Need a new graphics card.

[0iD]

I'm sure there'll be a few good cards being sold in the 'for sale' forums when everyone's new x800's & 6800's get shipped No doubt my 9800'll be in there

[OwenTMoL]

Nvidia card generally more money to performance than ATi cards.
Also don buy hardware from PC world, they rip you off a lot! Plus I still haven't managed to find a ATi 9800pro in a PC world.

why cant you buy off the internet? You not got Switch solo card or nochex or a paypal account?

My only way to buy online is to use my Dad's credit card. My Dad won't make purchases online over £75.
I've no right to complain, it's his card but I just need to find somewhere offline that'll sell me the thing. As for machine specs, I didn't build it it was a pressie. I never looked into the hardware because it was pretty good when I got it so I wasn't bothered. (I loved my old PC. I got a brand new voodoo 3 for it when they came out and spent hours playing games.)

All I can really tell you is that the processor is a Celeron 1300mhz. I don't think that's really that good.
Umm, so how much do processors go for?
Owen

P.S I might be able to find a link to my PCs specifications as it's an eMachines <shudder> 540.

[OwenTMoL]

"eMachines 540, 1300 Mhz celeron, 256Meg ram"

That help any?

EDIT: Radeon 9800 requirements here "Intel® Pentium® 4, AMD® Athlon® or higher"

I don't think I have a chance unless I buy a new processor first.
What do you guys think?
I got a chance with that?

[CrapshoT]

To be brutally honest you're really going to have to upgrade a few things first before you start to think about adding a 9800 pro.check your motherboard as it may take P4 cpu's(i know nowt about intel gear sorry)Another 256mb of ram would be a great help.
thats cheapish say £35 new.Then see what sort of cash you have left for a graphics card.Even for £50 - £60 you can buy gf4 ti4200's and radeon 9500's or 9600's.These will still play games at reasonable rates.As for Doom3 well even i'm a bit worried about playing that game on my rig!!!!

[Skii]

Well you have a bottleneck as far as your processor and RAM are concerned, its difficult to determine what RAM you have without identifying the motherboard first of all.

We also need to know if your motherboard has an AGP slot, as this is the universal socket ALL current Grpahics cards use on modern motherboards, no AGP, no top end card unfortunately chap.

So, when you boot up your machine you will see the black screen where it will tell you your CPU type, memory check and initialise your boot-up path, on that screen you will see information that we need to identify what motherboard you have (normally along the top/bottom)

You need to hit 'pause' on your keyboard to freeze the screen there and then and jot down the necessary info

[0iD]

Failing that Belarc Advisor/Aida32/Sandra will tell you all you need to know, and more.

[OwenTMoL]

I've decided to just take outr some well deserved loans from family members and put together a new machine.

[0iD]

Good lad, you know it makes sense

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Dont hesitate to ask us for advice

[CrapshoT]

A very good idea indeed. Now's a good time to start being really nice and helpfull to your parents etc..start practicing your sad puppy dog eyes to twist your Mam's arm for a few quid extra.LOL (well it used to work for me)Yep post here for invaluable advice.There's always someone around who'll help you out.Let us know what sort of cash you'll have and you'll get plenty of worthy idea's for pc builds.

[Shogun]

I've decided to just take outr some well deserved loans from family members and put together a new machine.

Are these loans which are never gonna be paid back?

[OwenTMoL]

lol.
Cheers.
I really like this forum. You're all so helpful.
so wanna hear a rundown of what i'm planning so far.
Of course you do.
No sooner had I decided to build a PC when I mentioned it to a guy who works in the record store who is offering me a tower with motherboard that has a built in Geforce 4 for free.
How nice. I'll definately upgrade the mobo and graphics later on but now I have something to build around. I'm basically going to spend a small £100 and cannibalise this computer for certain parts. Get it operational and internet connected. Then after this I can do it all gradually. Upgrading parts and putting my old eMachine's parts back in so it's working. Hey presto a new PC and a spare.
Then I'll have a complete work in progress project I can be working on terminally.
Also I'll know it inside out unlike my eMachines.
So I start in 2 weeks when this guy gives me this casing etc.
So any adivce before I begin (of anykind, Hardware, assembly whatever.)

[mike_w]

If you're going to be doing this gradually, you might want to wait a bit before getting a motherboard and CPU, since the new socket for AMD Athlons is about to come out (Socket 939). Since Socket A (Athlon XP) is pretty much at the end of its life, it might not be good to buy a Socket A since it doesn't leave much room for upgrading.

Right now the best graphics card to get is the ATi Radeon 9800 Pro (as said) but it all might change in the near future with the next generation of graphics cards about to come into full swing.

[OwenTMoL]

Well I'm getting a Mobo free so I'll replace it once I've got everything else.
It's good starting point though.
It's foolish to turn down a free MoBo and graphics card because they'll be difficult to upgrade ot later. Without them I'd have just had to buy them anyway.

P.S Many thanks for the tip though.

[Nick]

First thing you'll be wanting is a CPU for that baby, and some memory to match.

You could go sneaky budget wise, find a 1700XP AMD with the JHUIB (or whatever the stepping code is). These little monkeys run up 2400XP speed with a simple increase of the front side bus speeds and multiplier. They do go higher (mine does 2600XP) but if you're cooling using just air its wiser to not stress them that much.

A decent heatsink and fan set for the chip will set you back £15 (I've just built one with and Aero7 fan and it was ticking over very nicely at 35 degrees in 3dMk2001).

Match that CPU with a 512meg stick of PC2700 (or higher if you can afford it) and you're away!

From the sound of the mobo, it very likely has onboard sound so you won't need a separate card... all you'll have to do is rip out your old drives and plug them into your new machine and you're laffing.

[Nick]

Ooh, just thought, if this is you first build.... take the mobo out of the case!

Why?

Cos its a damn sight easier to fit bits onto a mobo that ISN'T mounted... especially if this is your first build. 'Dry fit' everything... see how it all goes in... take it nice and slow and take your time.

It's much easier working on a mobo when you can get to it from all sides, the temptation to use a screwdriver or a pair of pliers where you can't reach cos of the case sides is gone, meaning you minimize the risk of borking the mobo if you slip.

Once you're happy with how all the bits go on the mobo, loosely screw the drives into the case and then see if the mobo will fit in with them in place, if not, leave the slotted into the drive bays but slide them forwards out of the way while you mount the mobo.

One last thing, heatsinks on CPUs are a TIGHT fit. DON'T slather thermal paste all over the chip... give it a THIN layer (about 1mm) then carefully and slowly fit the heatsink. It's best to practice fitting the heatsink over the clips on the socket without the chip installed, then go for the real thing once you're happy with doing it.

Gotta say, your first build of a PC has to be one of the most satisfying things there is.... that and running Gary Bushell over with a steam roller.