Computer Hope

Hardware => Hardware => Topic started by: WillNeedsHelpFast on May 09, 2010, 04:48:13 PM

Title: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: WillNeedsHelpFast on May 09, 2010, 04:48:13 PM
Alright guys, as some of you may know, I finally got my new computer.

It's great and all, but it's not good enough to run GTA: IV. And I want to run GTA IV on my PC without lag.

So I need an upgrade.

Below I'll post the recommended requirements from the "Can you run it" site.

The site analyzes your computer specs and compares to the games minimum and recommended.

CPU 
Recommended: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz, AMD Phenom X3 2.1GHz 
You Have: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz 
   Upgrade Suggested: Unfortunately, your CPU does not meet this requirement. Click here to see some recommendations. 
 
  CPU Speed 
Recommended: 2.4 GHz 
You Have: 3.05 GHz 
   PASS 
 
  RAM 
Recommended: 2 GB (Windows XP) 2.5 GB (Windows Vista) 
You Have: 1023.5 MB 
   Upgrade Suggested: Unfortunately, your RAM does not meet this requirement. Click here to see some recommendations. 
 
  OS 
Recommended: Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3 / Windows 7 
You Have: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (build 2600) 
   PASS 
 
  Video Card 
Recommended: 512MB NVIDIA 8600+ / 512MB ATI 3870+ 
You Have: GeForce 6200 
   Upgrade Suggested: Unfortunately, your Video Card does not meet this requirement. Click here to see some recommendations. 
Features: Recommended attributes of your Video Card 
  Required  You Have 
  Video RAM  512 MB  512.0 MB 
  3D  Yes  Yes 
  Hardware T&L  Yes  Yes 
  Pixel Shader version  3.0  3.0 
  Vertex Shader version  3.0  3.0 
 
 
  Sound Card 
Recommended: Yes 
You Have: Unimodem Full-Duplex Audio Device 
   PASS 
 
  Free Disk Space 
Recommended: 18 GB 
You Have: 61.5 GB 
 

So, what do you guys recommend, and how much would it cost?

Because I think Imma save up the money, and hand him the list of parts I need and have him add and upgrade my current PC, (the guy at the computer shop).

Please note that I dont have alot of money anymore, so the cheaper the better.

I do wanna be able to run GTA with default settings without it being slow, aswell as programs like MSN, and Ventrilo/Teamspeak, mods, and other such things under it so I can pause and alt-tab my game and use those programs. No slowness or lag.

Any help would be appreciated cause I definatly want to upgrade my computer so I can play GTA:IV and make videos on it.

Preferbly if I would have one fast enough to use FRAPS without it being slow.
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: lostcoast on May 09, 2010, 04:50:23 PM
 Upgrade Suggested: Unfortunately, your Video Card does not meet this requirement

which means get a better graphics card....above the one stated for starters
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: WillNeedsHelpFast on May 09, 2010, 05:00:18 PM
Upgrade Suggested: Unfortunately, your Video Card does not meet this requirement

which means get a better graphics card....above the one stated for starters

You obviously didn't read my post so I suggest to go back and reread to find what I was asking for or let it go and not come back to the thread.
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: lostcoast on May 09, 2010, 05:23:30 PM
pricing varies with who you order from....find what you need and and order it..the game site tells you min specs, try to get better then min and look around at diff sellers sites and find a good deal...newegg.com, tigerdirect.com any place that sells systems and parts.  and as I said before...buy a better graphics card.

figure that program you ran tells you all you need to know...apply that info to buying better parts as needed.....sheesh   

had you done your homework in the beginning you would not be in this predicament..
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: WillNeedsHelpFast on May 09, 2010, 07:45:37 PM
The specs they listed I should have are their recommendations.

I wanna know what SPECIFIC other members of the computer think I should go with for upgrades that are at the cheapest cost.

The plan is to gather this and if It's cheap enough, I can pay this guy at the computer shop to order them and install them onto my computer. Then I just pay him for it all.

Oh, and dont assume that everyone that compes to a COMPUTER HELP forum knows things about computers.

Post edited for content...

Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: Geek-9pm on May 09, 2010, 08:55:07 PM
Quote
PC without lag.
Is that a Paradox or an Oxymoron?

Here is a You Tube video that claims you can do it in a minute. That does not include the ...
three minutes he takes to bore you to death.
How To Get Rid Of Computer Lag  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmssers0no4&feature=related)
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: WillNeedsHelpFast on May 09, 2010, 10:56:32 PM
I just dont want my game to lag if I have ventrilo and mods and maybe another program like msn or itunes running while I play.

Thats all I mean by it.
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: BC_Programmer on May 09, 2010, 11:08:50 PM
you'll probably need an entirely new PC to run GTA4 at all.

recommended specs:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz, AMD Phenom X3 2.1GHz
RAM: 2 GB (Windows XP) 2.5 GB (Windows Vista)
Video: 512MB NVIDIA 8600+ / 512MB ATI 3870+  

you have:

CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz  
RAM: 1023.5 MB  
Video: 6200FX

basically, in order to run GTA4 without "lag" you need a quad core machine with at least 2GB of RAM, and a video card less then 5 generations old. Your current system is <severely> underpowered for running GTA4, or any game in it's generation; In order to run GTA4 at all you will need an entirely new PC- the Quad core will need an entirely new motherboard, and so would the video card (PCI-E, whereas your current system is probably AGP) and it's fully possible that 1GB is where your current system maxes out.

On the other hand, you could run GTA3 just fine. Although I doubt that offers much reassurance.
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: WillNeedsHelpFast on May 10, 2010, 12:38:20 AM
So I cant just upgrade my RAM and Video Card with a new processor and be fine?

I dont have alot of money and I just got this computer. So I want to play GTA IV in a way I can afford.
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: hejlik on May 10, 2010, 10:01:20 AM
A new processor will probably mean a new mother board.

 May I ask why your "new" computer is a p4? Very old technology and will have problems running most new games above minimum settings.
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: WillNeedsHelpFast on May 10, 2010, 12:20:36 PM
Because we only spent like $300 on it.

It's hard times and we couldn't afford much.

So the guy at the computer shop cut us a deal with a computer he already had, he just added more ram, the graphics card and some more hdd space.

We still cant afford much to be honest.
Title: Re: Pricing for an upgrade?
Post by: truenorth on May 10, 2010, 02:07:47 PM
Unfortunately while you can dress up a donkey to look like a race horse it is still a donkey. The best advice given thus far  (though you probably don't kike it) is to buy another computer that meets (or better, exceeds the requirements) of the game you "must" have. You are only inviting more issues (and wasting your short supply of money) to start trying to upgrade what you have. For instance potentially from the upgrades noted (even if they could be achieved) you will probably need to upgrade the PSU. Which at this point isn't even in the list. The only other alternative that certainly will work is to wait until you can afford what you need and postpone your " ambitions" for the game you want.truenorth