Free 7800GS - In the Spirit...

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liquidx

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Oh yeah, I did forget to say why I can't afford to upgrade. I am a student currently attending Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, MI. I just moved up here, and I have a job as a server at a restaurant because I need the flexible schedule for my schooling. Unfortunately that means I don't make very much money, and with gas, rent, buying clothes for an ever expanding woman (god I hope she doesn't see that post...lol) and all the baby stuff we needed. I have virtually no money at all, and the one thing that is keeping me sane through all this is my video games. It's my one escape that I stay up late at night after she has went to sleep and play. If it weren't for my vid games, I would probably suffer from a nervous breakdown...lol. But seriously, I can at best put $20-30 a month away for anything I actually want, but that money seems to always end up getting spent on either my baby on the way, or my son I already have. Which by the way, due to child support (was based on when I made a lot more then I do now), is where most of my money goes.
 

slim142

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I just wanna thanks everybody who is participating because wolf seemed a little bit dissapointed at certain point, but now, there is no reason for that!

Congrats to the one who wins this card :)
 

liquidx

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well, I can think of three possible reasons people aren't responding:

1: People are away from their computers, spending time with dad (fathers day)

2: People might be getting worn out from typing out huge explanation as to why they want to be considered for a card. Now, I personally think that anyone that is in a situation that really needs the card can sit and write all day about it. So it may be that the sheer fact that their is 1 card to be given away among all us members is weeding out the one's that don't REALLY need it.

3: Less people respond because it is a AGP card, and those of us that are still stuck on AGP are getting fewer and fewer. Especially with price cuts and cheap mobos, and the like. Only us really broke guys are stuck waiting for our chance to upgrade. I am fairly willing to bet that if someone stuck another PCI-X card on here that tons of people would respond if it were a ok-decent card. But I am personally glad, for obvious reasons, that a AGP card is being given away. Gives me hope that I can possibly have the chance to breathe a little more life into my system. Unfortunately, it's getting to the point that it needs all the life I CAN breathe into it.

I am honestly kinda glad things worked out the way they did to a point for me. I mean, I am not happy my grandfather died, and I would have loved to have built a new system. But since I couldn't at least my hdd failed on me BEFORE I bought the new mobo and proc. Because that would royally suck to have a new proc sitting there all pretty, but no software to feed to it.... And a bonus, I was able to get a HDD that doubled my previous capacity of both drives together for a sub $100 price. So that was cool too. And it's sata instead of IDE like my other 2 were so once I clean out my system I will have much better airflow.
 

HDDFreak

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Can I put in my parents/little brothers computer. He really wants to play CS-Source, but the video card (was a geforce mx400, but now a radeon 9600se!), is holding him back a lot.
The current system is as follows: 1.6ghz P4, 512mb mismatched SDRam, 160gb HDD, afore mentioned GC.
Now, my dad just got given an abit IT7, P4 2.4, 512mb DDR-RAM, and that 9600se.
The 7800gs would be an awesome upgrade, to eke out a little more life from the P4, and allow my little brother to actually play CS (it lags heaps bad with 3 bots @ 800x600 with every detail low!). I live in Australia but I would foot the postage bill. If it is eligible, how do I go about posting pics.
Thanks
*EDIT*, oh yeah, the IT7 is AGP :)
 

melarcky

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well my situation is a little different
i personally do have an PCI-E system
but my friend doesnt.
currently i am back in the states for a little bit, but my friend in bulgaria could really use a new card.
his ATI R 9600pro burned out on him so now he is kinda screwed,
his system specs are
P.4 2.8ghz
512MB ddr
Asus P4s800 ( or something like that)
and ofcourse an infamous R9600pro,
i could convince him to send some pics if that is what is needed
 

Sharp

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Jul 27, 2004
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here is my computer it is old but has a agp slot.
it is a athlon xp 1500+ with 384mb of ram a dvd drive and a pci video card with 4mb of ram on it. yes you read that correctly it is 4mb of ram.

i seriously need to upgrade my computer i built it when xp first came out almost 6 years ago and cant afford the upgrades it would need to get it up to current standards.

i have 3 children so i cant just put all my money into a computer and when i ask my wife if i can put even 40 into it for a new part she says no.
and yes i live in USA

here are the pics of the computer and please select me to recieve your gift.

case.jpg

Photo of case
case2.jpg

photo of computer from side
case3.jpg

photo of pci video card im using

fraud. different cases in the pics. no fan in the first one, fan in the other two. also that card you have does not have 4mb of memory.
 

red_devil

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Here is my pc:

Intel P4 2.80Ghz
512Mb DDR Ram
ASRock P4i45GV
80Gb Seagate HDD
Intel Extreme(Yeah right!)Graphics

The PC was actually a P3, but i upgraded everything after 2 years of saving.I don't own a camera so i can't post a pic, maybe i will borrow one from my friend.

The reason i entered is cuz i can't get this kinda stuff here in Sudan. The latest thing to arrive here is the 6200TC which sells for about 300$. I even once saw a 7600GS go for 500$ (no really).Heck, a 512Kbps DSl connection.costs 150$/month. I am really into gaming and but my pc doesn't quite allow me to play them. the newest game i played was CS:Source @640x480. I even tried Oblivion with the Oldblivion mod (it's supposed to make the game run on a geforce2) but it still didn't run. My biggest dream is to be able to actually play BF2, COH, and DMOMM.

I'm not that poor, i just don't have a way to buy good products, and i ain't paying 300$ for a card that costs 30$ elsewhere. I can even pay for shipping but they don't have credit cards here in Sudan. if there is another way then tell me.

If there is anyone he deserves it better than me then it should go to him, otherwise am always open for a gift :)

P.S: Please don't think that by helping me u r helping a homeless chap in Darfur, I live in the capital.
 

HDDFreak

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Feb 14, 2006
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To Sharp: Are you sure? The cases look the same to me. And where is this fan you are talking about. I can't see one. Dunno about the card tho, it still is PCI. If I were to say anything, it would be about the bad wording (and please select me to recieve your gift). It sounds rude to me (apologies paul_baker if english isn't your first language).

Red_devil, I believe that e-bay could be your friend, AFAIK, you don't need a credit card for pay-pal, and heaps of sellers use that. Most online computer stores in the world probably accept direct debit. Pity about the broadband though $150, eek, I thought australia was bad! BTW, love the sig :D
 

Flying-Q

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Feb 20, 2006
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WolfShadw,

I would very much like your 'old card', firstly why I need it and secondly why I deserve it.

The need:

I have a machine that until last month was used for home business, browsing, music (whilst working) and the occasional bit of HL2, diablo2, EVEonline. Its specs are:

Asus P4C800Deluxe (intel875) with AGP slot,
Northwood 'C' core 3.0GHz HT,
Corsair 2x 512Mb XMS DDR,
Sapphire ATi9600pro with 256Mb,
Seagate 7200.8 200Gb,
LiteOnIT CD burner,
LiteOnIT 18a DL DVD burner (recent acquisition),
Akasa PaxPower 400W (most recent - had to go cheap out of necessity).

Nothing is overclocked as this is primarily a business machine.

Due to a change in circumstances (see deserving) I now have a need to run games more frequently and more recent ones at that. I am finding that my existing 9600pro just can't cut the mustard anymore.

The 'Deserving':

I have built many machines for friends and family but they pay for (and naturally get) the parts.

One of my sons, who is 21 and has severe ADHD; Asperger's; epilepsy; cerebral palsy (right hemaporesis); and learning difficulties, has just embarked on a series of 3 procedures to give him some increased mobility in his right foot. This is going to take a total of almost 1 1/2 years.
Because of the nature of his conditions he requires 24/7 attendance/care and constant entertainment/distractions to assist with reducing frustration levels and aiding anger management. Until now we have managed to get him into independant living with support at a distance, but this is not possible during these procedures. He is currently living with us in a hospital bed (that has been loaned to us by a charity) in the front room.

In order for his care to be facilitated, my wife has had to go to part time work and I am subsisting on small architectural drawing jobs that I can work on at home. Needless to say that our income has reduced and all that remains goes to essentials only. Upgrading my computer is not classed as an essential.

My son needs to play some games to help reduce his boredom and frustration. Afterall there is only so much TV that he can watch before getting bored witless. He is the reason why I need this upgrade for my machine now. If it weren't for this situation I would likely keep this machine in its current config until I had planned to replace it in about a year. As I won't be able to afford to upgrade (let alone replace this machine) until I get back to full time work I would truly appreciate having your 'old' 7800GS in its AGP flavour.

As you can tell from my spelling I'm in Brit-land so I shall have to pay for carriage across the pond.

I shall place some pics of the machine (and my son) in a later post as soon as I have found some where to host them. I have never needed that facility before and so have not investigated doing it before now (any advice on that score would be welcome).

In the meantime I am hoping to win your favour.


Q
 

red_devil

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Jan 12, 2006
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@HDDFreak: thx for the comment, I wrote it when i was bored, I will look into PayPal, but there are also no Debitcards here. In fact, there are no cards at all. only bank accounts; and not world known banks.

P.S: People here are technoligically challenged, AMD is known as an A/C brand and a 2Mbps costs 600$ 8O

My apolagies if my lang is bad, English is not my native.


BTW, I vote for Flying-Q if he is telling the truth.

EDIT: Just checked Paypal, they said i am in a sanctioned country and they can't provide services to me :(
 

Flying-Q

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Feb 20, 2006
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Hi again,

Here are the images as promised:

This one is looking for a little bit of 7800GS love,
p1010023xt5.jpg


and this boy is needing some gametime love.
p1010022ca3.jpg


Just to add to the situation this lad is one of 5 children who all have special needs (although his situatiuon is the most severe), and on top of that our family car is dying on its wheels (exhaust, starter, shuttle valve) which we need to take our son to hospital appointments for consultants visits and cast changes etc.

Can you tell me how much shipping to the UK will cost me please?


Q
 

RTSW

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Jun 17, 2007
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I'm kinda hesitant about participating, a lot of people here would really benefit from your card, but here I go:

My love for computers (specially games) since I was 9 years old made Computer Engineering an easy choice for me when I enrolled in college. Currently, I'm only an undergraduate student, so cash doesn't come by easily. For that reason, it's very unlikely that I upgrade my PC for the next three years, the time I need to graduate. And the fact that computer parts are extremely expensive here (due to heavy importing taxes and a devalued currency in comparison to dollar) certainly doesn't help, making an upgrade downright impossible. That is unfortunate because computers play such a big role in my life, and really I love gaming. I bought the parts for my PC around four years ago under really nice circumstances. The specs:

Athlon XP 2600+ (Barton)
Asus A7N8X-X
2x512MB DDR-333
Radeon 9600 (Gecube)
Sound Blaster Live 5.1
2xHD SP0802N (Samsung)

Needless to say, I really appreciate what you're doing. Also, I'm not a US resident. Shipping outside the US is expensive, but if you're willing to do it, I think I can afford THAT much.

I know the fact that I'm a first time poster may not sit well with you, or others. I've just become a member, but I've been browsing the Forumz regularly for nearly 2 years (tomshardware itself much longer, though). My irregular schedule would make it difficult for me to become a poster, so I've settled as a lurker. And even so I'm overwhelmed by how fast the forums work. Anyway, I just wanted to explain the situation, I don't want anyone offended or anything.

Pics:



 

mtyermom

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Jun 1, 2007
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Ok here's my system specs:

Pentium 4 1.8GHz
1GB RDRAM
ASUS P4TE Motherboard
80GB HDD
Matrox G450 Video Card (I had a GeForce Ti4200 but it died)

Here's my story:

Hello all. I used to be a gamer "back in the day" when my GeForce Ti4200 actually ran. It died about a year ago and I replaced it with my friends spare Matrox G450 just to be able to have the computer running. The Matrox won't even run the simplest of 3d games. I have been wanting to upgrade for a while and would love to put together a new system. However, I just became a father 3 weeks ago (we have a beautiful baby boy, Kieran) so ALL my money goes into caring for him. On top of a new baby, I was rather screwed by my employer after having the baby. I took a week off from work when the baby was born (as had been agreed upon long before he was due) so that I could take care of the baby and his mother. I called on day six off from work to let the general manager know that I was ready to come back (I was "number two" directly under the GM). Well, he (the GM) kept delaying me, initially saying "ok, it looks like we can have you back on on Friday, but call Thurs night and we'll see what the schedule / staffing situation looks like". I called Thurs and then he tells me "oh, the schedule is full, it looks like we'll bring you in for the weeked but call Fri night and check the schedule, etc". Well I call Fri and get the same story "oh, schedule full, try for Sun...." This goes on day after day and finally he says "we'll bring you on Tues but I'll call you on Monday to come in for a meeting". So I wait around all day Monday and finally like 6:30 in the evening I get a call to come in for a meeting with the GM and the owner, I go up there and they start telling me that they're restructuring the management and want to change my position and pay me less, etc etc... Needless to say I was upset by this. I had been with the company for a year and had sacrificed all of my free time for this job (restaurant manager) and busted my ass for them, pouring my heart and soul into the business. So after all I had done without complaint and never asking for anything, they bullshit me around, creating a needless void in my work schedule when I'm already under financial burden from taking time off, but they want to cut my hours and pay me less. After a year of always turning the other cheek and being there for EVERYTHING they needed, I felt that they let me down when I needed them most. I finally stood up for myself and told them that I would be able to stay. Since then I've been struggling to make ends meet and have obviously given up hope of upgrading my system. I would truly appreciate the chance to finally run some 3d games at a playable framerate (or at all!). Thank you for your time and good luck to all who've entered!!!

Here are pics of the system:

Picture001Small.jpg


Picture002Small.jpg


Picture005Small.jpg


And a picture of the boy:

KieransBirthday5-25-2007071Small.jpg


Look ^^ He's E-vil already!

Thanks again to Wolfshadw and all the others who have participated in this event and others like it!
 

gomerpile

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You got my vote dude, Sorry to hear your employer was such a jerk specially after the hard week of being a new father. Jeez dude, someday that company will have problems with staff and say we should have been nice to you.
 

norV

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Jun 16, 2007
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I know someone with a athlon 3700+, asrock board, 2 gb ram, and no video card, hes able to get an all in wonder x800 xt 256mb card for $40 bucks from someone, im wondering if the 7800gs is better and if so by how much. If it is better then ill put pics of his comp and if he wins i can buy that all in wonder card to put up here so this give away continues. so its like i bought a 7800gs for $40 :p . but thats only if the 7800gs is better. So does anyone know if it is better?
 

turboflame

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Aug 6, 2006
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4xnlzxf.jpg


6h752m1.jpg


here are some pics of my frankenstein build

The case, psu, half of the memory, cd burner, floppy and sound card were from an older Athlon xp 2000+ build.

current specs:

Sempron 3000+ socket 754 @1.8ghz
Gigabyte GA-K8U ULi M1689 mobo
Sapphire 1600pro AGP
1GB (2x256, 1x512) DDR333, timings unknown due to cheap mobo
80GB Hitachi deskstar SATA HDD - main drive
160GB Western Digital Caviar SE SATA HDD - storage drive (added 2 months ago, first addition in about a year)

btw I'm going to college in the fall, there is a chance that i might get a laptop but it would be a cheap one. I'll probably lug this build along anyway because it can play games decently and it has all my music etc. on it that the laptop wouldn't be able to hold or play decently.

So if anyone has an older laptop that they no longer want or would be willing to sell, please tell me (P2 at minimum). A 7800gs would be awesome, not entirely neccessary but theres bound to be a couple of console fanboys in my dorm who would have their world rocked by having their precious Xbox look like an Atari compared to an "old" computer. And hey, if I win, I'll hold another contest to see who needs my old X1600pro :wink:
 

Konut

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Oct 30, 2006
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I don't know if you want help choosing the person, but my vote goes for lordaardvark2, and here are the reasons.

1)Primarily, I'm almost sure he's telling the truth. I've seen other posts he's made, and he does talk about the system that he pictoed for you. It might be risky to go with someone with a low number of posts because they could easily be lying.

2)This is just a personal view, but I really believe that people who have no money because of a pregnancy in the family, or a newborn baby don't need the card right now. The father need to put all his attention towards the baby, not his PC.

3)Lordaardvark2 has a good reason for not having money, and it is clear that he really likes PCs. He gives help to his friends, and he deserves something in return.