graphics card

:confused After upgrading my os to windows 7 it would seem my graphics card ids not powerful enough ( my pc is about 6 years old ) Because of this i am looking at getting a new card. However i was quite happy that i would be able to do this, but after reading lots off how to's im now more than a little confused. Could any one give me some advice on how to find if the card i am looking at getting (PNY NVIDEA Geforce 8400 gs PCI-E graphics card ) is suitable for my set up. I know I have the minimum 1gb ram to run the card however i would probably upgrade to 2gb

 

Sorry its an old compaq presario SR1000

 

Both my daughter & my son have the GEForce 8400gs in their machines. The card will work, but I would suggest upgrading your RAM to 2 gb, since 1 gb is min. with 7. http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Presario SR1000T Series&Cat=RAM

 

Hi, you better narrow down that model a bit more--check the tag on the back. http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...odTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=402657&taskId=135 You want to be sure you have a PCIe slot on that motherboard otherwise you would need a PCI card.

Also, check Start>type in Device Manager and then under Display Adapter see what you are running now and post that model number too, so we know if it is a card or onboard graphics.

 

Its a compaq presario sr 1000, product number sr1519uk

 

Although that doesnt show on the link. I will double check it when i get home

 

Nope thats what i it says on the back. In the device manager all it says is that its a standard vga graphics adapter. However it does say that the enumerater is a pci. Is this any help?

 

Why do you say that? Are you having problems?

I note graphics cards are often the most power hungry device in a computer - meaning it is likely you will also have to upgrade your power supply just to support a new card.

If you only have 1Gb of RAM, your best bang for the money is to bump your RAM up as much as you can; 3 - 4Gb is my preferred minimum with Windows 7. If using integrated graphics now, bumping up your RAM will improve your graphics performance too, and hopefully will not overtax your current power supply.

All in all, I do not normally recommend spending much money upgrading a 6 year old computer - especially when the parts cannot be used in a later build.

 

It just seems to be the general concensus from people i have spoken to. Im not massively upgrading my p.c I just want it to be able to do the basic things as i can not afford to pay out for a new one. I would be upgrading my ram aswell as my card.

 

Then based on past experience with factory built systems, they typically come with power supplies barely adequate to support the hardware they come with. If you plan on adding RAM and a graphics card, plan on upgrading your PSU at the same time (or before) too.

 

This seems to be his motherboard: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...Id=12454&prodSeriesId=402657#c00189654_SR1500

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00378480&dlc=en&lc=en&cc=us

I can't tell what the onboard graphics are capable of in terms of why Win7 would be balking. A quick google search seems to give decent resolution?

He does have a PCIe slot available for a card that supports Aero etc. if that is why Win7 is giving the complaint.

 

2GB Ram (new) at newegg is like $70.00:cry

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...EPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=ddr+333+2gb



Maybe used on ebay? Make sure it matches. This is DDR 333 NOT 400 for less than half:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2GB-2-X-1GB...556?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae2032514

 

Thanks for all your help guys. My new graphics card and psu should be arriving either today or tommorow. I have already got my ram but like a plank ordered the wrong stuff :-o altho i can see where i went wrong. Just wondering now if any of you have any advice on the installation of said graphics card and psu. I know the basics but as this is my first time upgrading a p.c any advice would be gratefully recieved !!:confused

 

So i replaced the psu and disabled the onboard graphics (im pretty sure :confused ) I then put the card in and restarted the pc. It started up, very slowly but i expected that as i havnt put my extra ram in yet and am running on the minimum requirement. However when i put the disk in that came with it to install the drivers. It said the install had failed. It also looked like it was trying to install something for my usb webcam for some reason. Could somebody please help me. Do i need to change something in the bios.

Please HELP!! :cry

Thanks in advance

 

With Windows 7, it will find the drivers for the graphics card. There should be no need for the disc. Only time that I have had to use an installer cd for a add-on card, was the wireless nic for my daughter's desktop, due to Microsoft did not include those drivers in their resources.

 

Well ive got it all up and running, only thing it aint doing is taking sound when using the hdmi port which is annoying. Thanks everyone for all the advice !!

 

A note on RAM upgrades:

cheaper, second hand but working memory may be bought on ebay, but ensure you buy something that works. Visit the Kingston, Crucial and Corsair sites and use the "memory configurators", you enter your model of PC (SR1519UK) and it should return with which memory of theirs is guaranteed compatible. Then visit ebay and look for it. it will save you about £10 - £15 per GB.

The memory spc for your mb is
Four 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets
Supports dual channel, eight memory banks DDR 333/400 DDR DIMMs
Supports 2.5v DDR SDRAM DIMMs

Dual channel means that best performance is attained by using paired memory components in the pairs of slots (you will have two pairs, colour coded with two colours, usually 1&3 ans 2&4).

I think you can put mismatched memory in slots that are not pairs. My knowledge gets a little shakey here. If you put memory in and your PC either fails to see it or else doesn't boot, and you are certain that the memory has been in put in properly (eg no loose connections) you computer may not like the memory configuration...anyway I have digressed

Dumb_Question
Compaq S5160UK XP/SP3

 

Cheers the problem seemed to be that the stuff i bought was cl5 and i need cl3. Thanks for the info tho, it will be very helpfull when next payday comes and i can try again at getting the correct ram

 

One other point on the RAM is that you need DDR 333 (PC 2700) or DDR 400 (PC3200)which is older and unfortunately more expensive then the newer DDR2 and DDR3 modules.

It gets confusing when you are shopping around but your PC won't take the newer, cheaper DDR2 and DDR3 modules. You are correct on the CL3 but also make sure you are getting just DDR modules.

 

Thanks for all your help guys. A friendly neighbour posted 1gig of the ram i needed through my letterbox late on last night. So that little probs all sorted. Thanks again for all the help:cool

 

remember, as Sach2 says that it must be DDR1 type - the other tyes will not even fit in your machine, and if you have trouble booting up or if the memory is not recognised, after you put in make sure that iit is put in properly and you still have problems try moving the memory cards to different slots or the new memory card only: after that the memory may simply be an incompatible type for your machine. Good luck, I'm sure you'll post a report somewhere if you have problems.

Dumb_Question
20.September.2011

Compaq Presario S5160UK (2.7 GHz Celeron) MSI MS-6577 v2.1 XP/SP3

 

Rams all in now. Does it matter what slots i have the ram in? i.e larger ram in slot 1 or visa versa?

 

First, are you up and running ? Does all the RAM show up in e.g., Windows Task Manager ?
Second, I'd like to know (for my own benefit) which slots did you put the RAM in ? They are colour coded in the way I suggested earlier ?

It's usually said (I have read) that you put bigger RAM cards in the lower numbered slots because this gives better performance. I have never compared.

When I put an extra 512MB in to the empty slot (2) to upgrade from the original 256 MB (in slot 1) it was enough for me just that it worked. Next time I upgraded to 1.5GB I put the 1GB card where the 256MB card had been, so the bigger RAM was in slot 1. That was just the way it turned out. I didn't compare what effect putting the RAM in different slots has. In fact, I didn't even a notice a significant performance increase. I didn't explicitly change the virtual memory allocations, maybe I should have done ? (anyone ?)

Dumb_Question
21.September.2011

Compaq Presario S5160UK (2.7 GHz Celeron) MSI MS-6577 v2.1 XP/SP3

 

It all registers. I have 2 x256, 1 x512 and 1x1gig in. Altho it says i have 2.5 gig in which im assuming would include any onboard graphics etc. All seems to be working fine. As for which is in which slot, i will have to check when i get home as i only put the last one in myself the rest was done by a friend. Will post again as soon as i know altho im thinking as all seems to be working ok i will prob just leave it alone

 

This is getting beyond me. I suppose task manager is telling you this ?
I would have thought that total physical memory would be ~2GB not 2.5GB. Are you looking at the 'commit charge' ?
I have 1.5GB of RAM in my PC, task manager gives me 1.57GB (1572336 kB): that does not include the 256K RAM ontained on graphics card, which I put in many years ago. The amount of memory I have also squares with what CPUID tells me.
So I really don't know what your PC is telling you, only that at least you don't seem to have lost any memory !

Dumb_Question
21.September.2011

Compaq Presario S5160UK (2.7 GHz Celeron) MSI MS-6577 v2.1 XP/SP3

 

Using everest it says 2558mb. Only thing i can do is check next time i get chance and c if ive got confused and see if the guy who upgraded my memory for me before i started playing around put more in than i thought

 

I haven't used Everest. Maybe that does show the RAM on the graphivcs card, I don't know. In XP you can turn on the task manager by simultaneously pressing CTRL-ALT-Del
If you select the 'performance' tab you get some info on memory and CPU usage.
To turn it off (as opposed to minmise) press the red X in the window's top right (that's how I usually do it).

Dumb_Question
21.September.2011

Compaq Presario S5160UK (2.7 GHz Celeron) MSI MS-6577 v2.1 XP/SP3

 

Why don't you use Speccy to post your system specs here?

It would help all of us to comment further.

 

Sorry new to all this. What is speccy? lol

 

Speccy Decent hardware analyzer, small and efficient. Run it and just paste the results here. Looks like this.

 

Thanks do i just click on the download from author link? I will do it as soon as i get home and post the results

 

Any click will do.

 

Hey, Augiedoggie

I haven't installed speccy yet, but I have got CPUID and SiSoft's SandraXII. What's your view on how these three compare ? (I didn't get my info from either of these - well except for confirming that my memory was what I expected - I used the label on back of my PC, info from XP, and HP website before they deleted my info)

Diumb_Question
22.September.2011

Compaq Presario S5160UK (2.7 GHz Celeron) MSI MS-6577 v2.1 XP/SP3

 

Every time i try and put the pic up it says invalid file

 

What pic are you trying to post?

The guys are asking for your detailed system specs. Install speccy as suggested, run the program. Once the program has finnished analyzing and populated the list click "File" >> "Save as text file..." save it somewhere you'll find it easy then attach that file.

 

Tried that and several other formats and it wouldnt let me

 

Sussed it at last. Here are my system results from speccy. Thanks for your patiance guys

 

Well you got your memory sizes wrong mate, the sicks you have are:

1x 1024
3x 512

That clears that issue up...

 

How is the system running now? Let us know if its all ok

 

Just noticed that it looks like your memory is running at 165 mhz(PC2700) not 200 mhz(PC3200) that the sticks can do.

May want to check that in your BIOS settings

 

Yeah im good aint i, dont even know what people are putting in my system. Ok ill have a look at my bios. I really am learning all this as i go along. I know how to get into bios but thats about it, so any advice as usual is gratefully recieved!

 

As for how its running it seems to be going ok. Planning to change the processor in a couple of weeks too.

 

Been in bios and it wont let me go onto the memory section of it. Knowing me im probably doing something wrong