# Help! Do I need to upgrade my pc??



## marquita188

i need help! DO I NEED TO UPGRADE MY PC??
I have no TV Tuner card, no video card, and no graphics 

Compaq Presario 6350US
Mini-Tower
intel p4 2.4ghz
512mb ddr sdram
80gb hard drive
40x cd-rw drive
16x dvd-rom drive
integrated graphics 64mb shared video memory
ethernet port
usb 2.0 ports: 6
fax/modem
6ch sound card

if you want to know more about my computer it's in the attach file, didn't feel like writing it all down again fingers hurt


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## Praetor

Um... what's the actual question?


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## Praetor

LOL sorry my bad. That's just a classic case of me not being able to read. To save people the trouble of downloading, here's the text file:




> *Help! Do I need to upgrade my pc??*
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know much about computers.. but I have used computers before.
> 
> I like to use my computer downloading lots of programs, music (iTunes) and photos, watching DVD videos,  making CD's, Data disc's, photo disc's, etc...
> 
> here's what I would like to do on my computer ... watch TV record TV, make copies of my movies, transfer BIG files from one pc to the next, install BIG programs, files, etc..
> 
> Here's my system:
> 
> Compaq Presario 6350US
> Power Supply: 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz
> System Bus: 400 MHz
> Intel Pentium 4 processor 2.4GHz
> 512MB DDR SDRAM Memory
> 80GB Ultra DMA Hard Drive
> 40x10x40x max. speed CD-RW Drive
> DVD-ROM Drive 16x max. speed with Intervideo Win DVD 6 Platinum
> Floppy Drive 1.44MB 3.5-inch
> Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 64MB shared video memory
> C-Media Chaintech INC. AV512 8738 6ch LX Sound Card
> VIA OHCI IEEE 1394 3 external ports 1 internal ports FireWire Card
> USB 2.0 Ports: 6 (4 back, 2 front)
> Two 5.25 Bays, Two 3.5 Bays
> Free Internal Bays: 1
> Parallel Ports: 1
> VGA Video Out Ports: 1
> high-speed V.90 data/fax modem
> Presario keyboard
> HP PS/2 Mouse
> 10/100 Ethernet
> Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition,
> Microsoft Office 2002 Pro
> Monitor Dell E771p 17' in CRT
> No TV Tuner Card, Video Card, Graphics Card



Ok the basic important summary of your specs are:
- P4A-2.4 (NorthwoodA is the codename if you're curious and it runs off the much older 400Mhz FSB)
- Unknown motherboard (for now) with onboard graphics
- 80GB and 512MB DDR (probably PC2100 but not sure yet)

To answer your question, I wouldnt especially think you would need an upgrade unless you weere a gamer or in this case, you want to have TV capabilities. The *simplest* solution would be to get something like an ATI All-in-Wonder videocard although it might not be the cheapest route. The *cheapest* route would involve getting a dedicated TV card, soemthing like a product from Hauppagge or ATI. My *reccomended* route would be to get the *ATI All In Wonder 9600 - 128MB* a solid allaround card with TV capabilities. Now if you want more serious video type operations you should look into a more professional-type card but that's a different discussion.

That aside, given that you will want to do video recordings and such, you'll be interested in doing a system updgrade. Before I can really suggest what kind of specific upgrades you'll want I'll need some more information:
1. What kind of budget are we talking here? 
2. Download the program CPUz from http://www.cpuid.com and fill me in on the following:

- From the Mainboard tab, please post all the info in the Motherboard Box
- From the Memory tab, the box labeled Size and the one labeled Frequency


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## marquita188

thanks  for writing all that down, and for the program I didn't feel like opening up my pc!!!!!!!
budget is unknown for now untill the person I know will get by to me...
but I thought would need a ATI chip to use a ATI product?? because I've reviews that said your motherboard would need a ATI chip... 

Mainboard Tab:
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Model: P4G533LA    REV 1.xx
Chipset Intel  i845GL 
Rev. AL
Southbridge: Intel 82801DB (ICH4)
Brand: Award Software, Inc.
Version: 3.03
Date: 10/08/2002

Memory Tab:
Size: 512MBytes
Modules Info: DIMM 1 and 2 Samsung DDR-SDRAM PC2100 - 256 MB
Frequency: 132.8 MHz

..well I hope this helps??


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## Praetor

> but I thought would need a ATI chip to use a ATI product?? because I've reviews that said your motherboard would need a ATI chip...


Nah .. it can get a bit complicated but the simple story is: the video card is completely independent of the rest of the system.



> ..well I hope this helps??


Yep, it's enough to give an interim upgrade reccomendation 

1. You will need a TV tuner one way or another to be able to watch television on your computer

2. Your mobo should be able to accept the NorthwoodB chips although it would not be an advised upgrade unless you absolutely had to have an upgrade but couldnt get a new mobo because of some reason. The newer NorthwoodB's were eventually scrapped by Intel when the NorthwoodCs became such a hit. I'd reccomend you upgrade to a NorthwoodC if possible

3. Another very big improvement you would benifit from is more memory. Bring your system to a minimum of 512MB total of system memory and you will notice a big improvement in performamce as well as the ability to smoothly perform video operations. Ideally id reccomend 1GB before considering video operations (of course depending on intensity) but in this specific case i wouldnt spend that much money since you willl probably want to get a new mobo before you upgrade the speed of the memory and to take advantage of dual channel memory (available on newer mobos).

4. Your harddrive is a decent size although bigger is always better in this case.


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## marquita188

oh yeah I forgot to tell you that this dumb motherboard don't have a AGP Slot, I have no idea why this motherboard have no AGP Slot???  

I already have a total of 512MB in Two 256MB


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## Praetor

Oh right i forgot about that ..... ATi has an Radeon7500 All-in-Wonder which is a PCI card  ... you might consider upgrading the motherboard while you're at it but that depends on your budget


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## 72montecarlo

There are radeon 9200's as well in pci. i dont know if they have all in one wonder combos tho.


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## Praetor

1. The last PCI AIW was the 7000
2. I wasnt aware of a 9200 being PCI... are you sure you dont mean 9000?
3. It might be wiser to get a more recent video card and get a sepearate video tuner if you've got a tight budget.. perhaps the Radeon9200(SE) and an ATi/Hauppage TV tuner? If you've got a bigger budget then perhaps the Radeon9600 AIW


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## marquita188

what about Compro VideoMate TV Ultra TV Tuner is that a good one too??


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## Praetor

Seems like a decent card with a decent price tag 
http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/video_graph/other/videomate/


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## marquita188

Yeah! I might get that TV Tuner card.... 

I'm also thinking about getting a front-panel hub like Koutech (black) 10-in-1media reader but I wanna know how do I install this in my computer ??


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## Praetor

The short: pop open the case and screw it in
The long: see the manual which will come with the reader


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## marquita188

well. will the motherboard you recommend to me, handle up too 4 "ATA-100" devices??
I don't think the motherboard I have now will...
I don't know much about motherboards....


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## Praetor

> well. will the motherboard you recommend to me, handle up too 4 "ATA-100" devices??
> I don't think the motherboard I have now will...
> I don't know much about motherboards....


Your motherboard should support 4 ATA100 devices ... almost every motherboard made in the last 15 years should  But, if you want a new motherboard, I would reccomend you upgrade both the motherboard and the CPU simultaneously as there are not very many (good) motherboards that support Socket423 which is used by the NorthwoodA chips you have (check the "Codename" under the CPU Tab in CPUz to see if you're running a NorthwoodA, I think you are). Something like the P4P800: a solid performer, a good price and allows you to make use of a lot more fancy hardware and stuff and it doesnt cost all that much. Of course the P4P800 (as well as virtually every other Socket478 CPU), will require you to upgrade your CPU too. There are convertors that allow you to use a Socket423 chip (like the one you have) in a Socket478 motherboard but I wouldnt advise that


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## marquita188

I can't seem to find any transfer kits to transfer old data from one pc to the new pc that will, also transfer my software programs too.. 
can you tell me what kits that are out there, that can also transfer programs too?? 
and can I use my 80GB hard drive on my new computer with the new hard drive together or apart??


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## Praetor

> I can't seem to find any transfer kits to transfer old data from one pc to the new pc that will, also transfer my software programs too..
> can you tell me what kits that are out there, that can also transfer programs too??


Well you shouldnt have to if you just use the old harddrive. Of course if you make major changes to the hardware platform you will have to reinstall the OS (and odds are that will mean you will lose your programs anyways so just backup your data). Now if you're really interested in backing apps up, try Norton Ghost.


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## marquita188

I know some kid that has two hard drives with two different OS on his computer, maybe I can just put the old hard drive in my new computer??


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## Praetor

yes that is what i meant when i said "Well you shouldnt have to if you just use the old harddrive" ... when making the new computer, just move the harddrive to the new machine


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## marquita188

Praetor said:
			
		

> yes that is what i meant when i said "Well you shouldnt have to if you just use the old harddrive" ... when making the new computer, just move the harddrive to the new machine




ok thanks


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## Praetor

Glad you got it figured out


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## marquita188

back to upgrades...

I read PC World mag's guide to ask around and shopping around for the best price pc and in the guide also has a how-to on asking the workers about the computer you want to buy .. I thought I was asking the right questions and doing it the right way  

I asked those dumba**es at Circuit City about my computer but they wouldn't give a complete or truthful answers to my questions like this.... 

me: how much memory do this computer have? cc: um... I don't know 512. something?

me: do this computer have a video card? cc: yes it a 64MB RAM exteme. without giving me all info  

me: how big is this computer hard drive? cc: 80GB. but they didn't tell me that they use 20GB of it and I got 11GB left 

me: do this computer motherboard have a AGP Slot? cc: yes a 4x AGP Slot. now they just plain lied  

me: what kind of pre-loaded software do this computer have? cc: game channel, WinDVD SE, Norton Antivirus 2002, realplayer, windows media player, recordnow, microsoft money 2002, microsoft works 6, etc.. but didn't tell that most of the software were trial and old verisons


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## EMO-TOCROSS

It's business.. Sometime's lieing makes money. Can't always trust everyone can you? Although were you sure the guys at Circuit City were thinking of the exact same model you have?


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## marquita188

EMO-TOCROSS said:
			
		

> It's business.. Sometime's lieing makes money. Can't always trust everyone can you? Although were you sure the guys at Circuit City were thinking of the exact same model you have?




yes that exact same model, they're the ones who pointed that computer out to me


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## Praetor

It's not so much lying.. honest! It's more likely they really honestly dont know. Here in Canada we have Futureshop/BestBuy and again the people dont know jack; they'll give convoluted answers and indirect references to stuff and no matter what you ask them about "they've got one at home and it works great".


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## marquita188

yeah....

what kind of computer cases is ASUS motherboard compatible with???
I love the ATX ones but I don't know if their compatible with ASUS motherboards???

what you think of the Just 4 PC 899 ATX black??


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## Praetor

> what kind of computer cases is ASUS motherboard compatible with???


Damn near any case you can find.


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## marquita188

Praetor said:
			
		

> Damn near any case you can find.



OK thanks!!


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## Praetor

Glad i could help... of course there is a minor addendum to my above post: if the case doesnt LOOK like it will fit the motherboard, common sense should tell you that it wont  (i.e., dont try to shove that ASUS board into a shuttlecase heehee)


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## marquita188

on, the motherboard you recommend... I want to know more about it?
what is the biggest hard drive that I can get??


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## Praetor

ASUS mobos:
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/mbindex.htm

As for the biggest harddrive ... Hitatchi 400GB should suit you


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## marquita188

Praetor said:
			
		

> ASUS mobos:
> http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/mbindex.htm
> 
> As for the biggest harddrive ... Hitatchi 400GB should suit you



wow thanks, thats a lot of space, i looked all over for this hard drive, but with no luck....
how much will this drive cost?
where can i get one from?


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## Praetor

> wow thanks, thats a lot of space, I looked all over for this hard drive, but with no luck....
> how much will this drive cost?
> where can I get one from?


You wont be able to get that drive without special order.  It's intended for commercial applications.


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## marquita188

really?? 

hmm.. well i guess i have to find another 400GB hard drive.....


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## Praetor

> hmm.. well I guess I have to find another 400GB hard drive.....


You wont find another 400GB drive ... Hitatchi is the only one right now; and even if you do, you'll find that you will have to special order anyways


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## Zeon

Behold the almighty power of the Ebay!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=64459&item=5110413270&rd=1

At the current time of typing it is at a price of 242.00 with 3days and 20hours left till it ends. Always Ebay it if you can’t find it else where.


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## Praetor

But the question is ... you trust that? I dont.


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## marquita188

hmm...


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## Praetor

Im not suggesting you rule out eBay, just consider the scope of what you're buying... you're forking over a crapload of money for *400GB* ... thats a crapload of space -- space that could have problems. For me, i'd rather shell out a bit more money and get a drive that I can sleep soundly to


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## marquita188

i know this might be a dumb question... but i want learn more about computers. what is the differences between a video card and a graphics card???


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## Praetor

> i know this might be a dumb question


The dumb questions are those that arent asked 




> what is the differences between a video card and a graphic card???


Their spelling and pronunciation  Both terms represent the same physical device


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## marquita188

ok thanks


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## marquita188

back to upgrading my pc, I want to know more about installing more optical drives and hard drives?

like having 5 or more hard drives + 5 optical drives?

with do I need 
RAID Controller card, 
IDE Controller card, 
PCI ATA adapter with 2 IDE ports? do I need more/less?  

how do I go about installing these cards to drives?

I'm really new at this


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## Praetor

> like having 5 or more hard drives + 5 optical drives?


I can understand the HDDs but, 5 more opticals?



> with do I need
> RAID Controller card,
> IDE Controller card,
> PCI ATA adapter with 2 IDE ports? do I need more/less?


You should be fine with that as each controller supports 4 devices (unless you get a fancy RAID5 card or something like that) 



> how do I go about installing these cards to drives?


Put the card in the PCI slot, attatch the drives to the controllers, enjoy


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## marquita188

DK999k said:
			
		

> I would also like to say thank you  to the person who started this topic. I did a google search for info about my mobo, which lead me to this topic which then lead me to this forum.



well, you welcome


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## marquita188

Praetor said:
			
		

> I can understand the HDDs but, 5 more opticals?
> 
> 
> You should be fine with that as each controller supports 4 devices (unless you get a fancy RAID5 card or something like that)
> 
> 
> Put the card in the PCI slot, attatch the drives to the controllers, enjoy



what about adding the hard drives??
i want to know everything there is to know about adding hard drives and optical drives


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## Yeti

Both the optical drives and hard drives are connected the same way - connect the IDE cable to the drive and the motherboard/PCI controller (each cable can connect with two hard drives and/or optical drives).  You might run into a problem with having a big enough power supply or having enough power connectors (4 pin molex).


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## Praetor

> what about adding the hard drives??
> i want to know everything there is to know about adding hard drives and optical drives


People add HDDs all the time for space (hell i just popped two more drives in myself), but not often do people need 5 optical drives.


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## marquita188

Praetor said:
			
		

> People add HDDs all the time for space (hell i just popped two more drives in myself), but not often do people need 5 optical drives.



well, i have this pc case that has 6 optical drive bays..


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## Praetor

> well, I have this pc case that has 6 optical drive bays..


Drive _bays_ or _drives_?


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## marquita188

Praetor said:
			
		

> Drive _bays_ or _drives_?



drive bays


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## Praetor

Ya... that's just the case... i thought you meant actuall drives  (most people dont have a need for 6 optical drives hence my query)


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