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Friends computer build

F

flyinpolak

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
401
Ok so this si going to sound dumb but my friend has an old Abit NF7 motherboard with an AMD xp 2800 processor and an Nvidia 6200 video card... he is only trying to get his computer to limp for a few more months and has a very limited budget ( less than $100)... what can he do to make it any better??? im pretty sure that he has the biggest processor for that board and i cannot find any other AGP cards that are stronger than that 6200...

he would be willing to buy like an older used system from some one (processor, mobo, video card, and ram ***all must be fully functional***) Amd or Intel hes not picky... no need for hard drives, power supplies, a case, or cd rom drives...

his computer is soooo crappy a Pentium 4 out-performs his cpu in benchmarking.

hes only trying to run diablo 2 + expansion without lag.... and re-seating the CPU heatsink with new paste to drop temps + more case fans didnt help much just a little. (his cpu used to get semi warm/hot)

lemme know.. any input appreciated.. even negative input making fun of his 20 year old gaming rig lol.
 
I wouldn't put $100 into the system at all since it wouldn't give much improvement.

However investing the $100 in a new system would actually make a pretty big difference.
 
DTN107 said:
I wouldn't put $100 into the system at all since it wouldn't give much improvement.

However investing the $100 in a new system would actually make a pretty big difference.
Click to expand...
If you live near a Fry's, $100 is more than enough for one of our crappy combos. Or if he's willing to save up a bit more, $130-140 will usually get you something pretty damn decent.

I realize this doesn't address the issue of his current computer, but honestly any money you spend on that one outside of maybe PSU/Case/hard drives (only if he has SATA slots, mind) will be totally wasted.
 
Garby said:
If you live near a Fry's, $100 is more than enough for one of our crappy combos. Or if he's willing to save up a bit more, $130-140 will usually get you something pretty damn decent.

I realize this doesn't address the issue of his current computer, but honestly any money you spend on that one outside of maybe PSU/Case/hard drives (only if he has SATA slots, mind) will be totally wasted.
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well heres the deal... no pci-e slots.... there is sata capabilities and he is running a sata HDD

ill let him know... can you guys let me know of a cheap but good computer build.. (again just mobo cpu video card and ram)?


i mean i can help him but my idea of a worthwhile computer is at least a dual-core with a good video card... 2gb ram etc etc..

i dont have the limitations he does and he decides to spend his money elsewhere.. thus why hes on a very limited budget.
 
Celeron e1200 (dual-core c2d with 1mb cache, lots of overclock potent) - $25-30
cheap 775 board - $25-30
2gb ram - $35-40
9600gt -> $30-40

$130-140 at most
 
I'm a bit confused here, is that system at the moment really not capable of smoothly running diablo 2? In fact if you are worried about temperatures you could downclock/undervolt, and I'm pretty positive it'd still run diablo 2.

Of course the game could be much more demanding then I remember?
 
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limitedaccess said:
I'm a bit confused here, is that system at the moment really not capable of smoothly running diablo 2? In fact if you are worried about temperatures you could downclock/undervolt, and I'm pretty positive it'd still run diablo 2.

Of course the game would be much more demanding then I remember?
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tried... cpu is extremely unstable besides normal clocks. lasts maybe 30 sec and as soon as cpu load reaches +<50% or higher it blue screens.
 
450 said:
Celeron e1200 (dual-core c2d with 1mb cache, lots of overclock potent) - $25-30
cheap 775 board - $25-30
2gb ram - $35-40
9600gt -> $30-40

$130-140 at most
Click to expand...

id love to get him that system... i have twin 9600gt's and they run like champs. (call of duty at max settings)
 
Is the problem that the computer doesn't run stable at the moment? Because spec wise, I'm almost sure that is if anything overkill for diablo 2?

Is something like hardware monitor not getting any readings? Could shed some light on temperature, and voltages.

Just some suggestions/options -

Check the software side first, for instance a complete format and reinstall? This often clears some lingering issues at no cost.

Have you tried swapping ram and pci cards around or using different slots to improve stability?

If you can possibly test the PSU somehow (either swapping in a known working psu, or looking at readings) this could be the culprit, and any new future build could also use the replacement psu.

Check the motherboard for brown/burn marks and the caps (bulges, tilting, discoloration) before investing in any components that cannot be carried over in a upgrade.

Try disabling as many "frills" in the bios as possible(integrated features not being used for instance), and changing any tweaks to be more stability oriented (such as raising ram timings).
 
I agree that there must be a problem with his system. D2 is a 2D sprite based game and should run no problem on his system especially if he is average resolutions.
 
no we are sure the system is lagging.... it plays WoW fine but when he hits tab to load the game map the computer lags....

temps are normal now according to many system monitors including speedfan.



i did a full system defrag and cleanup plus virus scan... didnt do much but help the computer boot a little faster....


we went to frys... 0 agp cards in stock and they laughed at his processor..... again the benchmarking showed literally 50% of the strength of a pentium 4
 
Is he trying to run Diablo2 or Wow? There is a huge difference between the requirements of the two. While his system is very ancient and low end by current standards, Diablo 2 was released in the year 2000, and I'm pretty sure it was played on Pentium 2s, I mean the listed system requirements is a Pentium 233mhz and 32mb of ram.
 
limitedaccess said:
Is he trying to run Diablo2 or Wow? There is a huge difference between the requirements of the two. While his system is very ancient and low end by current standards, Diablo 2 was released in the year 2000, and I'm pretty sure it was played on Pentium 2s, I mean the listed system requirements is a Pentium 233mhz and 32mb of ram.
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hes trying to play D2.... but the same computer plays WoW fine....
 
Any AGP card you can find would probably be better than that 6200. Those things are a waste. There was someone in the forums selling an AGP HD3850. I think it was like 60 bucks or something. That would at least give him a good bit of graphics performance.
 
I suggest a complete format and reinstall to help eliminate problems. What OS is being run on that PC?

I don't understand the component upgrade suggestions, this is clearly a case with something wrong with the system, and likely in software. Without diagnosing the problem first, any component upgrade could still run into the same problem.

For instance his 6200 http://www.hardocp.com/article/2004/10/11/nvidia_geforce_6200_preview

His 2800+ http://techreport.com/articles.x/4163/6

There is no way that those components cannot run Diablo 2.
 
450 said:
Celeron e1200 (dual-core c2d with 1mb cache, lots of overclock potent) - $25-30
cheap 775 board - $25-30
2gb ram - $35-40
9600gt -> $30-40

$130-140 at most
Click to expand...
AS weak as this build is, it's much better than what he's running. Your friends old ass build make my dad's Pentium D system look like Jesus and my Athlon II X3 system God.
 
Aaron11 said:
AS weak as this build is, it's much better than what he's running. Your friends old ass build make my dad's Pentium D system look like Jesus and my Athlon II X3 system God.
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lol believe me... im running twin 9600gts that i thought were lame.. and all i hear from him is... "DUDE! Your computer is soooo damn good....how the hell is it this fast...?

to my reply....

"i still dont know what fast is... this is fast for 5 yrs ago standards (when i built it)"
 
Cschill1290 said:
Any AGP card you can find would probably be better than that 6200. Those things are a waste. There was someone in the forums selling an AGP HD3850. I think it was like 60 bucks or something. That would at least give him a good bit of graphics performance.
Click to expand...

we have one at a local small computer shop (Rogers systems) new for that price.. we ahve been thinking of getting it but decided for him to just get some more $$$ and build a good system
 
Smoove910 said:
For $110 you can get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.427678

I got the same combo, except a Rosewill case and was able to unlock to an X2. It's a pretty sweet system for the $$. Was able to pick up 2gb of DDR2 off the forums for $35 shipped. I also think this would walk circles around that Athlon XP and Abit mobo.

All up to you, but you would have upgrade options as well.
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i know i saw those yesterday in my email.... i made a dual core cempron with a gts 220 ftw 2gb ram 500w psu on an ASR board with nvidia graphics for $210 ish... i sent it to him and hes trying to get that money... thanks though guys i really appreciate it.
 
flyinpolak said:
we have one at a local small computer shop (Rogers systems) new for that price.. we ahve been thinking of getting it but decided for him to just get some more $$$ and build a good system
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's your best bet. Wait for a good combo deal to pop up on newegg or tigerdirect and jump on it. Everything from his hdd to optical drives and case can probably be re-used. (if he's running that kind of system, I doubt he knows the difference between SATA and IDE)
 
Cschill1290 said:
Yeah, that's your best bet. Wait for a good combo deal to pop up on newegg or tigerdirect and jump on it. Everything from his hdd to optical drives and case can probably be re-used. (if he's running that kind of system, I doubt he knows the difference between SATA and IDE)
Click to expand...




no he does... he has sata on his Abit board and no longer runs IDE drives except for his old cdrom which imo is still good.
 
Oh ok. Well in that case reuse everything but the core components. That will make it quite cheap to build a pretty decent new system. You might be better off buying a new system piece by piece on the forums here. Pick up a motherboard one week, get some ram another week. Maybe pick up a CPU from newegg if you don't want to wait for something you would like to come up for sale around here. You will save a boat load by buying used.
 
Cschill1290 said:
Oh ok. Well in that case reuse everything but the core components. That will make it quite cheap to build a pretty decent new system. You might be better off buying a new system piece by piece on the forums here. Pick up a motherboard one week, get some ram another week. Maybe pick up a CPU from newegg if you don't want to wait for something you would like to come up for sale around here. You will save a boat load by buying used.
Click to expand...

did it with my dads quad build =)
 
If you look in my sig, the motherboard, HD4890, ram and hard drive all came from the forums here. Used is definitely the way to go :p. I tend to always buy my cpu's new though. I just have a thing about that.
 
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