computer specs

When I start earning a decent amount of money, I want to build my own precious monster. ^_^

Originally Posted by ɹɐǝqıɹǝ

My new baby:





Intel Core i7-920 (D0 stepping), overclocked to 4.00 GHz (hyper threading disabled)
Scythe MUGEN-2 heatsink
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R
3x2 GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600, 8-8-8-21, 2T command rate

I had some issues getting it started up at first. The system crashed a few times and I had to play around quite a bit with the BIOS to get it stable and have it detect my IDE disc drives properly. Once it was up in running and I got the drivers installed, however, it was smooth sailing. Using some information I found online, I got a solid, stable, and fast overclock in all of 5 minutes of tweaking, and temperatures have been very solid. The performance difference is enormous, and makes my system a joy to use. I didn't see increases in some places that I expected to, but I also saw major improvements in areas I total didn't expect as well. The large memory pool makes multi-tasking awesome again, and I can Alt+Tab between even the most demanding programs I have without any sort of delay. Load times and stutters are virtually nonexistent. Now all I need is a new video card...

Heh, I know what you mean. I can even tab between Team Fortress 2 and Heroes of Newerth instantly...

The only thing I'm having trouble with is figuring out how much voltage I should give to the processor and RAM, and how much I am able to overclock using the stock fan.

System: Microsoft Windows XP 2002 Version
Computer: HP Intel Pentium
Processor: 3.07 GHz
Ram: 960 MB
HDD Size: 55.7 GB
Soundcard: Avance AC97 Audio
Videocard: SiS 650 651 M650 M652 740

Originally Posted by KiKi

._. Computers outdate so fast... I've only had this beast for 2 years, it's already outdated, and I don't have any money to get a new one.

Manufacturer: COMPAQ
Model: No Clue
OS: 32 bit XP SP2
Processor: Something @ 2.20 GHz
Video Card: nVidia 7300 GForce GT
HDD: 500 GB (I have four hardrives crammed into my case.)
RAM: 512 MB

(I'm not at home, so I'm going on memory...)
Oh god, I never noticed that I have nearly as mush HD space as I do ram... If I had another 512, then my coupter wouldn't be as outdated.~_~

Lol I only have 750MB of RAM, and a 2001 model integrated graphics card. Top that in ♥♥♥♥tiness, and yet, I could still Wow. Odd.

My mother-in-law had 256 MB RAM. It was painful. The next time I visited her, I brought two 512 MB sticks with me. Her computer came to life. ^_^

Originally Posted by KiKi

._. Computers outdate so fast... I've only had this beast for 2 years, it's already outdated, and I don't have any money to get a new one.

Manufacturer: COMPAQ
Model: No Clue
OS: 32 bit XP SP2
Processor: Something @ 2.20 GHz
Video Card: nVidia 7300 GForce GT
HDD: 500 GB (I have four hardrives crammed into my case.)
RAM: 512 MB

(I'm not at home, so I'm going on memory...)
Oh god, I never noticed that I have nearly as mush HD space as I do ram... If I had another 512, then my coupter wouldn't be as outdated.~_~

it was outdated a YEAR before you purchased it. Half a gig of RAM is pathetic, I've been on 2GB(or more) for nearly 4 years now.

my advice... spend $30, add in 2GB RAM, and be amazed at the difference.

FYI these last 3 years were great as far as value and useability retention is concerned, my old e6400 @3.6Ghz is still capable of tearing up anything, as was my 8800GTS 640. This is like a first in history.

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

my advice... spend $30, add in 2GB RAM, and be amazed at the difference.

In my experience, there is no such thing as simply 'adding things in'. It's more like, 'Go through a horribly brutal process for over 24 hours with incompetent support only to find you are ♥♥♥♥ed.' Piss.

Maybe that's just because I am operating on this 2001 PC eh?

Originally Posted by Flames of Valor

In my experience, there is no such thing as simply 'adding things in'. It's more like, 'Go through a horribly brutal process for over 24 hours with incompetent support only to find you are ♥♥♥♥ed.' Piss.

Maybe that's just because I am operating on this 2001 PC eh?

Open case, remove sticks, add sticks, close case

Originally Posted by Danger

Open case, remove sticks, add sticks, close case

Make sure it's compatible, make sure all of your components can handle it, make sure you have the correct ports, make sure you have the correct BIOS version, make sure you have the right ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ guiding you through the process.

I'm not much of a hardware guru. Neither is Dell. After spending over 24 hours (broken up over days) talking to them over a graphics card THEY recommended for my cpu, I called the gcard company, who told me exactly why it wasn't working, and that Dell support agents aren't 'tech savvy'.

Turns out I needed by BIOS to be changed from A00 to A02. So, I called Dell after following the online instructions failed.

They once again, failed to aid me in my quest for better graphics, claiming my motherboard was to blame.

Later, I spoke to someone else to said I needed to boot from the floppy disk the BIOS upgrade would be on. So, I tried to put it on the floppy disk. Oh wait, it has to be formatted first.

So, I try to format the floppy disk, my computer can't format the floppy disk correctly.

So, I format it on another computer and put the BIOS upgrade on the floppy. Then, I insert it into the computer and reboot.

ERROR MESSAGE: (Something along the lines of, files invalid or corrupt/files from unknown origin/device, press any button to continue.)

I hate hardware.

Ass.

(Not including the hardships during, and in between calls to Dell.)

sounds ****tier then my usual hardware swap...
pop card/module out, pop new one in... done on hardware, install software if applicable done.

and since I buy all my own hardware, I already know if something SHOULD work.

that said sometimes **** does happen. Sounds like you're trying to use an AGP 3.0 card with an AGP 2.0 slot and dell's firmware isn't happy about it even though it SHOULD work

either that or random quirk with the PCI bus...

that said RAM is usually pretty simple, and no software or firmware changes are usually necessary for it to be recognized a the hardware level.

Originally Posted by Flames of Valor

In my experience, there is no such thing as simply 'adding things in'. It's more like, 'Go through a horribly brutal process for over 24 hours with incompetent support only to find you are ♥♥♥♥ed.' Piss.

Maybe that's just because I am operating on this 2001 PC eh?

Adding memory is the simplest upgrade you can perform. Headaches only occur if you don't do your research or are so incompetent as to not know what you're doing. Here are the steps for installing memory, quite different from what you articulated.

1. Find out what type of memory your motherboard supports; this can usually be found in its manual or on the manufacturer's web site.
2. Find memory of the right type from a respectable brand (Corsair, OCZ, Crucial, G.Skill, Patriot, Kingston, etc.)
3. Buy memory.
4. When memory arrives, unplug computer, remove old memory and insert new memory. There is only one possible orientation for it so it's impossible to "put it in wrong" unless you happen to have a dual- or triple-channel board and put it in the wrong slots; even if you do, it will still work.
5. Plug computer back in and turn it on.

I could easily have abstracted out a few of those steps, of course. In any case, there are dozens upon dozens of easy picture guides freely available online, and the hardware is designed to be as idiot-proof as possible. I'm not saying that you should be totally confident and rushed in everything you do, but if you're too inept to figure it out... well, maybe you should buy a console.

Originally Posted by sea

Adding memory is the simplest upgrade you can perform. Headaches only occur if you don't do your research or are so incompetent as to not know what you're doing. Here are the steps for installing memory, quite different from what you articulated.

1. Find out what type of memory your motherboard supports; this can usually be found in its manual or on the manufacturer's web site.
2. Find memory of the right type from a respectable brand (Corsair, OCZ, Crucial, G.Skill, Patriot, Kingston, etc.)
3. Buy memory.
4. When memory arrives, unplug computer, remove old memory and insert new memory. There is only one possible orientation for it so it's impossible to "put it in wrong" unless you happen to have a dual- or triple-channel board and put it in the wrong slots; even if you do, it will still work.
5. Plug computer back in and turn it on.

I could easily have abstracted out a few of those steps, of course. In any case, there are dozens upon dozens of easy picture guides freely available online, and the hardware is designed to be as idiot-proof as possible. I'm not saying that you should be totally confident and rushed in everything you do, but if you're too inept to figure it out... well, maybe you should buy a console.

Well, I also said I no hardware guru. Meaning that I know nothing. Hell, I thought the phone hookup was the ONBOARD graphics card. That still makes me chuckle.

Although, I did manage to install a new power supply without reading the instructions.

I hope it's as easy as you say, because I would kill for some more RAM.

I'll get looking.

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

sounds ****tier then my usual hardware swap...
pop card/module out, pop new one in... done on hardware, install software if applicable done.

and since I buy all my own hardware, I already know if something SHOULD work.

that said sometimes **** does happen. Sounds like you're trying to use an AGP 3.0 card with an AGP 2.0 slot and dell's firmware isn't happy about it even though it SHOULD work

either that or random quirk with the PCI bus...

that said RAM is usually pretty simple, and no software or firmware changes are usually necessary for it to be recognized a the hardware level.

I don't know hardware, so I am dependent on people who do. And, apparently, Dell doesn't.

It was a PCI, the ports aren't quirky.

It was just my BIOS, Dell recommended me a card that couldn't fuction with my current configuration, which is what I asked them to begin with, ("Can you recommend a graphics card that is compatible with my PC?") and they gave me one that WASN'T compatible.

The people at the graphics card company had to tell me.

I wanted to shoot someone.

Originally Posted by Flames of Valor

Make sure it's compatible, make sure all of your components can handle it, make sure you have the correct ports, make sure you have the correct BIOS version, make sure you have the right ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ guiding you through the process.

or just read the "recommended RAM" list on the manufacturers' webpage

I was gonna say... RAM is not nearly has difficult as it used to be. The slots are fairly universal now. Matching speeds is probably the last tricky part, but no system is particularly "incompatible" with certain types of RAM.

I hate putting RAM in, because it says not to force it in, but I have to. :<

I looked at my grandma's laptop and my desktop, and concluded that my grandma's laptop is a beast (specs earlier in this thread for both), but my desktop works faster and better.

Originally Posted by Danger

or just read the "recommended RAM" list on the manufacturers' webpage

takes more time than just finding out what type of RAM the system uses and buying the same kind. DDR2 is DDR2 is DDR2... same with DDR3

Originally Posted by Flames of Valor

It was a PCI, the ports aren't quirky.

It was just my BIOS, Dell recommended me a card that couldn't fuction with my current configuration, which is what I asked them to begin with, ("Can you recommend a graphics card that is compatible with my PC?") and they gave me one that WASN'T compatible.

The people at the graphics card company had to tell me.

I wanted to shoot someone.

the ports were quirky with your initial BIOS revision and that particular card.
some friendly advice, don't bother with tech support, ask for advice on a forum.

Originally Posted by Danger

or just read the "recommended RAM" list on the manufacturers' webpage

Note above where I mentioned that Dell, who is the manufacturer, doesn't even know what their own computers can handle. The graphics card they selected specific for my CPU didn't work, and they had no idea why. Forgive me if I am skeptical of going to their site for information. /sigh, worth a try.

Originally Posted by Flames of Valor

Note above where I mentioned that Dell, who is the manufacturer, doesn't even know what their own computers can handle. The graphics card they selected specific for my CPU didn't work, and they had no idea why. Forgive me if I am skeptical of going to their site for information. /sigh, worth a try.

"The graphics card they selected for my CPU" seems to imply that you don't have much of an idea either.

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 550 (3.4GHz)*
Mobo: Foxconn 9657MA (Intel P965)
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4670 (512MB)
Memory: 4GB (4x1GB DDR2)
Int. Storage: 160GB, 500GB, 500GB
Ext. Storage: 160GB, 250GB, 500GB



* - **** YEAH