Changing of graphic card

[jeffrey148]

erm. i'm actually thinking that is it possible to upgrade this comp?

Spoiler

http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPO-Acer-Aspire-SA80-Pentium-4-2-93GHz-XP-Home-Works-80GB-256MB-DDR-DVD-RW-on-board-graphics-Speakers-PS2-key

Note:i've added 1gb ram
my power supply is 300watt. i think?

if it is possible to upgrade the graphic card, what kind should i use that can handle with 300watt power supply?

 

[guanyu210379]

What is you old/current graphic cards? and if possible post your system too.

 

[Lmeow]

His system is:

-Intel Pentium 4 516 2.93 GHz Socket 775
-SiS661GX Chipset (based motherboard I assume)
-256MB DDR RAM, he's added 1GB so 1.28GB of RAM.
-SiS 661GX Integrated Graphics
-Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
-80 GB SATA
-DVD-ROM • DVD Burner • DVD-Dual Layer Burner • CD-ROM • CD Burner

Your motherboard does not have PCI-e, only AGP, so you can only use AGP graphic cards. I suggest you get an ATi Radeon HD 4650, it seems that it would be ok. Have a look here, the total system with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ CPU and HD 4650 only used 171W in total, with 300W, you really should be fine.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-4650-agp,2383-9.html

Although I'm very sure that the Pentium 4 is going to bottleneck the graphic cards.

 

[jeffrey148]

oh thx a lot. but what's bottleneck? and my dvd burner/drive is spoiled. if i'm going buy HD4650. can i install it at their website?
i wonder if there's any of this available in singapore?
i checked the price. it cost $85

 

[guanyu210379]

@jeffrey148 :
1. With HD4650 installed....your whole system is the bottleneck for the card
2. Can you install it in their website? what is that suppose to mean?
3. Any of what is available in singapore? The graphic card? I think of course, it is available in singapore.
4. Extra info : Newegg doesn't ship outside US.
5. Drive/burner spoiled? Broken you mean? Then buy a new one.

 

[jeffrey148]

how do i know if the graphic card will bottleneck my whole system??(or how do i check)
is there any card that won't bottleneck my whole system??

what if my system is bottleneck. it slows the system and the computer will spoil faster??

 

[jeffrey148]

bumpz. need help pls

Is there any graphic card that support AGP and won't bottleneck my whole system? and at least able to play left4dead??(or dragonica) T_T

 

[guanyu210379]

how do i know if the graphic card will bottleneck my whole system??(or how do i check)
is there any card that won't bottleneck my whole system??

what if my system is bottleneck. it slows the system and the computer will spoil faster??

You get the wrong direction dude!
Your system is the bottle neck to the card.
The card is not the bottle neck to your system.
Bottle neck means that it will run as fast as the slowest one, in this case your system!
Your system will not become slower as it is now.
HD4650 can run better with the new systems, while in your system, it will follow the performance of your system.

 

[guanyu210379]

After some thinking.
Just choose either
1. Pick a HD4650 and install it to your rig.
or
2. Forget about upgrading and building a whole new system.
Forget the bottle neck stuff!

 

[jeffrey148]

i pick option 1 since i don't have the money to build a whole new system.

what do u mean by "it will follow the performance of your system."

so can i play mid-end games with this HD4650?? even with my old system?? with only 1gb ram?? or??

 

[guanyu210379]

No more comments from me.
I think you need the explanation in another language, not english.

 

[guanyu210379]

On second thought:
Imagine you have 4 people in a tandem-like bike.
The original team members have the same maximum speed of 20km/h.
Now one of the team members is replaced with some who can achieve 40km/h.
The team can only achieve 20km/h. Here, the whole team is slowing the new guy down. The team is the bottle neck to the new guy. The new guy could only achieve the speed of the team which is 20km/h, not his own speed, other words, the new guy follows his teams speed.

If the new member were included in another team whose members could also reach 40km/h, than he will not slow the team down. Since the team could achieve 40km/h as well. In this situation no bottle neck is there.

If the new team member were included in another team whose member could achieve 60 km/h, than he will be slowing the team down, because the new team member could only achieve 40km/h which will make the team slower (can only achieve 40km/h). In this situation, the new guy is the bottle neck to the team. We can also say, the team follows the speed of the new guy.

 

[jeffrey148]

On second thought:
Imagine you have 4 people in a tandem-like bike.
The original team members have the same maximum speed of 20km/h.
Now one of the team members is replaced with some who can achieve 40km/h.
The team can only achieve 20km/h. Here, the whole team is slowing the new guy down. The team is the bottle neck to the new guy. The new guy could only achieve the speed of the team, not his own speed, other words, the new guy follows his teams speed.

If the new member were included in another team whose members could also reach 40km/h, than he will not slow the team down. Since the team could achieve 40km/h as well. In this situation no bottle neck is there.

If the new team member were included in another team whose member could achieve 60 km/h, than he will be slowing the team down, because the new team member could only achieve 40km/h which will make the team slower (can only achieve 40km/h). In this situation, the new guy is the bottle neck to the team. We can also say, the team follows the speed of the new guy.

cool. k i understand what you're saying. xD

when it's bottleneck. the graphic card will just follow the speed of my comp?? I'll be able to play better games just that it's slow??

 

[guanyu210379]

As I said, it will not slowing down your PC.
It will give a better performance but no significant performance boost to your system.

"Imagine you have 4 people in a tandem-like bike.
The original team members have the same maximum speed of 20km/h.
Now one of the team members is replaced with some who can achieve 40km/h.
The team can only achieve 20km/h. Here, the whole team is slowing the new guy down. The team is the bottle neck to the new guy. The new guy could only achieve the speed of the team which is 20 km/h, not his own speed, other words, the new guy follows his teams speed."
The new members is the HD4650 and the other members is your current good old system components.

 

[jeffrey148]

As I said, it will not slowing down your PC.
It will give a better performance but no significant performance boost to your system.

"Imagine you have 4 people in a tandem-like bike.
The original team members have the same maximum speed of 20km/h.
Now one of the team members is replaced with some who can achieve 40km/h.
The team can only achieve 20km/h. Here, the whole team is slowing the new guy down. The team is the bottle neck to the new guy. The new guy could only achieve the speed of the team which is 20 km/h, not his own speed, other words, the new guy follows his teams speed."
The new members is the HD4650 and the other members is your current good old system components.

k thanks a lot. u really help me a lot xD
i'm gonna buy the graphic card next week.

is the card name "ATI Radeon HD4650 AGP"??

Question: so i need uninstall "display adapter> SiS 661FX/GX mirage graphics" shut down comp and install the new Graphic card at the orange/brown slot?? am i right??

 

[guanyu210379]

1. a )Turn of your PC completely, unplug your PC, and wait a few seconds just to make sure all the capacitors are empty.

b) Touch any metal which is connected to the ground with your barehands before touching your graphic cards to remove the static electrical charges from your body. A strong static electrical charges could damage any electrical components. This is just to be 100% sure, but If there isn't any metal connected to ground near you, just skip 1 b) with the hope everything will be just OK. Skipping 1b) could damage your card, it only could be/perhaps/probably/ or it only happens sometimes, it doesn't always happens.

2. Plug your new HD4650 in the AGP slot, there is only 1 slot that will perfectly fit the graphic cards. No problem here, as for the color of the slot , I have forgotten, my last AGP slot was 4-6 years ago.

3. Remove the cable to your monitor from the onboard graphic card and plug it in the new card.

4. Power up your PC, this time don't deactivate your onboard graphic from BIOS yet, just in case somethin' went wrong.

5. If nothin' went wrong your computer will boot like normal, after finished booting install the driver, either from the included driver CD/DVD or download it from ATI's website.

6. You will need to restart your computer after the driver installation.

7. After installing the driver and restarting the computer, test your graphic card by playing any games that you have. If everything is OK, you can restart and go to BIOS to deactivate your onboard graphic, and after that you can also deinstall it's driver from your windows. I said "You can", this means, you don't have to, but it is recommended to be done.

8. Enjoy your new HD4650

BTW : the card's type is just HD4650. AGP is the slot type name "Be sure not to buy the PCI-e version, you don't have this slot!"

 

[jeffrey148]

man... i just checked properly. my PSU is only 200wat and 12+volt T_T..

so does hd4650 able to handle?? some said it requires 400watt or more

btw, i just install the video card first switch on comp and it will automatically scan for the new card. after that uninstall SiS 661 mirage graphic??

 

[guanyu210379]

1. Yes, 200W is not going to be enough, because the components in your current PSU could have been degradated due to aging, so it might deliver no longer 100% power rating anymore. You might want to buy a new one

2. Just do as I have told you step by step.
I have explained it to you about the onboard graphic too, READ before ASK!

 

[jeffrey148]

so is there any card that can handle 200W? that is AGP? i don't have much money to buy a PSU

 

[guanyu210379]

Stick with your old one better. Basically, you already need a new system, just save your money to buy a new one.
It is not worth investing on system upgrades anyway, like I have said from the first place :
"Your system is the bottle neck to the HD4650"

 

[jeffrey148]

what about this "
Verto GeForce FX 5200 Ultra 128 MB AGP Graphics Card"

i don't know how much watt it requires.(didn't write)

does it work with 200watt?

 

[guanyu210379]

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
See it for yourself.
Most likely not. Aged capacitors and transistors.
In the website I give you, it says about 357W.

Just forget the idea!

 

[jeffrey148]

man... so my choice is only buying a new PSU and buy a Hd 4650?