Budget computer

[Mo.Raider]

Hi,

Question for the tech's out there. I have been looking at upgrading the graphic card for my cheap emachines computer, and after trying to deal with the headache of finding the compatable cards and installing it, I began looking into another cheap pc instead.

Here are the specs

Specifications
CPU: AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ Processor (64-bit with AMD64 Technology)
(512KB L2 cache, 2.20GHz, 2000MHz FSB)
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 1
Chipset: ATI RS482
Memory: 1024MB DDR (2x512MB), 400MHz Dual Channel
Expandable to 4GB
Hard Drive: 200GB (7200 RPM, 2MB cache) 2
Optical Drives: 16x DVD±RW Multi-Format Double Layer Drive
48x CD-ROM drive
Media Reader: 8-in-1 Digital Media Manager (Secure Digital (SD), Smart Media, Micro Drive, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Compact Flash, Mulitimedia Card, USB 2.0)
Video: ATI Radeon® Xpress 200 (PCI-Express®)Up to 128MB DDR Shared Video Memory
PCI-Express (PCI-E x16) slot available for upgrade
Sound: AC '97 Audio, Dolby 5.1 (6-channel)
Modem: 56K ITU V.92 ready Fax/Modem
Network: 10/100Mbps integrated Ethernet LAN
Peripherals: Premium Multimedia Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers
Dimensions: 14.25"H x 7.25"W x 16.00"D
Ports/Other: 7 USB 2.0 (2 in front, 4 in back, 1 in Media Reader), 2 IEEE 1394 (1 in front, 1 in back), 1 VGA external connector, 1 parallel, 2 PS/2, 5 audio ports (2 in front, 3 in back)
Pre-Installed
Software: Microsoft® Works 8.0 1, Microsoft® Office 2003 Trial3 (Student Teacher Edition), Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, Microsoft® Money 2005, Microsoft® Encarta Online, Microsoft® Windows Media Player 10, CyberLink® PowerDVD, RealNetworks RealPlayer®, Nero 6 Suite, Napster 3.0 (30-day trial)4, Quicktime, Microsoft® Internet Explorer, AOL 9.0 (6 months membership included. Additional phone charges may apply.), Google Toolbar, Norton Internet Security™ 2005 (90-day complimentary trial)5, McAfee Anti-Spyware (30-day complimentary trial)6, eMachines BigFix®7 - identifies and resolves problems that affect the system before they occur


My questions are:

1) Would this computer run the newer games out there such as Age of Empires III, Civ 4 etc.?

2) With current 2.5 ghz processor, 256 ram, 40gb hd am I better off budget wise, tech wise to just stay the course and upgrade the graphics card.

Thanks in advance!

[MizzouRah]

Not sure what the price is of that system, check this deal out as well:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16883102652

Anyhow, I would upgrade your pc with a video card (I bought an x800GT on new egg for $175 shipped) and your ram to 1 GB and you should be fine for now.

Just make sure it's the AGP one, unless you have PCI Express. For about $300 your 2.5 Ghz pc should be fine running those types of games. I have a P4 2.0 and only 512 Mb of ram (I'm getting another 512 for Christmas) and everything but F.E.A.R runs fine.

[daedalus]

As far as I am told, shared memory on graphics card is an evil on par to Digital River and Dave Dial. But I don't know personally. Everything else seems fine.

As MizzouRah said, on the old computer, you would want to upgrade both memory and graphics card.

[Mo.Raider]

Thanks guys! I think I will stick with the graphics card. I went to crucial technologies and they guarantee the card to work with my computer, but their selection was very limited. As long as I have an AGP slot should most graphic cards work? I have put ram in before, and the graphic card looks pretty simplistic also, so I think I can handle it. They say a Radeon 9600se will work for my system, but I was wondering if maybe a little newer card might work?

Anyway thanks a bunch.

Mo

[yabanci]

I'm not sure why you're worried about graphics cards being compatable. Any AGP card will work. And why buy it from crucial. They'll sell you a Radeon 9600SE for $78. You can go to newegg and get the same card for $54.

[Bee]

Thanks guys! I think I will stick with the graphics card. I went to crucial technologies and they guarantee the card to work with my computer, but their selection was very limited. As long as I have an AGP slot should most graphic cards work? I have put ram in before, and the graphic card looks pretty simplistic also, so I think I can handle it. They say a Radeon 9600se will work for my system, but I was wondering if maybe a little newer card might work?

Anyway thanks a bunch.

Mo

If you have an AGP slot, any AGP graphics card will work (but not a PCI-E card so watch out for some of the new cards). The 9600SE is a decent card and relatively inexpensive. I agree with yabanci that I'd get it through an online retailer and install it myself. If you can add ram, you can add a video card. If you want advice on a video card, I'd post a rough price range you are looking at and I'm sure some here will make suggestions as to what would work for you.

[flere-imsaho]

Crucial is a memory supplier. Do not buy a video card through them. Buy the video card from Newegg. Buy the memory from them, though. :)

[Samdari]

That system above is a good system, as long as you also buy a PCI Express video card and turn off the onboard video. Onboard video sucks for gaming, there is just no way around it.

[MizzouRah]

www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com)

[Mo.Raider]

Still haven't upgraded. I was ready to pull the trigger and build after doing exhaustive and informative research on the subject, but last night I stumbled onto this deal from newegg and wondered for the money if it was a steal. It still has onboard graphics, but they are nvidia and from my research seems to be leaps ahead of other onboard graphics. It is also made with pretty good parts from what I can tell also, and very upgradeable. What do you expert techsters think?

$459.00

SpecificationsGeneral Spec
Brand ABS
Series Awesome
Model Awesome V2 30
Recommended Usage Home / Home Office
Form Factor Mid Tower
Colors Black/Silver
Processor AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Processor Main Features 64 bit Processor
Cache Per Processor 512KB L2 Cache
Memory 512M DDR400
Hard Drive 160GB
Optical Drive 1 16X DVD±RW Drive
Graphics onboard NVIDIA Geforce 6150
Audio onboard AD1986A 5.1 Channels
Ethernet Marvell Gigabite Lan
Power Supply 300W
Operating System Windows XP Home
Software Included ABS Windows XP Home RESTORE DVD
Warranty
Manufacturer Warranty 90 Days warranty
Motherboard
Chipset NVIDIA nForce6150
Motherboard Name ASUS A8N-VM CSM Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU
CPU Type Athlon 64
Installed Qty 1
Max Supported Qty 1
CPU Speed 3200+
L2 Cache Per CPU 512KB
CPU Socket Type Socket 939
CPU Main Features 64 bit Processor
Graphics
GPU/VPU Type NVIDIA GeForce 6150
Graphics Interface Integrated video
Memory
Memory Capacity 512MB DDR
Memory Speed DDR400
Form Factor DIMM 184-pin
Memory Spec 512Mx1
Memory Slots (Available/Total) 3/4
Maximum Memory Supported 4GB
Hard Drive
HD Capacity 160GB
HD Interface PATA
HD RPM 7200rpm
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type DVD±RW
Optical Drive Spec Write Speed:
DVD+R 16X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-R 16X, DVD-RW 6X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 32X, DVD+R DL 8X, DVD-R DL 6X
Read Speed:
DVD-ROM 16X; CD-ROM 48X
Audio
Audio Chipset AD1986A
Audio Channels 6 channels
Communications
LAN Chipset Marvell Gigabite
LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps
Front Panel Ports
Front USB 2
Front Audio Ports 2
Back Panel Ports
PS/2 2
VGA 1 VGA, 1 DVI
Rear USB 4
Rear IEEE 1394 1
RJ45 1 port
Rear Audio Ports 3 ports
Expansion
External Bays External 5.25" Drive Bays: 4
External 3.5" Drive Bays: 2
Internal Bays Internal 3.5" Drive Bays: 4
PCI Slots (Available/Total) PCI Express x16: 1
PCI Express x1: 1
PCI Slots: 2
Storage Controller PATA: 2 x ATA100 up to 4 Devices
SATA II: 4
SATA RAID: RAID 0/1/0+1/5
Physical Spec
Dimensions 18" x 7.8" x 16.3"
Packaging
Package Contents ABS Windows XP Home RESTORE DISC