New to PC upgrading....few questions

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004.

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  1. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    Hey, I have a Tagar AMD Athlon XP 1800+, 1.53 GHz, 224 MB of RAM. My questions are, first, I want to upgrade my memory(RAM) and Im looking at purchasing a 512MB stick from tigerdirect.ca but Im not sure if this kind of memory will be compatible with my system.
    The one im looking at is 512MB DDR but how do i tell if I have DDR or SD Ram without opening the CPU?
    Also, I want a new video card. And im looking at this
    http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1020528&sku=V261-3032
    how will i tell if i have a PCI slot or the other? (or just how will I see if this video card is compatible with my computer) thanks for your response in advance and im sorry for the length of this document its just im a newbie at upgrading and need a few questions straightened out. Thanks alot.
     
    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  2. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    i think you'll want to open computer to confirm visually what ram & pci slots you have. if sdram there would be 2 notches on ram & socket, if ddr ram will be 1 notch off center. in the pci slots you should see 1 notch but your new video card has 2 which if i am right is pci/e which won't work with pci so look at an agp slot version instead
     
    ddp, Dec 19, 2004
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  3. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  4. matty8887

    matty8887 Regular member

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    Yes if your motherboard supports agp.

    Do you know what motherboard you have got?
     
    matty8887, Dec 19, 2004
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  5. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    OMG...so nvm about that link i sent you. I didnt realise that there were so many differnt video cards out. lol like i said i am a newbie. so could you please suggest the best agp video card that is out? preferably a ATI or GeForce and 256MB for no more than $150 Canadian? I see ALOT of AGP's 256MB through www.tigerdirect.ca but cant seem to tell which is best
     
    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  6. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    lol sorry no i dont...do u know how i can tell?
     
    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  7. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    O and BTW...the reason I want a 256MB video card is mainly for gaming purposes. So I want a video card that will play any game
     
    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  8. Divinus

    Divinus Guest

    Your board isn't going to have PCI/e so don't worry about that slot.

    AGP is smaller and usually the very first bus slot (from the top) on your motherboard. PCI are always white buses and agp are most of the time brown on most motherboards. Albeit I've seen green, red, etc...

    It would look like this...

    AGP

    PCI

    PCi

    PCI

    PCI
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 19, 2004
    Divinus, Dec 19, 2004
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  9. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    ok so ur sayin i should go with an AGP?
     
    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  10. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    what is model number on motherboard, either check in manual or on motherboard itself. also check in manual which should tell you what speed your agp(if have) is like 4x or 8x
     
    ddp, Dec 19, 2004
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  11. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    yes
     
    ddp, Dec 19, 2004
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  12. matty8887

    matty8887 Regular member

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    Having a 128/256 mb memory video card doesnt really effect the games. There is hardly any difference.

    I would go for a radeon 9600xt as this will run most games out.
     
    matty8887, Dec 19, 2004
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  13. Divinus

    Divinus Guest

    Yeah, AGP is a faster bus than PCi and it's made for video cards (AGP= Accelerated Graphics Port).

    The only thing is eventually you're going to want to upgrade that processor. I have a Radeon 9700 Pro (128MB) and when I had my old Thoroughbred 1800+, it really held back the 9700. For now though, changing your video card and upgrading ram will help you tremendously.
     
    Divinus, Dec 19, 2004
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  14. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    ok but what is the difference between these?
    http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4500&CatId=880
    and
    http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=699286&CatId=880
    and also...im kind of on a budget and dont think i could afford $250 Canadian for just the video card(im 15 years old)
    but what I could do would be to forfet getting the 512MB RAM and just get the ATI RADEON u suggested...do u think that is worthwhile? and then just get the 512MB Ram some other time? (my budget is $300 Canadian after taxes)
     
    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  15. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    pci is 33mhz, agp 1x is 66mhz, 2x 2x66, 4x 4x66 & 8x is 8x66mhz. i think you have onboard video as you are missing 32meg in your desription of your computer with 224meg as ram is 256meg
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2004
    ddp, Dec 19, 2004
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  16. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  17. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    ok im probably just gunna go with the ATI RADEON 9600XT Lite ($215 Canadian)
     
    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  18. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    so i think im clear on the video card part... just now the RAM...
     
    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  19. bmxer4lyf

    bmxer4lyf Regular member

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    bmxer4lyf, Dec 19, 2004
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  20. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    check to see what type of ram you using than start looking, not vice versa as can be disappointing
     
    ddp, Dec 19, 2004
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