Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 AMD Athlon 2600+ 2.08 GHz 512 MB of Dual-Channel FSB333 RAM Sapphire Radeon 9800 Atlantis 128-bit Graphics card Shuttle MK40VN Mainboard VGA AC97 v2.3 (6 channel audio) Integrated Audio DVD-Rom 12x DVD Drive CD-RW Drive Floppy A:/ drive Mega 450w PSU 56K Modem Western Digital 5200 RPM 120 GB Hard drive What should i upgrade above ? Alot of people say RAM then Hard Drive because of the speed, but i was thinking about audio and motherboard maybe, because my PCI slots bing low and so close together (i only have 3 and 1 is right under the video card where i cant fit anything and the other has a Modem in it.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Super 64 0 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Well your system isn't too bad off. I would rank your upgrade needs in this order: 1. More RAM. Up it to at least 1GB. 2. Hard drive upgrade. Get at least a 7200rpm drive. Chain your current drive on as a slave drive for extra back up/storage space. 3. You didnt specify if your Vid card is 128mb or 256mb? If you can afford it, drop in the same model, but with 256MB on board mem. Make sure its an 8X AGP bus. 4X is a huge bottleneck for todays games. 4. Check your MoBo info to see if it supports a faster chip. You might be able to drop in a 3GHZ for an affordable price now days. (Im not up on my AMD speeds/models) Now, if you decide to go with a new motherboard all together, dont spend a lot on upgrading this current pc right now. Because if you buy a new MoBo, you'll be replacing the vid card with a PCI Express, or SLI card. Replacing the memory with at least PC3200 rather than PC2700 (333mhz). And probably upgrading the HD type from IDE to SATA. Also dont forget a new, faster CPU to fit the newer MoBo's. Its pretty much a total rebuild. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 128 mb video card, i realllly aint worrying about that because my damn card isnt working now and its in the shop, ill upgrade when i really need it , and yes its 8x AGP and basically if its a total rebuild ill just get a gaming pc, i rreally dont have money now :\ plus i just want something to play games, mine works fine.. and what about audio? i really dont wanna upgrade, i just did that to the PSU video card and mother board aroudn 3 times since nothing works right. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyHaired 0 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Your motherboard is a "Micro ATX". Choosing a mobo with more PCI slots means "ATX" = new, bigger case too. The Sapphir Radeon card is known as one of the best in that serie so I hope it'll work when you get it back or you get a replacement if the guarantee is still valid. I checked the mobo and see it comes with onboard graphic. I take it you did disable that. Sounds like you're happy with the rig as is apart from the graphics card so I agree with you and buy a good soundcard. Remember to disable the onboard sound in the BIOS. Secondly you can consider an external modem, freeing up a PCI slot. You'll also remove some of the heat and power consumption outside the PC. Thirdly: More RAM. Otherwise it'll be much like Super 64 says: Total rebuild. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 (edited) Whats everyone else think? try to get RAM and Hd if i can? or get Audio or new mobo maybe , I really want 5.1 surround sound but i dunno that i need it or if id really get much sicne id have to buy speakers too, im supposed to get broadband this summer so i dunno. and if my pc is fixed soon when i get mone yat the end of the year i wanna get RAM or Audio or RAM + audio or anything i realyl need (liek a HD) Edited June 20, 2005 by Soldier-75thRR- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crimson 0 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 You're system isn't all that bad, and in some areas better than mine, and I play BF2 at high settings. My suggestion is to get a gig of PC3200/DDR400 RAM, dual channel if your mobo supports it, then a nice 7200RPM SATA HDD. After that, start saving money for a total system over haul. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 23, 2005 Author Share Posted June 23, 2005 why a overhaul? blah maybe in the next year or 2 but nowhere near now i hope .... or else im gonna try and get a alienware Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crimson 0 Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 I never even suggested to do it now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter 0 Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 That is really a good system, and the video card you have is one of the best. I run one myself, and run everything on high. I recommend getting a GB of PC3200 RAM to run in dual channel mode, and a 7200RPM HDD. Then you will have a great system that will last you a good while. Everything else you have is really good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stalker_Zero 0 Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 what video card u got now? fragbox told me the sapphire had conflicts so he had to get another one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter 0 Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 what video card u got now? fragbox told me the sapphire had conflicts so he had to get another one. ← Just about everyone I play with has a Sapphire, and it has got to be the most compatible ATI card on the market. The 9800 Pro from sapphire with 128MB RAM will run anything out today at high settings(provided the rest of your PC is halfway decent. 99.995% of conflicts come from drivers, and for that, you can thank ATI. But thir last 2 sets of drivers have been good, and the Omega drivers are frickin' awesome. If he had conflicts, I'm willing to bet it was a driver issue, not a board issue, almost certainly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 27, 2005 Author Share Posted June 27, 2005 (edited) Well the shop says The AMD Athlon is conflicting with the Video card and maybe something else... so i think they put in another card , i dunno what brand but its still a Radeon 9800 not a sapphire because it was so hot in the heatsink it almost burned me... :\(i hope or im not gonna use it), anyway they claim it will all be the same hardware i have or up to par with it so i dont lose anything.. btw after reading a certain "Issue" on sapphire.com they arent ever ordering a sapphire again.. :\ Heres the big problem that i had.., mainly i think because it burnt me though. and the shop are doing it for free i guess, they were. maybe Wednesday Edited June 27, 2005 by Soldier-75thRR- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter 0 Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Ok. I know for a fact it isn't the processor interfering with the card. I don't know how they can say that. Everyone I know with one of these cards is running an AMD Athlon XP 2700+-3000+ with no issues at all. Myself, I run an Athlon XP 3000+ with it, and it is awesome. The Radeon needs to be on it's own 12 volt rail. If it has to share that rail with something, it needs to be a CD ROM drive or something that doesn't pull power constantly. As for heat, the 9800 Pro's, even the Sapphires, come with a fan also. If you didn't have a fan on your card, it isn't a 9800 Pro. They require one. As for me, I'm questioning the knowledge and know how of this shop. I get the feeling they don't know what is wrong, or how to read the signs. And to say the processor is conflicting with the video card? I wonder on what planet that is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 (edited) they said it was conflicting with something else too,(or) ram or mainboard or something , i dunno i just want it fixed... as for anything else, i just dunno, theyve changed the mainboard and power supply , mobo 2 times (or 1), and psu 3 times... plus they tried another radeon 9800 in it and it still did it I couldnt even believe it :| so , i got a radeon , enjoyed it for 6 months of awesomeness of IL-2 Sturmovik and Half Life 2 and 20+ other games and now it does this thing is it came out of the blue doing it. I just udnno cuz they changed half my pc and tried a thousand things. the only thing i didnt get was blue screen, hoping thats gone atleast. maybe its becuase my pc was a OEM until he changed the burnt out hardware/ whiped the HD and stuff? i dunno dont worry, i agree with Phantom on them not knowing what it is lol seems like that......... One thing, there only one damn guy working on it so yeah....... Edited June 30, 2005 by Soldier-75thRR- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crimson 0 Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Might be an IRQ conflict? Check and see if you have a PCI card in the PCI directly underneath your AGP slot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 I thought that a while ago , but as i said i dont think i have anything udner there, and i dunno if it would even fit the motherboard is so small.... but yeah i guess they might have, im sure i checked , all i have is a modem and video card, and the modem is at the bottom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 Well , i sent a note to them by my relatives today about 12v rail thing , i know its prolly obvious but i dunno with these guys. (im guessing you meant the video card specifically) also could it be the integreated video conflict? it is disable i suppose, it waas on the first motherboard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 OK, look i get my pc back today and now guess what!? No Blue screen or colorful screen or corrupted death, but instead the monitors go crazy on me and go into standby unless i use safe mode, also now i have a ###### 9700 PRO which is supposedely comparable to 9800 i hope this doesent make me have to upgrade more or something ......... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crimson 0 Posted July 1, 2005 Share Posted July 1, 2005 Wow, hold up. You took your PC in with a 9800, and when you got it back you know have a 9700 Pro? Slightly illegal without your permission I would assume... Maybe they have set the refresh rate too high for your monitor. Set it back to 60 and work your way up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted July 1, 2005 Author Share Posted July 1, 2005 (edited) Well, it is free....... Now i get to worry if the 9700 will live up to what i had , a radeon 9800 >_> i hope this doesent effect anything graphics/performance wise Now i can get all ###### off when i lost alot of power EDIT and they did have my permission but i thought it was a 9800 Edited July 1, 2005 by Fragbox Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted July 4, 2005 Author Share Posted July 4, 2005 ok my Master priority is RAM / Hard Drive..... Anyone got any suggestions, my motherboard support 2 GB of RAM (DDR333)(Which by the way i hope i still doesent make me HAVE to have a PC2700) Information from 'http://www.computerhq.com/Shuttle_MK40VN_SocketA_VIA_KM400/MK40VN/products/partinfo-id-86649.html' then proccessor all the other stuff ill end up buying (or should i buy a new pc when that time comes) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Foxtrot360 0 Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 (edited) Anyone know if i should get SATA or IDE when i upgrade the hard drive? (Just wondering since noones said anything about that) and RAM , DDR333 PC2700 good? (either 2 512s or 1gb stick)(woot my motherboard supports 2 gb) Edited July 6, 2005 by Fragbox Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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