Can my computer upgrade to a high end graphics card? Thread

I have a HP Compaq dx2200, and I was wondering if I could uprage my graphics card to a 1GB ATI 5870 or something, because I think thats why my computer can't run some games, so can i do this?

Is this your configuration?
H10010.www1.hp.com

You can if it has a PCI Express input on the MotherBoard or elso not, but I advise to buy the VGA and some later time buy the rest (MotherBoard, RAM, HD and CPU)

Its possible but you would need to upgrade a lot more than a new graphics card

Edited by: IAspYrI

vfn4i83 wrote: Is this your configuration?
H10010.www1.hp.com

You can if it has a PCI Express input on the MotherBoard or elso not, but I advise to buy the VGA and some later time buy the rest (MotherBoard, RAM, HD and CPU)

yes that is

IAspYrI wrote: you'll need a bigger power supply

Damn, how much would that cost, any suggestions?
And, i know this is snobby, but why do I have to?

your pc only has a 250 watt power supply and simply put it can not supply the graphics card with enough power... here are the requirements for the 1GB ATI 5870 graphics card.

• PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
• 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin
  PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin
  connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
• Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to Ati.amd.com for a list of Certified products
• Minimum 1GB of system memory
• Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
• DVD playback requires DVD drive
• Blu-ray™ playback requires Blu-ray drive
• For an ATI CrossFireX™ system, a second ATI Radeon™
  HD 5870 graphics card, an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard and one ATI
  CrossFireX Bridge Interconnect cable per graphics card (included) are
  required

I'm guessing the machine is using some pretty dated hardware, since it's a Pentium 4 / 512mb DDR2 machine . We don't know anything about the motherboard, but I'm going to anticipate that you may not benefit from a top-of-the-line graphics card anyway.

The onboard graphics card is certainly pretty weak, but I think you may find a cheap upgrade to a higher end GeForce 6 (what, $40 these days?) will allow you to get the most of that system without spending a fortune on hardware you can't really use. You won't be running the latest and greatest on that machine. Personally, I'd not really be trying to run anything 2007-onwards as a rough guesstimation.

To put things in perspective, I've replaced my machine twice since the Pentium 4 (that machine is now nearly 7 years old).

Indeed. For modern games, and indeed most games from the past year or two, you need a strong dual-core CPU or better and 2+ gigs of RAM (a lot more if you want to run level editors for said games) as well as a hefty GPU. You also need to make sure your power supply can provide enough juice for everything as well, and if you're using more than 4gig of memory you need to be on a 64bit edition of Windows. It's got to be the whole set, or the weakest link holds all the whole system back.

IAspYrI wrote: your pc only has a 250 watt power supply and simply put it can not supply the graphics card with enough power... here are the requirements for the 1GB ATI 5870 graphics card.

• PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
• 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin
  PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin
  connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
• Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to Ati.amd.com for a list of Certified products
• Minimum 1GB of system memory
• Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
• DVD playback requires DVD drive
• Blu-ray™ playback requires Blu-ray drive
• For an ATI CrossFireX™ system, a second ATI Radeon™
  HD 5870 graphics card, an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard and one ATI
  CrossFireX Bridge Interconnect cable per graphics card (included) are
  required

thanks I was looking at the atis, maybe just a little less powerful though, i found one, thanks for the power supply idea

ambershee wrote: I'm guessing the machine is using some pretty dated hardware, since it's a Pentium 4 / 512mb DDR2 machine . We don't know anything about the motherboard, but I'm going to anticipate that you may not benefit from a top-of-the-line graphics card anyway.

The onboard graphics card is certainly pretty weak, but I think you may find a cheap upgrade to a higher end GeForce 6 (what, $40 these days?) will allow you to get the most of that system without spending a fortune on hardware you can't really use. You won't be running the latest and greatest on that machine. Personally, I'd not really be trying to run anything 2007-onwards as a rough guesstimation.

To put things in perspective, I've replaced my machine twice since the Pentium 4 (that machine is now nearly 7 years old).

Hmm, i dont think its 7 years old, more like 4, and its 3.06 GHz of processing power some I dont see much of a probelm there. I'm not sure if i have a dual core or not, GeForce ya say? hmm maybe, as long as its a gb of more than DDR3 ill take it

I was thinking about replacing the motherboard too, and maybe upgrading to Windows 7 64 bit, i got XP 32 bit right now.

Also, I'm not necessarily looking for the pretty graphics, im just looking to run the level editors really.

Gibberstein wrote: Indeed. For modern games, and indeed most games from the past year or two, you need a strong dual-core CPU or better and 2+ gigs of RAM (a lot more if you want to run level editors for said games) as well as a hefty GPU. You also need to make sure your power supply can provide enough juice for everything as well, and if you're using more than 4gig of memory you need to be on a 64bit edition of Windows. It's got to be the whole set, or the weakest link holds all the whole system back.

Hmmm, ill buy a stick of 1 GB of ram for like what 50 bucks, i gotta check what the core is. I'm running or 32 bit XP. i might get a whole new motherboard, but that might be pricey, and it might not work or screw a lot things up.

Thanks guys.

I'm also looking into upgrading my PC, but just like you, my power-supply is too low. That, and my CPU would still be a bottleneck only being 1.8GHz Core Duo. To make matters even worse, I have a slim case :|

I say if you just want to run level editors easily that you don't need a top of the line card. You'll be good with an Nvidia 8800GT I think. Maybe even a 8600GT. If you have 2GB of ram, you don't exactly have to upgrade (And if you HAVE to, 4GB would be best as RAM works best in multiples of 2 so I heard) If you're looking to replace the whole motherboard, it might just be better to buy a whole new PC capable of meeting your needs around $500-600 (Especially if you don't know what you're doing). I dunno. And keep Windows XP if you want to save money. Windows 7 is only if you HAVE to or something. XP is still better than vista (Dammit, that just happens to be my OS >_<) and still widely used by game programmers, and 3D modeling.

trlestew wrote: I'm also looking into upgrading my PC, but just like you, my power-supply is too low. That, and my CPU would still be a bottleneck only being 1.8GHz Core Duo. To make matters even worse, I have a slim case :|

I say if you just want to run level editors easily that you don't need a top of the line card. You'll be good with an Nvidia 8800GT I think. Maybe even a 8600GT. If you have 2GB of ram, you don't exactly have to upgrade (And if you HAVE to, 4GB would be best as RAM works best in multiples of 2 so I heard) If you're looking to replace the whole motherboard, it might just be better to buy a whole new PC capable of meeting your needs around $500-600 (Especially if you don't know what you're doing). I dunno. And keep Windows XP if you want to save money. Windows 7 is only if you HAVE to or something. XP is still better than vista (Dammit, that just happens to be my OS >_<) and still widely used by game programmers, and 3D modeling.

Hmmm yeah my computer only goes up to 2 GB Ram max, but I mean thats fine, i know my video card sucks, thats why I wanna upgrade it. Do they even selling computers for 600 dollars? that have 4 GB ram and a daul core processor? I doubt it. I mean if I put in another motherboard, its basically replacing the computer anyways, its just the shell is the same, and the power supple and all the business.

yeah I really dont wanna up to Windows 7 because Idk its Windows 7 and it wasnt my idea. My idea is that they should just keep firing out the top selling Windows made, cough cough XP. But what do I know.

Yeah, but XP64 sucks donkey balls. If you want to go 64bit (and if you're doing UDK or Cryengine maps, you'll want 64bit for the extra memory space) Windows 7 is the way to go. It's what Vista should have been

theBIGkBUNS wrote: Hmm, i dont think its 7 years old, more like 4, and its 3.06 GHz of processing power some I dont see much of a probelm there. I'm not sure if i have a dual core or not, GeForce ya say? hmm maybe, as long as its a gb of more than DDR3 ill take it

I was thinking about replacing the motherboard too, and maybe upgrading to Windows 7 64 bit, i got XP 32 bit right now.

Also, I'm not necessarily looking for the pretty graphics, im just looking to run the level editors really.

Your machine itself might not be that old, but the Pentium 4 is. The model I had was the twin 3.6Ghz with hyperthreading. The issue isn't the clock speed (that little number itself really doesn't mean anything, so don't be fooled by it) - but rather the hardware generation. There is an enormous difference between a modern Core 2 processor and a Pentium 4; even if the clock speeds are the same the Core 2 will vastly outperform the Pentium 4.

The GeForce 6600/6800s didn't have a 1Gb model, they had a 512mb GDDR3 model at the highest end of the line. Modern GPUs tend to use GDDR5 - but we don't know what your motherboard will support - but if it's Pentium 4 era it's not going to support newer graphics cards well at all, because the modern cards aren't exactly 'backwards compatible' with the older hardware.

If you're going to replace your motherboard, then you will have to buy a new processor too. Given that you want to replace your GPU (which is going to force you to replace your power supply) and your operating system, why are you not just buying a new computer outright? The only thing you don't seem to be replacing is your hard drive and memory, which are the cheapest components of the system.

Level editors are genuinely much more hardware intensive than the games. Consider UDK as a prime example - in it's default configuration it's going to be rendering the world four times instead of just the once, and it's also rendering [i]more information[i]; all those additional overlays and layers that aren't rendered in the game. You will also be running it at "max settings", because that's what the editor renders. If you can't run the game at those maximum settings then you'll have difficulty running the editor properly.

ambershee wrote:

theBIGkBUNS wrote: Hmm, i dont think its 7 years old, more like 4, and its 3.06 GHz of processing power some I dont see much of a probelm there. I'm not sure if i have a dual core or not, GeForce ya say? hmm maybe, as long as its a gb of more than DDR3 ill take it

I was thinking about replacing the motherboard too, and maybe upgrading to Windows 7 64 bit, i got XP 32 bit right now.

Also, I'm not necessarily looking for the pretty graphics, im just looking to run the level editors really.

Your machine itself might not be that old, but the Pentium 4 is. The model I had was the twin 3.6Ghz with hyperthreading. The issue isn't the clock speed (that little number itself really doesn't mean anything, so don't be fooled by it) - but rather the hardware generation. There is an enormous difference between a modern Core 2 processor and a Pentium 4; even if the clock speeds are the same the Core 2 will vastly outperform the Pentium 4.

The GeForce 6600/6800s didn't have a 1Gb model, they had a 512mb GDDR3 model at the highest end of the line. Modern GPUs tend to use GDDR5 - but we don't know what your motherboard will support - but if it's Pentium 4 era it's not going to support newer graphics cards well at all, because the modern cards aren't exactly 'backwards compatible' with the older hardware.

If you're going to replace your motherboard, then you will have to buy a new processor too. Given that you want to replace your GPU (which is going to force you to replace your power supply) and your operating system, why are you not just buying a new computer outright? The only thing you don't seem to be replacing is your hard drive and memory, which are the cheapest components of the system.

Level editors are genuinely much more hardware intensive than the games. Consider UDK as a prime example - in it's default configuration it's going to be rendering the world four times instead of just the once, and it's also rendering [i]more information[i]; all those additional overlays and layers that aren't rendered in the game. You will also be running it at "max settings", because that's what the editor renders. If you can't run the game at those maximum settings then you'll have difficulty running the editor properly.

So, you think I should buy a whole new computer huh? But if I wanted to buy a motherboard and gpu and power supply, wouldnt that be the equivalent of getting a new computer, its like keeping the shell but switching up the insides, I'm pretty for that would work.

Also, I'm going to college in 2 years (class of 12), so it would be pointless to buy this 1000 dollar monster and not be able to take it to college, I was think about buying a high end laptop but laptop are pricey and they overheat and such.

So, I'm thinking that if and when I completely overhaul the insides, I'm going to keep it as high end and as low priced as reasonably possible, like keep it in the 600-700 range.

Thanks for the help

Gibberstein wrote: Yeah, but XP64 sucks donkey balls. If you want to go 64bit (and if you're doing UDK or Cryengine maps, you'll want 64bit for the extra memory space) Windows 7 is the way to go. It's what Vista should have been

Yeah if I overhaul I'll get Vista

If you get a new, more modern motherboard it will have a different processor socket, so you will have to buy a new processor to match. To get the most out of that, you'll need new memory, as your older DDR2 is probably quite slow in comparison to what's available these days (thankfully memory is cheap). Like I said, the only thing you'd not be replacing would be the hard drive, so you really are better off buying a new machine.

You chose cosmos over technical support.

You have that dell with the teleportation device built into it?

Edited by: NGS616

ambershee wrote: If you get a new, more modern motherboard it will have a different processor socket, so you will have to buy a new processor to match. To get the most out of that, you'll need new memory, as your older DDR2 is probably quite slow in comparison to what's available these days (thankfully memory is cheap). Like I said, the only thing you'd not be replacing would be the hard drive, so you really are better off buying a new machine.

hmm but a new machine would cause me to buy a new shell and everything though. And i got a shell, i mean ill just replace the stuff and make it that 100 dollars cheaper, right? I mean no need to spend money when you already have some stuff

NGS616 wrote: You chose cosmos over technical support.

You have that dell with the teleportation device built into it?

I saw this first, and yes i can teleport to africa and stuff its pretty neat.

You can probably buy all the parts separately rather than buying a pre-built, sure. Just make sure the motherboard you choose has a form factor appropriate for your case.

ambershee wrote: You can probably buy all the parts separately rather than buying a pre-built, sure. Just make sure the motherboard you choose has a form factor appropriate for your case.

Would the form factor just be the size and shape? (please dont let this be a stupid question >.<)

Tomshardware.com

Hope this helps

As for your question all atx motherboards will fit in atx cases, micro-atx will fit in a micro-atx or an atx case, and a btx will fit in a btx case the motherboard should come with a custom "port plate," so don't worry
if the plate that comes with the case doesn't fit your motherboard.

Edited by: IAspYrI

Also worth checking is whether there's enough space behind the PCIe slots for your graphics card of choice. Some of the tighter cases don't leave enough room for the larger cards.

IAspYrI wrote: Tomshardware.com

Hope this helps

As for your question all atx motherboards will fit in atx cases, micro-atx will fit in a micro-atx or an atx case, and a btx will fit in a btx case the motherboard should come with a custom "port plate," so don't worry
if the plate that comes with the case doesn't fit your motherboard.

wow thanks a lot that definitely helpped

Gibberstein wrote: Also worth checking is whether there's enough space behind the PCIe slots for your graphics card of choice. Some of the tighter cases don't leave enough room for the larger cards.

cant i just cut a hole in the side of the shell then?

theBIGkBUNS wrote:

Gibberstein wrote: Also worth checking is whether there's enough space behind the PCIe slots for your graphics card of choice. Some of the tighter cases don't leave enough room for the larger cards.

cant i just cut a hole in the side of the shell then?

It's by where the harddrives usually sit, not so much the side. You definitely could rig it up if you had to, but you'd be better of just using a case with the appropriate space. One of my older pc's was like this and i detached the docking area for the harddrives so it could fit and had the harddrives floating in mid-air, suspended by the cables they were plugged into. That's definitely a bad idea though. The way harddrives work; the more they shake, the more scrambled the data becomes over time, and the slower the data will read... so you definitely want them mounted into the case.

You could get a nice sized case for roughly 30$... something like this: Tigerdirect.com

Edited by: NGS616

NGS616 wrote:

theBIGkBUNS wrote:

Gibberstein wrote: Also worth checking is whether there's enough space behind the PCIe slots for your graphics card of choice. Some of the tighter cases don't leave enough room for the larger cards.

cant i just cut a hole in the side of the shell then?

It's by where the harddrives usually sit, not so much the side. You definitely could rig it up if you had to, but you'd be better of just using a case with the appropriate space. One of my older pc's was like this and i detached the docking area for the harddrives so it could fit and had the harddrives floating in mid-air, suspended by the cables they were plugged into. That's definitely a bad idea though. The way harddrives work; the more they shake, the more scrambled the data becomes over time, and the slower the data will read... so you definitely want them mounted into the case.

You could get a nice sized case for roughly 30$... something like this: Tigerdirect.com

My case looks to been pretty decent sized though, I think its one of the larger ones.