scopium Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Okay so I've gotten a little bored with Runescape these last few months and some of my friends are now playing World of Warcraft and so do I, but here's my problem. My computer does not have the right parts and stuff to run it. I need your help by telling me what I need to upgrade. Here is my current PC setup. Processor- Intel Pentium III 736MHz Display Card- Intel® 82810E (I know I need to upgrade this) Memory- 384MB (I hear I should really upgrade this if i want to avoid lag) Operating- System Microsoft Windows XP Free Disk Space- 25.31GB Display Card Memory- 4MB Display Driver Version- 6.13.1.3196 DirectX Version- 9.0c Optical Drive- N/A (Gameadvisor wouldn't tell me this :( ) Sound Card- Intel® Integrated Audio Heres WoW's Min Requirements Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon 800 Mhz or higher CPU 512 Megabytes (MB) or more of RAM 32MB 3D Graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting (such as an Nvidia GeForce 2 class or better) 6 Gigabytes or more of available hard drive space 4x CD-ROM drive DirectXÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâî 9.0c (included with game) and latest video card drivers Please tell me what I need to upgrade and what I should use for the upgrades like how much RAM and what type of Graphics card (please try to keep under or close to 100 dollars). Im also wanting to know wether I should take my computer to Best Buy and have them upgrade it (Im not good with replacing stuff) or if I should attempt to do it by myself (I'd really rather not do this). So please help me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest r3dh3adkid Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Um...where did you get this information from because there are no 384MB sticks of ram...what I think is you have 512 but its running at 384 but anyway I would upgrade to: 1 GB of ram CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX1024-3200C2PT - Retail - $103.00 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145450 AMD processor that can run WoW AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz HT 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail - $154.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103535 A 128MB or 256MB video card HIS Hightech HX80XLQ256-3TOEN Radeon X800XL IceQ II 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail- $161.00- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161165 (only go with that card if you have enough space in your case for that because that extra fan takes up alot of space) you could by another hard drive or an external hard drive if you want but you still have 23 gigs left and that should last you a little while atleast. Installing ram is extremely easy and if you go to the RAM makers website they should have videos showing you, video cards are just as easy and you can also view installation videos on their website as well. If you really dont feel comfortable then take it to a professional and have them do it but it shouldnt be that hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ard_Choille Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Check your Motherboard specs for RAM capacity. If you have two slots, I'd recommend getting twins (as opposed to the 128/256 combo you have now)...up to 1mb total should do it. This video card should do the trick (and it's <$100 with the rebate). GeForce 6800 Xtreme / 256MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI /HDTV / Video Card I'd start there to see how you perform. I used to run a highly graphics-intensive game (ran on OpenGL) with a wussier machine than yours, with just a new vid card. Don't be intimidated by the inside of your case...although the dust is pretty scary. Just make sure you are grounded and NOT using a magentic screwdriver. The memory and video cards are painless to swap out. Good luck! - - My deviantART Page - - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blade995 Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 You are just shy of meeting the processor requirements you would need to overclock to 800mhz or upgrade it. Overclocking can be dangerous, do with caution. If you were to upgrade the processor you would also need a new motherboard. That would put you well over your buget. A graphics card and ram would put you over buget with my choices. Graphics card: Radeon x1600 pro - $116 Geforce 6600 - $86 Memory (DDR): 512mb of ram - $39 256mb of ram - $20 Memory SDRAM: 512mb SDRAM - $53 256mb SDRAM- $25 I would highly suggest installing this yourself because if you brought it to bestbuy they would charge you more than you payed for the parts. EDIT: The card Ard Choille suggested is also very good. EDIT2: I forgot something very important, the power supply. Modern graphics card need alot of power your power supply might not be strong enough. To check this you would need to open up your case and check the sticker on it (top left corner of the case). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scopium Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 You are just shy of meeting the processor requirements you would need to overclock to 800mhz or upgrade it. Overclocking can be dangerous, do with caution. Okay now correct me if I'm wrong, but I have an Intel Pentium III Processor and the requirements say Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon 800 Mhz. So would I think this means I can still run it with the Intel Pentium III. Oh and as for the 100 dollars thing that just applies to the Graphics card. Now how do I check what kind of RAM my computer takes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ard_Choille Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 If you still have any documentation for your system, there should be specifications for RAM capacity. Otherwise you should be able to click on something like (this is Win2k path, XP might be different) click on Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information. The system summary should list your System Manufacturer and Model. Win2k looks like this... Anyone who has XP, feel free to post the XP path/screenshot if it's way different. You should be able to look the details for your Manufacturer/Model up on their site...or post here for help. As for the type of RAM, I'd bet yours takes SDRAM. Even so...in lieu of looking at documentation, pull out the card you have in the slot, blow off the dust and look at the sticker on it. At the least, get a twin for the 256mb card & swap it with the 128mb you have. - - My deviantART Page - - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anesthesia Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I guarantee you that you won't be able to play WoW with an 800MHz CPU. Minimum requirements for games honestly don't seem real nowadays - to even suggest that you could use a 32MB graphics card is just stupid; we've tried with a 2.4GHz/512MB/FX5200 256MB and it was barely playable. I also think it is safe to say that none of the upgrades blade995 suggested will NOT work with your system. All the graphics cards were PCI-E and all the RAM was DDR - both technologies weren't introduced in home PCs made at the same time as yours. The same goes for the graphics card that Ard Choille recommended. Even if you got an AGP card it would run much slower than expected as it is unlikely you'd have AGP 8x. Some people are changed by being a moderator. I wouldn't be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blade995 Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 While your in the case look how many ram slots you have. If you only have 2 you would have to take out the 128mb stick for something bigger. EDIT: I edited my first post with different graphics cards. The first ones i posted were the wrong interface. :wall: I also added SDRAM memory counterparts if your system does take that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scopium Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 I guarantee you that you won't be able to play WoW with an 800MHz CPU. So your telling me I cant run WoW even if I upgrade my RAM and my Graphics card even though the minimum requirements say an Intel Pentium III processor will run it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blade995 Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 You would be able to run it, but maybe not smoothly even with the upgrades since your processor is slow. Although if your upgrade to the x1600pro and throw in a stick of 512mb ram(768 total with 2 slots, 896 with more than 2 slots) you would have a better system than Anesthesia used, except for the processor. Correct me if I'm wrong but most games are graphics card dependant so you may be able to run it smoothly. I would get a secound opinion though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ard_Choille Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 For now, I'd say ... upgrade the graphics card and the RAM, then see what happens. If you need to upgrade other things, you still can...and you'll still have a great video card. All the other stuff might be needed, but you can start with the basics and see if you get the performance you want...for now. Keep in mind that a lot of people have somc crazy powerful machines and they wouldn't settle for less. Coming from a machine that's limping along, you may very well be happy with stepping up just a bit to get it running. - - My deviantART Page - - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deloriagod Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 If you really want the game to run well, don't skimp on anything. It might cost a lot of upgrade but if you're a serious gamer it'll be worth it. Internet Marketing For Newbies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blade995 Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 If you really want the game to run well, don't skimp on anything. It might cost a lot of upgrade but if you're a serious gamer it'll be worth it. If hes only going to be playing WOW he doesn't need a machine that can pump out more fps then you can even see. All he needs it to run smooth with no lag. Most people have a buget and can't aford the best. If you were to upgrade the processor, AMD just cut prices on most of their single core processors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scopium Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 Well thanks for the help and Im probably not going to use it to play FPS games (<-Thats what consoles are for IMO), and what does it mean by Physical and Virtual Memory on the SYstem Info thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ard_Choille Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Well thanks for the help and Im probably not going to use it to play FPS games (<-Thats what consoles are for IMO), and what does it mean by Physical and Virtual Memory on the System Info thing. Physical Memory is your RAM. Virtual Memory is how your computer lightens the burden on your physical memory by looking for areas of RAM that have not been used recently and copying them onto your hard disk. This frees up space in RAM. Windows handles this process. - - My deviantART Page - - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scopium Posted June 21, 2006 Author Share Posted June 21, 2006 Okay I've been thinking over this for the past few days and I want to know do I need to upgrade my processor to run WoW, because it says it needs an 800 Mhz and I have a 736 mhz. Will it still run on my computer with the 736 because it is an Intel Pentium III or does it need something better. All I want it to do is run rather good, thats all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukegbluebird Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 judging by the spec in the original post in this thread, please be very carefull of what components you put into this machine, i have noticed a few suggestions here that will certainly not work in your machine. I am assuming this is quite an old machine due to the processor video card and ram you have, in which case the motherboard will almost certainly be quite old. New modern video cards (fx series and xt) will need a minimum of 450w psu`s and i also doubt you have this, and you really need to check your ram before you buy any, and also regarding the processor, i have seen some here advising you to get an amd processor, man these people should think first. You have an intel cpu at present and intel and amd use different slot designs yeah, meaning an amd will not fit on a pentium based board. Be very carefull what you are doing mate before you start going to buy things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blade995 Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 judging by the spec in the original post in this thread, please be very carefull of what components you put into this machine, i have noticed a few suggestions here that will certainly not work in your machine. I am assuming this is quite an old machine due to the processor video card and ram you have, in which case the motherboard will almost certainly be quite old. New modern video cards (fx series and xt) will need a minimum of 450w psu`s and i also doubt you have this, and you really need to check your ram before you buy any, and also regarding the processor, i have seen some here advising you to get an amd processor, man these people should think first. You have an intel cpu at present and intel and amd use different slot designs yeah, meaning an amd will not fit on a pentium based board. Be very carefull what you are doing mate before you start going to buy things. Good luck trying to put a new Intel processor into his board too. He is likley using a socket that you can't buy a new processor for (unless you buy used). So either way he will have to upgrade the motherboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukegbluebird Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 yeah blades right the sockets have changed enormously since early pentiums up to present date. To be honest mate for the hassle and cost you are going to incur in upgrading this machine, my advice to you would be to scrap it and get a new machine. This may sound silly to you but if you browse through ebay you can pick up very decent machines for the cost that you would have incured for an upgrade anyway so why not get a whole new machine. You will only need the box as i assume you already have a keyboard and mouse or you wouldnt have been able to post here, ;) Have a look at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/INTEL-PENTIUM-DUAL-CORE-5-3GHZ-DVDRW-80GB-512MB_W0QQitemZ8832113683QQihZ005QQcategoryZ179QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem its not the best video card option but it will eat what you want it for. And at ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã240 its going to probably work out cheaper than an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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