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Ways to improve my HP PC.... |
Fatal Rocko Willis
Fleet Admiral
Fatal Squadron
Joined: March 01, 2003
Posts: 1336
From: Kentucky
|  Posted: 2009-06-19 15:54
After talking with the support staff they have told me my Mobo will handle the following....
PC2-6400 DDR2-SDRAM (800 MHz), non-ECC memory only, unbuffered
supports 2 GB DDR2 DIMMs, Supports up to 4 GB (using two 2 GB DIMMs). Which is simple enough.
But here is the part that gets me.... I am currently using a Intel Pentium E2160 (Conroe core) with Dual Core technology.
They gave me this....
The motherboard supports the following processors.
Intel Core 2 Duo (Wolfsdale core) E8xxx (65W)
Core 2 Duo E6xxx (Conroe core) (65W)
Core 2 Duo E4xxx (Conroe core) (65W)
Pentium E2xxx series (Conroe core) with Dual Core technology (65W) ***
Celeron 4xx series (Conroe core) (35W)
Now the one with the *** is mine.... Is it safe to say that the top one is the better one for my computer?
I am also looking to get a PCI-E x16 Video Card for my computer and would like some input into what would be good for me. NOTE: I only have one slot so no crossfire/dual card set ups please...
I am also upgrading my PSU since it is only 250w ATX..
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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LAG
Marshal
Lethal Assault Group
Joined: September 19, 2004
Posts: 323
From: Margaritaville
| Posted: 2009-06-19 18:45
I'd HIGHLY recommend a Nvidea GForce 8800 GT (or the pentium version of it). That's what I use. Very stable card, and you can drag it with you to the next comp if you upgrade and wanna run dual vid-cards
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Fattierob
Vice Admiral
Joined: April 25, 2003
Posts: 4059
| Posted: 2009-06-19 23:43
A good way to make an HP PC go faster is to drop it out of a 20 story window.
It'd be going pretty fast by the time it hits the ground.
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Eledore Massis [R33]
Grand Admiral
Templar Knights
Joined: May 26, 2002
Posts: 2695
From: tsohlacoLocalhost
| Posted: 2009-06-20 09:23
Given that some HP products tend to be bricks in one and a half or two years, i partially agree with Frob. but that all depends on what HP rig you got.
Basically i'll just give you my idea,
When upgrading you are mostly trying to extend its lifetime, but remember that extending will be maybe max one year maybe little more little less.
Instead of buying the max hardware for your upgrade buy the todays standards, it costs less and you still get some preformance out of it. just don't expect to run everything on HIGH..
Doing this will save bucks to buy yourself a new Computer in a year.
I would say, Go for a:- Core 2 duo E6xxx (The 6300 if ya can should be around $63).
- If you absolutely want the E8600 is avalable but the price $159.
LAG suggestion may be nice but given that time flies, i would suggest going with a Nvidea 9xxx series already.
I'm not the Nvidea desktop fan so i'll just say one thing, avoid Asus Nvidea cards, apparently some problems, Ask LAG for details.- i'd just picked one of the entire list for $69.99.
(with the 9xxx series price differe from $160 to #40. But remember graphics cards are the most expensive part of the system so don't have to pick the max, just don't go cheap.
Power ya need something more than just 250watt.
All depends on the graphics card and extra devices but i usually go betwee 300 to 450 watt.
If yer one of those guys that like to open yer case regularly for cleaning or tweaking, go for the modular cable options, its bit more expensive but handy.
If yer not don't waste bucks on options you won't use. Example.
- Coolermaster 500watt Modular cables $95
- Coolermaster 500watt normal cables $45.
Just dig around. the CPU is more of a what do i want, but i wouldn't go max. power supply depends on graphics card so pay attention to what the graphic card demands for power and adjust the power supply to it.
What i do:
I'm not of those fanboy extremists but Coolermaster and OCZ have worked for me for power supply's
Graphics its mostly ATI for me but i do buy Nvidea on occasion.
Processors, All around i go for Intell, workstation, media player. for anything heavy i got AMD, gaming PC, Servers. Don't ask me why, i just have found intell to be more energy efficient and cooler v/s AMD price for power and just don't care get it done.
[edit]some tags..
[ This Message was edited by: Eledore ICC Massis [R33] on 2009-06-21 19:39 ]
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Nexus01
Cadet
Joined: May 20, 2006
Posts: 35
| Posted: 2009-06-20 14:19
Rocko - How to make an HP go faster:
Fire it out of a catapault.
Or use Frob's suggestion.
They don't last long, as Eledore said. Mine lasted about 11 months. Ended up making a custom build, with more power, for less than I spent on the HP. Best solution if you're comfortable with putting everything together.
With an HP mobo, or a mobo from any other major manufacturer of PCs, you normally can't overclock, but I found that on a board that allows you to, you can push an Intels up pretty high. Again, only do this if you're comfortable doing it, and know exactly what you're doing.
About the PCI-Express x16 card. Is the slot on the board a 2.0 or 1.0 slot? If it's 1.0 your performance will be limited with newer cards, if they work at all. If you have the 1.0, best bet for the money (imo) would be a GeForce 8800 GTS (Make sure it's a GTS) - if you can still find one. Mine actually outperforms my 9600 in Oblivion. If you can't find the GTS versions anymore, the GTX is actually a step up. (supposedly. don't know as I don't have a GTX.)
Also, nVidia and Ati cards generally do certain things better than the other. I've noticed that my nVidia cards handle a lot of my games better than my Ati cards, but on-the-fly video conversion is usually handled better on my Atis. Specifically, my ATi cards tend to chug badly in Oblivion when I have antialiasing up. Problem is, my GeForce 9600 tends to run hot during games. Not bad, but outside the "good zone", as I call it.
On a side note - eledore, the cpu you said was $63 is now $83. just at this moment. It also uses a Wolfdale core, when the (admittedly crappy) support said that the E6 series it would support are Conroes. HP and Dell boards that I've dealt with (more Dell than HP) somehow won't work with a processor that SHOULD be right, but uses a different core type. Plus, the wolfdale cores had NO compatibility when they first came out - it was quickly added, though, I think within a few months all new boards had compatibility with them.
I've actually looked for a C2D that's still using a Conroe core, and can't find one - so if you find one somewhere send me the link. I am needing one. ^_^
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Eledore Massis [R33]
Grand Admiral
Templar Knights
Joined: May 26, 2002
Posts: 2695
From: tsohlacoLocalhost
| Posted: 2009-06-20 17:45
Quote:
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On 2009-06-20 14:19, Nexus01 wrote:
On a side note - eledore, the cpu you said was $63 is now $83. |
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Whoepsie, ya its at $82.99 i must have taken it from the wrong site it shows €62.45 from where i usually buy.
And yes pay attention to computability.
HP, Dell and other vendor machines usually don't include BIOS upgrade support.
So the mobo you got will usually only support the same kind of cpu thats currently in it, and no newer versions.
this differences per computer however..
But usually even a BIOS upgrade won't do even when Intell or AMD advertise about this.
The vendors just won't give the new cpu functionalities to the BIOS so ou can install a new CPU. (heck why would they, they would prefer you buying a whole new computer).
(That or they have those upgrade programs, but those include a new mobo. Or require you to send yer pc in and surprisingly you got a new mobo.)
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Nexus01
Cadet
Joined: May 20, 2006
Posts: 35
| Posted: 2009-06-21 03:31
Quote:
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On 2009-06-20 17:45, Eledore ICC Massis [R33] wrote:
But usually even a BIOS upgrade won't do even when Intell or AMD advertise about this.
The vendors just won't give the new cpu functionalities to the BIOS so ou can install a new CPU. (heck why would they, they would prefer you buying a whole new computer).
(That or they have those upgrade programs, but those include a new mobo. Or require you to send yer pc in and surprisingly you got a new mobo.)
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Only with major manufacturers. Seperately-bought boards DO/DID have BIOS updates that added compatibility with Wolfdale cores. Even so, as I said - all new boards at this point have that compatibility. Especially since C2D Conroes don't seem to exist anymore, and Allendales have been gone for a while.
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Tommas [ USF HunnyBunny ]
Chief Marshal
Pitch Black
Joined: February 04, 2006
Posts: 581
From: Norway
| Posted: 2009-06-21 05:23
A question about screen card, is there any diffrence btw Club3D, XFX or MSI? they all deliver geforce but whats the diffrence? And whats best btw Readon or Geforce? For desktop comps ofc.
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Nexus01
Cadet
Joined: May 20, 2006
Posts: 35
| Posted: 2009-06-21 08:21
Well, the "best" card depends on what you're going to use it for. nVidia cards for gaming, ATi for multimedia, in general. Also keep in mind that a few nVidia cards tend to run REALLY hot, if you don't have good case ventilation. In other words, every fan mount that you can use, mount a fan.
As for MSI, XFX, etc. I personally like MSI. Had quite a few problems with my XFX card before getting it to work properly. Well, not the CARD, per se, but the driver disk that came with it. Almost the entire disk was corrupt. Ended up having to go to XFX site on another comp and download the drivers to a flashdrive. No problems whatsoever with my MSI card - so far.
Of course, as far as the actual GPU, there isn't - as far as I know - any difference.
[ This Message was edited by: Nexus01 on 2009-06-21 08:23 ]
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LAG
Marshal
Lethal Assault Group
Joined: September 19, 2004
Posts: 323
From: Margaritaville
| Posted: 2009-06-21 08:25
I like MSI also. MSI provided a lifetime warranty on my vid card whilst the other manufacturers did not.
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LAG
Marshal
Lethal Assault Group
Joined: September 19, 2004
Posts: 323
From: Margaritaville
| Posted: 2009-06-21 09:38
I like MSI also. MSI provided a lifetime warranty on my vid card whilst the other manufacturers did not.
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Coeus
Grand Admiral
Sundered Weimeriners
Joined: March 22, 2006
Posts: 2815
From: Philly
| Posted: 2009-06-21 12:09
Quote:
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On 2009-06-19 23:43, Dr. Fattierob, M.D. PhD wrote:
A good way to make an HP PC go faster is to drop it out of a 20 story window.
It'd be going pretty fast by the time it hits the ground.
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Hahahahhahahah! I thought the same exact thing!
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