am I going overboard and does it help my vid card at all?

[MonKENy]

Hi Everyone. im pretty new here, Names Monkeny,Monk,Ken whatever. I have a question about buying some new RAM

i am running

AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+

Mainboard : Unspecified K8/M1689D
Chipset : ULI M1689
Physical Memory : 512 MB
Video Card : ATI Technologies Inc Radeon 9800 XT (R350)
AGP Total Memory : 256 MB
Texture Memory : 250 MB
Hard Disk : SAMSUNG (14 GB)
Hard Disk : WDC (250 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165H6S
Monitor Type : Gateway EV700 - 16 inches
Network Card : Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi/ULi) ULi M5263 Fast Ethernet Controller
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RT8139 (A/B/C/810x/813x/C+) Fast Ethernet Adapter
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 2
DirectX : Version 9.0c

Well half my ram went out on me VERY recently (i had 1gig) so i was thinking of buying more but i was wonder how much is too much for my specs. i want to get 3 gigs. a 2 gig kit and a one gig stick. would that help me that much or would it be overkill?

Also i was wondering if i have that much ram would my system front some of it to my vid card for higher end games or would i still need a bigger badder VC? (im thinking of buying a new one as well)


if any other specs are wanted/needed please ask. Thanks for an advice you all have.

 

[myocardia]

Since your motherboard is Skt 939, you'll probably want to either grab an X2 for it, before they're all gone, or not spend any money on it at all. As far as the RAM, you'd be much better off removing the one 512 MB stick you've got in it, and just finding two 1GB sticks. And no, having more sytem RAM won't help your video card at all.

 

[MonKENy]

whats an x2? you mean the ram? as in 512 x2? lol im semi new at the hardware side of computers.

 

[Ruptga]

he means an Athlon X2, a dual core processor. You can mix and match memory sticks, but it's not recommended at all if you're overclocking, and it can be iffy even at stock speeds, especially with cheap components.

 

[MonKENy]

OHHH I have a amd 64 3200+ how much does an X2 cost? and no im not overclocking at all. so ill probably just buy 3 sticks of the same stuff.

 

[Ruptga]

You have an outdated socket, s939, and all CPUs for it have been discontinued for some time. You can probably still find some being sold by retailers, but might just have better luck getting one used. Also, you'd be putting money into a dead-end system, 939, DDR1, and AGP are all dead, but it could still be worthwhile as a quick fix. I don't really know where to look, check our FS/FT forum, google, the usual.

Edit: and before you bother with that, make sure your motherboard supports an X2, it may not if it's a really old 939 (which it seems to be since it has AGP)

 

[MonKENy]

im happy right now with all my specs. i am able to run (well up until recently with bioshock and crysis and what not) most new games. not 100% but damn close. i was able to run HL2 at max options. Im not a super hardcore pc gamer so its good for now until I can safely afford a new system. the only thing that concerns me is my core temp im getting 126c for my processor temp and 30c for the diode. that seems high to me.

 

[Frugal1ty]

126° C ? that's three or four times as hot as it should be, if you end up keepin that system i'd clean it out, there's no way it can stand those temps for very longer. but really, i'd just suggest getting a new build. parts for AM2 builds are really pretty reasonable right now and even though AM2 is on its way out you'd still be doin well to upgrade a generation.

a decent motherboard can be had for around $40-$50

an entry level AM2 X2 processor (3600+/3800+) can be had for $55-$65 (if you get a used one, which shouldn't matter much, you'll be closer to the $45 range)

2GB (1GB x 2) of PC26400 is super cheap right now and you can get a kit for maybe $40

and i'd suggest a 7600GT (as low as $50 used, $75 new), that'll man handle your 9800XT, or even a 7600GS would give you much better performance, and with those cards you won't even need additional power from a PCIe power connector so your power supply will work with it regardless

you can use that same power supply, network card, burner, and hard drive that you have now

i wouldn't put any more money into that computer. you'd get a world of improvement from those parts and all that for possibly under two hundred. plus you could recoup some money, maybe even close to half, by unloading your old parts on ebay.

but that's just what i'd do

 

[MonKENy]

wow i looked for the x2 and it was coming up at close to 150-200. where did you see them for that cheap? ok im gonna look at everything here. i may be able to swing all that soon. I have been unemployed for a few month, got laid off my last job and moneys tight. but my g/f just got a job and im getting unemployment and hopefully ill get a job soon.

I dont know why its so hot, i have a 6 inch fan as well as a 4 inch fan plus my VC has a secondary fan. When I brought it into pcclub they kinda laughed at how much air i was pushing through my case. plus the case itself is designed to be cool. Oh well if it burns out it burns out. I known the pc is about 3 years old in anycase.

that MB only has 1 ide port I need 2
that vid card doesnt have the right monitor port it seems like. im using the old vga style.

I might try using those parts together though and putting a low end pc together for a back up or whatever.

 

[Ruptga]

There's no way your CPU is 126C unless you're running it without a heatsink, try several different temp monitoring apps and see what you come up with. Also, it is possible to have too much air being shoved into the case, you want a balance of input and exhaust. It's entirely possible to be anal about case ventilation, and that's not necessary, but you may want to check our cases and cooling section and see what there is to see over there.

 

[MonKENy]

I also think im running to hot, im running at
Processor Temperature : 126 °C
Processor Temperature (Diode) : 30 °C
Mainboard Temperature : 0 °C
my specs are below. what do you guys think?

im using the pc wizard 2008 to check it. what would a better prog to check it with?

 

[Quiksilver]

Speedfan, Everest Home Edition, BIOS.

 

[MonKENy]

i used speed fan and it gives me temps but doesnt specify what each one is

temp 1. 64.c
temp 2. 126 .c
temp 3. 128 .c
HD0 40.c
Core 34.c

and im getting a 48/49 .c from my bios so yeah i think the core temp is what im looking at.
so I take it that 35-50 is ok?

 

[RiDE]

I almost have the same system.

I think 2gb is good. I'm looking for a set as well and it's somewhat sad that 2gb of DDR2 is much cheaper. I wouldn't buy another AGP card unless you're planning to hold on to that system for a longtime. My 9800xt runs TF2 just fine with med settings and no AA/AF. I'm just waiting for DDR3 to hit mainstream, which is probably a year away. Then hold on to that rig until DDR5 arrives. lol

 

[MonKENy]

our MB supports ddr3?

 

[RiDE]

Actually I meant buying a new board, cpu, and video card when DDR3 becomes reasonable. I'm going to be skipping DDR2 altogether.

 

[Frugal1ty]

yeah, wait till your finances stabilize def. but that X2 can be had at newegg for $60.

yeah i know most motherboards these days are comin with only 1 IDE, it can be annoying. i'd see about movin the data offa that 15GB drive, or if you feel like you just need that drive then you could do something like this.

also, that card, and most cards, come with an adapter that makes it possible to use vga cables (you can see it sitting next to the cd in the second to last picture from the link to the XFX card i showed you on newegg).

in any case i'm glad to hear you're thinking about upgrading, i makes good sense.

 

[MonKENy]

yeah I think im gonna just get some new RAM and leave it at that w/this system. I would rather put any other money into just a complete new system. Its just stupid that old ram is more expensive than the new ram. Maybe its because materials are cheaper for the DDR2? oh well. ill get some eventually.

 

[MonKENy]

ok so with tax return right around the corner ill be buying ram, i need ddr1 ram i forget i think 2700?

Memory Controller : Standard, EDO
Number of connectors : 3
Max. Module Size : 32 MB
Max. Memory Size : 96 MB
Supported Speed : 70ns, 60ns
Supported Voltages : 5v
Error Detection Method : 8-bit Parity
Error Correction Capability : None
Current/Supported Interleave : 1-way/1-way

im thinking of going with

http://www.crucial.com/store/m...bpoid=16E394F8A5CA7304

or

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Tech...qid=1202200630&sr=8-11

again this is my MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...depa=1&Item=13-152-052

now i have 4 slots for RAM, can I offset the sticks? like 1/3? I know i have to have a stick in the #1 slot but does it matter after that?

 

[MonKENy]

ok heres a rez from the past...Looks like I will be needing a vid card soon. Dont have the money to do more than get the same type. Mine is crashing when I play wow. never used to do that. I looked online but all I can find is deactivated items. any chance you guys can find me something cheap that equals what I have?

 

[DominionSeraph]

Crashing how? Spontaneous reboots; graphical glitches; Blue Screen?

 

[MonKENy]

when I was playing it kept rebooting, and then Yea I started to get graphical glitches. No blue screens though.

 

[TemjinGold]

Personally, with tax return right around the corner, I wouldn't buy ANYTHING for your current system. Just stick it out for a couple of months and you'll avoid wasting any more money that could be going into your new system (at your budget level, even $50 more can mean some MUCH nicer parts if you shop around.)

 

[MonKENy]

i wont be buying or making a new system anytime soon. I honestly wont have the funds for a long time. Im barely making it right now as it it. I dont even want to buy the new VC but I do alot of work online so I need the comp.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Problems with a video card will rarely result in reboots. That's more likely to be PSU, processor, or memory.