What does my PC need?

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v8dtmpower

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#1 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts
Hey, I came here because i'm not very good with computers and need some help, my computer is about 6-7 years old now running fine, but I want to make it faster not sure what to do, i've heard you can buy some RAM and install that to speed it up but i'm not sure what one i need for my PC, i've also been told I need a graphics card because when I try to play Civilization 4 I can't see most of the map and only some units, again i'm not sure what type of graphics card or video card I need. System Properties; Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3 Packard Bell Intel (R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz 448MB of RAM Physical Address Extension Now, I don't have a clue what all that means but hopefully someone here can help me out. Thanks
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C_Rule

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#2 C_Rule
Member since 2008 • 9816 Posts
Were you wanting to get into PC gaming? Because, with what you currently have, you would be better off starting new. That PC is too old to turn into anything decent.
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v8dtmpower

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#4 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts
I'm not really interested in PC gaming, it works fine for what I need it for, which is browsing and video editing, I just want to speed it up a little as it would be a waste of money me buying a whole new computer just for a game I play once in a while, like I said it runs fine for what I need it to do, but i'd be happy if i could get it to run Civ4 the system requirements for that game are within reach for my computer, lol
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MUR1217

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#6 MUR1217
Member since 2010 • 229 Posts

This would be a usefull link for you

Click HERE

Edit:Mention your motherboard mobel and a graphic card if you have other than the built in one.

Your RAM should be 512MB

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C_Rule

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#7 C_Rule
Member since 2008 • 9816 Posts

Well, you could put 2GB RAM and a low-end GPU in there.

Though, as your mobo is most likely DDR and AGP, you won't get much for your money.


Is this a prebuilt? Do you know the model name/number of the system?

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mastershake575

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#8 mastershake575
Member since 2007 • 8574 Posts

Post your motherboard model (if you don't know download and run this program which will tell you http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/pc-wizard.html)

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v8dtmpower

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#9 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts
Ok, I ran the PC Wizard and here are the analysis results; Manufacturer : Packard Bell Mainboard : NEC COMPUTERS INTERNATIONAL P5VD2-NVM Chipset : VIA P4M800CE Processor : Intel Pentium 4 524 @ 3066MHz Physical Memory : 512MB (1 x 512 DDR2-SDRAM ) Video Card : VIA/S3G UniChrome Pro IGP Hard Disk : Seagate ST3120213A (120GB) Hard Disk : WD Ext HDD 1021 (1000GB) DVD-Rom Drive : PHILIPS DVD8801 Monitor Type : LCD-MONITOR - 17 inches Network Card : Ralink Technology RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RTL8139/810x Fast Ethernet Adapter Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3 (32-bit) DirectX : Version 9.0c (May 2008)
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mastershake575

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#10 mastershake575
Member since 2007 • 8574 Posts

Ram wise you can just throw in another gig of ddr2 ram for around $15 (probaly $10 if you shop ebay auctions) . Video card wise your motherboard is AGP which is going to give you very few options. Your best bet would to go to ebay and look for video cards in the search bar. Type agp first then type the following numbers to see if you can find any of them for cheap (2600pro, 2600xt, 7600gs, 6800GS, 6800gt)

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v8dtmpower

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#11 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts
and will those video cards you mentioned be good enough to run Civ4? Thanks for your time and help.
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ionusX

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#12 ionusX
Member since 2009 • 25777 Posts

you have an agpx8 slot and memory support for ddr 400, 333, and 266

your cpu support is limited to intel pentium 4's regretably..

ooh you apparently have an onboard gigabit ethernet jack. lucky dog you :P

gigabit its the eventual future of cabled internet with jacks and cabling allowing for 1gbps local connecitons..

its a darn shame this isnt the asus 775 board by the same name.. youd have pentium dual-core support :P

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berabbit

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#13 berabbit
Member since 2011 • 41 Posts

buy an additional 1 gb ram ddr2...nd i guess your motherboard will have an agp slot so buy nvidia 7*** gt graphic card as it is the last series for agp...and you'll be fine ;)

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mastershake575

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#14 mastershake575
Member since 2007 • 8574 Posts
and will those video cards you mentioned be good enough to run Civ4? Thanks for your time and help.v8dtmpower
Yes easily, civ4 is six years old so any of those should run it max
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ionusX

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#15 ionusX
Member since 2009 • 25777 Posts

buy an additional 1 gb ram ddr2...nd i guess your motherboard will have an agp slot so buy nvidia 7*** gt graphic card as it is the last series for agp...and you'll be fine ;)

berabbit

untrue.. last agpx8 card was the hd 4650 by xfx... and if i recall sparkle had gt240's in agpx8 :P

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v8dtmpower

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#16 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts

you have an agpx8 slot and memory support for ddr 400, 333, and 266

your cpu support is limited to intel pentium 4's regretably..

ooh you apparently have an onboard gigabit ethernet jack. lucky dog you :P

gigabit its the eventual future of cabled internet with jacks and cabling allowing for 1gbps local connecitons..

its a darn shame this isnt the asus 775 board by the same name.. youd have pentium dual-core support :P

ionusX
what the hell is an onboard gigabit ethernet jack? lol, as you can tell i'm a bit of a noob when it comes to PC stuff
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mastershake575

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#17 mastershake575
Member since 2007 • 8574 Posts

you have an agpx8 slot and memory support for ddr 400, 333, and 266 ionusX
It says ddr2 on his analysis and ddr2 533 on memory test

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berabbit

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#18 berabbit
Member since 2011 • 41 Posts

[QUOTE="berabbit"]

buy an additional 1 gb ram ddr2...nd i guess your motherboard will have an agp slot so buy nvidia 7*** gt graphic card as it is the last series for agp...and you'll be fine ;)

ionusX

untrue.. last agpx8 card was the hd 4650 by xfx... and if i recall sparkle had gt240's in agpx8 :P

hahaha... yup that would be by ati.....nd what tf is sparkle?

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mastershake575

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#19 mastershake575
Member since 2007 • 8574 Posts
[QUOTE="v8dtmpower"][QUOTE="ionusX"]

you have an agpx8 slot and memory support for ddr 400, 333, and 266

your cpu support is limited to intel pentium 4's regretably..

ooh you apparently have an onboard gigabit ethernet jack. lucky dog you :P

gigabit its the eventual future of cabled internet with jacks and cabling allowing for 1gbps local connecitons..

its a darn shame this isnt the asus 775 board by the same name.. youd have pentium dual-core support :P

what the hell is an onboard gigabit ethernet jack? lol, as you can tell i'm a bit of a noob when it comes to PC stuff

The ethernet jack was a computer joke, only worry about getting a decent AGP video card for cheap (ones i listed don't require a 6 pin connector which is good) and getting another stick of ddr2 ram
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v8dtmpower

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#20 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts
you're all frazzling my brain with all this technical talk lol
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v8dtmpower

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#21 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts
[QUOTE="mastershake575"][QUOTE="v8dtmpower"][QUOTE="ionusX"]

you have an agpx8 slot and memory support for ddr 400, 333, and 266

your cpu support is limited to intel pentium 4's regretably..

ooh you apparently have an onboard gigabit ethernet jack. lucky dog you :P

gigabit its the eventual future of cabled internet with jacks and cabling allowing for 1gbps local connecitons..

its a darn shame this isnt the asus 775 board by the same name.. youd have pentium dual-core support :P

what the hell is an onboard gigabit ethernet jack? lol, as you can tell i'm a bit of a noob when it comes to PC stuff

The ethernet jack was a computer joke, only worry about getting a decent AGP video card for cheap (ones i listed don't require a 6 pin connector which is good) and getting another stick of ddr2 ram

yeah ill take note of all them you mentioned, the last 3 seemed the cheaper solutions so i'll probably end up getting one of them, and will i notice a great deal of difference with an extra 1gb of ram?
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mastershake575

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#22 mastershake575
Member since 2007 • 8574 Posts

you're all frazzling my brain with all this technical talk lolv8dtmpower
Buy a 1gb stick of ddr2 533 ram for example like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144151&cm_re=ddr2_533-_-20-144-151-_-Product (can get cheaper on ebayprobaly and will make not only games run smoother but also your computer in general) then go to www.ebay.com in the search bar type agp and then after typing in agp type any of these model numbers till you find a cheap one (2600pro, 2600xt, 7600gs, 6800GS, 6800gt,) Thats all there is to it

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v8dtmpower

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#23 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts
I've wrote it all down just wait until payday now and then i'll get it all sorted out, thanks for the advice
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kraken2109

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#24 kraken2109
Member since 2009 • 13271 Posts

Basically the weakest part of your computer is the ram, get some more like the other guys said and you'll definitely notice it. A videocard would only make a difference to games, but since you're looking at old ones they wouldn't cost much anyway. Good luck, and don't worry, this might sound complicated but it isn't really. :)

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ionusX

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#25 ionusX
Member since 2009 • 25777 Posts

[QUOTE="ionusX"]

[QUOTE="berabbit"]

buy an additional 1 gb ram ddr2...nd i guess your motherboard will have an agp slot so buy nvidia 7*** gt graphic card as it is the last series for agp...and you'll be fine ;)

berabbit

untrue.. last agpx8 card was the hd 4650 by xfx... and if i recall sparkle had gt240's in agpx8 :P

hahaha... yup that would be by ati.....nd what tf is sparkle?

sparkle is an nvidia AiB other AiB's include evga, zotac, palit, pny, galaxy, gainward, etc..

sparkle used to be known as the worst of the worst but their pretty solid now offering alot of more competitive cards..

there also only one of 2-3 AiB's offering lifetime warranties (as evga no longer has them (on everything), bfg and xfx are gone, and the remaining one is zotac)

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kraken2109

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#26 kraken2109
Member since 2009 • 13271 Posts

[QUOTE="berabbit"]

[QUOTE="ionusX"]

untrue.. last agpx8 card was the hd 4650 by xfx... and if i recall sparkle had gt240's in agpx8 :P

ionusX

hahaha... yup that would be by ati.....nd what tf is sparkle?

sparkle is an nvidia AiB other AiB's include evga, zotac, palit, pny, galaxy, gainward, etc..

sparkle used to be known as the worst of the worst but their pretty solid now offering alot of more competitive cards..

there also only one of 2-3 AiB's offering lifetime warranties (as evga no longer has them (on everything), bfg and xfx are gone, and the remaining one is zotac)

My GTX 275 is Sparkle :)
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#27 berabbit
Member since 2011 • 41 Posts
[QUOTE="ionusX"]

[QUOTE="berabbit"] hahaha... yup that would be by ati.....nd what tf is sparkle?

kraken2109

sparkle is an nvidia AiB other AiB's include evga, zotac, palit, pny, galaxy, gainward, etc..

sparkle used to be known as the worst of the worst but their pretty solid now offering alot of more competitive cards..

there also only one of 2-3 AiB's offering lifetime warranties (as evga no longer has them (on everything), bfg and xfx are gone, and the remaining one is zotac)

My GTX 275 is Sparkle :)

burn it
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kraken2109

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#28 kraken2109
Member since 2009 • 13271 Posts

burn itberabbit
Why?

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v8dtmpower

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#29 v8dtmpower
Member since 2010 • 577 Posts
Does anyone know if this is compatible with my PC... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1GB-DDR2-PC2-4200-533MHZ-DESKTOP-PC-/180664594062?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_MemoryRAM_JN&hash=item2a1072ee8e
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#30 -GeordiLaForge-
Member since 2006 • 7167 Posts
[QUOTE="v8dtmpower"]Does anyone know if this is compatible with my PC... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1GB-DDR2-PC2-4200-533MHZ-DESKTOP-PC-/180664594062?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_MemoryRAM_JN&hash=item2a1072ee8e

It should be, but download CPU-Z just to be sure. I've seen socket 775 motherboards that use DDR RAM...
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mastershake575

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#31 mastershake575
Member since 2007 • 8574 Posts

According to your CPU-Z results you posted and your motherboard specs, yes thats what you want

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#32 danjammer69
Member since 2004 • 4331 Posts

Ram wise you can just throw in another gig of ddr2 ram for around $15 (probaly $10 if you shop ebay auctions) . Video card wise your motherboard is AGP which is going to give you very few options. Your best bet would to go to ebay and look for video cards in the search bar. Type agp first then type the following numbers to see if you can find any of them for cheap (2600pro, 2600xt, 7600gs, 6800GS, 6800gt)

mastershake575
I have an old 7800GS in my son's AGP system. It was the fastest AGP card for a while until ATI released a slightly faster card than that one. But it still wont play most modern games very well.