Computer Questions....

[Stephen Richey 985064]

OK....stupid computer question time....

 

I'm looking to upgrade my RAM and sound card, but I have no idea what type of RAM I need. I'm wanting to run FSX so I'm looking at 8 GB of RAM but want to make sure it will fit with the computer. How do I do that?

 

The RAM I am looking at is: Corsair Dominator 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 RAM - PC10666, 1333MHz, 8192MB (4x2048MB)

The Corsair Dominator is a 8192Byte dual matched pair of DDR3 SDRAM DIMMs built using Corsair’s latest high performance heat sink

 

At the moment I'm running a Dell Inspiron 530S (built in 2007) and don't know any of the other specs (not a computer geek, so I don't know where to look) but know I run out of memory when running FSX. It works most of the time, but when I try to run high-end payware it shuts down.

 

As for the sound card, what do I need to know to figure out which sound card to choose?

[Richard Gerrish]

http://www.crucial.com/ has a test that will give you all the stats on your RAM including how much you currently have at what speed. and the max amount and speed your Motherboard can handle.

 

as for the sound card pop open your case and see if you have an open PCI slot and look for a card thats in your budget and install.

 

If you're in the vegas area let me know and I'll give you a hand with any installs and migrations you need to do

Edited April 26, 2010 at 09:01 PM by Guest

[Brad Littlejohn]

Stephen,

 

I think it is safe to say that if your machine was built in 2007, it would not support DDR3 memory, as most motherboards supporting DDR3 are fairly recent (read: within the past 6 months to a year).

 

Looking at the specifications of your machine, you are able to take DDR2 memory. What I don't know is the maximum speed of it. PC5300 puts you at DDR2-667, if I remember correctly. Also, your board appears to only support up to 4GB maximum. So 8GB may be out of the question. The other thing that is also hurting you is that your video card appears to be integrated onto the motherboard. If it is, that is also eating up memory.

 

My suggestion: let's get you into something that you can not only learn the innards of, but also leave you with room to grow. For now, keep your current setup, and see if you know someone who can help you build your own rig, and show you what they are doing as they do it. This will be important, as this will give you better knowledge of what you have, what your limits are, and what you would need to expand.

 

I would start with the less variable things first, like the computer case. I've said it before, and I'll say it again (almost short of fanboy! ).. Antec has provided one of the best cases to date in the Sonata III case. I would say to get one of those. They are a bit pricey right now (I wish you had a Fry's near you; they currently have this on sale for $80 after a $20 mail in rebate). If that is a bit high, they also just came out with the Sonata Proto case. It is pretty much like the Sonata III, but lacks a power supply. The Sonata III includes the Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU. the Sonata Proto gives you the same durability as the Sonata III, but also the option for you to put your own PSU in (obviously, you'd have to buy the PSU).

 

Second, the soundcard. Unless you're going to hook up something crazy outlandish like a Bose system or home theater speakers, don't worry about buying it. The one integrated on motherboards today can handle your normal desktop speakers and then some, with a very small footprint. That will save you some money there.

 

Third, Video card. This can go either way as well, between something nVidia or ATI. What I do know is that you will not want something low end on this. I personally haven't bought a video card since the nVidia GeForce 8800 series came out a little under 3 years ago. It has been a rock solid card for me, but now are very hard to find. Something equivalent would be the nVidia 9800GT, which is a bit more energy efficient. But I'm sure others will chime in a good video card.

 

Fourth. Hard Drive and media. This may require a reinstall of the OS (unless you move your existing drive to this new machine; I always prefer a fresh OS installation, if you have the media to do so). If so, a 500GB drive is going for a little less than $1 per GB, so any decent sized drive will work here. This also gives you the option of moving your existing HD in your dell to be a secondary drive in this machine. So you have effectively doubled your disk space. DVD Burners are cheap nowadays too, which you should be able to grab one of those for no more than $35.

 

Fifth. Motherboard and CPU. This is the hard part. This dictates everything else you'd need to get, as it draws the line in the sand as far as the ability to upgrade pieces of your machine. Personally, I always judge price per performance while others may judge performance per price. In other words, would you want what is fastest and money is not near an object, or would you be restricted to a budget? In my case, I try to get the best performance for the least price. With that in mind, I tend to prefer AMD processors over Intel (and here is where the war begins! ). While I am sure that Intel's Core 2 Quad can blow it out of the water, I couldn't justify the price difference for the performance. So I would suggest something like this combo here. Not only would you get a could triple core processor (with the ability to unlock the 4th core, but that's another discussion altogether), but you would get a rock solid board (I actually prefer Gigabyte boards over any others), plus allows you to use your existing memory in it.*

 

Finally, Memory. While DDR3 is coming out and will make everything already out there obsolete, that doesn't mean that anything older will not be made. There are still ads out for DDR1 PC3200 memory at various shops! What I would suggest, is if you went with the motherboard/CPU combo above, get 8GB of DDR2 memory, preferably 2 sticks of 4GB each. Make sure that the voltage on those is 1.8V. This is important, as anything higher won't have the power needed to run it. This not only doubles what you have in your existing machine, but gives you the ability to double even that.

 

Now, while this may seem pricey to buy it all at once (which is what you do when you purchase something prebuilt, plus limits you to what you can do at the point where that line is drawn), the key here is that you can buy these as you go. Take the time to buy the non-variable things first, like the case and video card. Those you won't be swapping out as frequently as memory, or a CPU, or another hard drive. So get those first, then save the money for what you want next, then buy that piece. Wash/rinse/repeat until you have everything you need; you might even be able to catch parts on sale and score a good deal with that.

 

But take your time on it, especially if you have to fit it into a budget. when you have it all, the motherboard instruction manual is really easy to follow (especially when everything is colour coded!). When it's all done, you'll have a good screaming machine, that was relatively cheap to build yourself:

 

Case: $119.

Video card: $100.

Hard Drive: $50.

DVD drive: $40.

Motherboard/CPU Combo: $135.

Memory: $100.

 

Total: $544 before any taxes/shipping.

 

[Mod - Happy Thoughts]uming you have backups of everything, you could save the $50, move your existing hard drive into this new one, reinstall everything, and you're good to go, bringing you down to a little over $500.

 

Just something to think about.

 

BL.

 

* Your memory will work on this board. However, it will limit you to getting the same clock speed (667MHz). While they do make 4GB DDR2-667 sticks, they are expensive ($180 - $220 each, over at Newegg). That alone would double your cost for everything.

[Stephen Richey 985064]

Thanks guys....I think I understood most of what you said Brad. I may PM if I run into anymore questions.