very good point
one of the reasons this forum is great
Run CPU-Z on it, it will tell you the RAM speeds (better yet, save it as HTML on your desktop for quick reference)
Running Win-7 for gaming I say 2 gigs or more especially if 64 bit
Those cheap video cards will do well I have an NVIDIA in mine
I got the passive cooling as well so no fans to clog up, they run Seti@home on the GPU as well...pretty fast I might add, much much better cards out there, but these hum along nicely, and the kids even game on em
Sad thing is, my wifes newer computer with onboard video card runs circles around those
AMD AMD Radeon HD 7500/7600/8500/8600 series (Devastator) (512MB)
Wow bawilson2, thants very kind of you. I will wait to see
, nice gesture either way man. Thanks
Alright, a little late but I looked around today. I was surprised to find I had a little bit of DDR1, DDR2, and DDR3 RAM. I have two sticks of 2GB DDR2 RAM that look like they’d probably work for you. I do have a video card but it isn’t a low profile card so it wouldn’t work in your case. Let me know if you’re wanting the RAM and we can exchange info in a PM.
You got gypted bro. Pentium II and Core Duos are 120-200. So a generation ahead but same price.
PC2-5300U-555-12-ZZ means it’s DDR2 memory running at 533mhz speed.
Awesome. Thanks. PM sent.
Since those are 2G sticks will I be able to just plug them in one for each core next to the existing 1G sticks I have for a total of 6G?
Welcome to the party feilox. Admittedly I think maybe I should have started this thread before I bought, but I dont think I got burned at all. The computers in the link you posted do have some for a lower cost like this one for $115.
But the processor I got is a 3.4G dual rather than 3.0. Plus I got a 19" monitor (rather than the 17" others are selling) and the system restore disc. Plus a mouse ( my old one died) and a key board. Not to mention I didnt actually pay what is written on the main page of the ad it was "or best offer". I actually think I got a lot for my money, I just need to bump it up a little. With some help from my friends at BLF, I'll be set in no time.
Ok one more question about the GFX cards.
The one you linked says it supports OpenGL 4.0 The newegg card said 4.2 ( 4.2 is the latest right?) does this really make any difference? What I mean is if I want to run open GL to play the latest version of Counter strike - Global offense. If my card supports only 4.0 if they happen to be using 4.2 does that mean I wont be able to run the game in Open GL?
Well, the card in my mobile workstation (Lenovo W530) supports OpenGL 4.4—so that’s either the latest or one of the newer standards.
I’ll be honest, I have my doubts that this computer will be able to run that—I thought you were looking into running games from the early 2000’s. The processor you have is seriously slow, and if it’s a large scale multiplayer game, you’re probably going to be limited by that just as much if not more than by the card. I think you have purchased a very good word-processing/old game machine, but that’s about it.
To put it bluntly, I think you got seriously boned by this deal. I’m almost pissed at the reseller that sold you this, for $275+Shipping, that’s almost a travesty.
Take this build that someone put together.
The processor in that machine scored almost ten times higher in a benchmark (Pentium D 3.4 GHz: 749 vs. AMD FX-6400 3.5 GHz: 6,379). There’s over 10x more hard drive space, a graphics card that’s two full generations ahead of yours and scores about 9x higher in the benchmarks (Radeon 5450: 233 vs. Radeon 7770: 2,157). It is more expensive, but my point is more to show that for 2-3x the money, you’re looking at a tenfold spec increase. There are $300, $400 builds out there. It can be done.
I would almost suggest selling this machine and saving up $500 for a better one. I don’t know if that’s an option, but I think that’s the better thing to do.
Clock speed isn’t everything. CPU architecture and cores are also incredibly important in the computer numbers game.
And don’t be afraid of building your own computer—you’ll get significantly more performance on the dollar. Nothing could be more BLF-esque than building your own computer! If you can build a lego set, you can assemble a computer. And you, as a master of building custom flashlights, could most certainly do this in no time.
It looks like with the ram bawilson2 is sending me, if I pick up the card you mentioned that I will squeak in just under the bat according to this info I just found.
http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=2323&game=Counter-Strike:%20Global%20Offensive
Like I mentioned before I'm not a real gamer, I just want to play CS once in a while.
This is the second time someone has mentioned building a PC to me. I think with some backup from you guys here I might be able to pull it off, I just cant quite swing it right now. If I hadnt just bought a wife and and a house this year I might be able to do it LOL. Close on the house in March and close on the Wife in May :)
Wow. I bought a house. The wife, that is one thing I will never own. You are a gun man.
About building your own computer, yes its not that hard but when something does not work or you have a faulty item that needs tracing you will need someone close by that you can swap out parts with to problem solve. All the best on the new purchases.
you can look into upgrading the processor, motherboards will often take the top of the line in their generation of chips (i have no clue if this is the fastest of its line)
check into the motherboards model number, and it may need a bios update but discontinued chips are usually pretty cheap
I'm not sure I want to put too much more into this one, but I would be interested to take a look.
How do I identify the MB? I looked in the system information but I dont see any model number for it. All it give is this.
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model OptiPlex 745
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.40GHz, 3389 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. 2.3.1, 5/21/2007
I also found this.
not sure if any of that has it, you may have to e-mail dell, or there is software that can figure it out for you, i’ve used one called cpuz
i can understand not wanting to put more money into it, i have faced that situation several times over the years
edit: according to wikipedia the fastest Pentium D is 3.73GHZ, which would give you less then a 10% increase in speed so probably not worth it
Fair enough—congratulations on the wife and the house. How many bedrooms have been converted into flashlight storage 
But yes, with the RAM being sent and the card, you might be able to do it. I make no promises though.
Fair enough–congratulations on the wife and the house. How many bedrooms have been converted into flashlight storage But yes, with the RAM being sent and the card, you might be able to do it. I make no promises though.
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Thanks man. For now only a small shop, and the office are for flashlights. The plan is build a bigger shop and give the wife the old one for a studio art/writing etc. Fortunately she EDCs a C12 I converted to a P7 back when that was new tech along with an Icon Rouge II. So she's not fully assimilated yet, but on her way to being one of us Muahahahaaa
5300 is the transfer rate 5300 MB/s (667MHz)
U means unbuffered (buffering adds reliability in servers)
555-12 is the latency (smaller number is better for moving lotsa data)
ZZ (?)
You only need to make sure it’s PC2-5300, unbuffered and that the voltage is right.
Unless things have changed, it’s better (faster) to have a single 4GB stick than four 1GB but you probably won’t notice a difference.
After the memory, your next bottleneck will be the 80GB HD. Newer, higher capacity HDs have much faster access speeds.
The CPU should be fine, especially if you’re not running a bunch of stuff at the same time.
Actually, the first point is somewhat incorrect. If the computer supports dual channel memory (IIRC, this computer does) it would be better to have 2x 2GB sticks than 1x 4GB stick, b/c the computer can pull from both RAM sticks at the same time—essentially doubling the bandwidth.
Also, I’m pretty sure this machine supports 2 GB sticks at max. But if 4 GB is your RAM target, then 4x 1GB sticks will be the most cost-efficient way to make it happen.
And I agree with the above post on the HDD. Replacing that old, slow, low-capacity drive with a SSD will make a world of difference in casual usage. However, you seem to be on the same page as me regarding this computer (a stop-gap until finances allow for bigger and better things), so it might not be worth getting a pricey SSD for this machine.
So since my old 1G sticks of ram are 5300 and the 2G sticks bawilson2 is sending me are 6300 does that mean I need to pull the 1G sticks before I install the new ones?
no, they will get clocked down to 5300 for 99% of all motherboards
That’s a very slow system. Processor Type: Intel Pentium D is not pretty. At work we scrap 100’s of Core 2 Duo that are way faster. Send them off to a non profit auction. Just saying. Ask before you buy next time? A decent gaming video card will be all crippled by that CPU.
- Joe