Is this PC Any good?

[Archonaut]

Originally Posted by andres81

This is not so strict, even a highend graphic card does not require the full bandwidth of PCI-e 16x and we are speaking here about midrange or even cheaper cards were you won't notice any difference between pluging it into a PCi-e 4x or 16x slot

My SATA-1 harddisk is also much faster than my SATA-3 harddisk because it has 10.000rpm - in most cases the connection/port is not the bottleneck...


GPU = graphical processing unit
in other words the graphic cards processor - so it is just a part of the graphic card beside memory, connectors, fan and so on

yes

Your system should be able to show the current RAM usage (look into the task manager in windows) - if the RAM is full and the system starts using so called virtual memory (=writing the data to your harddisk) then you should upgrade the RAM

Hmm oh okay didnt know what,

Well I have 3 GB Ram and it says 1,92 GB So does that mean I'm good for now ;p?

And on the MOBO, any info on which Graphic Card I should choose? Which one I should prefer ;p?

[Archonaut]

Originally Posted by standistortion

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/de...M1640sp2.shtml
Could be good for a cheap update, the graphics cards you linked to would be ideal and the prices are ok. What cpu and ram do you have?

3Gb Ram, CPU Intel E2200 Dual Core is what it says so.. ;p

Buton the site you linked it says the Original OS is Windows XP while mine was Vista, also it says something about a Nvidia Geforce 7050, while mine is Nvidia Geforce 8400


EDIT: Also, it says standard 250W Supply which is exactly what I have, I said 300 earlier but I was wrong. Anyway, what would happen if I would put a power supply with a power of 400W on the computer? Could there go something wrong? Or are there no limits when talking about PowerSupply.

[standistortion]

Buton the site you linked it says the Original OS is Windows XP while mine was Vista, also it says something about a Nvidia Geforce 7050, while mine is Nvidia Geforce 8400

My mistake:
http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/de...M3640sp2.shtml
Nvidia 7100 graphics on that one, maybe yours has already had a card added?

2x 2gb 800mhz (PC6400) sticks RAM will max out memory, nothing fancy just a reputable brand. One of your sticks is likely 2gb already, getting just one 2gb stick of the same speed will save about 22 euro but can sometimes (rarely) have issues.

E2200 pentium processors overclock easily but your motherboard might not allow overclocking, cheap boost if it does. A different processor would be worth getting, which depends on your budget though. 60+ euro's for anything good and its not something you can re-use if you plan on upgrading the motherboard later.

250W is too small for the power supply. Its something you can use again though, worth getting a good quality one with more power than your likely to need, 500W+ would be ok, less if you know you will never have a monster graphics card and 4 hard drives.
Would be worth getting a new graphics card and trying it with the 250W first, sometimes oem power supplies put out a lot more than their rating suggests, you will get shutdowns its not powerful enough.

[Archonaut]

Originally Posted by standistortion

My mistake:
http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/de...M3640sp2.shtml
Nvidia 7100 graphics on that one, maybe yours has already had a card added?

2x 2gb 800mhz (PC6400) sticks RAM will max out memory, nothing fancy just a reputable brand. One of your sticks is likely 2gb already, getting just one 2gb stick of the same speed will save about 22 euro but can sometimes (rarely) have issues.

E2200 pentium processors overclock easily but your motherboard might not allow overclocking, cheap boost if it does. A different processor would be worth getting, which depends on your budget though. 60+ euro's for anything good and its not something you can re-use if you plan on upgrading the motherboard later.

250W is too small for the power supply. Its something you can use again though, worth getting a good quality one with more power than your likely to need, 500W+ would be ok, less if you know you will never have a monster graphics card and 4 hard drives.
Would be worth getting a new graphics card and trying it with the 250W first, sometimes oem power supplies put out a lot more than their rating suggests, you will get shutdowns its not powerful enough.

Well I haven't and I bought it in a closed desktop with a sticker. Maybe they implented one and just faked the sticker? I dont know, this one is better anyway right?

Well 60+ euro's isn't that much but it depends, even 1 euro is too much if I won't even notice the difference in speed? If i would buy a new processor would I actually notice the difference?
And indeed I have one 2GB stick and one 1GB stick, but like Andres81 said I won't notice a difference if my Ram memory isn't full yet so there isn't a point in expanding that if i'm not wrong ;p ?

Also, well no I won't this will prolly be the last upgrade I will add to my computer before I throw it away so just a decent graphic card for around 100 euro's (I hope less, prolly not) will be enough. Also, that means I would need around 350W Power Supplier.. Ill first try without but 250W is indeed really low :/

And just one thing, what's the part in the desktop that makes the most noice? PowerSupplier or Cooler(at least that's how it's called in dutch). Because I would like my pc to be pretty quiet ;p

[Archonaut]

Originally Posted by isaacrulzrs2

The more answers given, the more questions arise hm?
No worries but I suggest you seek out some professional advice.

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/forum.php

The regular people on this forum are quite friendly and more than happy to offer great advice, I can vouchsafe for this personally.
It's amazing how much insightful and more importantly, free information you can find on the internet.

I tried : http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums...403#post105403

They don't really help you if you haven't bought one of their PCP Computers.. :/

[standistortion]

Well I haven't and I bought it in a closed desktop with a sticker.

K, maybe I got the wrong details again, 8400 is a lot better than a 7100.

If i would buy a new processor would I actually notice the difference?

Depends on what you are doing, RO uses a lot of processing power and an E2200 is quite low spec so you should see a difference. If you do cpu intensive stuff like video encoding (anything that you have to wait for and doesn't use the hard drive much) then you will see a big difference. It's worth checking if you can overclock yours, the E2200 will stably run 50% faster, I ran an E2160 at 3ghz (2.16ghz standard) for over a year with no issues at all and its still being used now.

And indeed I have one 2GB stick and one 1GB stick, but like Andres81 said I won't notice a difference if my Ram memory isn't full yet so there isn't a point in expanding that if i'm not wrong ;p ?

You can never have too much and its a cheap upgrade (usually the first). If you only tend to run 1 or 2 things at once, dont have much running in the background and rarely have more than a couple of tabs open in a browser then 3gb is plenty. If you don't have enough your PC will become very slow when trying to do too much and the hard drive will be working hard at the same time.

so just a decent graphic card for around 100 euro's (I hope less, prolly not)

Would suggest sticking to the 30-60 euro range with your current hardware unless you plan to put it into another PC later.

And just one thing, what's the part in the desktop that makes the most noice? PowerSupplier or Cooler(at least that's how it's called in dutch). Because I would like my pc to be pretty quiet ;p

Both, the processor fan generally makes a little more when its working hard. If you get a power supply look for one with a big fan on the base instead of a small one on the side. If noise bothers you it would be worth getting a processor heat sink (cooler is fine) with a big fan to but make sure there is enough room in the case as oem's often put things in the way. Btw, the standard intel coolers are generally very good, if yours makes a lot of noise the heatsink may be blocked up, they should generally be checked and cleaned out if needed at least once a year.

[Archonaut]

Originally Posted by standistortion

K, maybe I got the wrong details again, 8400 is a lot better than a 7100.

Depends on what you are doing, RO uses a lot of processing power and an E2200 is quite low spec so you should see a difference. If you do cpu intensive stuff like video encoding (anything that you have to wait for and doesn't use the hard drive much) then you will see a big difference. It's worth checking if you can overclock yours, the E2200 will stably run 50% faster, I ran an E2160 at 3ghz (2.16ghz standard) for over a year with no issues at all and its still being used now.

You can never have too much and its a cheap upgrade (usually the first). If you only tend to run 1 or 2 things at once, dont have much running in the background and rarely have more than a couple of tabs open in a browser then 3gb is plenty. If you don't have enough your PC will become very slow when trying to do too much and the hard drive will be working hard at the same time.

Would suggest sticking to the 30-60 euro range with your current hardware unless you plan to put it into another PC later.

Both, the processor fan generally makes a little more when its working hard. If you get a power supply look for one with a big fan on the base instead of a small one on the side. If noise bothers you it would be worth getting a processor heat sink (cooler is fine) with a big fan to but make sure there is enough room in the case as oem's often put things in the way. Btw, the standard intel coolers are generally very good, if yours makes a lot of noise the heatsink may be blocked up, they should generally be checked and cleaned out if needed at least once a year.

Hmm I would like to overclock the CPU but then it will get defect a lot faster right? And since I'm not the only one using this computer I will get the blame What's the risk of overclocking it? Could it be possible the CPU will go defect in, for example lets say, a month?

Also, well I usually just Start Regnum listen some music maybe some Mumble that's all.. No more needed, I searched the prices of 2GB DDR2 near here and theyre about 30 euro's not that much but well like I said I think I won't notice that much since I don't use a lot of programs at the same time.

About the graphical card, I have a friend who offered me Nvidia GeForce 220 GT 512MB for about 10 to 20 euro's. I think I'm going to buy it and place it, I'm still collecting some money for a nice Desktop. Would that card be okay with my desktop? And do you guys think I would notice the difference? Would it work properly? And also it needs 350W I only have 250W what would happen if I tried to put it on my desktop now and try to use it? Would the card get damaged? Or can I try it without any risk ;p.

As for the PSU, it doesn't make that much noice at all it's just that I dont want to buy one which does make a lot of noice. Mine is okay atm, same for the cooler just a very soft noice but nothing annoying at all ;p

[andres81]

Originally Posted by Archonaut

Hmm I would like to overclock the CPU but then it will get defect a lot faster right? And since I'm not the only one using this computer I will get the blame What's the risk of overclocking it? Could it be possible the CPU will go defect in, for example lets say, a month?

It is possible but very unusual...
the CPU is designed to work also in let's say not ideal conditions

If your computer has a good air circulation (= good airflow from front to backside, streaming around CPU, harddisks and graphic card), no "cable salad", enough free space, no dust (clean it!) and sufficient fans there is absolutely no problem with overclocking even in permanent use.
Btw. cigarette-smoke is poison for computers

Originally Posted by Archonaut

About the graphical card, I have a friend who offered me Nvidia GeForce 220 GT 512MB for about 10 to 20 euro's. I think I'm going to buy it and place it

Good choice to start. As for the power supply you will notice it when the 250W is not enough (=computer will turn off immediately). If you want to give it a try with the current power supply don't forget to save all your data because the harddisk might corrupt data when the computer is switched off that hard way. That's the only risk as far as I know.

PS: consider that any kind of overclocking requires also more el. power and maybe a better powersupply

[Archonaut]

Originally Posted by andres81

It is possible but very unusual...
the CPU is designed to work also in let's say not ideal conditions

If your computer has a good air circulation (= good airflow from front to backside, streaming around CPU, harddisks and graphic card), no "cable salad", enough free space, no dust (clean it!) and sufficient fans there is absolutely no problem with overclocking even in permanent use.
Btw. cigarette-smoke is poison for computers


Good choice to start. As for the power supply you will notice it when the 250W is not enough (=computer will turn off immediately). If you want to give it a try with the current power supply don't forget to save all your data because the harddisk might corrupt data when the computer is switched off that hard way. That's the only risk as far as I know.

PS: consider that any kind of overclocking requires also more el. power and maybe a better powersupply

Lol this overclocking scares the **** out of me Never mind, I'll just try it this way I'm really afraid that the odds turn on me and well... Yeah don't want that to happen. Okay, so the graphic card is okay? Hmm, will my HDD be erased totally? In the worst case? Or just what I worked in when starting the computer in that fase.

[andres81]

Originally Posted by Archonaut

Hmm, will my HDD be erased totally?

Totally not, in general the area where the harddisk is writing data in the instant moment when the power loss occurs is damaged. If the disk is not writing data at all nothing happens and that is the most probably case.
However a few weeks ago my mother plugged out the power connector of my fathers computer to connect heir cleaning machine and the Windows boot sequence got corrupted so the machine was not able to start Windows after that issue, such things might happen

Anyway the harddisk itself is obviously ok, I just had to copy back the data from the last backup and everything is fine again...
just take care that you have another system you can boot from CD/DVD or USB stick in order to restore backups.