Computers

[subzero4101]

Im looking to get a new pc for christmas that can handle a good amount of gaming.I found one for preety cheap which is a Copmaq Presario Sr5250Nx.It has a 320 gb hardrive,1gb of ram,and intel graphics media acellator 950.I was wondering if this computer could handle like day of defeat or counterstrike.Those are the only two games i like.I want to add another graphics card but was wondering since there are integrated if i could.Im looking for about a 100$ one that will be better than the one that is with the pc.Also i want to add one more gb of ram since it can hold 2 would this be helpful with the gaming part.And aslo i heard that vista doesnt usally run well with one gb since this pc comes with vista.Please help me and those of you that do thank you.My fault if any one got offended about the caps.

I was offended - don't type thread titles in all caps!

 

[dragonsprayer]

intel chip clocked at 3.6ghz with the new 8800GTS 512mb

$1800

 

[Daves255]

Use complete sentences and remove the caps from your entire message and then I'll help.

 

[subzero4101]

My fault about the caps its just because i was anxious to get an answer.So can you help me with these questions?

 

[rgeist554]

Man, that first post is really hard to read. Anyways - you'd have to pay for a Vista -> XP CD or do a complete reinstall of XP if you have a copy of XP.

The "Graphics Media Accelerator" is probably some sh.. crappy on board graphics. My guess is it's equivalent to a geforce 6600 or lower. You can disable the on board graphics and use a card if the motherboard has an open PCI-E or AGP slot.

 

[lostandwandering]

Yes, the Graphics Media Accelerator is integrated. You will be able to add another card under 2 conditions: 1)it has a PCI-e slot and 2) the PSU is powerful to handle an add on card.

You would have to purchase another copy of XP and reformat your hard drive.

The only reason you got yelled at for the caps, is that using caps is the equivalent of yelling at someone on the internet. Not exactly polite, so thank you for taking them off.

edit: rgeist just beat me to it.

 

[subzero4101]

Im really not sure what psu means. And if it has a pci slot and i put a better graphics card will it be able to run day of defeat well or counterstrike. And im thinking about adding another gb of ram will this really boost my computer because ive heard that vista doesnt run to well with just one gigabyte. And what graphics card can i get for 100 dollars thats preety good or better then the integrated card it comes with?

thanks for the help so far

 

[deranged]

How much money can you spend? Because you may be better off buying the parts then paying a computer store to put it together.
Thats the "best bang for the buck".

 

[lostandwandering]

PSU= power supply unit. Provides your components with the power they need to run properly.

It depends on the card that you add. If you add a crappy graphics card, then no it probably won't be any better than it would have been with the integrated chip. Yes, the extra gb of RAM should help.

 

[subzero4101]

Im really not sure of how much i can spend yet but probally up to 200 not sure if more.But ho wmuch would a graphics card cost me thats better than intel graphics media accleator 950.Also one thing how much does ram usally cost for this type of pc?

 

[rgeist554]

That depends on the RAM your computer needs.

For a decent card... I'd say ~$150. At that point, you may as well move up to the $170 HD3850 if you have a PCI-E slot and if your power supply has enough watts / amps on the +12v rail.

*edit*

From HP website on your Compaq model:

Processor
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core processor E2140
%u2022 1.60 GHz, 800MHz Front Side Bus
Operating system installed
Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium
Chipset
Intel® 945GC express chipset
Standard memory
1.0GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory (2x512MB for ultimate performance) (expandable to 2GB)
Memory type
DDR2-SDRAM
Memory slots
2 DIMM (240-pin, DDR2)

I've made the important stuff bold. In order to add another GB of RAM to move up to 2GB, you'd need to buy two 1GB sticks. Why two? You only have 2 DIMM slots on your board and they are both taken by 2x512MB sticks.

 

[subzero4101]

whne i get the pc how can i tell which type it takes?

 

[lostandwandering]

I just looked at the specs for that system on HP's site. You do have a PCI-e slot which means that you can add a graphics card to it.

The memory is PC2-5300 which is pretty common and cheap. The problem is that the motherboard only has two slots for RAM so you need to completely replace it, not just add. A basic 2x1gb kit will cost you about 40 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134046

You could probably find an X1650 or 7600GT for around 100 bucks that will run the games you want fairly well. I believe the 8600GT and HD2600XT/pro can be had for around 100 as well.

edit: darn you rgeist, you keep beating me to the point lol.

 

[rgeist554]

*edit* lostandwandering beat me to it this time.

You need 2x 1GB of DDR2 5300 if you truly want to run 2GB (read my post above since I've edited it)

After reading further on your specs - It appears you do have 1x PCI-E slot available in that tower. No info on the PSU though.

 

[lostandwandering]

It's a race between us to answer his questions lol. At least we seem to be on a similar page.

 

[subzero4101]

ok so i have to add 2 i gb sticks instead of juss adding another gigabyte ight thanks now juss saying if santa doesnt bring me the money (i already know im getting the pc) will this pc be able to run any games?(Day of Defeat) or will there be alot of lagging and thanks for the help so far

 

[subzero4101]

well also i know im getting atleast 140 dollars so can i do anything with this amount?

 

[rgeist554]

It says that there is "up to 64MB of video memory". That really isn't too good. Even cheap cards today have at least 256MB of GDDR2 or 3.

The original DoD may run, but I'm not sure how well... It says it only needs 2MB of VRAM and 32MB of RAM.

 

[subzero4101]

is there anyway i can switch it from 64 to atleast 256mb or what would i have to do the video card is the graphics right? so im not sure but if that is the graphics card i would have to buy a new one right?

 

[chedrz]

According to specs on Amazon.com, that computer only has a 250W power supply. You'll have to upgrade that for just about any graphics card.

 

[rgeist554]

I'm pretty sure you would need a new card. You can try the 8600GT or GTS. It's an ok card for the price. You'll need to go in the BIOS and disable the on board video. It would also benefit you do free up as much RAM as possible with Vista.

*edit*

According to specs on Amazon.com, that computer only has a 250W power supply. You'll have to upgrade that for just about any graphics card.

Ah, that's too bad. : / GJ finding the info though.

 

[subzero4101]

how do i upgrade the power supply ihave know clue how to do that? and one more hting what does gts stand for and bios? and when i get the pc im deleting alot of stuff that comes on it

 

[chedrz]

Here's what I'm thinking:

Diamond Radeon 2600XT: $99.99 on Newegg ($79.99 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103038

Coolmax 500W PSU: $39.99 on Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159066

Might be the best option subzero4101 has.

*edit*
To upgrade the power supply, you'd have to take it out and put a different one in, and reconnect all the power connections to the hard drive, motherboard, dvd drive, etc. The GTS rgeist554's referring to is an 8600GTS. BIOS is the basic menu you can enter into immediately after you start a computer. The BIOS is where you would switch from using the integrated video to an added video card.

 

[subzero4101]

ight now off newegg i have to order these parts right or do i htikn i should juss go 4 another computer

 

[subzero4101]

i meant do you think i should go 4 another pc