Upgrading Computer (yey!)Need help & suggestions plz/pic

Motoman · Post by **Motoman** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:48 pm

After 3 years my parents have finally decided upgrade my (crappy) computer. I need help finding a sufficient Graphics card ( I Swear mine is the crappiest on the market), and adding more RAM. (Preferably 1gb or more.) I need suggestions please i have a $300-$350 budget and probably terrible specs:

-Its a Dell 8200
-256 RAM
-2.53 Ghz
-NVIDIA GeForce4 MX420 64mb
-Pentium 4

Please help, I'm really tired of this poop, (It freezes during IGI 2, a substantially terrible game.....that I happen to like

) If you need to know anything else just ask.

totokan · Post by **totokan** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:56 pm

The mobo has AGP and PCI-E, neither, one?

Motoman · Post by **Motoman** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:57 pm

totokan wrote:The mobo has AGP and PCI-E, neither, one?

I dont know, how do you check? Just open up the pc or what? Sorry about the noobishness but I'm not very computer savvy.

totokan · Post by **totokan** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:03 pm

ah, just go into BIOS on boot and check. Or, if it's easier, open it up.
EDIT: 3 years, you say? I doubt PCI-E. Most likely, you have AGP as you main graphics card slot.

Harshboy · Post by **Harshboy** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:05 pm

pretty much seeing as the cases side just swings open if you push the grey button on the top of the 8200's case (asumming all Dimensions have that, i have a 8400)

EDIT: Or press F2 on bootup (When you see the Dell logo) It will take you to the setting menu in your BIOS. Just look around in there

But opening it up is easy for us DELL users, so just do it that way (So you can see how pretty the inside looks

)

totokan · Post by **totokan** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:09 pm

Meh, my pc's inards are full of circulation-reducing wire jumbles. I can't make it neat, as cables are my one weakness. I have messes of cable spaghetti all around me

Motoman · Post by **Motoman** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:11 pm

Were on the motherboard should it say?

SavageLych · Post by **SavageLych** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:13 pm

Hmm, get a low end 256.... and some cheap 512's, what you have left could go twards a better mother bord...

totokan · Post by **totokan** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:14 pm

It wouldn't. Look at the slots on the bottom-left.
GREYISH-WHITE=PCI
BROWN=AGP
Purple(on my mobo...)=PCI-E
PCI-E is further back than AGP, which is further back than PCI. I'm guessing your graphics card is located in the AGP slot, and a sound card is in one of your PCI slots.

Motoman · Post by **Motoman** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:18 pm

The GeForce is in a green slot. A few questions though. Regarding my specs what can my pc handle? Can i have 1gb RAM? etc.

totokan · Post by **totokan** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:20 pm

well, since you ain't computer-savvy, I can't ask you what type of ram, what model processor, and other good questions. I can ask you this: What type of southbridge/northbridge does your mobo have? If you can't understand that, just look for a big,flat black thing with text on it near the bottom right of your mobo, and tell me what brand name is on the text.

Motoman · Post by **Motoman** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:32 pm

Theres a flat black thing that says Intell on it. You know what? How bout I take a picture of it? Just hold on a second please..

Motoman · Post by **Motoman** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:49 pm

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1156/mbgh7.jpg
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8744 ... rcena4.jpg
Heres the Mother Board and a dusty GeForce. More are soon to come if you guys need them

Use urls to connect to images bigger then 400x400. - Sparkfist

Indigno · Post by **Indigno** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:58 pm

You have four memory slots and still only 256 megs of ram???

My suggestions:
Get an ATI/ Nvidia Video card AGP
Get an AMD processor...
Get more ram.

Motoman · Post by **Motoman** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:01 pm

Indigno wrote:You have four memory slots and still only 256 megs of ram???

My suggestions:
Get an ATI/ Nvidia Video card AGP
Get an AMD processor...
Get more ram.

Yes but could you suggest a specific kind? Like model and what not?