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kinda sorta new to gaming machines

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gibz117

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2009
Location
gary, in
i recently got a gaming comp that was downgraded before selling. it currently has a gigabyte GA-7VRX rev.2.0 motherboard with a 1.5Ghz AMD processor. it also has three memory slots with 256mb DDR cards each. my mobo can have a max of 3 gigs ram with PC2100 cards. i would like to get to the max, but i'm seeing dual and triple channel memory. what excatly does that mean. i want to say that you can have two or three of the same but im not sure.

second question--when i got the machine, it had no video/graphics card. i had a one i pulled out of an old machine but it is only a 16mb card. i want to upgrade but im not sure what to go with, a 182, 256, 512, 1gig, or 2gig. any advice would be helpful.

third and last question--what the heck are the com a and com b ports for. ive seen them on lots of comps but never knew what they were for.
 
As for memory you will need regular DDR, pretty pricey compared to DDR2 or 3. 1GB DDR sticks IMO cost more than they are worth.

As for graphics cards you are limited to AGP cards. That really limits graphics cards to older cards and non gaming ones by today's standards.
 
if you're after a gaming machine, i recommend buying a complete new system. what you have right now woudln't be worth upgrading. some parts have rarity value lol. or maybe they're juts hard to find. eg, DDR is rare, and uncommon now, so are AGP video cards.

when you refer to a 2gb video card, are you talking about like a 4870X2 or GTX295?
these cards don't come in AGP...not that you'd want to buy these cards for your current computer.

you'd save more if you changed platform. whether that be a new AMD or Intel platform, ddr2 and PCI-Express is what you want for a gaming computer.
 
yes hank, you are correct with the com port thing. are they just for data transfer
 
It sounds like it is an Athlon XP. These are no longer good enough for gaming at least anything recent. It would be like trying to play PS3 games on a PS2, not gonna happen.
 
To play the newer games you will need to upgrade your mobo, ram, cpu, video card and power supply.

This may belong in the general hardware part of the forum also.
 
yes hank, you are correct with the com port thing. are they just for data transfer

ya dude video, printer, old stuff ect.

Like everyone else said. Its time to save some money man. W will be more then happy to help you build a new system for a VERY good price. Stick around. People here are the best. This forum is the best and people will help you with everything.
 
tell us how much money u can spend and what monitor you have and we will tell you what pc parts you should buy.

so i will suppose now.
i suppose you have a 1280*1024 res monitor.
i suppose also you are not a graphic and performance freak overall so i suggest you to buy

a gtx 260 216 cores with an intel i7 (i think u might get one used also of them) ram should be ddr3 dual or triple channel (you can get either 3gb tri 4gb dual or more) and i suggest to play on win XP
with a mid range motherboard. power requirements for such a setup are 500W or more (depending on other components in your pc) but i suggest a 550W that has enough A supply in the graphic card power connectors.

this pc shouldn't cost more than 600 euros (dunno your currency either so i will use euro)
but i think with used pieces u can lower this value even further

some ppl might even recommend you to buy a very used pc getting the old core 2 duos and some series 9 Gfx
coupled with some ddr2.

this platform though will perform much less than the other
 
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