TechSpot - PC Technology News and Analysis

cfitzarl · #**121** 10-29-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by nardi11011

Hello everyone, I have a Dell Dimension 3000 and I wanted to buy a new graphics card, only to find out that I have no AGP/PCI-e slot.

So I was thinking of buying this card, but I don't know how good it is and I don't think it'll hold out for a long time. So maybe I'd better buy a new mobo, could you recommend one for me? My specs:
Processor: P4 Northwood 3.0Ghz
Ram: 1GB, DDR, DDR2 or GDDR3; I'm not sure... Probably DDR
Motherboard: I dunno... but I know I it's a mATX
GFX card: Ugh... Intel intergrated graphics crap...
Sound: Sound Blaster something.. (I can't check, I'm on another PC)
HDD: One Maxtor IDE 160GB and a external Maxtor USB 250GB

I don't care if the mobo has AGP or PCI-e, whatever is cheaper is good for me :P Oh yeah, do you also know a pretty-good-not-too-expensive-AGP/PCI-e card for use with my new mobo?

That is the best you can get for your curent motherboard. Just make sure you have the proper power requirements (they are slightly low compared to newer cards).

PSO Gamer · #**122** 10-29-2006

System Requirements:

Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 FX
300 Watt power supply or higher
Super VGA or DVI-I compatible monitor
System Memory of 256 MB or higher
483 Watt power supply or higher
480 MB available hard disk space
2.1 PCI compliant slot
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive

Now what I want to know here is.... how do I know how many watts my power supply is?

cfitzarl · #**123** 10-29-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSO Gamer

System Requirements:

Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 FX
300 Watt power supply or higher
Super VGA or DVI-I compatible monitor
System Memory of 256 MB or higher
483 Watt power supply or higher
480 MB available hard disk space
2.1 PCI compliant slot
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive

Now what I want to know here is.... how do I know how many watts my power supply is?

Open up your computers' case, and look for a chart next to the power supply. It should be listed on their. Also know the ampere rating on the +12V rail (ex. 12A, 34A, 20A etc.).

PSO Gamer · #**124** 10-30-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfitzarl

Open up your computers' case, and look for a chart next to the power supply. It should be listed on their. Also know the ampere rating on the +12V rail (ex. 12A, 34A, 20A etc.).

Thanks for the info.... though not for the reason you described. I opened up the case to find my computer literally littered in dust...x.x

So I got the cleaning.... next thing I knew that PSOBB game I had that was a bit jumpy seems to work fine now. Guess its just because the inside hasnt been cleaned in about 2 years....>.> Even so, I still plan on getting a new video card anyway.

cfitzarl · #**125** 10-30-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSO Gamer

Thanks for the info.... though not for the reason you described. I opened up the case to find my computer literally littered in dust...x.x

So I got the cleaning.... next thing I knew that PSOBB game I had that was a bit jumpy seems to work fine now. Guess its just because the inside hasnt been cleaned in about 2 years....>.> Even so, I still plan on getting a new video card anyway.

Well, I would've never guessed that!

Dark_Kaos · #**126** 10-30-2006

wow cleaning something can improve things for a computer a bit i guess then

PSO Gamer · #**127** 10-31-2006

So if I decide to put a completely new mother board for my Dell Dimension 3000, what are good choices for it?(obviously one that allows me to use video cards other than PCI...)

Also, I'm thinking of getting a new CPU for the PC as well. What's the best one I can put into this computer.

Thanks for helping everyone past, present, and future.

I'm a bit impatient you see... so I really dont want to have to go and buy a new PC... I can just get better parts one by one, little by little until I have it the way I want it. I guess I would need to know of a different power supply as well to keep up with all this stuff. I don't think my current is alot, sadly... =/

vnf4ultra · #**128** 10-31-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSO Gamer

So if I decide to put a completely new mother board for my Dell Dimension 3000, what are good choices for it?(obviously one that allows me to use video cards other than PCI...)

Also, I'm thinking of getting a new CPU for the PC as well. What's the best one I can put into this computer.

Thanks for helping everyone past, present, and future.

I'm a bit impatient you see... so I really dont want to have to go and buy a new PC... I can just get better parts one by one, little by little until I have it the way I want it. I guess I would need to know of a different power supply as well to keep up with all this stuff. I don't think my current is alot, sadly... =/

If you want a new motherboard and cpu, I'd suggest a micro atx(so it will fit your dell case) amd socket 939 motherboard(939 supports ddr memory, which is what you already have). It will be much faster than your current socket 478 pentium/celeron board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138264
I'd suggest something like an athlon x2 3800+ processor to go with it.
Also, newegg has a deal where if you get a 939 fx55 processor, you can get a free motherboard. (note the cpu is oem, so you'd need a heatsink/fan for it too)
http://promotions.newegg.com/amd/amd_fx55/index.html

Also, you'd almost surely need a better power supply to run these parts. Probably a 400w power supply would be good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104953

Then you'd need a pci-e video card...

PSO Gamer · #**129** 10-31-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by vnf4ultra

If you want a new motherboard and cpu, I'd suggest a micro atx(so it will fit your dell case) amd socket 939 motherboard(939 supports ddr memory, which is what you already have). It will be much faster than your current socket 478 pentium/celeron board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138264
I'd suggest something like an athlon x2 3800+ processor to go with it.
Also, newegg has a deal where if you get a 939 fx55 processor, you can get a free motherboard. (note the cpu is oem, so you'd need a heatsink/fan for it too)
http://promotions.newegg.com/amd/amd_fx55/index.html

Also, you'd almost surely need a better power supply to run these parts. Probably a 400w power supply would be good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104953

Then you'd need a pci-e video card...

So does that mean I only need the second link and the last link, then a PCI-e card? because the second link appears to have the same thing from the first in it, plus the processor.

*Edit I just saw my manual for my Dim 3000 http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1043338

It shows three PCI slots... O.o
On the inside on my comp I see three of them. The second one is taken by my modem so PCI 1 and PCI 3 are free. So if I installed a video card... if I did two of them would it make a great difference, or I can only do one at a time? I'm assuming since my current video is integrated... its not actually in any PCI port at all, because I can't see anything.

So if i bought two of the same vid card and placed it in PCI 1 and PCI 3, would that be okay? or would it not work at all? just curious. If I could do it, I would try to put the best PCI card in both....lol

F1N3ST · #**130** 10-31-2006

No SLI or Crossfire on PCI. So no.

cfitzarl · #**131** 10-31-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark_Kaos

wow cleaning something can improve things for a computer a bit i guess then

Yes, today I dusted out my friends computer and it ran very smoothly after I ran it again. Although, he also defragmented it as well. I don't know which did it. I do know though that dust can produce heat, and then the heat can stress out the components, which could indirectly cause slowdown, no?

PSO Gamer · #**132** 10-31-2006

Maybe I should defrag my comp as well. XD

cfitzarl · #**133** 10-31-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSO Gamer

Maybe I should defrag my comp as well. XD

Yeah, that would help a bit.

PSO Gamer · #**134** 10-31-2006

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0755431

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0637004

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0514737

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0683254

I'm only looking on Dell's site because the have the payment plan thing. I don't feel like paying the whole amount off the bat and want one ASAP.

Btw, for a Dell Dim 3000 in case some of you didn't know by now...

One more thing. I doubt this thing is even relelvant for what I'm doing, but can someone explain what the heck these things are?

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0655755
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0655756

cfitzarl · #**135** 10-31-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSO Gamer

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0755431

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0637004

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0514737

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0683254

I'm only looking on Dell's site because the have the payment plan thing. I don't feel like paying the whole amount off the bat and want one ASAP.

Btw, for a Dell Dim 3000 in case some of you didn't know by now...

One more thing. I doubt this thing is even relelvant for what I'm doing, but can someone explain what the heck these things are?

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0655755
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0655756

I would just save enough money to buy a new card, Dell's prices are a complete rip off! The last two cards look like they are for rendering or some other use like game design. They may be expensive, but are not made to game with, so they probably won't give someone the best performance (I've read about people who have purchased these cards or wanted to purchase these cards because they were expensive, not a good idea).

EDIT:
The last card you asked about is for video editing and other uses that would go along with that.

Op2 · #**136** 11-02-2006

Hello,

I am using a Dell Demension 3000, and as a poor student, I'm happy with it, because I'm not a real gamer.
However, I would like to be able to play Counter Strike: Source (with my friends), so I just bought a cheap card "3DFuzion GeForce FX5500 256mb PCI".

Do you guys think that I can play CCS with that card? If no, I won't buy the game.

Thanks for reading,
D.

cfitzarl · #**137** 11-02-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Op2

Hello,

I am using a Dell Demension 3000, and as a poor student, I'm happy with it, because I'm not a real gamer.
However, I would like to be able to play Counter Strike: Source (with my friends), so I just bought a cheap card "3DFuzion GeForce FX5500 256mb PCI".

Do you guys think that I can play CCS with that card? If no, I won't buy the game.

Thanks for reading,
D.

Yup, it should play (maybe not on high quality) but it is compatible. My friend used to play it (CS:S) on his MX4000, and the FX5500 far surpasses that (I mean far too).

EDIT:
I just looked up your Dell online and you also have the correct hardware as well.

Also, these are the requirements for CS:S:

Minimum: 1.2 GHz Processor, 256MB RAM, DirectX 7 level graphics card, Windows 2000/XP/ME/98, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

Recommended: 2.4 GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, DirectX 9 level graphics card, Windows 2000/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

You pretty much meet the recommended with everything.

Op2 · #**138** 11-02-2006

Thank you very much cfitzarl! This might be the most helpful forum I've ever been.

So my Dell is not too terrible, isn't it? ^_^

PSO Gamer · #**139** 11-03-2006

The only two cards I saw there was Nvidia geforce fx 5200 256Mb, and diamond stealth 2120 radeon 9550. After i cash my paycheck today I'm just going to get one of the two. They're roughly the same price. Which one is better though? The games I play now on my PC does work with my intel extreme graphics 2 card that is built into my Dell, but it jumps around. So I think any video card should be enough to play it properly at normal settings... so which one should I choose?

cfitzarl · #**140** 11-03-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Op2

Thank you very much cfitzarl! This might be the most helpful forum I've ever been.

So my Dell is not too terrible, isn't it? ^_^

I truly only like the Dell XPS series. Your computer is not what I would call anything near a gaming computer, but from what you have said, it suits your purpose and that is what matters! The drawback from yours is the processor; the Intel Celeron D (I've owned one, and it was decent for a lot of office work), which is basically a Pentium IV with a slower FSB (Fron Side Bus), and less L2 (Level 2) Cache. Yours should be fine for most games.

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So you only have PCI slots and want to game?