Old tired PC

[Henry06x]

Whats up everyone? Been quite some tome since I have been on here. I see some old familiar names on here, but not sure how many or if they even still rememeber me. Guess I no longer can claim the {CLR} tag lol. I played Cains servers back in the day and games of Day of Defeat, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, Day of Defeat: Source, and a little Team Fortress 2. So if you remember me whats up! If not then hello again lol. Now a days I primarily play Xbox CoD series, minecraft, and BF.

Anyways my question is about my old tired tower. I assembled my tower back in 2006, an HP with AMD athalon 64 dual processor, upgraded 8 gig of Ram, and 512 overclocked graphics card. I made it to play the Battlefield games and now its very very outdated and about on its last leg and I'm not sure what route to go. I have a few options and I believe this would be the best place for me to ask and get some good answers. I dont have a lot of money to blow on this so I'm trying to keep it on the cheap. My tower a few months ago had a failure in the PCI Express port so I can no longer run my 512 overclocked card forcing me to revert to my default 256 internal VGA port. Well about a month ago a storm knocked out my power and even with a surge protector the sudden shutdown and reboot caused my VGA port to fail as well. So for the last month I have not had my PC to run at all with no way of getting signal to my monitor. This morning I remembered that I had an old 256 radeon PCI graphics card laying aroudn somewhere and had remembered for somereason seeing it recently, so I found it and installed it and low and behold my 3 PCI ports actually still work. So I is somewhat back in action. There is a problem as of now tho that my video lags and I'm guessing its the old PCI cards fault, the thing is even more ancient than my tower!

So currently my main goal is that I want to play Minecraft on the PC and run my Capture card. I know my PC can handle it, but I'm not sure how that old PCI card will handle it when its lagging steaming video. Runnig the capture card runs my processes higher than they probably should be but it does handle it. My secondary goal is eventually to get a new tower and play BF4 because BF is just bad ass on PC. So here is my current delema or routes I can take.

I found a 512 PCI (non express) card for $40 on Amazon witch I didnt even know they made. I thought 256 was max for PCI, but this claims it was designed for a 64 bit operating system and VISTA computers. It says it is supported for 64 bit widows XP also witch my PC is updated to and operates. With that I believe I could play Minecraft fine with my system specs. Maybe not have all the visuals maxed out, but I believe it would work and I could immediately reach my goal of playing the game by monday.

Secondly I was told I could purchase a new motherboard. Now I have never build a computer before, upgraded yes, but not built. So I do not know what all would have to go into this. Im not sure what I could salvage or what I would have to get new to support this process. If I did this I would like to get something faster quad processor so that I could eventually play BF4. What all would I need to get to do this? I found the AMD FX Quad for $100 and then I would need atleast 8 gig of ram and would want 16 so that would be a few hundred. Would my older PCI Express 512 overclocked still work for this motherboard or would I need something new? Also would my old hard drive be compatable with windows XP? If not then I need a new hard drive and version of windows. So I'm getting up there in price witch leads me to my last route I could take.

I have been saving, be it slowly, for a new tower since mine took a crap. So I found some stuff from IBuyPower that is very affordable. They have a tower with the AMD FX quad processor, 500 gig hd, 8 Gig Ram (I would probably upgrade), and their gaming mouse and keyboard for $499. It sounds like a good deal to me, but I'm curious how good it is so I'll have a link to it. The biggest problem I have read about IBuyPower is getting DOA towers, because they cut stuff like testing after assembly and Tech support in order to make them cheaper. They are basically custom built computers they just buy cases and everything for throw'em together and push them out the door.
http://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-GAME...ords=ibuypower
Do you think it would handle BF4?

I'm trying to keep in a budget of like $500-$600 so I know I cant be expecting much. I'm also very hessitent in building a tower myself because I never have and really do not know what I'm looking at and buying besides for limited knowledge on processor, graphics card, and Ram. I also don't believe I could build one for the price of that IbuyPower.

Big question is it worth it to buy the $40 PCI card now for my tower or do you think it would be a complete waste for the time being?

Thanks for any help
-henry

[juneau]

Henry!!! Good to see you again.

Wow! It would appear you haven't had much luck as of late with this aging PC of yours. I'll try and answer most or all of your questions.

The very old PCI graphics card to play Minecraft- I don't think it'll happen. You haven't said which model the card is so I'm presume it'll be a card that is at least 6-7 years old and very low performance. My sister has new-ish onboard Intel VGA that won't even run Minecraft due to it's lack of support for newer games. I'm not saying this would be true for you, but it is another problem that could appear. Your only option here if you ask me is to source another motherboard (socket 939?) and use your PCI-E graphics card again. This should allow you to play Minecraft, however it'll probably be at low settings. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT! Buy that 512MB PCI graphics card. You might as well be flushing your money down the toilet.

The new motherboard, CPU and RAM and other questions- You should only buy this new AMD motherboard if you only plan to buy just that and nothing more. Use this computer for Minecraft and VideoCap. Don't buy a quad CPU for this ancient socket. It is terribly outdated and a complete waste of money, even when running old software and games. This old quad would not have a chance of playing BF4. 8GB RAM is all a PC really needs unless your doing some very large scale design and editing work. 16GB of new DDR3 is a waste of money for a gamer, 16GB of old DDR2 is even more so. Yes the PCI-E graphics card would be OK with this new motherboard. Each PCI-E revision is backwards compatible. How old is this HDD? Is it SATA or IDE? Yes it would be compatible with XP, however, I imagine it'll be old and slow like the rest of this PC. XP is an almost dead OS. Windows 7 has massive improvements.

The IBuyPowerTower- Please don't buy this junk.

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I'll wrap this up.

You have 2 options as I see it. You simply buy a new AMD motherboard for your current PC and that is it. Cheap fix that should allow you to play Mincecraft and Cap videos. It'll be slow and painful to use but it'll work once again.

You buy a new PC and build it yourself and/or with help from a knowledgeable friend so all of your budget goes on parts and none on labour. We here can also provide help and advice if needed. I know of a great youtube channel that has some great 'How to build your first PC' video's. This is the much more expensive route. However it'll allow you to do everything you want. Mincecraft, VideoCap, BF4, and more. This is the only way you'll be able to play BF4.

Let me know if this didn't answer all of your questions.

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I recently built a new rig. The thread can be found here.

http://cainslair.com/showthread.php?26412-New-Build

[juneau]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229478

For possible future reference.

[Qicmee]

In general, the cost advantage of building your own PC is gone. However, when I build my own PC, I control the quality. I choose highly recommended, high quality parts. Those high volume PC vendors usually won't specify exact component model numbers because they order stripped or no-name versions. Sometimes you can find a reputable local builder (PC business) that will assemble & support an inexpensive PC using components you select in their shop.

Financially, I usually spend more than I can afford on a new PC, and then use it until it's too slow. So, I have no advice on how to keep a crippled PC limping forward. As Juneau advised, dump XP. After April, Microsoft will stop publishing public security updates, and the hacker fest will begin. Windows 7 is very nice.

[K PhaNTOM]

Shipping, shipping, SHIPPING. Unless you are going to pick up the PC from iBuypower or any other custom PC builder, don't bother because they will ALL be in a way damaged during shipping. ALL of them.

[Henry06x]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229478
For possible future reference.

CyberPower and IBuyPower are nearly identical companies just competing with one another. You can get pretty much that same identical setup with the IBuyPower also. I was looking at the Ibuys with the i7 processor but they run more like $800-$900. From everything I have read they are both pretty decent towers as long as you don't get a DOA one.

Is the Intel i5 really that much faster than the AMD FX? The i5 is a 3.4ghz and the AMD is 3.8ghz. honestly im not really sure what all that adds up to I'm really not that tech savvy.

And thanks on the first post. I wont be buying that 512 PCI and from the sounds of it I don't think I'll be trying to just keep this old thing limping along. It looks like I could have nearly as much money wrapped up in that as buying something newer and it still wouldn't be as fast. I'm not sure any of the specs for my hard drive also and I can guarantee its as old and slow as the rest of it. I guess I'll just keep this running as is for a bit longer and keep saving for something newer.

Shipping, shipping, SHIPPING. Unless you are going to pick up the PC from iBuypower or any other custom PC builder, don't bother because they will ALL be in a way damaged during shipping. ALL of them.

The same goes when you buy one from a store. They are shipped from the manufacturer to both stores and to you. At least if you have it shipped to your house I'd hope a delivery man is a little more careful with computers than most store workers. I worked at wal-mart in college as a vendor and I honestly couldn't tell you how many times I saw the employees drop computers and other electronics off of pallets. I'm sure the exact same thing goes on at Best Buy, New Egg, and all these other stores. You have a bunch of young kids stocking product who really don't care that much about it for minimum wage.

[juneau]

CyberPower and IBuyPower are nearly identical companies just competing with one another. You can get pretty much that same identical setup with the IBuyPower also. I was looking at the Ibuys with the i7 processor but they run more like $800-$900. From everything I have read they are both pretty decent towers as long as you don't get a DOA one.

What is the customer service like if you do get one that's DOA? Does it depend on the retailer? Or do you go straight to CyberPower/IBuyPower?

[Henry06x]

What is the customer service like if you do get one that's DOA? Does it depend on the retailer? Or do you go straight to CyberPower/IBuyPower?

You have to deal directly with CyberPower or IBuyPower. Ive looked more into reviews on the IBuyPower (I fallow competitive CoD and IBuyPower is the "official PC sponsor" of the larger organization) side and they say the customer service can be a pain in the ass to get a hold of. Thats part of why they are so cheap is they don't staff a lot of people for those positions to cut down on costs.

[juneau]

If you bought the one from Newegg that I posted would they not help at all? Here in the UK they can't refuse to help for the first 30 days at least.

[goldenfooler]

For customer service.. not really that cheap.... I used Digital Storm. I get someone very quickly when emailing or calling them.

Though if you live near PCwarehouse they sell Ipower and I am guessing you can get it serviced there.

[K PhaNTOM]

The same goes when you buy one from a store. They are shipped from the manufacturer to both stores and to you. At least if you have it shipped to your house I'd hope a delivery man is a little more careful with computers than most store workers. I worked at wal-mart in college as a vendor and I honestly couldn't tell you how many times I saw the employees drop computers and other electronics off of pallets. I'm sure the exact same thing goes on at Best Buy, New Egg, and all these other stores. You have a bunch of young kids stocking product who really don't care that much about it for minimum wage.

They all ship, correct, but I was talking about buying a custom PC vs building one where you get parts delivered.

[JohnyRico]

Because I never miss a chance to rip ibuypower....

http://www.cainslair.com/showthread....ight=ibuypower

When I had one of their computers it was without doubt the worst customer service I have ever received. If you plan on buying from them please just send me the money, let me kick you in the fork and you will be just as well off.

[Henry06x]

Because I never miss a chance to rip ibuypower....

http://www.cainslair.com/showthread....ight=ibuypower

When I had one of their computers it was without doubt the worst customer service I have ever received. If you plan on buying from them please just send me the money, let me kick you in the fork and you will be just as well off.

I have herd similar stories to yours in reviews. Then I have also here extremely positive reviews them as well. You can get a lemon with any brand just sucks that there customer service is that terrible. The brand really seems like a hit and miss its either great or terrible. Could pay a few hounded more and buy another HP. I have never had a real problem with mine until now and it's just old. I've been saving for the new Xbox One also so that's why I'm trying to keep a lower budget.

[goldenfooler]

Ok... I will say it for everyone... BOOOO Xbox

[juneau]

I have herd similar stories to yours in reviews. Then I have also here extremely positive reviews them as well. You can get a lemon with any brand just sucks that there customer service is that terrible. The brand really seems like a hit and miss its either great or terrible. Could pay a few hounded more and buy another HP. I have never had a real problem with mine until now and it's just old. I've been saving for the new Xbox One also so that's why I'm trying to keep a lower budget.

Is there really no good prebuilts out there for you US guys? I wouldn't go HP.