Any computer specialists out there willing o assist a fellow list member? Here's the sitrep: I've got a Micron 200mhz with 32 megs of memory. I'm poorly equipped to handle the latest crop of tactical simulations (i.e. games) and need advise on how to upgrade. I was thinking of adding a Evergreen processor upgrade and 32 more megs of RAM. Is this a good plan or should I just fork up the cash for a refurbished box with a Pentium III?
Way off topic but need help with comp. upgrade
- Thread starter buzz_knox
- Start date
Buzz:
Spring for the new CPU. The 200 is outdated and 64mb of RAM is minimal these days. If budget is the primary concern, do the best you can. However, 128mb of RAM is minimally optimal these days (with multimedia requirements) and CPUs in the 600mHz range are giant steps upward.
Bottom line is budget. Do the best you can, but definitely favor the RAM vs the CPU.
Jeff
Spring for the new CPU. The 200 is outdated and 64mb of RAM is minimal these days. If budget is the primary concern, do the best you can. However, 128mb of RAM is minimally optimal these days (with multimedia requirements) and CPUs in the 600mHz range are giant steps upward.
Bottom line is budget. Do the best you can, but definitely favor the RAM vs the CPU.
Jeff
buzz --
Forget the Evergreen processor and splurge for a PIII or an Athlon processor. I also suggest you get NOTHING LESS than 128mb RAM. INHO, you're wasting your money if you purchase anything less. If you're wanting to get into gaming, I suggest you also look into purchasing a GeForce card.
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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
Forget the Evergreen processor and splurge for a PIII or an Athlon processor. I also suggest you get NOTHING LESS than 128mb RAM. INHO, you're wasting your money if you purchase anything less. If you're wanting to get into gaming, I suggest you also look into purchasing a GeForce card.
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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
Sounds like I should donate my original tower and buy a refurbed tower. I don't think the motherboard is upgradeable to a Pentium II (which came out 2 months after I bought mine!!!!!!).
Why can't computers be like firearms? There is no such thing as planned obsolescence with them (unless it's a Lorcin, Jennings, etc).
Why can't computers be like firearms? There is no such thing as planned obsolescence with them (unless it's a Lorcin, Jennings, etc).
George Hill
Staff Alumnus
Pentiums? Naw...
AMD K7 is the chip you want... The mighty Athalon.
Of course if you want insane performance an Apple G4 is really ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS. You want a good upgrade - look for Athalon - For you it would me like going from Cap Gun to .50 BMG.
AMD K7 is the chip you want... The mighty Athalon.
Of course if you want insane performance an Apple G4 is really ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS. You want a good upgrade - look for Athalon - For you it would me like going from Cap Gun to .50 BMG.
get an Abit KT7 with a Duron or Athlon, but make sure the Athlon is a Thunderbird (integrated level 2 cache). Pick up a 128MB stick of PC133 SDRAM (preferably CAS 2). Get the new Golden Orb fan (check out www.tweaktown.com for more information). Get a Geforce 2 MX or Geforce 256 SDR. Yes, pretty much all software works with an Athlon.
George Hill makes a good, if slightly sarcastic, point about the Mac G4. I'll be upgrading to the dual processor G4 soon. This G3 I'm on has 768 mb of ram, and I'm heading for 1500. All that computing power doesn't mean much for reading this board, but it helps when dealing with 700 mb files.
Nothing wrong with Macs. They're for people who don't understand computers
Dick
Want to send a message to Bush? Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/monk/petition.html and forward the link to every gun owner you know.
Nothing wrong with Macs. They're for people who don't understand computers
Dick
Want to send a message to Bush? Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/monk/petition.html and forward the link to every gun owner you know.
Ask yourself this question, how much are you willing to spend? If you just want performance increase with your current PC for games, depending on your motherboard, upgrade the memory to 96 MB and either a Voodoo2, 3, TnT or TnT2 video board. I'm assuming that your board won't handle anymore then 96 MB.
From what you stated, there's no reason on earth you need to spurge for a new board, processor blah blah blah.
At work I run a PIII 800, 384 MB RAM, 20 Gig HD with an NT OS. I need that to run CAD. On the other hand, I'm still using my PII 300 laptop for home usage. I can afford a faster machine but do I need it? Nope
It all depends on what you want. If you decide to upgrade the processor, memory, hard drive, motherboard, video board, hell.. just buy a new computer. They're relatively cheap now a days.
From what you stated, there's no reason on earth you need to spurge for a new board, processor blah blah blah.
At work I run a PIII 800, 384 MB RAM, 20 Gig HD with an NT OS. I need that to run CAD. On the other hand, I'm still using my PII 300 laptop for home usage. I can afford a faster machine but do I need it? Nope
It all depends on what you want. If you decide to upgrade the processor, memory, hard drive, motherboard, video board, hell.. just buy a new computer. They're relatively cheap now a days.
It would be better to upgrade your entire computer instead of trying to patch together something that might work for another 6 months. Here are some prices etc:
Top Of the Line:
Abit KT7-Raid100 $164
AMD 800Mhz T-Bird $180
256Mb PC133 Memory $209
30Gb ATA100 Hard Drive $149
64Mb Geforce2 $305
Kenwood True 72X CD-Rom $98
Misc (Case, Mouse, Etc) approx $200
Realistic:
Abit KT7 $142
AMD 700Mhz Duron $96
128 Mb PC133 Memory $116
20GB ATA100 Hard Drive $98
32 Mb Geforce2 $250
56X CD-Rom $45
Misc (case, Mouse, Etc) Approx $200
I know that the top of the line can be faster but these are some realistic prices for very good gaming systems.
Jeff
Top Of the Line:
Abit KT7-Raid100 $164
AMD 800Mhz T-Bird $180
256Mb PC133 Memory $209
30Gb ATA100 Hard Drive $149
64Mb Geforce2 $305
Kenwood True 72X CD-Rom $98
Misc (Case, Mouse, Etc) approx $200
Realistic:
Abit KT7 $142
AMD 700Mhz Duron $96
128 Mb PC133 Memory $116
20GB ATA100 Hard Drive $98
32 Mb Geforce2 $250
56X CD-Rom $45
Misc (case, Mouse, Etc) Approx $200
I know that the top of the line can be faster but these are some realistic prices for very good gaming systems.
Jeff
Marko Kloos
Inactive
Hey buzz,
drop me a line if you need a hand with the upgrade. I do that kind of stuff all day. FWIW, I just purchased a new gaming rig which can handle all new games without even breaking a sweat, and it was $599 out the door at our local K-town CompUShack. You don't need to spring for the premium price tag on an Athlon or Pentium III rig, if you know what to shop for.
drop me a line if you need a hand with the upgrade. I do that kind of stuff all day. FWIW, I just purchased a new gaming rig which can handle all new games without even breaking a sweat, and it was $599 out the door at our local K-town CompUShack. You don't need to spring for the premium price tag on an Athlon or Pentium III rig, if you know what to shop for.
lendringser, ole' buddy, I'll take you up on that (if I can find you number). But, let me know what the specs are. I'm looking to get something universally compatible and will last for at least the next couple of generations of games.
In exchange, you can try out my "new" Glock 20.
Or, if I haven't sold it to my brother by then, my Sig 225. Heck, I'll let you try out his 210 (aren't I generous with other people's toys?).
In exchange, you can try out my "new" Glock 20.
Or, if I haven't sold it to my brother by then, my Sig 225. Heck, I'll let you try out his 210 (aren't I generous with other people's toys?).Go to www.pricewatch.com for the best prices. I quoted him a generic price on RAM because if you are not going to overclock then for a typical user Generic PC133 is fine. Price for Micron 256Mb Ram is $259, Price for Corsair is $329 Also I forgot to tell Buzz_Knox that if he is interested in building his own system and needs help just drop me a line and I will give him all the help he can stand!!
[This message has been edited by jtjohn1 (edited August 23, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by jtjohn1 (edited August 23, 2000).]
Marko Kloos
Inactive
My gaming rig is a Celeron 566, 192 MB RAM. The only modification to the stock system (Compaq 7594 "Presario") was a $90 3DFx Voodoo 3 2000 PCI video card, and of course a slight boost in memory.
The new "Coppermine" Celerons are true bargains, noticeably faster than the earlier ones. Intel uses a smaller die size for the new Celeron chips; the Coppermine is essentially a Pentium III with half the on-chip cache memory. Get a Celeron system equal to or faster than 566 MHz, as the slower chips are the old Celeron design with the bigger die size. A Coppermine Celeron will be almost as fast as a Pentium III at the same MHz, the P-III having the advantage of a 100/133MHz system bus as opposed to the Celeron's 66 MHz.
The importance of a capable 3D card for gaming can't be understated, the performance boost in frame rate is enormous. Most budget PCs come with run-of-the-mill, somewhat anemic video cards, so you'll want to invest in a decent card that can do Direct3D and also supports the Glide API (for games that don't do Direct3D, just 3DFx). I prefer the 3DFx Voodoo series because they are compatible with the widest range of games out there.
P-III and Athlon systems are somewhat overpriced, a good Celeron rig will be almost as fast and more than adequate with a good video card.
buzz, I'd commit a minor felony to take your G20 and P225 for a spin at Guncraft. Drop me a line and we'll work something out. I have a new G23C for you to try out. A word of advice: do not go the Evergreen route, as you will add a marginally faster CPU to a three-year old system board and components. The price for the Overdrive & Evergreen CPU upgrades is way too steep, and the performance gain is minimal simply because the rest of your system will still run behind.
[This message has been edited by lendringser (edited August 23, 2000).]
The new "Coppermine" Celerons are true bargains, noticeably faster than the earlier ones. Intel uses a smaller die size for the new Celeron chips; the Coppermine is essentially a Pentium III with half the on-chip cache memory. Get a Celeron system equal to or faster than 566 MHz, as the slower chips are the old Celeron design with the bigger die size. A Coppermine Celeron will be almost as fast as a Pentium III at the same MHz, the P-III having the advantage of a 100/133MHz system bus as opposed to the Celeron's 66 MHz.
The importance of a capable 3D card for gaming can't be understated, the performance boost in frame rate is enormous. Most budget PCs come with run-of-the-mill, somewhat anemic video cards, so you'll want to invest in a decent card that can do Direct3D and also supports the Glide API (for games that don't do Direct3D, just 3DFx). I prefer the 3DFx Voodoo series because they are compatible with the widest range of games out there.
P-III and Athlon systems are somewhat overpriced, a good Celeron rig will be almost as fast and more than adequate with a good video card.
buzz, I'd commit a minor felony to take your G20 and P225 for a spin at Guncraft. Drop me a line and we'll work something out. I have a new G23C for you to try out. A word of advice: do not go the Evergreen route, as you will add a marginally faster CPU to a three-year old system board and components. The price for the Overdrive & Evergreen CPU upgrades is way too steep, and the performance gain is minimal simply because the rest of your system will still run behind.
[This message has been edited by lendringser (edited August 23, 2000).]
Those evergreen CPUs are a complete and absolute waste of money. If they were cheap, that'd be one thing, but they aren't. It's a lot easier and often cheaper to get a whole new motherboard, processor, case, and ram, than to screw around with one of those.
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The Alcove
I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist
The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
[This message has been edited by Dangus (edited August 24, 2000).]
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The Alcove
I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist
The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
[This message has been edited by Dangus (edited August 24, 2000).]
Lendringser,
The new coppermine PIIIs have 256K of on die same speed cache as opposed to 128K for the coppermine Cellys. The new T-Birds and Durons from AMD also have the advantage of same speed cache but a 700 Mhz Celly is $200 while the 700Mhz Duron is $98 and the 800Mhz T-Bird is $180. One of the advantages twords building the system instead of purchasing an OEM is that you know that quality parts are going into it. Also if Buzz_knox wanted to plop in a 1+ Ghz Athlon chip all he has to do is change the processor. Most OEM's you won't be able to upgrade past a certain point because they don't come out with the various bios upgrades and patches to allow you to do this.
The new coppermine PIIIs have 256K of on die same speed cache as opposed to 128K for the coppermine Cellys. The new T-Birds and Durons from AMD also have the advantage of same speed cache but a 700 Mhz Celly is $200 while the 700Mhz Duron is $98 and the 800Mhz T-Bird is $180. One of the advantages twords building the system instead of purchasing an OEM is that you know that quality parts are going into it. Also if Buzz_knox wanted to plop in a 1+ Ghz Athlon chip all he has to do is change the processor. Most OEM's you won't be able to upgrade past a certain point because they don't come out with the various bios upgrades and patches to allow you to do this.