Upgrading my PC for gaming, need assistance

[Skaifey]

Hi!
I've got a good little computer here that came from the late 90s which has a great processor (2.6GhZ), 512MB of RAM and works efficiently as an office machine. However, for the purposes which I plan to use it (file-sharing and gaming), it's just not up to scratch.

I want to upgrade the hard drive (currently 12GB, I'd like 40 to 80 GB) and video card (currently a built-in-to-motherboard thing "VIA/S3G Unichrome Pro IPG" with 64MB, I'd like a good nvidia card).

The hard drive should be easy-I can buy a USB hub and a removable USB drive with 80GB, no questions, plug and play. However, the video card is harder. As a matter of fact, I have no idea which model to get, and I don't want to get gipped.

What is the best video card for gaming (3D graphics), that is still at a somewhat affordable price? Something with Hardware TnL is a must. Also, what about installation-is it hard?

Thanks for helping me.

[taiswang]

I haven't been paying attention to the new videocards to hit the market, I still use my Radeon from a few years back and it still treats me well.

Installing? Sinch. It's plug and play into your PCI slot nothing to it.

[kaioshade]

Your pentium 4 2.6 is still strong enough to play a good assortment of games. Upgrade to 1gb fo RAM.

Most likely you have an AGP slot, so upgrade your graphics to a Radeon x850xt, or the Geforce 6800 GS. The GS is an amazing value and when unlocked and overclocked can go toe to toe with the x850xt and even beat it in many areas.

[EM1L]

If its from the late 90s like one of my pcs it might be still be pci only. But anywasy 64mb is real bad for a gpu. Go with kaioshade and get Gefore 6800 GS. Also might want to get a internal hdd its a lot cheeper. You can find a 250gb for around 100 for so while a usb might be as much as 300 for that. Depends on where you shop. Of course you could make your own usb hdd for an internal hdd.

[kaioshade]

Good point Soviet. If it is PCI only, might as well upgrade and get a PCI express capable board with an athlon 64 processor. Or if you are on a budget, get at least a board compatible with your p4 with AGP. AGP is nearing its lifespan with pci-e and agp-express on the horizon, but you can still get some performance out of those parts.

[Skaifey]

Originally Posted by kaioshade

Good point Soviet. If it is PCI only, might as well upgrade and get a PCI express capable board with an athlon 64 processor. Or if you are on a budget, get at least a board compatible with your p4 with AGP. AGP is nearing its lifespan with pci-e and agp-express on the horizon, but you can still get some performance out of those parts.

Edit I've done some research on my motherboard (it's a P4VM800-I think that was upgraded) and it has:
- 1 x AGP8X/4X slot, 1.5V
- 3 x PCI slots( PCI 2.2 compliance)
- 1 x AMR slot

Edit OK, I've read info on the internet about the installing-of AGP cards, and it seems as though when one opens the computer up, they will be able to see which slot is the AGP slot.
Now, I just need to know what card I can get that supports AGP.

More info if you need it: http://www.asrock.com/product/P4VM800.htm

[kaioshade]

Ok i know that board.

Get a Geforce 6800 GS and unlock the pipes and overclock the crap out of it.

[Skaifey]

Originally Posted by kaioshade

Ok i know that board.

Get a Geforce 6800 GS and unlock the pipes and overclock the crap out of it.

And how exactly do I do that without burning it to death? :P

[kaioshade]

Originally Posted by Skaifey

And how exactly do I do that without burning it to death? :P

Easy. Coolbits or rivatuner.

[neilp4453]

Originally Posted by Skaifey

Edit I've done some research on my motherboard (it's a P4VM800-I think that was upgraded) and it has:
- 1 x AGP8X/4X slot, 1.5V
- 3 x PCI slots( PCI 2.2 compliance)
- 1 x AMR slot

Edit OK, I've read info on the internet about the installing-of AGP cards, and it seems as though when one opens the computer up, they will be able to see which slot is the AGP slot.
Now, I just need to know what card I can get that supports AGP.

More info if you need it: http://www.asrock.com/product/P4VM800.htm

get a internal hdd. more cost efficient. 7200 rpm and a 8mb cache MINIMUM. and I don't know about speeds of usb hdds, but see if they are faster than internal hdds. I wouldn't think so unless it was usb2.0 which your pc probably doesn't have. you should check your memory usage first before buying memory to see if you need extra memory. if you do, just get the best ram you can get for pc or add on to the existing memory on your pc (make sure it is the same speed if you are adding). and the graphics card, 6800gt

[Skaifey]

Originally Posted by neilp4453

and I don't know about speeds of usb hdds, but see if they are faster than internal hdds. I wouldn't think so unless it was usb2.0 which your pc probably doesn't have.

Please READ THE LINKS before you post. My computer has 6 USB 2.0 ports.

[twelve]

Ok I agree pretty much with what everyone here has said. Go with the Geforce graphics card, get another 512MB RAM.

There is however one thing I do not agree with at all. USB Hard Drive. They are fine for transferring data around but for using as a normal Hard Drive they do not cut it. Your games will suffer horribly, even with USB 2.0 or firewire. You have got to have an internal hard drive if you want to run anything of it. An external is fine for things like movies and music, but games and programs. Forget it. You'll save yourself an absolute butt load of money getting an internal one too. They are as easy to install as graphics cards too.

Edit: just had a look at the mobo link you gave. It supports Serial ATA (SATA) that has a transfer rate of 1.5GB/s you should definitely get a SATA hard drive as this will give you the best performance possible. They spin at 10,000rpm compared to 7,200 or 5,400 of normal ATA. They are marginally more expensive than ATA but the difference in performance is worth it.

[Skaifey]

OK, haven't updated in a while.

I'm getting an INTERNAL (!) HDD installed for me soon, 150 aussie dollars inc. installation for an 80 GB.

I'm still undecided on the video card. Being Australian, the Geforce 6800 GS is pretty expensive compared to other cards, but I'll eventually get something. I'll ask some of my other friends.