Upgrading Integrated Graphics

[dynamicchuck]

Hey all, I've been playing Warcraft III on my crappy emachine for the past year and I really just can't stand the lag during high intensity battles anymore. System specs are found here: http://www.shopping.com/xPF-E-Machines-Desktop-with-Intel-Celeron-Processor-2-7GHz-T2792

The current graphics card is the "3d Intel Extreme Graphics AGP"

I want to make the move over to a better graphics card, preferably a dedicated one but I have a few questions.

1) Is it even possible to swap out the graphics card on this system?

2) Would I see a significant performance increase by doing so?

3) Would I be able to upgrade RAM to achieve that same performance increase?

4) Should I upgrade RAM and the graphics card?

5) Suggestions for a good cheap graphics card that would fit this system >$60.

Thanks in advance!

 

[englandr753]

Hey all, I've been playing Warcraft III on my crappy emachine for the past year and I really just can't stand the lag during high intensity battles anymore. System specs are found here: http://www.shopping.com/xPF-E-Machines-Desktop-with-Intel-Celeron-Processor-2-7GHz-T2792

The current graphics card is the "3d Intel Extreme Graphics AGP"

I want to make the move over to a better graphics card, preferably a dedicated one but I have a few questions.

1) Is it even possible to swap out the graphics card on this system? YES

2) Would I see a significant performance increase by doing so? YES

3) Would I be able to upgrade RAM to achieve that same performance increase? YES AND NO

4) Should I upgrade RAM and the graphics card? YES

5) Suggestions for a good cheap graphics card that would fit this system >$60. SEE LINK BELOW

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102730

Thanks in advance!

#3 answer you will see a benefit in increasing ram, your max is 1gig. Get 1 gig. This is not the same as upgrading your video card graphics but you definitely are in dire straights to do both.

There are some slightly faster video cards but not too much faster available in AGP. There are two issues with this:

1. I don't know your power supply specs. Most likely it falls short to support a good AGP video card but you can take the side door off and post the specs on here. Look for wattage and the +12v amp readings.


2. You have a Celeron processor. They are really not good for gaming and it would be nice if you could get a P4. Celerons fall short of being certified as a P4 due to low cache and don't process data as quickly.

I would think your motherboard should support a comperable P4. I have one that I can send to you that came from a laptop. I believe its a 2.0 or 2.4ghz which would be an improvement over your current setup.

PM me if your interested. I would like for you to pay for shipping and possibly a few extra bucks if you can swing it. I will try to do some research on your system to make sure it can handle this cpu.


Although you will see some improvements with your upgrades, don't expect this to be a fix all end all solution. This will get you by for a while longer but is by no means the ideal gaming system.

If you can afford it, build a new rig with a decent dual core cpu. You can get 3x the video card for a similar price once you go to pci-express. You will most likely have to get a new power supply anyway and ddr ram isn't as cheap as ddr2.

Everything points to building a new system but if you cant afford it then go with my 1st suggestion...

 

[dynamicchuck]

I can't really afford an upgrade over 150 dollars at the moment and I just want to play WC3 without so much lag, which is a relatively old game; at any rate a new system is out of the question .

I opened up the side panel but I can't find what you were asking me too. There was a little sticker on the bottom that had a chart labeled "Mother Board Jumper Settings" but it didn't include anything about wattage or +12v amp readings.

As for the processor you have, my only concern is whether or not I'd be able to change out an entire processor. I'm rather new to the whole workings of the computer and only feel amply confident that I'd be able to swap out ram or a graphics card. If self-installation isn't likely to be a large issue I'd love to take you up on that offer.

 

[rosenberg1979]

hell if we're tossing him our old parts i got a x1650 pro laying around collecting dust, and a 2.4ghz p4 (socket 478) i found in a computer at the dump don't know if it works, i think i posted a system with it once.
if you live in the USA pay for a flat rate USPS box and their both yours. My wife would be happy to see me thin out my computer junk pile.

Now to answer your question to the best of my ability

As for your link, a 3850 is all wrong for you, your cpu wouldn't even begin to be able to use it and your powersupply would probably curl up and die. Realistically you're kinda looking at like a 6200 from nvidia ($34), and i doubt that is gonna make a world of difference.

You should just save up and build or buy. heck even an integrated graphics setup on an amd 780G or nvidia 8200 mobo is gonna be worlds better.

xtreme budget build
msi MSI KA780GM2 mobo 72
cheap dual core athlon 50-60 (or cheaper if you give ebay a wack)
2 gigs ddr2 800 25
case w/power supply 50
salvage your optical and hard disk from your old computer
total 197-207

not a great system but better than wasting 150 on an agp card, and you can upgrade within limits as that mobo is rated for 125watts and you do have a pci-express slot.

 

[dynamicchuck]

Realistically you're kinda looking at like a 6200 from nvidia ($34), and i doubt that is gonna make a world of difference.

I just want to be able to play warcraft 3 at the lowest settings possible with no other programs turned on, and to not lag through the big battle scenes. Would a cheap upgrade like that card and maybe another 256b of ddr ram get me to that point?

 

[englandr753]

@ rosenberg1979:

My suggestions were based on the fact he would upgrade his power supply and processor. I'm certain its not up to the task as most pc manufacturers put crappy power supplies in their systems and the celeron as we all know is definitely not a gaming cpu.


To the OP:

If you don't intend to upgrade your processor then get this video card and be done with it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sapphire-ATi-Radeon-9600xt-Graphic-Video-Card-DVI-TVout_W0QQitemZ140337715556QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item20acc79964&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I played Command and Conquer Generals for almost 5 years on this card. It did very well and WOW has the same or similar base system requirements.

Definitely get more memory. Your system holds 1g max and likely is only 2 memory slots so you will likely need to get 2 512mb sticks.

Go here and download cpuz and see how many memory slots you have available

www.cpuid.com

If I were you I would take rosenberg1979 up on his offer for the video card and processor. You wont beat that opportunity IMO and should cost you 20.00 max for shipping.

If you do it I will walk you through installing your processor...

 

[rosenberg1979]

sorry englandr didn't read closely, I wasn't picking on you, i thought he was thinking of popping that into his rig as it.

To Dchuck wow recomends a x1600 or 7600gt, for a gpu and
Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+ for cpu
and 1GB ram (2 for vista)

your system doesn't measure up to all three of those recommendations, so i can't really say what will happen if you raise only one aspect up to specks, you'll see some performance increase, but how much will depend on how much the other limiting factors limit you.

BTW the 9600 was a great old gpu.

Still hold to; save up and go budget build though. But it's a free country.

FYI cruising around on recycling day or stopping by the dump might yield useful upgrades for free, that generation of hardware is now finding it's way to the curb. Once again not picking on your computer, just saying what I've picked up off the curbs has build two computers from that generation.

 

[dynamicchuck]

I'm actually looking to play Warcraft III not WOW. I looked at the CD's box and the recommended specs are

600 MHz processor
256 MB RAM
32 MB 3D video card
Directx 8.1 compatible sound card

It seems like I more or meet these requirements but am still lagging!

 

[rosenberg1979]

jeeze thats a whole new ball of wax
any online game is gonna lag depending on the server and your personal connection you could be running on a mainframe and still get lag. Gaming routers can help some, they can handle mutiple connections and more or less just have more horsepower, but if the problem lays on the other end, there is little you can do. If you got a buddy with a better computer try out their rig and see what happens, then you can get a feel if it's on your end or theirs. But if you want no lag, you gotta play on a lan.

 

[englandr753]

Go to www.speedtest.net and see what your download/upload speed is and post here.

I think rosenberg1979 might be onto something with your internet connection...

 

[dynamicchuck]

I don't think it's lag via the server, but rather that my computer can't properly render the graphics in the high action scenes. Nonetheless here are the speed test results.

Download: 2047 kb/s
Upload: 565 kb/s
Latency: 32ms

 

[englandr753]

2mb download could be an issue. If you have the option to upgrade your internet package to a higher speed I would try it for a month to see if it helps the lag.

Its worth a try and probably 10-15 bucks a month difference.

If that doesn't ease the pain then we start over with the video card and memory upgrade followed by the cpu if necessary.

 

[dynamicchuck]

I used to pay for a 7mb connection from Verizon DSL but that service wasn't being offered in my area anymore. However the slowdown existed even back then (3 months ago) which is why I'm fairly confident the problem lies within the computer itself.

 

[englandr753]

Then go with the 9600XT and 1g of ram...