Integrated 950 or geforce 4?

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feverlax

Limp Gawd
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Mar 1, 2005
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Which one would be better, Intel Integrated 950 with 128 mb shared ram(computer has 1 gig) or a 64mb geforce4 mx 420? would the 950 be able to play fear? i ask because tomorrow there is gonna be a hp laptop on sale for 300 dollars with a 950 in it, and im tempted to get it. my pc now only has 256 mb ram and the geforce4, so my other option is to get more ram(up it to 768) and a 256 radeon 9250, which would cost about 200 dollars, so my question is basically which one is better and which one would you choose?
 
If I understood your question rightI don't think a GeForce 2, I mean 4 will play DX9 games. Oh and look around a bit, you can get a new 9250 and 512MB of ram for around 60. I don't know about the 9xx series of Intel graphics, but I think they still lack HW TnL which a lot of demanding games require.
 
thats what i thought, but would the intel 950 be able to?

and i found a 9250 for 40 dollars, but my pc uses rdram, so it would cost like 160 for 2 sticks of 256(they have to be installed in pairs)
 
feverlax said:
thats what i thought, but would the intel 950 be able to?

and i found a 9250 for 40 dollars, but my pc uses rdram, so it would cost like 160 for 2 sticks of 256(they have to be installed in pairs)
Click to expand...

Ouch, you can get you a new motherboard, DDR ram,and a graphics card for what you would pay for 2sticks of RD-RAM. Oh and if it's a Dell, thow a new PSU in there too.
 
just scrap it all and get a new system because its basically wasting money putting in such old old old hardware thats going to need to be replaced in a few months.
 
yea, ive been looking for new computers, and all the cheap ones(under 1000 dollars) have had integrated graphics, well actually ive only checked out laptops. i could build my own, i know the basics, i just think ill mess sumthing up, espicially putting the cpu in, and ruin it all, unless i misunderstood how to put it in and it just snaps rite in. the laptops ive been looking at have been the macbook, the hp i talked about earlier for 300 dollars, and the tablet pc gateway. ive been looking at several desktops from ibuypower, i know it has a bad rep, but its mainly in customer service, and im pretty knowledgeable about computers and most likely wont need the cust. service, so would out of these(the hp is the 700 dollar one on best buys site just so u kno) which do u think i should get, the ibuypower is the lowest priced amd socket am2 with a 500 watt psu, 3500+ cpu, normal heatsink(should i add 25 and spring for the liquid coolin?) gigabyte nforce 4 sli mobo, 1 gig of ram(bought elsewhere) nvidia 512 7300 GT 160 gig hard drive, dvd burner and all for 591 dollars. so should i get this, the macbook(just barely in my pricerange) the hp or the tablet(just out of my pricve range) i kno i could get the pc cheaper if i built it, i just dont want to mess it up. and i dont really need a laptop, i just want one just to have. and im asking for ur advice not only on the computer as a whole, but on the vid card as well, would they be able to run fear and other games like that, and if not whats the best game that they could? oh, and the os doesnt really matter to me, ive been wanting to try osx, but i can survive with xp.
 
the 7300 would be able to run the games, but at low settings and lower resolutions. Also you have to watch out some use a form of shared memory to get extra framebuffer space. ATI calls it Hypermemory, I don't know what nVidia calls it.

Anyway, builing a higher end system yourself is not only a lot of tmes cheaper, but you know exactly whats going into it. There's a sense of pride and accomplishment to go along with it. It's very easy to build one, Part A fits in Slot A type of thing. Take your time and you'll be just fine. If your get stuck just ask for help or read one of the many many threads on here asking how to build a new PC.
 
You've got a lot going on there feverlax!

While most eveyone on a board like this will tell you to build (all of my current desktops are "blackbox" systems) you my find it simpler to buy, especially at the low end, so really you need to determine what you needs and wants are first before you make a decision.

At the low end, where gaming and uber performance are not a concern, I favor buying. At the high end, building is a good 10% or more cheaper, which on a $5000 system is a good chunck of dough.

I'd make a list of of all the things that you do with a system and rank them in order of importance. If gaming is high on the list, you probably want a higher end system.

My 2 cents.
 
if your price range is $1000, go with an ibuypower desktop. u'll get much more pc for ur money, especiallyif you dont really care about customer service. of course, u will save even more by building from scratch, which is the way i would go if u have an idea of how.
 
Here's a decent build for mostly office type tasks, music listening, web browsing, and a small bit of gaming

$160 AMD Athlon X2 3800+ AM2
$110 decent AM2 motherboard
$ 80 a gig of DDR2-667 value ram
$ 80 250GB WD SATA HD
$120 nv 7600GS based graphics card
$ 40 16x IDE DVD burner
$ 75 on a decent case, more for a nicer one. I recommend Cooler Master Centurion 5 because I have one and I'm a biased person.
$100 450w PSU, yes you can get cheaper, but your risking your system's stability
$100 Windows XP Home OEM, you can find it or $85-$90 by I'm trying to err on the high side a bit.
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$865 Total. Of course prices are approximate, but I think they're pretty close when including shipping and such.

The problem I have suggesting buying a pc from a builder is that most of the time if they use parts that are uaually of inferior quality. Particularly when it comes to PSU, video cards, and cases.
 
thanks, i mainly use my computer for internet, music, torrent stuff, and the ocassionally gaming, and basically i would be playing cs most of the time, but im starting to play fear and i just want a system that will actually be able to run it. thanks ryan for that list of parts, so far its looking like a good choice, im gonna look around alittle more, and see if i can find any thing better. and i can get xp for like 10 bucks from my brother(through his school) so thats no problem. and one more question, so when u install the processor, all u have to do is snap it into the motherboard, or is it more complex than that?
 
feverlax said:
thanks, i mainly use my computer for internet, music, torrent stuff, and the ocassionally gaming, and basically i would be playing cs most of the time, but im starting to play fear and i just want a system that will actually be able to run it. thanks ryan for that list of parts, so far its looking like a good choice, im gonna look around alittle more, and see if i can find any thing better. and i can get xp for like 10 bucks from my brother(through his school) so thats no problem. and one more question, so when u install the processor, all u have to do is snap it into the motherboard, or is it more complex than that?
Click to expand...
The CPU fits in a socket. You have to lift the bar on the sid of the socket and drop the CPU in while lining up the pins in the right orientation. If you feel ANY resistance, stop. You're CPU is probably not turned right. Once the CPU is in put your finger firmly (not so firm as to break something, but just to make sure it stays put) on the chips heat spreader and push the locking bar down until is clips into place.

Now here's the trickiest part. If you Heatsink comes with a thermal pad just put it squarely on top the CPU and snap the fan on and lock it down. But if you using thermal paste you'll want to put just a dab (thin grain of uncooked rice) in the center of the CPU and put the Heatsink squarely on it and push it into the paste to spread it out. Clip your fan on and lock it down. Your done.

Note: some people say to spread the thermal paste with a credit card, but you really don't have to it's your call. Just make sure if you do get it as evenly spread as possible.
 
great thanks, that doesnt sound too hard, and if i have any trouble i know where to come for help, thanks again!
 
not sure, i saw it in the sunday ad(i get it on saturday) and it said 300 for a intel celeron m 410 cpu, 512 mb r am, 60 gig hdd, dvd/cdrw combo, 14 inch widescreen, and intel 950 integrated graphics, or for 579, u get a 15 inch screen, 80 gig hdd, and a dvd/cd burner,its possible its on sale online, it is the hp laptop that is like 700 or so dollars on thier site(the first one if u sort by price, lowest to highest) check tomorrow and u'll find out
 
many of the newer emachines for sale, even the lowest end ones, have 1 open full PCI express slot for future upgrades.

This means you can buy a decent low end system for ~$500, and be able to upgrade to a good modern video card later on.
 
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