Upgrade VAIO or get new gaming comp.?
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Upgrade VAIO or get new gaming comp.?
by SHWoff » Sat Jul 12, 2003 10:02 am
I have a Sony VAIO PCV-RX760 (originally purchased for its video editing capabilities specs below) that I play BF and other games on. The only upgrades are Soundblaster Audigy2 PlatinumEx and MSI GeForce3 Ti 200 (which blows). I'm thinking of putting my Audigy2 Gamer back in because I'm having issues with the A2 Plat.
I'm going to Fry's Electronics today!!
My question is: Should I go out and buy a new video card (if so, which one) and put in another 512MB of PC2100 DDR-SDRAM or should I put together another gaming-only machine?
Specs:
Model PCV-RX760
Processor 2.20 GHz1 Intel® Pentium® 4
Hard Disk Drive 80 GB2, ATA-100
C/D Drive Partition (Approximate) C = 16 GB / D = 64 GB
Standard Memory (RAM) 512 MB PC2100 DDR-SDRAM, expandable to 1.5 GB
Graphics SiS 650 integrated graphics
Video Memory (VRAM) 32 MB (Shared with system memory)
MPEG “Sony Tuned” MPEG Digital Video supports full-screen video playback
Sound Capabilities SiS 7012 audio
Floppy Disk Drive 3.5" 1.44 MB
DVD-ROM Drive 16X max. DVD-ROM reading3
32X max. CD-RW reading
40X max. CD-R/CD-ROM reading
CD-RW Drive 40X max. CD-R/CD-ROM reading4
32X max. CD-RW reading
24X max. CD-R writing
10X max. CD-RW writing5
Modem V.90 data/fax modem (REN 0.8B)6
Expansion Capabilities Hard disk drive bay
Connection Capabilities – Front Memory Stick® media slot
i.LINK (4-pin) port
USB ports (2)
Connection Capabilities - Rear USB ports (2)
PS/2® keyboard port
PS/2 mouse port
VGA monitor port
Serial port
Parallel (printer) port
i.LINK (6-pin) port
Line In jack (audio)
Microphone jack
Headphones jack
Modem line jack (RJ-11)
Telephone jack (RJ-11)
10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet-LAN port (RJ-45)
Supplied Accessories VAIO® Smart keyboard
PS/2® wheel mouse
Stereo speakers with AC adapter (PCVA-SP2)
Power cord
Modem cable
Service 90-day limited service. See Limited Warranty Card.7
Limited Warranty 90-day parts/labor standard. See Limited Warranty Card.7
Power Requirement 268 watts maximum
Voltage 100-120 V ~3.9A
Dimensions 8.0" (w) x 14.2" (h) x 14.6" (d)
(203 mm x 360 mm x 371 mm)
Weight 28.7 lbs. (13 kg)
Operating Temperature 50°F to 95°F (+10°C to 35°C)
I'm going to Fry's Electronics today!!
My question is: Should I go out and buy a new video card (if so, which one) and put in another 512MB of PC2100 DDR-SDRAM or should I put together another gaming-only machine?
Specs:
Model PCV-RX760
Processor 2.20 GHz1 Intel® Pentium® 4
Hard Disk Drive 80 GB2, ATA-100
C/D Drive Partition (Approximate) C = 16 GB / D = 64 GB
Standard Memory (RAM) 512 MB PC2100 DDR-SDRAM, expandable to 1.5 GB
Graphics SiS 650 integrated graphics
Video Memory (VRAM) 32 MB (Shared with system memory)
MPEG “Sony Tuned” MPEG Digital Video supports full-screen video playback
Sound Capabilities SiS 7012 audio
Floppy Disk Drive 3.5" 1.44 MB
DVD-ROM Drive 16X max. DVD-ROM reading3
32X max. CD-RW reading
40X max. CD-R/CD-ROM reading
CD-RW Drive 40X max. CD-R/CD-ROM reading4
32X max. CD-RW reading
24X max. CD-R writing
10X max. CD-RW writing5
Modem V.90 data/fax modem (REN 0.8B)6
Expansion Capabilities Hard disk drive bay
Connection Capabilities – Front Memory Stick® media slot
i.LINK (4-pin) port
USB ports (2)
Connection Capabilities - Rear USB ports (2)
PS/2® keyboard port
PS/2 mouse port
VGA monitor port
Serial port
Parallel (printer) port
i.LINK (6-pin) port
Line In jack (audio)
Microphone jack
Headphones jack
Modem line jack (RJ-11)
Telephone jack (RJ-11)
10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet-LAN port (RJ-45)
Supplied Accessories VAIO® Smart keyboard
PS/2® wheel mouse
Stereo speakers with AC adapter (PCVA-SP2)
Power cord
Modem cable
Service 90-day limited service. See Limited Warranty Card.7
Limited Warranty 90-day parts/labor standard. See Limited Warranty Card.7
Power Requirement 268 watts maximum
Voltage 100-120 V ~3.9A
Dimensions 8.0" (w) x 14.2" (h) x 14.6" (d)
(203 mm x 360 mm x 371 mm)
Weight 28.7 lbs. (13 kg)
Operating Temperature 50°F to 95°F (+10°C to 35°C)
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll sit in the boat and drink beer all day...
by SHWoff » Sun Jul 13, 2003 11:47 am
OK. Went ahead and added 512MB (needed it anyway). Now, do I add a vid card or get another gaming system? The VAIO only supports AGP 2.0 so I think an ATI 9200 or Asylum 5200 for $ 169 is about all I can get.
I put together the following list for a gaming system. I don't want to buy it though if it isn't going to enhance my gaming experience... Any suggestions are welcome.
AMD Athlon® XP 2600+ Thoroughbred Box CPU W/ FIC AU11 nForce2 3-in-1 BareBone System
Processor: AMD Athon XP 2600+ Thoroughbred Box CPU
3 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty, CPU Fan Included
Chipset: NVIDIA® nForce2
Processor Support: Up to Athlon XP 2800+
Memory Support: Up to 3GB PC3200 DDR
Expansion Slot: 1x AGP 8X, 6x PCI
Other Features: 5.1 Channnel Audio, 10/100 Lan, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, ATA133
$ 239.99
ATI 128MB AGP Video Card with RADEON 9600 PRO 3D Chip
$ 199.99
Corsair 512MB PC3200 64x64 DDR 184Pin - Model #VS512MB400 - Lifetime Warranty
$ 99.99 x2
Plaintronics Audio 90 Multimedia Stereo PC Headset
$ 34.99
Creative Inspire 5.1 Slim 5200 6-Piece Speaker System
$ 79.99
MICROSOFT WIRELESS OPTICAL DESKTOP COMBO MAC&PC
$ 79.99
Total: $ 835
I have:
Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer Sound Card
NEC 19" MultiSync
I put together the following list for a gaming system. I don't want to buy it though if it isn't going to enhance my gaming experience... Any suggestions are welcome.
AMD Athlon® XP 2600+ Thoroughbred Box CPU W/ FIC AU11 nForce2 3-in-1 BareBone System
Processor: AMD Athon XP 2600+ Thoroughbred Box CPU
3 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty, CPU Fan Included
Chipset: NVIDIA® nForce2
Processor Support: Up to Athlon XP 2800+
Memory Support: Up to 3GB PC3200 DDR
Expansion Slot: 1x AGP 8X, 6x PCI
Other Features: 5.1 Channnel Audio, 10/100 Lan, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, ATA133
$ 239.99
ATI 128MB AGP Video Card with RADEON 9600 PRO 3D Chip
$ 199.99
Corsair 512MB PC3200 64x64 DDR 184Pin - Model #VS512MB400 - Lifetime Warranty
$ 99.99 x2
Plaintronics Audio 90 Multimedia Stereo PC Headset
$ 34.99
Creative Inspire 5.1 Slim 5200 6-Piece Speaker System
$ 79.99
MICROSOFT WIRELESS OPTICAL DESKTOP COMBO MAC&PC
$ 79.99
Total: $ 835
I have:
Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer Sound Card
NEC 19" MultiSync
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll sit in the boat and drink beer all day...
by S.S.Lazer » Sun Jul 13, 2003 1:23 pm
thanks for all the info. You have to much tyme on your hands.
"Balls," said the queen. If i had 2 I would be the King.
Everyone likes a little ass, but nobody needs a smartass.
Everyone likes a little ass, but nobody needs a smartass.
- NightStalker453
by NightStalker453 » Sun Jul 13, 2003 1:54 pm
I just skimmed through it but the machine u want to build for gaming looks like it might perform better than ur vaio, it has a faster processor and if u put a new vid card in it it will run smoothly, how much ram u planning on getting for it?
- MeatShield
by MeatShield » Sun Jul 13, 2003 4:36 pm
soo much description of your Vaio I can almost taste it...
agreeing with Darnoc..
Save the cash.. You will not see sooo much of an improvement to warrent spending the $800. Upgrading the video card should help your current experience, but no need to go out on a new pc.. But if you do.. I'll take your old..
Not a big fan of FIC motherboards... Check the vendor comparisons at tomshardware.com for better NVidia 2 chipset boards. MSI, Abit, or Asus make better products.
Also, wondering why your partiioning is the way it is. The smaller for C: . I am really not fond of partitioning personally..
*edit*
another opinion... for gaming, I would also suggest staying away from wireless mice. Aside from the weight. you will experience bits of lag at times, usually when you have someone trained on your crosshairs. My suggestion.. Logitech MX500..
agreeing with Darnoc..
Save the cash.. You will not see sooo much of an improvement to warrent spending the $800. Upgrading the video card should help your current experience, but no need to go out on a new pc.. But if you do.. I'll take your old..
Not a big fan of FIC motherboards... Check the vendor comparisons at tomshardware.com for better NVidia 2 chipset boards. MSI, Abit, or Asus make better products.
Also, wondering why your partiioning is the way it is. The smaller for C: . I am really not fond of partitioning personally..
*edit*
another opinion... for gaming, I would also suggest staying away from wireless mice. Aside from the weight. you will experience bits of lag at times, usually when you have someone trained on your crosshairs. My suggestion.. Logitech MX500..
- Rule of Wrist
by Rule of Wrist » Sun Jul 13, 2003 5:29 pm
DO NOT BUY BAREBONES SYSTEMS FROM FRY'S!
There is one where I live and those guys will screw you over bigtime if you let them... One of my friends bought one of their setups and it turns out that the CPU wasn't even compatible with the MOBO! Then he had to go through all kinds of shit to get it straightened out...
Where it should have taken him a day or two to build his machine, it took weeks because of all the BS they put him through (they didn't want to admit their mistake)...
Anyway, you should definitely get the case, board and CPU seperate... it IS a little more expensive, but you are safer and have more options...
Also, you may not know, but Fry's will reshrinkwrap returned stuff... if you buy ANYTHING there, make sure it doesn't have a returned tag on it...
Other than that, if you've got the cash, you should get the new system IMO
There is one where I live and those guys will screw you over bigtime if you let them... One of my friends bought one of their setups and it turns out that the CPU wasn't even compatible with the MOBO! Then he had to go through all kinds of shit to get it straightened out...
Where it should have taken him a day or two to build his machine, it took weeks because of all the BS they put him through (they didn't want to admit their mistake)...
Anyway, you should definitely get the case, board and CPU seperate... it IS a little more expensive, but you are safer and have more options...
Also, you may not know, but Fry's will reshrinkwrap returned stuff... if you buy ANYTHING there, make sure it doesn't have a returned tag on it...
Other than that, if you've got the cash, you should get the new system IMO
- JimmyTango
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- Posts: 1774
- Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2002 5:17 pm
- Location: Land of the Shemales.
by JimmyTango » Sun Jul 13, 2003 5:50 pm
MICROSOFT WIRELESS OPTICAL DESKTOP COMBO MAC&PC
$ 79.99
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope that gets through to you.
Only buy Logitech wireless products, the MX700 mouse. Microsoft makes good mouse/keyboards, but not wireless. They suck big time, stick with wired if you want Microsoft.
Also, it is worth it to get a P4C and spend more. The overclocking makes them a great buy.
$ 79.99
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope that gets through to you.
Only buy Logitech wireless products, the MX700 mouse. Microsoft makes good mouse/keyboards, but not wireless. They suck big time, stick with wired if you want Microsoft.
Also, it is worth it to get a P4C and spend more. The overclocking makes them a great buy.
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