Thread: Tell me about cheap computer upgrades.

You should probably provide us with what you have in your computer, RAM, processor, video card and OS for starters.

Also, if your video card needs to be changed, than you're already going over $100 if you want something decent, unless you can find some really good deals somewhere. RAM is relatively cheap, and can make a big difference, but either a video card or a new processor are both going to cost you. And really, it all comes down to a limiting factor, your computer is only as good as the crappiest thing in it.

I know about the video cards. I was hoping to avoid buying one if I could.

The RAM in my comp, I'm pretty sure, is close to 2gb and my video card is an nVidia 6150 Geforce 430.

I think this would do better in Tech Talk.

Thanks ClouD. I'll post the stats tomorrow. It's too late and I'm too tired.

You would really be happy with a new video card. That card you listed is old as dirt, and from what i can tell it seems to be on board. That is a terrible combo. Even a mid range card from todays choosings should blow that one away. I would suggest getting your new parts from newegg. I recently built my new rig and ordered all my parts from them. They have good deals and good prices on shipping.

Remember to keep GPU and CPU pretty much equal in power, otherwise you're not getting what you should out of either.

See if you can upgrade to a GeForce 8800 - 9600. That's about $40 - $80 for a 1GB version. Also, what is your OS?

Thanks everybody. My dad's really good with computers, so he can help me out with some of it. I'll need to learn a bit more than I thought about the internals of a computer.

Anyways, mine's a Windows Vista. I've tried using Ubuntu and openSUSE, but my computer had problems partitioning them, so I get less than 2GB when I install them, no matter how much I allow for that OS.

Anyways, after looking at Newegg (my dad's favorite store) I think I can get a decent nVidia somewhere in the mid 700 range for $80. Here's some specifications for my specific computer (it hasn't been upgraded at all).

http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/10...09603sp2.shtml

Alright, just as a comparison, I went back and downloaded the demo that released over two years ago. I had to change it to the lowest settings. At that point, it was perfectly playable. However, at several times I got choppy frame rates even on that.

Does this help at all?

Ah, that detailed list of specs helps a lot. I understand that you're on a budget, but I strongly recommend getting something newer than a card in the 7 series. I see how the price looks attractive to you, but i honestly don't think its worth it to buy such an old card. Now a days i probably wouldn't recommend anything lower than an 8800 for an nvidia card.

Also, it's too bad that you only have two dimm slots. If you're going to upgrade your RAM then you wont be able to use the sticks you already have. You will have to get a 4 GB kit ( 2 sticks of 2 GB). With any luck though, your motherboard will support 800 Mhz RAM and you will not only get more RAM but faster RAM as well.

I just realized something. He only has a 300 watt power supply. I have seen older cards require any where between 250 - 350 watt power supply and newer cards i have seen require a 400 - 500 watt power supply.

If he's on a budget, I'd recommend getting an ATi card, a much better price/performance ratio if you're on a budget. The Radeon HD 4770 has great performance for the price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102835

What's the nvidia equivalent? I assume something aroudn ~8000 or higher?

The 4850 is more powerful and cheaper than the 4770.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102824

"Cons: Died after about 90 days. Computer crashed, wouldn't post, replaced the video card (with an older one I had around) and it worked fine.

Over on the Penny Arcade forums we have a computer build thread, and already we have three Sapphire Radeon 4850s that have died in there (may or may not all be this specific model). Which is why when my system stopped working, I knew EXACTLY what to swap out first. Seriously, unless you want to deal with RMAing it later, buy something else."

Do you think it's worth it still?

otherwise, that seems like a fairly good upgrade without going too far over budget (I'd probably only replace the video card, and maybe upgrade the RAM and CPU).

Also, my computer's had an Nvidia card since I got it. Do you think it will work if I switch to an ATI?

Also, I'm sure some of you know I'm in High School living with my parents, and I don't have a job.

I get about $20 a week, and some of that goes to other places such as coin collecting and airsoft.

So, I could probably spend $40-$80 a month on the upgrades, not to mention the games. And I might get some of it for Christmas this year.

That's why I'm so tight about the budget.

Originally Posted by oniman7

"Cons: Died after about 90 days. Computer crashed, wouldn't post, replaced the video card (with an older one I had around) and it worked fine.

Over on the Penny Arcade forums we have a computer build thread, and already we have three Sapphire Radeon 4850s that have died in there (may or may not all be this specific model). Which is why when my system stopped working, I knew EXACTLY what to swap out first. Seriously, unless you want to deal with RMAing it later, buy something else."

Do you think it's worth it still?

otherwise, that seems like a fairly good upgrade without going too far over budget (I'd probably only replace the video card, and maybe upgrade the RAM and CPU).

Also, my computer's had an Nvidia card since I got it. Do you think it will work if I switch to an ATI?

Yes, there shouldn't be a problem switching card brands. They don't use different interfaces like processors do.

The reason i chose to the sapphire card is that it was one of only two 4850's that are $100 or less. That one had the most reviews which gives a more accurate view of the cards quality. The other card on the page only had 2 reviews, so for all we know those two guys got the only two working cards. I'm not saying that is the case, but we just don't know.

here are the cards for 100 or less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...5%20-%20%24100

Here are all the 4850's sorted by best rating. They are a little bit more expensive, but they do have better ratings and a couple come with some extras.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...on%20HD%204850

As far as the video card conflicting with the chip set that won't happen unless you're trying to use duel video cards. Nvidia's SLI and ATI's Crossfire are both proprietary and are supposed to require specific chip sets. Since you are just using one card there won't be any problems.

Originally Posted by FortressForever

As far as the video card conflicting with the chip set that won't happen unless you're trying to use duel video cards. Nvidia's SLI and ATI's Crossfire are both proprietary and are supposed to require specific chip sets. Since you are just using one card there won't be any problems.

Actually, there are people that have an Nvidia card and an ATi card in their system. You can use the Nvidia for PhysX(which is useless anyway) and the ATi card for the actual graphics. They won't interfere with eachother or anything.

Yes, you are right. I think that is a big waste of money though. I was talking about SLI or Crossfire using both cards for video. If you want to get technical then there are hacked drivers that allow SLI to work on a crossfire mobo, or maybe it was the other way around, maybe both. I can't remember the details. Also, back in 2007 HP had support for both SLI and Crossfire on the nforce 680i chipset in their Blackbird 002 pc.