Upgrade cancelled. Need some advice.

[ltj311]

$1300 in a month and a half. That is how much some punk kid ran up my cell phone bill before I found out and called AT&T(<-----little mutherf*ckers). I have a shared account and the other phone got stolen.

Anyways, the $700 or so I had saved up to get my new rig had to be put to use. Now I can't upgrade till mid next year at the earliest.

There are so many games I want to play this fall(mainly HL2 and Halo) and I want a solid gaming rig. But this is what I have currently:

Compaq Mobo
Amd AXP 1500+
512mb PC2100
GF4 Ti4200 64mb
40gb 7200rpm Maxtor HD

I would really like more power than this when these games come out, but I'm not sure upgrading my video card would do much good.

Do you guys have any suggestions on how to get a somewhat significantly better rig without doing a complete overhaul?

New vid card? More RAM? I'm getting a 120gb WD HD w/8mb Cache but I doubt this will help much.

Any help would be much appreciated. As a hardcore gamer, I don't want to have to suffer through the rest of the year with my current setup.

--

"<i>I'm seriously you guys.</i>" - Cartman

 

[Ion]

That system should able to play all the current games fine include Halo when it is released(Xbox is a p800 with gf3 i think :tongue: ).

As for HL2, it is delayed till december if i remember right, so you in no hurry to upgrade .

 

[jmecor]

It could be a good idea for you to get at least an AMD Athlon XP 2000+, your current cpu choice will really going to bogged down in games such as half-life. And the price difference of a 1500+ and 2000+ is almost negligible.

 

[Ion]

Did you read his post properly? He HAS xp1500 in the PC right now. Whats the point upgrading to xp2000?

 

[RRAMJET]

Get a XP2400 and overclock it, cheap, keep your ram (add more if ya want), keep ya harddrive. Grab that compaq box and prob the mobo and jump on it until its in little bits, then urinate on it. Get a cheap 8X or 4X, good one but, and a new box, preferably with no compaq stickers on it. Now the tricky bit, go to your local gun shop, you'll need shotgun and shells. Two options now, the bank, or straight to the comp. store, wipe sweat from brow, think about the pretty little boxes on the shelf with those big numbers on it... and all the yellow daffidiles in the open pasture!

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!

 

[Ion]

That compaq motherboard properly doesnt support FSB higher than 133, so overclock is out of question...

 

[daddywags214]

The Xbox is a PIII 733mHz with a graphics chip based on the GF3 (with a few gf4 features). However, the Xbox specs cannot be compared to a PC. Example: The Xbox has 64mb shared RAM (video+system mem.) You can't even run WinXP with 64mb. Since the Xbox is ONLY running games and has NOTHING else clogging the architecture (o.s., other programs etc.) it can more efficiently use its weak PIII and graphics chip. The Xbox is a computer, but it's extremely different from your PC. For HALO you'll want an AMD Athlon XP 1800+ or higher, or a P4B 2.0 or higher, plus an ATi 9600 Pro, to run it smoothly (speculation).

These days, no matter what company you like, be it <b>nVidia, ATi, or whatever,</b> no matter how logical your reasons, you're labeled an <b>idiot</b> or a <b>fanboy</b>, or <b>both.</b>

 

[ltj311]

Thanks for the replies guys. RRAMJET...that's an interesting suggestion. I'll look into that.

Yea, I don't think my mobo supports higher than 133. So does this mean I'm SOL? I mean, would it be smart to upgrade the mobo and processor? Then I could upgrade the vid card and not be bottlenecking as bad.

Since this is a Compaq(believe me my next upgrade is gonna be built from scratch) would I have problems changing the mobo and processor?

And another question I had which a friend at work said to me. He told me Compaq likes to put their BIOS on the Hard Drive. What? Is this right? I thought all bios were on the mobos.

Thanks again for the help.

--

"<i>I'm seriously you guys.</i>" - Cartman

 

[xeenrecoil]

heya ltj311;

Im pretty sure you can call and contest that phone bill since the phone was stolen. When its not in your hands you are not responsible for what happens with it during the time it is stolen, and i have been told that if you are seriously nice to the person you talk to they will do everything they can to help you out.

If you have already tried this try again, it cant hurt, just ooze niceness.

Also they can do some research and get your phone records and it wont be hard to prove that you didnt make the calls because there will be a definate pattern emerge that is no where near your normal usage pattern about the time it was stolen.

Be a pest, but be a NICE pest, be so damn nice it pisses them off ROFL, and if the person your talking to cant help you then speak to his supervisor, and be even nicer to him hehe.

I hope you can get it worked out man, dont give up yet, not yet!

XeeN

 

[ltj311]

Xeen, what's up brotha? Believe me man, I've tried.

NOTE TO EVERYONE!!!! AT&T is the DEVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried everything. I have the 20-30 pages of calls for verificaion. My bill has never been over 100 bucks, but the first full month this f*ck ran up $894 and this doesnt look shady!!!??? They said they can't PROVE it wasn't us making the calls. Are you kidding!?

So we filled out a police report and the officer said we can send it to AT&T and they should help us some. Well, we called them saying we were gonna send the police report. Know what they said? "We don't want it." They don't give a f*ck.....they just want their money.

Big timing assholes!!!!!!!

Stay away from AT&T. The devil I tell ya.

Oh yea, the phone bill was caused by the other phone which was stolen. My phone had nothing to do with it. In fact, we calculated what part of the bill was mine for the last 2 months...like $107...and I payed that. Which left the $1303 I mentioned before. But even though I did this....AT&T STILL cancelled MY phone. Not the other phone. Mine! WTF! So we had to come up with $908 to get the phone reinstated. And on top of that? A $25 dollar reinstatement fee. F*CK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to stop thinking about it.

I know this sounds psycho, but if all of AT&T blew up, I would not be upset AT ALL!

------------------------------------------

So is it possible to get a new mobo/proc and if so, what kind should I get? Thanks.

--

"<i>I'm seriously you guys.</i>" - Cartman
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by ltj311 on 08/07/03 11:10 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[xeenrecoil]

heya ltj311;

Ya know its too bad your not super rich so you could just take the bastards to court and shove their phone bill up their ass just to show them they arent sh|t heh.

XeeN

 

[RRAMJET]

Ok tell em if they dont rectify the situation your gunna ring em up once a day for the next 25 years and talk to their operator for and average of 5 minutes plus hold times, blocking lines up, make complains, heaps of paper work etc. Thats 6 hous a year for each minute u make a day, you can make em pay for it real quick. actually tell em you have a big family thats prepared to harass em for years to come. If that fails just ring complaints all the time and tell em their operators have been real rude and you need an appolgy. as a matter of fact send em a copy of this email and all those others youv'e chain mailed out. You could start a world revolution with this, have yyou seen that movie fight club, hey ill join the cause. [-peep-] ill email em and get some sheit happenin.

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!

 

[ltj311]

Thanks RRAMJET. I'm not sure it will be easy to take over this massive corporation. We need an insider. *lol*

I've actually put all the behind me for the most part. August 16th is the last day of my contract. So after that, SYO-F'n-ARA ATT!!!!!

--

AT&T is the <font color=red>DEVIL</font color=red>!

 

[Dev]

Just take them to small claims court. Be reasonable to the Judge, document your steps and bring the documents and police report. AT&T will probably be a no show (the Lawyer is more expensive than the amount they'll have to pay you), and ATT&T will have to pay you your money and the court fees. Works everytime

Dev

---
My Sig:
))
(( ___________________
|||_____________|_____|

 

[gothitbycar]

What a good idea that is often overlooked.

-----------------------
Add witty comment here.

 

[rower30]

No one needs a cell phone and no one needs a computer. Deal with the risks and costs and move on. Enough said.

Now, I'd say your upgrade path has to balance the CPU with your video card. It looks like you don't intend to stay with your current Motherboard, but will move a better video card over to a new system. Yes?

Normally, I'd recommend that you select a video card that is not severly CPU limited. You can do this by review the web site(s) reviews on CPU scaling on your card of choice. Buy the card that fits the sweet spot based on your CPU. Then, wait out the development cycle and upgrade them together later on.

But, if you are moving away from your old plateform soon, then it would make sense to get a better video card that might be CPU limited some initially. Then, move to the appropriate CPU to get the most out of your card for the best price. Problem is, direct-X9 cards like the ATI 9500 or ATI 9600 series are not really much faster in direct-X8 games than the Ti4200 card you have now. Direct-X9 games will need serious power cards like the ATI 9800np ($239.00) or pro ($323.00). The 9800np seems to me to be your best bet. But get an 8 pixel pipeline card with a 256meg memory interface!

Do you need the features and cost of direct-X9 games? A good solution is to buy a 9700pro ($259.00) if it will save you enough to merit the lack of direct-X9. This is an emotional issue, but $60.00 would make me happy to go this route with your system.

Regards,
rower30@earthlink.net

 

[rower30]

No, small claims court covers $1500 (maybe a little more since I last checked) period. Filing costs was $10.00 last year but all this varies some by state. No costs can be collected past the ceiling amount and typically it doesn't cover pain and suffering and emotional costs, only demonstratable material loss. But, it is a good solution to small claims such as yours.

knowing the difference between CIVIL court and CRIMINAL court proceedings will save you from looking foolish when you go. Get some advice to make the proper claims to avoid upseting the judge will go a long way for you. Do your work so the judge doesn't have to, and he'll do the same for you.

Bring your receipts as you have mentioned in good logical order so the judge doesn't have to darn near do a tax return audit to figure it out and I think you'll be fine. Be perpared to fess up to why it took so long to notice the other phone was missing. This is still your responsibility. Same as a credit card. If you wait too long, it is an admission of neglect and you will be liable. I have no idea what that period is with a phone, however. Find out.

 

[ltj311]

Thanks for that suggestion. I'm not sure if we want to deal with that whipping, but it's a thought. I just don't know if in the end it would be worth it. And what if we didn't win? It DEFINATELY wouldn't be worth it.

As for the update situation, I have decided with the help of browsing the boards and rower's suggestion, I'm gonna go witht he 9800np.

Concerns : Is there any way to make sure I get the 2.8ns version? And I didn't know there are different versions of the 9800np. Rower, you said make sure I get one with "...an 8 pixel pipeline card with a 256meg memory interface!" Could you further explain that?

Thanks again for all the comments, concerns, and suggestions. I love this forum!

--

AT&T is the <font color=red>DEVIL</font color=red>!