What should I get with my gift cards? Hey all. I have over a hundred bucks in Best Buy giftcards, and I want to get something that will make my game run better, smoother, and faster. My first thought was to get more memory, but I'm not sure if that's what I really need. Here are my computer specs. What would you technology-minded people suggest? CPU: Intel Pentium III Processor, 598 MHz RAM: 256 MB of RAM Free Disk Space: 4.90 GB Total Disk Space: 18.6 GB Graphics: NVidia RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64Pro Intel 82810E Graphics Controller
Goodness me! I can't believe you have the game running on that! I would advise saving the 100 bucks and getting a complete new computer.
I agree with Mirelly. If Windows starts on that you're lucky. Save your money and buy a new computer.
I am so sorry, Meg. But seriously your hundred bucks is much better off in a bank waiting for more to join it. When money is tight (and believe me honey, I've been there and I have the worn-out tee-shirt to prove it) the worst thing you can do is waste what you do have by throwing it away on a lost cause. Like me and Flamey have said. We're amazed that you actually got the game running at all. Adding memory would only make a tiny difference to your game. You might consider an upgraded display card (you currently have a TNT card on top of some integrated Intel graphics but you still need more memory. And then there's the awfully slow processor and the minute amount of spare hard disc space. I honestly feel that your best option is to seek out money-spinning opportunities. Either sell something (a talent or a garage-full of junk) or just your time (baby-sit or sell burgers on top of the day job ) Yuh ... we've all bin there But we really only appreciated that which we made sacrifices for ... but upgrading your present computer would be a crime cos you'd be sacrificing a valuable hundred bucks on lost cause.
Anything new that you buy for the computer won't work at full capacity anyway, due to your processor. Upgrading your processor isn't an option either, you will have to buy a second hand one with no warranty or buy a new motherboard, which really means a whole new computer.
I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but I have an extra hard drive on my computer that has 12.8 of its 18.6 GB space free. I'm not sure how the game runs (i.e. does it just use the drive it's installed on, or any free space), but I've moved what I can to the extra drive to leave room on my C: drive (which is where the game is installed).
If you really want to spend your money buy some more RAM. Remember to check you motherboard's manual to see what type and how much RAM it can take. As Mirelly said a new graphics card might help too but again check with the manual to see if you have an AGP slot, otherwise this is a waste too.
Not sure about Best Buy but I just took a look at "a" website. Recheck this page cos I'll need to post edit so don't rely on reading it in an email notification (assuming you use email notification of replies to your threads ... ) NOTE & WARNING - This isn't advice to buy. You need to confirm the stuff you buy is suitable for your computer before you buy! $39.99 gets 512MB memory $62.99 gets GeForce MX 4000 128MB DDR PCI graphics card $102.98 ... but don't get excited. That video card needs a 250 watt power supply. Even assuming your computer has that much spare power (not likely so you'd need a new power supply ... 40++ bucks) then all the extra heat will need removing (try holding on to a 250 watt light bulb !!) so you'll also need a system fan (20++ bucks) (the fan you can hear in your PC right now is the CPU cooling fan ... there's also another fan in the power supply ... stick in a fancy graphics card and you gotta start thinking about keeping it cool, cos if you let it cook you might as well have not bothered As your computer is quite old I have picked out relatively cheap but slow memory as your machine won't use the newer faster stuff. So if you do buy some memory for your current machine your investment is wasted cos you can't take it with you when you eventually get a newer machine. Like I said those are just examples ... post a detailed specification of your PC if you want me to try and narrow down your choices. Run dxdiag and post the results
I really doubt a new power supply would be needed. If you put a new graphics card in, check the BIOs to see how much power is running through. If you don't already have one or more case fans I would buy at least one like Mirelly said. Get a cheap sleeve bearing one as I am assuming you're getting a better computer as soon as you have the money. One with fancy LEDs set me back around $10AU. If you get memory you might actually want to spend extra for the higher speed as if it's the same type it can carry on to the next computer. I would assume that if you put the high speed memory in the computer that you have now it would slow down to the correct speeds anyway and speed up when you put it in the new computer.
Well think of things that you can keep. Like keyboard and mouse, monitor, speakers... The one I'm using was around $1500AU. 3GHz CPU Geforce 5700LE 256MB 200GB total disks space Case w/ PSU Motherboard 1GB RAM DVD Drive Find a cheap place with good parts.
