Upgrade Qs

Ok I have an HP computer. It has a P3 667mhz and an Intel 810E chipset(I dont know what that is) and integrated graphics with no AGP slot. I want to know if I can buy a new motherboard that will have a 4xAGP slot for a vid card and fit in the HP case? Also what is a chipset? I was looking at pricewatch and they had chipsets under motherboards. At first I thought a chipset was a motherboard but after looking some more one the net I now think it is something different. But really I have no idea what it is so I would like somebody to clear this all up for me. I dont really know much about computers and I would like to learn.

Oh yeah what is ATX? From just looking around on the net I think it is the way the motherboard is layed out but again I dont know.

Well, to my understanding, you should be able to do that. All you should need to do is swap the motherboards. Just make sure the sizes of the motherboards are the same. ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ATX, ect. are all diffrent sizes for the motherboard (and case). Make sure they're the same size.

A chipset is a chip that handles the peripherial devices. All the data to and from your PCI slots, HD, ect. all pass through it to get to the CPU. Diffrent chipsets are better, while some are worse.

JigPu

Welcome to The Forums!

Be glad to help in any way we can......But may I suggest some reading first? On the front page there are beginners guides, buying advice and a bunch of articles that will help you get the basics down.

O.E.M. cases can be tricky: they don't always have standard mobos so check before you buy!

See you around the forums!

Thanks. It took me a while to find this I thought I posted it in the General Forum.

Will I have to get a new chipset that can handle AGP? Or does a new motherboard come with one on it? I dont think the 810E can.

Rogerdugans I have been reading that beginners guide and alot of them say go to the forums and ask questions and read other topics.

Ok! I just like to set the pointer out there, btw: some people just skip that stuff entirely!

The chipset is part of the mobo: it controls how the data moves between all the buses:agp/pci/isa and memory and cpu.

If a mobo doesn't have it and you want agp video you gotta get a new mobo; all the new mobos have agp, most of them have 4x.

AT is an old mobo (motherboard) standard, ATX is the new standard that most boards comply with.

As far as a new mobo fitting in your case: I am not familiar with any of the oem computers, but I have heard that they are using fewer proprietary parts-so you may be ok. Check your manuals I guess, or the manufacturers site, and see if you can find out if its a standard motherboard.

So if I get a new mobo with agp it will come with a new chipset right?

And as for the size I have been having problems figuring that out. It an HP Pavilion and I cant seem to find anything about the motherboard on the net. If anybody knows about them that would be alot of help.

Yep, new mobo new chipset.
You definitely want to do some research though: what kind of ram do you have and do you want to switch is important: there are many options in chipsets and the memory standards are not always compatible: sdram, ddr ram and rdram will NOT work together!

They do have different advantages: rdram- supposedly the fastest- used by most p4s (until recently); ddr ram- newer AMD Athlons, and some p4s; sdram- PIIIs, many Athlon boards, this is the least expensive ram available, but also the slowest!

Research can be a royal pain, and asking questions will usually give as many different answers as there are people who answer it! But spend wisely: it is WAY too easy to get stuck with a mobo that won't do what you want!

I am not really familiar with the PIII board options out there, but there are a LOT of mobo's for your chip.

Check out the Intel motherboard section, and also the CPU Database: both will show you what people are getting good results with.

Well I think I am just going to forget about that idea and get a barebones system and put my cd drives, floppy drive, hard drive, and ram in it. If I just upgrade my motherboard I will want to upgrade my comp in a little while so why not just do it now. And the barebones thing is alot cheaper than going and buying a new comp. I am not going to do this for a while because I still want to read about it more and make sure I get the right thing. So tell me what you think? Is it a bad idea? I figured it would be easier than installing a new motherboard and I wouldnt want to upgrade for a while. Oh yeah I am thinking of getting the Athlon XP1800.

I'll tell you what I think:
almost 700mhz is really enough to do just about anything you really want to do. Hang around here, check out the forums and take part! Read all the guides, ask questions, etc., and all the while keep in the back of your mind what you'd like to do: get a good, dependable reliable pc you can have fun with! And maybe overclock a bit

In a short few months you'll have picked up more information than you will believe! And by then, you will probably have figured out things like whether a new mobo will fit your case or not!

And if you should go with an AMD chip and deal with the cooling issues, or Intel and pay a little more upfront, but not worry about heat as much!

Don't rush in to anything: most people who do end up with a mobo that doesn't do what they want, or a system that can't be upgraded easily!

Well I am not really into computers that much and I dont think I ever will be. I am just a casual gamer. I wanted a graphics card and found out my computer didnt have agp. Upgrading the motherboard seams like it would take alot of knowhow. A barebones system seems like it would take less. It would just be easier to buy a new computer from gateway or something like that but that is expensive and why pay for stuff that I already have in my computer. I am not doing any of this for awhile. I am just trying to find what would be the best for me right now.

To Be or Not To BE....

ok sounds like me about 4 years ago....started out with a (NO LAUGHING!) Packerd Bell, got into a game and ran into some guys.........Parkerd Bell sucks!.....Bought an (AGAIN NO LAUGHING!) E-Machine.......Found Overclockers.com......Found Out this stuff is worse than crack......'if your just a casuall gamer then turn away now and run! Never look back and forget about this place! LOL Seriouslly I made the same mistake twice because I didn't read and trust me alot of places will smell newbie on ya and try and sell ya stuff that will do you no good I did everything possible to the 466 E-machine before I decided to get another job just to buy the rig I wanted! I found this magazine called Maximum PC ... got a subscription and read each mag cover to cover several times (usually in the crapper, get my best reading done in there). I like tha mag was very informative and I learned alot. then I spent about a year decideing wich mobo and changeing my mind because a better one would appear on the scene just about the time I got the money for the last 'better than every mobo' finaly my subscription ran out and I didn't renew I decided I was going to get brand X mobo and move on from there...Spent $450 American dollars on my mobo and CPU and.......well it's like this I got a case that was capable of doing anything I wanted (full tower) and got the biggest baddest mobo 'at the time' and worked my way from there....Your smart to research this first! One little word of advice don't ever buy a mobo with anythng onboard, such as onboard audio and video (a sound chip or video chip that is made into the mobo) this usually is a sign of a piority motherboard and your going to be limited as to what you can do....umm I think I got longwinded again!

I must correct you, onboard doesn't matter as long as it can be disabled, and if it has onboard graphics make sure it has an AGP slot.

Also the best motherboard out at the moment Epox 8KHA+ has onboard sound. Onboard graphics is usually a sign of a cheaper board.

I would just leave your system alone and build a new one, as you'll probably need to upgrade a lot of stuff, go for AMD as they are faster and cheaper, however by doing this you will need new memory and so on.

Read about and you'll bre suprised.

18 months ago I thought I knew everthing about PC's yet I knew little about the inards, then I found a video on how to build a PC.

Then I found overclockers.com and here I am!!!

If you have any questions please ask.


Nick

Hey thanks for all the help guys. I still dont know what I am going to do even with all the info I have gotten from you guys and articles that I have read. Another idea I had was to get a PCI video card for now and get a new computer in a year or two. I read an article comparing a geforce2 mx400 and the i810e integrated graphics and the numbers for the mx400 were 3 times higher than the integrated. I keep researching stuff and every time I do I find another way I can go. It just makes the decision that more complicated.

That seems a good way to go, buy the MX 400 and that will be ok, just don't expect games like Return to Castle Wolfenstein to run at Max Detail.

It should be ok for most games though if you sacrafice the Graphics for speed.

That would be a good option as otherwise you could risk breaking your HP PC.

Good Luck