• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

so it's time for a new computer? or is there anything i can do for this dinosaur?

AcerX

New Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
13 (0.00/day)
Processor AMD 2400XP 2.0GHZ.OC'd 2.3GHZ
Motherboard Mercury KNU400X-L Nforce2 Chipset
Cooling Tornado +7
Memory 1GB Corsair Val Mem 1 stick
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon 9550 AGP OC'd @ Core 410 Mem 405
Storage dinosaur lol 40gb WD caviar
Case old IBM netserver
Audio Device(s) AC97 onboard
Power Supply Powork 600W
Software Windows XP Professional
Hello i have a Micron PC. (don't laugh to hard!) Running a 1Ghz Tbird AMD Athlon.
I've done a few upgrades over the years(yes that wasn't a typo) like memory up to 758MB
ATI 9550 256MB. but i'm begining to guess that no matter how much you soup up a volkswagen, it still can't beat a ferrari!
even with overclocking the vid card it struggles to render 45 FPS. it still works good enough for most games but the newer games, well lets just say its struggles very badly! lol
i am somewhat computer literate, but i guess not quite in the league with some of you from what i've been reading on here.

is there anything that can be done to help this poor old comp. or is it really time to put it out to pasture? ive tried tweaking windows, and other routes but nothing really seems to help. i tried the ATItool and even then i can barely get 55FPS at 400.50/220.19. i don't think its the card i'm begining to think its the old girl lol. any suggestions will be appreciated. thanks
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2005
Messages
1,540 (0.23/day)
Location
Athens - Hellas
Processor C2D E7600
Motherboard GA EG41M ES2L
Memory 2GB ADATA 800MHZ
Video Card(s) ASUS HD4350
Storage OCZ VERTEX TURBO 32GB + 2 MORE..
Display(s) SM226BW
Audio Device(s) 7.1 HD / X-540
Software 7X86 ULT
i believe its time to have a massive upgrade.....
 
Joined
Dec 14, 2005
Messages
1,765 (0.26/day)
Location
Calverton, New York
System Name Current rig
Processor i9-9900k
Motherboard Z390 Aorus Xtreme
Cooling Corsair h150i Pro
Memory 32GB Ripjaws V 3200
Video Card(s) Asus 2090 ti Strix
Storage Samsung 970 Pro 1tb
Display(s) Alienware aw3418dw
Case Thermaltake View 91
Power Supply seasonic 1kw
I smell a budget build!!! :) Come to me for cheap prices ;)
Wait a couple weeks until the prices go down on the x1XXX series, and then I can get them alot cheaper than they are at stores :)
 

zekrahminator

McLovin
Joined
Jan 29, 2006
Messages
9,066 (1.37/day)
Location
My house.
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane @ 2.8GHz (224x12.5, 1.425V)
Motherboard Gigabyte sumthin-or-another, it's got an nForce 430
Cooling Dual 120mm case fans front/rear, Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, Zalman VF-900 on GPU
Memory 2GB G.Skill DDR2 800
Video Card(s) Sapphire X850XT @ 580/600
Storage WD 160 GB SATA hard drive.
Display(s) Hanns G 19" widescreen, 5ms response time, 1440x900
Case Thermaltake Soprano (black with side window).
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Live! 24 bit (paired with X-530 speakers).
Power Supply ThermalTake 430W TR2
Software XP Home SP2, can't wait for Vista SP1.
yeah, new computer lol.
 

Polaris573

Senior Moderator
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
4,268 (0.61/day)
Location
Little Rock, USA
Processor LGA 775 Intel Q9550 2.8 Ghz
Motherboard MSI P7N Diamond - 780i Chipset
Cooling Arctic Freezer
Memory 6GB G.Skill DDRII 800 4-4-3-5
Video Card(s) Sapphire HD 7850 2 GB PCI-E
Storage 1 TB Seagate 32MB Cache, 250 GB Seagate 16MB Cache
Display(s) Acer X203w
Case Coolermaster Centurion 5
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
Power Supply OCZ StealthXStream 600 Watt
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
bikr692002 said:
I smell a budget build!!! :) Come to me for cheap prices ;)
Wait a couple weeks until the prices go down on the x1XXX series, and then I can get them alot cheaper than they are at stores :)

How do you get components cheaper than retail?
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
8,253 (1.24/day)
System Name money pit..
Processor Intel 9900K 4.8 at 1.152 core voltage minus 0.120 offset
Motherboard Asus rog Strix Z370-F Gaming
Cooling Dark Rock TF air cooler.. Stock vga air coolers with case side fans to help cooling..
Memory 32 gb corsair vengeance 3200
Video Card(s) Palit Gaming Pro OC 2080TI
Storage 150 nvme boot drive partition.. 1T Sandisk sata.. 1T Transend sata.. 1T 970 evo nvme m 2..
Display(s) 27" Asus PG279Q ROG Swift 165Hrz Nvidia G-Sync, IPS.. 2560x1440..
Case Gigabyte mid-tower.. cheap and nothing special..
Audio Device(s) onboard sounds with stereo amp..
Power Supply EVGA 850 watt..
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech K270
Software Win 10 pro..
Benchmark Scores Firestike 29500.. timepsy 14000..
keep that one as a spare or sell it on cheap.. and start from scratch with a new one..

trog
 

AcerX

New Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
13 (0.00/day)
Processor AMD 2400XP 2.0GHZ.OC'd 2.3GHZ
Motherboard Mercury KNU400X-L Nforce2 Chipset
Cooling Tornado +7
Memory 1GB Corsair Val Mem 1 stick
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon 9550 AGP OC'd @ Core 410 Mem 405
Storage dinosaur lol 40gb WD caviar
Case old IBM netserver
Audio Device(s) AC97 onboard
Power Supply Powork 600W
Software Windows XP Professional
Yeah thats what i figured. Looks like the wife gets a very nice solitaire game huh? lol
Tax refund will come soon guess it time to get me a new machine! Bikr? what kinda deal ya gonna get me? :) pm me let me know man! cuz i'm definately interested!

Thanks for the replies everyone. your technical info means alot!
 

AcerX

New Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
13 (0.00/day)
Processor AMD 2400XP 2.0GHZ.OC'd 2.3GHZ
Motherboard Mercury KNU400X-L Nforce2 Chipset
Cooling Tornado +7
Memory 1GB Corsair Val Mem 1 stick
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon 9550 AGP OC'd @ Core 410 Mem 405
Storage dinosaur lol 40gb WD caviar
Case old IBM netserver
Audio Device(s) AC97 onboard
Power Supply Powork 600W
Software Windows XP Professional
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
2,481 (0.37/day)
You could do better I think AcerX.
An AMD Athlon 3700+ is only going for $201 on newegg. And a gig of RAM can be gotten for under $100. Also, a good motherboard (non-SLI) will only go for about $80. Just get a nice case (round $50) and then a good Power supply (go with OCZ or Antec). All I am saying is that you could def. do better for about the same price. Dont forget that is w/o a GPU. So let us know your price limit and we will help out.

Oh and Bikr are you a reseller? Just curious bc I was looking to get a retail licence and wanted to see if it was worth it?
 

Azn Tr14dZ

New Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2006
Messages
5,288 (0.80/day)
Processor AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Motherboard DFI LanParty nf4 Ultra-D
Cooling Thermaltake Big Typhoon
Memory 2x512MB GeIL
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon X800XL
Storage 2x80GB Western Digital
Display(s) HP vs17
Case SuperTalent
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster
Power Supply Ultra X-Finity 500 Watt
alright but needs better graphics. if i were you, just get a good budget pc case (with window) and get graphics card like X800 GTO2 and just O/C.
 

AcerX

New Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
13 (0.00/day)
Processor AMD 2400XP 2.0GHZ.OC'd 2.3GHZ
Motherboard Mercury KNU400X-L Nforce2 Chipset
Cooling Tornado +7
Memory 1GB Corsair Val Mem 1 stick
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon 9550 AGP OC'd @ Core 410 Mem 405
Storage dinosaur lol 40gb WD caviar
Case old IBM netserver
Audio Device(s) AC97 onboard
Power Supply Powork 600W
Software Windows XP Professional
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103598 <--processor $212.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136163 <--Motherboard $88.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119047 <--Case $44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937 <--PSU $68.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820134028 <--1GB RAM $96.88

THat comes to $510.88 w/o a GPU but i do happen to have a Radeon 9550 256mb but i will prolly want a better card so gonna have to figure that one out still.

but thats only like 65 bucks more then the comp i was looking at but in terms of components this build will blow that comp away lol so i do see your point. also if anyone sees anything wrong with the parts i picked please let me know. in terms of things won't work with eachother, etc. thanks
 
Joined
Feb 4, 2006
Messages
218 (0.03/day)
Location
Minneapolis, USA
Processor Intel i5 8600k @5Ghz
Motherboard Asus ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING
Cooling XSPC Water Cooling kit
Memory G.SKILL Trident Z RGB DDR4 3200 16GB
Video Card(s) Asus ROG STRIX RTX 2080
Storage Samsung 960 Evo NVMe PCIe M.2 500GB
Display(s) Acer Predator XB273U GXbmiipruzx
Case Phanteks Enthoo Luxe PH-ES614LTG_BK
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA G2 1000W
Software Win 10
Joined
Jan 25, 2006
Messages
165 (0.02/day)
Location
Philadelphia, PA
System Name Heaven-Cf
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ BE Brisbane (215Mhz x15) 3.225Ghz 1.35v Rev BH-G2 8.5hrs prime stable
Motherboard Asus M2R32-MVP (2 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Cooling Xigmatek HDT-S 1283 + AS5 Cpu, Stock GPU Fan, 2 80mm fans, 1 120mm 110CFM Silverstone 2 PSU fans
Memory OCZ ATI CrossFire 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 400.3 MHz CPU/7 4-4-4-12-23 2T 1.9v
Video Card(s) POWERCOLOR AX4870 512MD5 Radeon HD 4870
Storage Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS (250 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Display(s) Hanns-G HD191-D 2ms 700:1 16.2 million colors
Case APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 EPS12V EPS12V 750W
Software XP Pro Tweaked
Benchmark Scores x1950xtx: 3d Mark 03/05/06 - 18467/11383/6478 | Super Pi 32MB 27m 8.110s
Unless u have a pci express 9550 somehow it aint going to work ur kinda required to get a new vid card.

Nice setup for 500. Looks like someone is going to be overclocking if so i would suggest u get a diff heatsink for the cpu.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
5,147 (0.78/day)
Location
AZ
System Name Thought I'd be done with this by now
Processor i7 11700k 8/16
Motherboard MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory 32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage 1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s) Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s) onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse Logitech wireless
Keyboard same
VR HMD nah
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores no one cares anymore lols
pci 9550 will work, but extremely slow for that setup. hmm.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102688
might be abit of a push but well worth it if you can come up with the money (so maybe get the system use the 9550 wait and save up and perhaps when you have around 140$ saved it'll have dropped to there)
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
5,147 (0.78/day)
Location
AZ
System Name Thought I'd be done with this by now
Processor i7 11700k 8/16
Motherboard MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory 32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage 1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s) Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s) onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse Logitech wireless
Keyboard same
VR HMD nah
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores no one cares anymore lols

AcerX

New Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
13 (0.00/day)
Processor AMD 2400XP 2.0GHZ.OC'd 2.3GHZ
Motherboard Mercury KNU400X-L Nforce2 Chipset
Cooling Tornado +7
Memory 1GB Corsair Val Mem 1 stick
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon 9550 AGP OC'd @ Core 410 Mem 405
Storage dinosaur lol 40gb WD caviar
Case old IBM netserver
Audio Device(s) AC97 onboard
Power Supply Powork 600W
Software Windows XP Professional
which is better in terms of performance in a video card... AGP or PCI.
the ATI Radeon 9550 i have now is AGP card. and the new MOBO i'm looking at above doesn't even have an AGP slot?? so i guess i'm def gonna need a new vid card lol. i guess what i'm asking is would this card have been better as a PCI? is the PCI slot faster then the AGP slot? also i still have my old PNY Gforce MX420 64MB card it's PCI and seems to me did about the same as this 9550 even though it has 256mb of memory??
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
5,147 (0.78/day)
Location
AZ
System Name Thought I'd be done with this by now
Processor i7 11700k 8/16
Motherboard MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory 32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage 1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s) Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s) onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse Logitech wireless
Keyboard same
VR HMD nah
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores no one cares anymore lols
pci is slower than agp which in turn is slower than pciexpress. it's been the trasition of video card interface, I was merely suggesting buying the comp and using a pci video card until you're ready for a good upgrade, not just somethign thats going to work for now. the x850xt is a very good card for the money so if it were me I'd buy the system run the mx420 for a few weeks to a month while saving up and then get the x850xt. it'll easily outperform anything in it's price range.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
8,253 (1.24/day)
System Name money pit..
Processor Intel 9900K 4.8 at 1.152 core voltage minus 0.120 offset
Motherboard Asus rog Strix Z370-F Gaming
Cooling Dark Rock TF air cooler.. Stock vga air coolers with case side fans to help cooling..
Memory 32 gb corsair vengeance 3200
Video Card(s) Palit Gaming Pro OC 2080TI
Storage 150 nvme boot drive partition.. 1T Sandisk sata.. 1T Transend sata.. 1T 970 evo nvme m 2..
Display(s) 27" Asus PG279Q ROG Swift 165Hrz Nvidia G-Sync, IPS.. 2560x1440..
Case Gigabyte mid-tower.. cheap and nothing special..
Audio Device(s) onboard sounds with stereo amp..
Power Supply EVGA 850 watt..
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech K270
Software Win 10 pro..
Benchmark Scores Firestike 29500.. timepsy 14000..
"pci is slower than agp which in turn is slower than pciexpress"

not exactly true being "slower".. more bandwidth yes.. but agp isnt slower as such than pci-e..

i only mention this cos it the "salesmans" big sell.. "why yes of course sir.. pci-e is faster than agp".. when in most cases it gives no benefit at all..

trog
 
Joined
Feb 4, 2006
Messages
218 (0.03/day)
Location
Minneapolis, USA
Processor Intel i5 8600k @5Ghz
Motherboard Asus ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING
Cooling XSPC Water Cooling kit
Memory G.SKILL Trident Z RGB DDR4 3200 16GB
Video Card(s) Asus ROG STRIX RTX 2080
Storage Samsung 960 Evo NVMe PCIe M.2 500GB
Display(s) Acer Predator XB273U GXbmiipruzx
Case Phanteks Enthoo Luxe PH-ES614LTG_BK
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA G2 1000W
Software Win 10
I think your right, there is no benefit right now, but right not PCI-E is not being used at its full potential.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
8,253 (1.24/day)
System Name money pit..
Processor Intel 9900K 4.8 at 1.152 core voltage minus 0.120 offset
Motherboard Asus rog Strix Z370-F Gaming
Cooling Dark Rock TF air cooler.. Stock vga air coolers with case side fans to help cooling..
Memory 32 gb corsair vengeance 3200
Video Card(s) Palit Gaming Pro OC 2080TI
Storage 150 nvme boot drive partition.. 1T Sandisk sata.. 1T Transend sata.. 1T 970 evo nvme m 2..
Display(s) 27" Asus PG279Q ROG Swift 165Hrz Nvidia G-Sync, IPS.. 2560x1440..
Case Gigabyte mid-tower.. cheap and nothing special..
Audio Device(s) onboard sounds with stereo amp..
Power Supply EVGA 850 watt..
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech K270
Software Win 10 pro..
Benchmark Scores Firestike 29500.. timepsy 14000..
true.. but its amazing just how many folks think any old buget pci-e card will go better than a decent agp one just cos its psi-e..

i recon a lot of people selling the damn things think it as well..

trog
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
5,147 (0.78/day)
Location
AZ
System Name Thought I'd be done with this by now
Processor i7 11700k 8/16
Motherboard MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory 32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage 1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s) Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s) onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse Logitech wireless
Keyboard same
VR HMD nah
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores no one cares anymore lols
granted that the pcix bandwidth isn't being used to it's full potential but it doesn't change the fact that the slot itself is faster than the agp slot. thats why it bears the marker pcix16 and agp bears the marker agp8x. it's not propaganda it's simple truth. now will an x1600 at 200$ outperform an agp x850xt certainly not but it has nothing to do with the slot, it's the card. granted you'll probably not notice a difference from an x850xt agp to a pcix one at stock, you will however notice a difference when overclocking seeing as the agp platforms on a whole are slower than the modern pcix platforms and the gap gets wider when you put strain on the mobo chipset.
 

KennyT772

New Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
3,572 (0.54/day)
System Name Raptor
Processor Intel E8400 Wolfdale @3600
Motherboard Asus P5Q-Pro LGA775
Cooling Zalman CNPS9700
Memory 1024mbx2 Crucial Ballistix DDR800
Video Card(s) XFX 9600GT
Storage Seagate 7200.11 500GB
Display(s) Acer AL2216Wbd and Acer AL1717
Case Gigabyte 3DAurora Black
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Extreme Gamer Faitality
Power Supply OCZ GameXStream 500w
well you are exactly corect my friend. although a x1600 does come close to x800gtos and most are around 130-160 so if u want a spend a lil less and have sm3 then go for the x1600.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
8,253 (1.24/day)
System Name money pit..
Processor Intel 9900K 4.8 at 1.152 core voltage minus 0.120 offset
Motherboard Asus rog Strix Z370-F Gaming
Cooling Dark Rock TF air cooler.. Stock vga air coolers with case side fans to help cooling..
Memory 32 gb corsair vengeance 3200
Video Card(s) Palit Gaming Pro OC 2080TI
Storage 150 nvme boot drive partition.. 1T Sandisk sata.. 1T Transend sata.. 1T 970 evo nvme m 2..
Display(s) 27" Asus PG279Q ROG Swift 165Hrz Nvidia G-Sync, IPS.. 2560x1440..
Case Gigabyte mid-tower.. cheap and nothing special..
Audio Device(s) onboard sounds with stereo amp..
Power Supply EVGA 850 watt..
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech K270
Software Win 10 pro..
Benchmark Scores Firestike 29500.. timepsy 14000..
i might be a bit anal with words and how they are used.. but to me the only time a four lane highway is faster than a two lane highway is when the two lane highway gets gridlocked..

being able to handle a greater flow if needed dont make a thing faster when that greater flow isnt needed.. and in the case of the vast majority of grfx cards that flow isnt needed so the two lane highway is just as fast..

a 512 card could be said to have more bandwidth than a 256 card.. err "faster" but when it gets stuck on a mid-range grfx card it dosnt make that card faster.. in fact it dosnt even make the high-end cards "faster" having that extra "bandwidth"..

bandwidth only effects speed when that bandwidth isnt enough.. and to me capacity and speed have two completley different meanings.. i dont think they should be muddled up..

and the computer industry is a little too free with its muddling up of the two completely different words.. all too often extra capacity is used to mean extra speed when it dosnt mean any such thing..

as i say.. i am a bit anal with the meaning of words.. he he he..

i also recon all news is "properganda".. the only things that aint are the things u get to find out that u shouldnt be finding out.. we live in a b-llshit age once u let em muddle the words up they can make u believe whatever they want u to believe.. he he

trog
 
Joined
Dec 14, 2005
Messages
1,765 (0.26/day)
Location
Calverton, New York
System Name Current rig
Processor i9-9900k
Motherboard Z390 Aorus Xtreme
Cooling Corsair h150i Pro
Memory 32GB Ripjaws V 3200
Video Card(s) Asus 2090 ti Strix
Storage Samsung 970 Pro 1tb
Display(s) Alienware aw3418dw
Case Thermaltake View 91
Power Supply seasonic 1kw
Polaris573 said:
How do you get components cheaper than retail?
I know people who get the stuf shipped directly from manufacturers and whatnot
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top