Upgrade on HP PC.. Easy question

Lateralus · July 20th, 2003, 04:29 PM

Hey all. I got a family member who has a HP computer. He uses the PC mainly for the game Nascar 2003 which he plays online.
He uses the onboard video of this pc which totally sucks (no pun intended if you read this Kev). He has a hard time playing the game even with the video settings all the way down and with res of 800x600.
The specs are..
1.0 ghz (dont know processor type), 256sdram (he says it shows up as 128 though), and again he uses on board video.

I am wondering if we can upgrade his video and receive great improvments? One of his buddies told him even attempting to upgrade his video would be a waste of money due to it would bottleneck. I am no pro but I think this is totally false. I would guess if he got the best card available he wouldnt get its full capabilities, but wouldnt anything be better than onboard video? (It has to be a PCI slot card)

I was looking at getting him a Chaintech Geforce2 MX400 "P-501Q" PCI Retail from newegg.
Here the link, 2nd one down from top.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

The back of the nascar game says recommended components are pentium III 800, 128mb ram, 32 mb direct 3d compatible video card.

Bottom line, would he see drastic improvements if I got him the above video card?
Also, If i get the card I assume I just disable onboard video in bios. Pop the new card in. Then load or download the latest drivers right? Any steps missing? I feel very comfortable doing all this, as I have built my last 2 pcs from ground up. BUT, its different when your dealing with family members and they are hovering over your shoulder. If everything dont go PEFECT they think, "Oh hell, what have I done.. I knew I should of just left it alone".
BUT, I want him to enjoy online gaming as much as I do and i'm more than willing to help him out.

JPMiller · July 20th, 2003, 05:10 PM

http://www.amamax.com/vdbfgb555g4mx420pci.html
for the money this would be a MUCH better card and I have bought 2 video cards from here in past with no problems.
Onboard video sucks up your system memory as well, so the fact that his memory is only showing 128Mg may be because his onboard video is already using 128Mgs.
A seperate video card will double his system memory and free up some cpu utilization a swell. Very good upgrade for him!
Yes you disable the onboard video from within the bios and reboot...download the drivers needed beforehand though to make it easier and faster for swapping.

Lateralus · July 20th, 2003, 05:46 PM

Thanks Miller. I checked out this card and it does look good. However, I am a loyal newegg shopper and I dont see this card on their site.
I have made many purchases thru newegg. 2 times I ran into problems with 2 of the parts I have ordered from them and they were quick to correct the problem,, hassle free. This to me accounts for alot so thats why I want to deal with newegg.
Hassle free all the way around, and lightening fast shipping!

Edit, I just found this card that has about the same specs.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...roperty&DEPA=1

What do ya think?

JPMiller · July 20th, 2003, 06:15 PM

sorry...link didnt work...what brand card was it? price?

billniceguy · July 20th, 2003, 06:44 PM

you mean a mom memory can use 128? On board video poor, get a pci video card with maybe 48 ram or more. Try different memory. Is it 1 stick or 2?

Lateralus · July 20th, 2003, 06:52 PM

Jp miller, sorry link didnt work.
Its a PNY NVIDIA GF4 MX420 SDR 64M VGA PCI Video Card Retail
To the left under chipset I selected nvidia gfr mx420

billniceguy, He actually has 2 sticks of sdram. 1 stick of 128 and 1 stick of 256. He tried them both together and said it didnt work. He stated last night he thought he had the 256 stick in and it only showed up as 128. I cant say for certain though as I have yet to go to his home and check it out.
Either way my main question is if he was say Major, I mean dramatic improvements?
He is kinda unsure since his buddy told him he would be wasting his cash. I think he will see major a major improvement, even if we got a 32mb card (but were looking at a 65mb).
I will let him see all your replies..

jmebonner · July 20th, 2003, 07:06 PM

I don't think dramatic is the word I'd use. Despite the better card, which will improve performance, he's still only 200 MHz above the bare minimum. I'd parlay the extra cash into saving for a new system.

Just my $0.02

Lateralus · July 20th, 2003, 09:00 PM

jmebonner, Thanks for your input. If it were me I would also save for a new PC. However, he isnt going to get a new pc anytime soon and he is looking for a cheap way to improve his pc. I feel he would see a major increase in performance. He would be able to turn many setting up maybe even close to max, instead of having the bare minimal settings.

Zenara25 · July 20th, 2003, 09:29 PM

I would also save money and get a new system. If your budget is really tight then yes just get the video.

But

I just bought some parts and built a new system (motherboard,video card,cpu for $109). What a great difference in speed. Of course if you're using Windows 95 you'd most likely have to reinstall it again as it doesn't work (at least for me) after installing a new motherboard.

I got my motherboard Epox 8K7A over ebay for $25. This included shipping.
I got an AMD athlon 1800 retail (with heatsink and fan included) for $56 at www.newegg.com
Again at newegg I got the asus v7100 for $28 (sorry it is agp)
For PCI if you decide to upgrade more than just the video card you might want to go with a more inexpensive card. It's $20 + $4 shipping. PCI Micro is rated well in resellerratings.
http://www.pcimicro.com/.sc/ms/dd/10...RETAIL%2520BOX

Lateralus · July 20th, 2003, 11:37 PM

Zenara25
Would we see much a difference between the 64mb video card i'm looking at compaired to this 32mb card you show? If not a $25 (including shipping) upgrade would be great for my cuz. I know most of us would upgrade to a new pc if we could, but I feel he really has no need to do this. He is fairly happy with it as it is, cept he would like for his nascar game to run better and turn graphic detail up alittle more.
Heck, if this $25 buck card would improve his peformance from lowest quality settings to medium that would be the ticket. Even if he does get a new computer later on, hes only out $25 bucks.
Sometimes us computer dorks need to remember, just cause we want the latest and greatest that doesnt mean every else needs it. My ma in law has a 266mhz PC i gave her. You would think that I gave her a cadilac or something.