New Graphics Card a Waste of Time or not?

Sneachta

Hi all,
I have a Medion MD 8008 XL (PC MT6). Its P4 3ghz. 2.5gb ram.

I don't have money to buy a new pc any time soon.

So was wondering if there is a graphics card I could buy that would mean I could play any of the modern games available?

Thanks in advance for any help.

BadCharlie

Can u tell us what video card is in the computer all ready ? if any.

cherryghost

well as far as i can see from a quick googling, theres an AGP 8x slot on it

ScumLord

I don't know how much help a graphics card would be, your not going to be able to play anything recent with an AGP slot. If there are particular games from a few years back that your looking to play then fine but otherwise it could be like putting new shoes on a dead horse.

Solitaire

New build time methinks...

uberpixie

Sneachta wrote: »

Hi all,
I have a Medion MD 8008 XL (PC MT6). Its P4 3ghz. 2.5gb ram.

I don't have money to buy a new pc any time soon.

So was wondering if there is a graphics card I could buy that would mean I could play any of the modern games available?

Thanks in advance for any help.

For any modern game you really need a dualcore CPU, as suggested by SL, a new card is a waste unless you are playing older games.

Time for a new build mate. you should be able to knock something together without breaking the bank.

Solitaire

Maybe the calls for a fresh build are a bit mean; we're not dealing with a proprietary ****box Dell here after all

Remember: a load of stuff from the Medion may be reusable (RAM, case, PSU, drives, OS, monitor, peripherals...) and could drastically reduce the cost of a larger upgrade. Depending on the spec of all those parts you may only have to drop an extra ~€90 on an upgraded AM3 CPU and AM2+ mobo as well as a graphics card

Sneachta

Thanks guys for all your suggestions. Really can't afford at the moment so will have to wait and upgrade what i have or go for a totally new rig.

What is a AM2+ mobo exactly?

How much do you reckon I would have to spend to upgrade what i have roughly?

How much would a good motherboard, ram, cpu and graphics card costn roughly?

Thanks to all for your help.

ScumLord

Sneachta wrote: »

How much would a good motherboard, ram, cpu and graphics card costn roughly?

How much you got?

If you can save up and get a good motherboard/cpu combination. With a good base your PC will last you years as long as you get in at the top end, I think it's worth it in the long run. My PC is around 4 years old, I just recently upgraded it and expect to get at least another 2 years out of it as I still have the option to overclock it, and when I say get another two years, I mean as a top end PC able to play whatever you throw at it.

If you have that good base though with a quality MB/CPU you can get a sufficient/excellent system now with the option to turn it into a real monster down the road.

dogpile

Sneachta wrote: »

Hi all,
I have a Medion MD 8008 XL (PC MT6). Its P4 3ghz. 2.5gb ram.

I don't have money to buy a new pc any time soon.

So was wondering if there is a graphics card I could buy that would mean I could play any of the modern games available?

Thanks in advance for any help.

I bought this card in Peats over a year ago http://reviews.cnet.com/graphics-cards/asus-ah3650-silent-htdi/4505-8902_7-33132998.html ..about 80 quid I think I payed for it, it's AGP and plays latest games no problem at all (with XP)
Windows 7 however different story, tho I believe that more to do with th OS than the card

Solitaire

dogpile wrote: »

I bought this card in Peats over a year ago http://reviews.cnet.com/graphics-cards/asus-ah3650-silent-htdi/4505-8902_7-33132998.html ..about 80 quid I think I payed for it, it's AGP and plays latest games no problem at all (with XP)
Windows 7 however different story, tho I believe that more to do with th OS than the card

Yeah, but it costs almost as much as putting in a new CPU/mobo and getting a better cheap, naff graphics card in (e.g. HD4650). And performance would be vastly better due to the lack of CPU bottlenecking due to the old P4.

Sneachta wrote: »

Thanks guys for all your suggestions. Really can't afford at the moment so will have to wait and upgrade what i have or go for a totally new rig.

It all depends on what can be recycled. I need to know what RAM modules you have in there, size and capacity of each stick (sounds like a real mixture in there!), the form factor of your case (ATX, mATX, BTX, DTX etc.) and what fans it has/can take, the exact nature of your PSU (give me the model name at least) and the type and size of your HDD and the resolution of your current monitor. Hopefully only the CPU, GPU and old mobo need to go straight into the bin

What is a AM2+ mobo exactly?

A motherboard that can take both old and new AMD CPUs. The trick is that it uses DDR2 memory instead of DDR3. If that 2.5GB of RAM you have is even halfway decent you could recycle it with the new mobo while still being able to use a cheap modern CPU to boost performance tons

How much do you reckon I would have to spend to upgrade what i have roughly?

At the very least with maximum recycling? €120 plus shipping. On a good day. More likely you're looking at €150-200, but with a slightly better CPU and graphics card.

How much would a good motherboard, ram, cpu and graphics card costn roughly?

~€40 for a cheapie AM2+ mobo, ~€45 for an X2-240 CPU and ~€35 for a (very) cheap HD4650. At best. A better CPU would cost ~€70, but as it would be a fast tri-core (as opposed to your current slow, single-core P4) you'd be future-proofed for five minutes (if you found something that doesn't really like having "only" two CPU cores to run on) but its by no means vital, especially if money and/or PSU capacity are tight. Mobo could cost €35-€60 depending on where you buy it, go for at least a 780V chipset, 760, 770 and 785G are also possibilities if found dirt-cheap.

Pix currently have HD4650s selling for ~€33, which is just plain silly. Its also the absolute minimum you can hope to pay for a graphics card capable of running a 3D game properly. If you have a monitor resolution higher than 720p, you may struggle without a HD4770, which is upward of €75. I don't think you have the €100+ for a HD5750, despite its awesomeness (and future-proofing potential). Its the least you can expect to have and get decent framerates with a Full HD (1080p) monitor though. Most other cards are simply too cack or will draw too much power to risk being stuck on that PSU.

I fervently hope you don't need a new memory or PSU. That build sounds like it came with half a gig of RAM so I'm guessing the other 2GB was an upgrade. If its 667MHz stuff (or better) then breathe a sigh of relief; you can recycle it on an AM2+ mobo no problem. Otherwise RAM is expensive; 2GB of utter crap is gonna hit you for at least €35. Sucky. And what's the PSU like? Model number and/or ratings please. A new one is going to hit you for €30-45 easy, so again let's hope for some recyclability.

Mister Man

Here's your option's

Stick it out with the P4 until you get enough money for a high end PC
You could get a new motherboard and CPU (AMD athlon, AM2+ mobo)

Depending on the type of ram, you could just throw it into the new board saving yourself a few quid, You will need to crack open the case and tell us what PSU you have powering your PC at the moment

An AMD athlon II X2 is pretty cheap and would be a huge jump in proformance. For the triple cores there 50-70 I believe, But if you can't get the money just stick with the AMD X2.

As for motherboards, You could get a motherboard with decent onboard that can see you through until you can get money for a GPU (Don't hurt me :P)

a new PSU is 30-40 or maybe more so you can hope the PSU is good enough

All together you could prob upgrade using your old stuff for 80-150

So yeah just give us the PSU make/Power etc, RAM make, amount of stick's etc

Sneachta

Alright guys thanks again for all your helpful replies. I appreciate it. This is what I could find inside and on the net.

Ram
1. http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CT2KIT12864Z40B

1GBx2

2. Samsung PC3200U-30331-Z
M368L3223FTN-CCC
256MB DDR PC3200 CL3

2 x 256mb

Graphics Card
http://www.firingsquad.com/hw/910/ASUS_V9520_Video_Suite/


Power
Model No: fsp350-60mdn Rev. A

dc output: 350w

Motherboard

motherboard manual
http://217.110.237.67/Manuals/Medion%20MD8088-engl.pdf

It has DVD RW and DVD ROM

It has hard drive, mouse, keyboard

Monitor:
Old Dell monitor E771p

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-E771p-Black-17-CRT-Monitor-with-mains-SVGA-lead_W0QQitemZ160390735982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_ComputerComponents_Monitors?hash=item255808686e

Solitaire

You have DDR1 memory? I'm guessing that Medion is ancient. Very, very bad. I'm guessing the PSU won't be up to much either. Nor is the monitor. Great. And this all means the case won't be too good either and the HDD will probably be uselessly tiny. Hell, do you even have a DVD drive on that thing?! We're heading out to the €400 minimum neighbourhood fast here... new build time after all

Mister Man

Here's a quick list i made out for you

It's everything expect the GPU Which i don't know which one you want



Its a budget build no doubt but it would be a huge jump in proformance....

No you yourself can cut out the things you don't need (DVD-ROM, HDD Etc)

Solitaire

DAMN YOU! Beat me to it!

But I still think 1GB RAM and a 80GB HDD are a bit useless at this point in time :P

Shade over €275 shipped:



I doubt you'd need a better graphics card given you're probably at 1024*768. 1152*864 at most.

Mister Man

Solitaire wrote: »

DAMN YOU! Beat me to it!

But I still think 1GB RAM and a 80GB HDD are a bit useless at this point in time :P

True... could be a small chance that he has a big enough HDD (altho i wouldnt bet on it) only reason i ordered 80GB Is because i have a HDD here

As for the Ram, im sure he will be ok with the 1GB with a processor that's so much faster, that's actully a nice card.... might consider it seen as it's a low enough price... Altho im kinda set with a XFX GTS250

cherryghost

dont get the elixir ram for the love of god.

its terrible. i got those sticks right here. isnt compatible with 4/5 of my motherboards.

Solitaire

You tested it on 5 mobos I see

cherryghost

Solitaire wrote: »

You tested it on 5 mobos I see

well i bloody well had to. i thought the first one crapped itself when i put it in. And it didnt work on the other two either. then it did on the 4th. then not on the 5th. so err... yeah. elixir bleugh... never again.

Sneachta

cherryghost, solitaire, mister man, scumlord and everyone that replied thanks so much,

If I buy a new rig I will be going into more debt but I would consider it to be honest. If I did I would consider paying a bit more if the setup would be better and more futureproof. Lets say I was gonna spend between 400 - 500 what would you recommend? I will upgrade the monitor at some point in the future so want to cover that eventuality also. I have DVD RW, mouse and keyboard.

Mister Man

I'll leave that one up to the other guys...

For the money I'd guess AMD Phenom X2, X3, or X4 with a nice motherboard amd 4GB of Ram... You would get a very nice build with that money.

I would attempt a list right now but im not on my laptop or desktop

I'll make one tomorrow morning if I can

Solitaire

I'd recommend waiting as long as you can to build up some more money before even attempting this:



€468 shipped. The HD5750 is utter overkill for your current monitor but should keep you going nicely once you get around to upgrading the monitor

cherryghost

if you want my elixir ram, take it free of charge. it works, but only on some motherboards. i couldnt be arsed selling it if its only got about a 20% chance of it working on a board

Sneachta

cherryghost wrote: »

if you want my elixir ram, take it free of charge. it works, but only on some motherboards. i couldnt be arsed selling it if its only got about a 20% chance of it working on a board

I might take you up on that offer Cherryghost.
Thanks.

Solitaire; thanks for the list. It gives me a great starting point.

Mister Man

cherryghost wrote: »

if you want my elixir ram, take it free of charge. it works, but only on some motherboards. i couldnt be arsed selling it if its only got about a 20% chance of it working on a board

Hey if he doesn't take it i'll defo take it off you any time, ive only got 1 GB elixir ram in my motherboard right now and cant afford more for a few weeks

Yeah your prob thinking "Cry me a river" lol

But yeah honestly if he doesnt take it i will