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Thread: Newb needs help with CPU/card/RAM

  1. #1
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    Newb needs help with CPU/card/RAM

    http://www.freewebs.com/dogstylee/cpuz.txt

    http://www.freewebs.com/dogstylee/cpuz.htm

    As you can see I don't have PCI-E. I want this machine to be able to play decent games like Battlefield 2, Starwars Battlefront 2, for example. Here's where it's at:

    http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7730/dellzp1.jpg

    Done some research and found a card and processor I think will work:

    card
    http://tinyurl.com/y5ex48

    cpu
    http://tinyurl.com/tj7av
    or
    http://tinyurl.com/y23jat
    ^
    Will that extra 200mhz really make a difference??

    Also I need some RAM (2* 512mb DDR 400), which would be best from this selection:

    http://tinyurl.com/vzsqp
    or here:
    http://tinyurl.com/y524vl

    And I'm told a Zalman fan (which one):
    http://tinyurl.com/yy7des

    With this processor and card, would it run decent games, for example, Battlefield 2142.

    Thanks for any help.

    Also, are there any other good sites I should check (I'm in the UK). I've checked PCworld.co.uk, scan.co.uk, microdirect.co.uk and overlockers.

  2. #2
    awm
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    A few suggestions:

    First of all the FX5200 is already 3 generations old (soon to be three). I would look at newer cards (GeForce 7_00 and Radeon x1_00) or at least the previous generation.

    A similar issue comes up with the processor. I you want to save your motherboard the options are limited, but with the cost of upgrades (and upgrading the ram anyways) I would go for a DDR2 platform (Core 2 or Athlon 64 AM2). If you do decide to stick with the 478 go with the lower one. At about 1/2 the price and 90% the speed its a no brainer.

  3. #3
    Senior Member charleski's Avatar
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    Does your Motherboard have an AGP slot? It'll be fairly obvious if it does, it's the slot closest to the CPU and is set further back from the back edge of the board.

    An AGP video card will give much better results than a PCI one. Here's a few suggestions for cards that should run the games you want. I wouldn't invest too much, as it's an outdated interface. OTOH, the video card will have the biggest impact on getting a decent framerate. A 7600GS would be reasonable. Or it might be an idea to stick with your current processor and get a 7600GT.

    If changing the CPU I'd go for the 2.8Ghz CPU at half the price.

    As far as RAM goes, just get the cheapest PC3200 that's available. Looking at the CPUid page, it seems your MB actually only needs PC2700, but PC3200 is the same price. RAM timings mean little on Intel systems (unlike AMD, where the CPU talks directly to the memory).

    Obviously you don't want to be spending too much on these upgrades, as none of them can be carried over to a more modern PCIe/DDR2 system.

  4. #4
    Sukiyaki Western! notsobig's Avatar
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    Agree with above posters, avoid FX5200 by all means. Your motherboard should have AGP slot at least(never seen one without) if it's not very very old one so AGP card is much better choice for you. I think Scan have 6600GT AGP for similar price, which is way better card.

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    • gOdman's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte 965P ds4
      • CPU:
      • Core2 E6600 >3.1GHz
      • Memory:
      • 2GB crucial ballistix, 1GB crucial tracer
      • Storage:
      • 2*320 barracudas
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 7900GTX (no overclockn in vistax64 :( )
      • PSU:
      • 500w Enermax Liberty
      • Case:
      • Antec sonata 1, or 2?
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" TFT
      • Internet:
      • 1Mb/s
    yeah or get another gigabyte of 400mhz ram, meaning you have 1.5gb then upgrade to sckt 939 motherboard get a 3500+ and a pcie graphics card?

    Whats your budget?

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    • oralpain's system
      • Motherboard:
      • DFI "Blood Iron" P35-T2RL
      • CPU:
      • Intel Pentium E2140 @ 400x8 (3.2GHz), 1.375v
      • Memory:
      • Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 CL4 @ 500MHz (DDR 1000), 4-4-4-12-T2, 2.3v
      • Storage:
      • 2x Seagate ST3250410AS
      • Graphics card(s):
      • NVIDIA 8800GTS (G92) 512 @ 783MHz core, 1836MHz shader, 1053Mhz memory, stock cooling 70% fan speed
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic SS-500GB
      • Case:
      • Antec P182, with some small modifications
      • Monitor(s):
      • ASUS VW222U
      • Internet:
      • Time Warner "Road Runner" Cable - 16 megabit downstream, 1 megabit upstream
    The slowest card that I would even bother playing BF2 on would be a 9800pro and even that would be iffy.

    FX5200s are dog slow. They were crap when they were brand new, and they have been out for several years. The entire FX line was junk, but the 5200 esp so. If you had a geforce3, you had a better card. I really cannot bash the 5200 enough, it was that bad.

    I really think a new system is in order if you want to play recent games.

  7. #7
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    • gOdman's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte 965P ds4
      • CPU:
      • Core2 E6600 >3.1GHz
      • Memory:
      • 2GB crucial ballistix, 1GB crucial tracer
      • Storage:
      • 2*320 barracudas
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 7900GTX (no overclockn in vistax64 :( )
      • PSU:
      • 500w Enermax Liberty
      • Case:
      • Antec sonata 1, or 2?
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" TFT
      • Internet:
      • 1Mb/s
    you can upgrade on a budget and get a fair bit of performance, eg:
    gigabyte of ddr 400mhz ram ,
    a 3200+ amd athlon cpu, 939,
    a 7600gt.
    939 asus, or other reputale brand moherboard.
    that should be adequate. Have a look around on scan, peraps their bundles of te week ections, you could get a similarndle towhat i have suggestedand ve a couple of quid.
    A 7600gt will be bigstep up from what you have now, a gigabyte of ram will aso help,and you could use your old ram, menin you have a total of 1.5gb!

  8. #8
    Laird Of The Glen jimborae's Avatar
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    • jimborae's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Pro
      • CPU:
      • Core i7 9700K@4.7Ghz
      • Memory:
      • Team Group DDR-3000 32Gig
      • Storage:
      • 1x Samsung 870 Evo 500Gb SSD, 1 x WD Red 4TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte Radeon 5700XT watercooled
      • PSU:
      • XFX 850W Black Edition
      • Case:
      • Phantek Enthoo Prime
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • 2 xDell 24"
      • Internet:
      • PlusNet 70Mb
    Quote Originally Posted by notsobig View Post
    Agree with above posters, avoid FX5200 by all means. Your motherboard should have AGP slot at least(never seen one without) if it's not very very old one so AGP card is much better choice for you. I think Scan have 6600GT AGP for similar price, which is way better card.
    Unfortunately he has a Dell machine and lots of even modern ones didn't have an agp slot to save on money. If doesn't then it's new motherboard/pc time if you still want to play those games, a pci based graphics card just won't cut it.

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