cheap now so I'd go with 2gb min depending on what type your new board takes.
DDR400 is reaally super cheap now. DDR2 is cheap also, but not as much as the older type.I use all Intel CPUs but you might want to use AMD. Socket 775 is fairly cheap and you'll get loads of baords that accept that and also upgrade to the newer Core 2 Duo when your ready to spend huge. As long as you have a ''PCi-e x16 slot'' your upgrading needs will be taken care of, but be aware of the other factors as well.(If your loaded with cash then go for an SLi type board with 2 x PCi-e x16 slots) [/QUOTE]see lol i dunno what to check for my mobo lol like how do i see what it is etc? And how do i know if i have AGP or PCI-E?
[QUOTE=''xfactor19990'']see lol i dunno what to check for my mobo lol like how do i see what it is etc? And how do i know if i have AGP or PCI-E?[/QUOTE]AGP:
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/AGP_slot.jpg/800px-AGP_slot.jpg[/img]
(The brown one .. can come in a couple of other colors.)PCI-Express:
[img]http://www.viaarena.com/images/articles/pcie%20002.jpg[/img]
(Might come in other colors.. usually black though.)Overall comparison:
[img]http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/CDE/PCXSLOTS.GIF[/img]The PC you're referring to won't have PCI-Express, I'm almost 100% sure. It may not even have an AGP slot .. it might just have a bunch of PCI slots (the ones below the PCI-express/AGP slots in the pics).
Here's another small comparison (note the bottoms of the cards)[img]http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/CDE/_NVPCX.JPG[/img]
if you still dont know just by looking at the slots, might be easier for you to look at the manufaturers website and seach for your computer model and find the mother board specs. youll then be able to see what slots it has, as well as RAM type it can use.
If it's an old 478 celeron, the mobo might only have a 4x AGP slot...if it has one at all (on board graphics?). Not worth an upgrade IMO. I'd keep it as an emergency backup 'puter, for accessing the net, if your primary system konks out. Being an HP, it might be equipped with a proprietary motherboard...meaning the only upgrade (without case modding) you'd be able to make is with a stock HP replacement part. Which given it's age... Definitely an ''if it's not broke, don't fix it'' situation. :)
its a hp pavillion 533w
Celeron with 256MB of RAM - at most I'd say get some more RAM for that machine, nothing else. 1GB would be nice, but make sure your motherboard can support that much. Head over to Crucial.com and let it scan your computer to make sure you can support that much. Even 512MB would be a nice step up from your current 256MB though.
crucial did not tell me what card i could use, however from HP it says i have to PCI slots *not pci-e x16* so is there any cards i cant get?here is the link to HP specs:http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?docname=bph07909%26cc=us%26dlc=en%26lc=en%26jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
Looks like all you have available is PCI, and the most RAM you can get is 1GB. I wouldn't spend too much money on that computer.
[QUOTE=''RayvinAzn'']Looks like all you have available is PCI, and the most RAM you can get is 1GB. I wouldn't spend too much money on that computer.[/QUOTE]right lol so what card could i get>?
For the money it would cost you to upgrade that old computer, you could buy a new computer.
[QUOTE=''RikkAndrsn'']For the money it would cost you to upgrade that old computer, you could buy a new computer.[/QUOTE]Indeed.
save your money, because even if you made all the upgrades that you possibly could to that computer it would still be pretty bad. Just get (build if you can) a good PC when you get the money, unless the laptop is what you really need.
[QUOTE=''xfactor19990''][QUOTE=''RayvinAzn'']Looks like all you have available is PCI, and the most RAM you can get is 1GB. I wouldn't spend too much money on that computer.[/QUOTE]right lol so what card could i get>?[/QUOTE]The best you could get for that computer would be 2x512MB of RAM and a Radeon X1550 graphics card. That would likely cost close to $150.
[QUOTE=''RayvinAzn''][QUOTE=''xfactor19990''][QUOTE=''RayvinAzn'']Looks like all you have available is PCI, and the most RAM you can get is 1GB. I wouldn't spend too much money on that computer.[/QUOTE]right lol so what card could i get>?[/QUOTE]The best you could get for that computer would be 2x512MB of RAM and a Radeon X1550 graphics card. That would likely cost close to $150.[/QUOTE]hmmmm lol i think i will give up on PC's for a while.......so disappointing lately lol:)
[QUOTE=''RayvinAzn''][QUOTE=''xfactor19990''][QUOTE=''RayvinAzn'']Looks like all you have available is PCI, and the most RAM you can get is 1GB. I wouldn't spend too much money on that computer.[/QUOTE]right lol so what card could i get>?[/QUOTE]The best you could get for that computer would be 2x512MB of RAM and a Radeon X1550 graphics card. That would likely cost close to $150.[/QUOTE]hmmmm lol i think i will give up on PC's for a while.......so disappointing lately lol:)
Erm.. my advice is to build/buy a whole new computer.