Is it worth upgrading?

[hyg71886]

I have a pretty old pc right now and I just got my verizon dsl yesterday. I want to play diablo 2 online but i dont want my pc to make it lag, I was thinking of upgrading the memory and buying a vid card untill I build my new system. But is it worth it? these are the parts I'm looking at

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...0097-17&ps=ho3

On the video card I dont know I was hoping someone could recommend 1. This is the current system specs

HDD:HDD, 40 GB Video:Video, Integrated
Keyboard Model:K/B:KB-9908,EN104K,PS/2,EMA,C-BLK/SLVR
Modem:MODEM, V.92 56K Mouse:MOUSE, MO15K (WHEEL)
LAN:LAN, 10/100 Integrated Speaker:SPEAKER, SP-20A
CPU:CPU, CEL-2.2G/128K/F400,mPGA478,SL6RW CPEMIN100155
FDD Model:FDD, SFD-321B/LTGNQ FDEM2097BLCK MB:M/B,IMPERIAL-GLVE(EMA):845GL(B1),W/LAN MBEM2095IMPL ODD1:CDD, NEXGEN (48X)
CPU Fan Type:Fan, H/SINK:117162CBL01,MPGA,P4P-2.4G,W/
Memory:MEM, DDR-RAM 128MB (Max. 2GB)
CHASSIS:CHASSIS, NEXGEN-2 MAIN CHASSIS FRAME
Power Supply:PS, 250 WATT

Is it even worth spending the money on this? I wont have my new gaming rig till next year so I want to at least be able to play my games online and single player in the mean time.

[Alfie]

The motherboard,in question,obviously is a microatx board,does it have a agp slot?
Boosting the memory would help,does the board support dual channel?
What motherboard is it?
The power supply may lack the power needed to support a modern agp card,so you may have to upgrade it as well.
Can you play the game now in single player mode and are you happy with the current speed of the game?

[hyg71886]

It does take dual ram, not sure about the mobo im still trying to find out, impretty sure it does though

[hyg71886]

i think this is the mobo info

General Information :
Product : Imperial
Version : 1.08
Serial Number : xxxxxxxxxxxx
Support MP : Yes, 1 CPU(s)
Version MPS : 1.4

Chassis Information :
Manufacturer : No Enclosure
Type : Unspecified
Version : N/A
Serial Number : None
Asset : No Asset Tag

Sensor Information :
Monitoring Chip : SMSC LPC47M15x/M192

On-Board Device Information :
Device : ALC202A (Sound)

Slots Information :
Slot PCI : Available (32-bit) 5.0v, 3.3v
Slot PCI : Available (32-bit) 5.0v, 3.3v
Slot PCI : In Use (32-bit) 5.0v, 3.3v

External Connectors :
Serial 16550A Compatible : DB-9 male
Parallel ECP/EPP : DB25 female
Keyboard : Circular DIN-8 male
Keyboard : Circular DIN-8 male

Internal Connectors :
J2A1 : 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)
J3A1 : 25 Pin Dual Inline (pin 26 cut)
J1A1 :
J1A1 :

System Configuration Options :
Option #1 : Jumper settings can be described here.

[Stuey]

BTW, which operating system are you using? Do you able to play Diablo 2's single player mode on this system?

[hyg71886]

xp pro, and yes i can

[Stuey]

Then I suppose you *might* not have any problems with online play. Also, bear in mind that you REALLY should boost your ram at least to 512 mb.

[hyg71886]

yeah, im goin 1gb and when i get my new machine the 128 is goin back in. But what about a vid card, and dvd drive?

[Stuey]

The mobo probably doesn't have an agp slot since it has integrated video, but even if does, your PSU would be struggling to power it.

As for DVD drive... go for it if you want and have an empty spot for it, but it's not going to give you a performance increase.

[hyg71886]

so i guess I cant buy like a radeon 9800 for now huh?

[Alfie]

If the board has a agp slot and if you can get a larger good quality power supply that will fit,then yes you can,however if you have those things covered,you may want to consider Nvidia's 6600gt agp.

[hyg71886]

I dont now how to find out if the mother board has it, I went to the emachines sight but it doesnt say

[glc]

There is no AGP slot on that board. Forget it. That's a websurfer, not a gamer, and even then it needs a lot more ram if you expect to run XP.

[hyg71886]

ive got xp pro on it, your saying i should down grade the processor?

[Panama Red]

Keep in mind too that you only have a 250 watt psu. The minimum for a 9800 is 350 watts.

[doubledragon5]

Upgrad ram and psu to quality ones and you should have not problems...

[glc]

I'm saying that trying to upgrade that thing is an exercise in futility. The strongest legacy PCI video card you can buy is a Radeon 9250 or a GeForce FX5700LE. Neither one of those is a decent gamer and not worth the $100 over the onboard video, and you will not want to reuse a PCI video card in a new build. That is not a dual channel ram board either - it has 2 slots, but it's not dual channel. A high performance dual channel ram kit may not work in it. It's an entry level E-Machine. It's a Celeron.

[hyg71886]

I currently have 450 cash and have a job interview on wensday for ups. If I get the job I'll make 8.50 an hour, but its the graveyard shift. I also want to save up for an apartment cuz Im livin with my parents right now. Not that I dont appriciate the hospitality but I need my own space u know? So on the computer note, should I start buying parts or something else? Im open to suggestions

[glc]

Slap a 512mb ram module in the E-machine, use it as a computer, and put your gaming aspirations on hold till you can afford a new build. For compatible ram, go to crucial.com, put in the exact model E-Machine, and buy it. Save the rest of the $450, you are gonna need it. $8.50 an hour is not going to go far at all if you move out, trust me.

[hyg71886]

yeah you got a point. Heres the good news though, I already have a job making 200 every 2 weeks, since jan. 1. But I dont get payed till the company does, the end of the first quarter which is like the end of March beginning of april and that will be 1,200 dollers right there not even counting the UPS money. And Im sure my dad will cough up some cash for it. This is the build i have in mind,

fUnc SU-BK-BK Surface 1030 Black Base Mousepad



OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Platinum System Memory - Retail?

Asus N7800GTX Top



CM Stacker 830



AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+



Plextor PX-716SA Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer



MSI XA52P DVD



Hitachi DeskStar T7K250: 250 GB Champion



ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939



Corsair CMXP512-3200XL



Logitech MX 5000



Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Fatal1ty



PC Power & Cooling 510 SLI



Logitech QuickCam Orbit



LTB LTB-USB-M USB Connector USB 5.1 surround sound Headset



Dell 2405FPW 24in



D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router



SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive



Saitek P3000

I'm thinking about getting the new AMD FX60 processor though and maybe switching the memory to corsair xms, what do you think?

[Stuey]

I'm thinking that you should start a new thread.

As for specific comments, didn;t you have a similar "I want to build a super duper expensive rig" thread a while ago? I'm going to say the same thing I said then: going for absolute top of the line is ridiculous unless you can comfortable do so. In other words, I don't think it's worth it for you to go with an FX60.

[hyg71886]

Originally Posted by Stuey83 I'm thinking that you should start a new thread. As for specific comments, didn;t you have a similar "I want to build a super duper expensive rig" thread a while ago? I'm going to say the same thing I said then: going for absolute top of the line is ridiculous unless you can comfortable do so. In other words, I don't think it's worth it for you to go with an FX60.

yeah, u have a good memory. I have some of the parts so i didnt want to start another thread. But if u dont mind do u think I should go with the x2 4800 then? Its only like 754 and Im assuming since the fx60 came out it will go down even further. I havent got the hard drives, dvd drive, memory, etc. I got a interview for ups wensday so hopefully I get that an can buy the rest.

[doubledragon5]

I agree with glc on saving the money for a new build.. I work at UPS and you only get on average 20hrs a week... That is only around $150 week...

[Stuey]

I didn't suggest that you start a new thread for my preference, I did so because I think you'll get more responses in a new thread. People who would otherwise offer suggestions might skip this thread because of the title/content.

[hyg71886]

Originally Posted by Stuey83 I didn't suggest that you start a new thread for my preference, I did so because I think you'll get more responses in a new thread. People who would otherwise offer suggestions might skip this thread because of the title/content.

got u, Im gonna start the new thread after i get out of math. (I hate this class)