I'm planning on going on, fragging my warranty and installing things myself. Therefore, I'm gonna be getting a new graphics card soon to replace my current one.

Current card: ATI Radeon XPress200, 256 MB, 400MHz.

I don't really want to spend more that 200 dollars (I can go over about 10 bucks). Any suggestions?

I need to know what kind of expansion slots you have before I can say anything.

Looks like 3 PCI and one PCIe.

EDIT: PCI-e 16x to be precise. Since I haven't had a response in a week, I'm going to go on and get this one I found at Best Buy. It's 512 MB, overclock-ready and normally does 450MHz (+150MHz in overclock for a total of 600MHz).

Further edit:
Got it. Visiontek ATI Radeon X1300 series, 512MB, 450MHz, came with its own heat sink and fan.

I have a problem which is frustrating me.

I got an Xbox 360 recently, so naturally I want to connect to Xbox Live. After much fiddling around and reading many FAQs and guides to setting it up, I found that you need a network card inside your PC to connect to Xbox Live.

The problem is... I don't know if I even have a network card. When I got my computer it came with lots of features already inside like the DVD burner and dial-up modem (which I don't use anymore since I have adsl), so I'm not sure if there's even one inside. I opened my PC up but I wouldn't have a clue what's what, so is there a way to find out on Windows if you have a Network card installed or not?

Right-click My Computer. Click the "Hardware" tab on the resulting window, and then "Device Manager". Any network cards that are installed will be under "Network adapters".

Thanks, all it has is my adsl modem and Nintendo Wi-Fi listed so I guess I don't have one. Great, another peripheral to buy, 360 is getting more expensive as the days go on. *cries*

Well, if you have the Nintendo Wi-Fi adaptor, then you could probably just buy the 360's wireless card and have the two communicate... possibly. I'll admit I'm just guessing here, but since all Nintendo's product should be doing is creating a wireless network, I don't see why it can't work... >_>

Perhaps somebody with more experience here should weigh in?

Nope, that one won't work. Nintendo's adapter only allows Nintendo products on.

Just to note, the 360's wireless adapter is ridiculously expensive ($99), so it'd be far cheaper to just buy the network card.

My original intention was to go wireless, since I can get a free wireless router from a friend and I can't be bothered dragging my TV closer to my PC every time I want to log onto Xbox Live.

Are you saying I don't need a network card if I'm using wireless?

Correct, however, if you do get this router, you should be able to connect your 360 to it directly, provided you put the router close enough to it. (every wireless router I've ever seen also has a few normal network ports) That's how I have things set up myself.

Sweet, that solves that problem. Now to wait two weeks until I can afford the Xbox wireless network adaptor.

Reviving a dead sticky thread to brag. ^_^

Got a new computer finally, and for once, it's not a bargain-bin POS. I convinced Dad that buying from the bottom in computers is a fantastically stupid idea, so I have a pretty nice computer considering it's not custom and cost less than $1600. It's an HP, so I had to uninstall most of HP's crap, but it works fine now.

Quad-core Intel Core 2 Q6600 processor @ 2.4GhZ, w/Viiv, whatever the hell that is
3GB DDR2 RAM
2 320GB HDDs
Vista Home Premium
GeForce 8800 GT graphics card (<3!)
15-in-1 card reader

...This thing easily exceeds the specs required to play Crysis. That makes me a very happy SX.

O.o Hrm. While I know going to a tech forum would also answer most-if not all my questions, May as well ask here. I'm in DIRE need of a new comp. Dire. Its not even funny. Would this thread be able to suggest parts I would be better off getting for a machine that can run about, 5 to 6 progs at a time without ridiculous slowdown? Yes that does include watching movies at the same time (yes I know one shouldn't do that anyway, but hell, when My anime finishes DL'ing, I watch it immediately.)

I'm not worried about storage media since I can grab those relatively cheap, but how much GhZ should my machine be pushing (Well I should ask what's the max these days in brand computers vs what can be built?) Same with RAM amounts on Mobo's :o.

:O Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Hmmm, I'm not a computer expert, but I can tell you what my computer from 2.5 years ago is running.

3.20 GHz Pentium 4 EXTREME with 1 GB of RAM.

If you are talking of getting VISTA, you'll want to bump up that RAM to at least 2 GB.

Any dual core processor will do; AMDs are cheaper but Intels are more efficient{and better for overclocking if you happen to be into it}. To be safe, go for a relatively old core 2 duo, like the E440. One gig of DDR2 RAM should be good enough if, as Hiro said, you aren't going Vista, though you may have to eventually anyway so you might want to plan ahead. I don't know anything about motherboards but have heard mostly positive stuff about Asus and Gigabyte.

I gots the new comps a while back, just through I'd lat ya know. Sucka was on sale and it fits my needs perfectly.

HP Intel Pentium Dual CPR E2200 with 2.20GHz
4 GB DDR2 RAM (expandable to 8-came standard with 3, why do they DO that?? ><)
500 GB HD (Now all I need is one more of those and I'll be set)
Vista (rargh) Home Premium
...Crap, what graphics card do I have in here... I know I need to buy another one, its some Intel Integrated thingie, Ima get a bigger one soon.
and well,,, yeah, card reader is 15 in 1 I believe...

Only cost me 699-came with a Little HP Printer and a 20 in flatscreen monitor as well. Definitely not arguing.

Dilemma: apparently 80GB of hard drive space is insufficient these days (well, for me). I decided to grab myself a second hard drive. I ordered a SATA Western Digital 750GB HD a week ago, foolishly believing that serial ATA was similar/compatible/synonymous with Ultra ATA, which is what my current drive is labeled as. Lo and behold I now have a 750GB paperweight sitting on my desk. After some extended research, I found it was possible to install an SATA drive into a primarily ATA (or IDE as they're commonly referred to, only serving to confuse the average user evermore) motherboard though the use of adapters.

There appear to be two types: PCI/PCIe cards and bridge-type adapters that connect directly to the drive and interface with the IDE cable. Can I get some recommendations/first hand experience here? The big chain stores offer only PCI cards: as do online retailers (just like these). I'm weary of these due to poor reviews or general lack of. On the other hand, there's this which to me is much more appealing (and doesn't waste a PCI slot) however the product and the retailers that sell these things seem kinda shady. None of the big retailers I've scoured have anything like this.

I'm at a loss here. I'd hate to return the drive (I see the price went up, it was $74ish + free shipping a week ago).

EDIT: Another option has presented itself. Goes USB 2.0 (which I have plenty of) but requires an additional AC Adapter (which I have too few open outlets for). Also there's the issue with overheating (no cooling fan) and the fact that it's external (not too big a deal, but things are cramped as it is here). Also 40 bucks, but is available right now (I can just go down the street and pick one up). Still, I don't know...

DOUBLE EDIT: Oh, Amazon stocks these too. Although, they cost a little more than that other site I linked to. But the reviews are promising. Hmm...

TRIPLE CORKSCREW EDIT: Okay, this looks very promising.

It's a bit of a gamble, t'were it me, since I've never had to use one of these doohickeys before. I'd imagine they'd work just fine, although you may lose out on a lot of the benefits that SATA gives (which... um, escape me right now, go fig).

But yeah, SATA is only SATA if it says it's Serial ATA. ATA, Ultra ATA, Parallel ATA are all the original ATA, AFAIK.

As a followup, I'd just like to say that I ordered the Adapter listed in that last link o' mine last week, and it just recently arrived. The HDD is installed and working like a charm. I'm already transferring all of my large files over.

EDIT: Another addendum, if I may: drive still working great, but only until after I had the whole thing set up and running did I realize that, due to the way the HDD docking bay is positioned inside my tower, with the adapter in place it's simply not possible to close up the case... the mobo power supply cable sticks out too far. Criminey! Here's me hoping there's some kind of L-adapter out there somewhere that can help me squeeze that sum'bish in there.

My rig is built around an Intel Core i7 965 Processor Extreme Edition BX80601965 CPU with 12GB of 1800MHz DDR3 RAM.
Asus Rampage II Extreme Motherboard
Ultra X3 ULT40070 1600-Watt Power Supply
Seagate SATA 1.5TB HDD x2
Seagate IDE 750GB HDD x2
Sony Blu-Ray burner (SATA)
Sony Blu-Ray player (SATA)
XFX Radeon HD 4870 X2 Video Card - 2GB GDDR5 x2 in a Crossfire setup
SoundBlaster X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty sound card
Ultra ULT40123 MD3 Media Dashboard flash card reader/writer w/USB-IEEE1394-SATA ports
Thermaltake VH6000BWS Armor+ Full-Tower ATX Case
Logitech LX3 mouse and G11 keyboard
Samsung T260HD 26" LCD x2
XP Pro SP3 x64

My everyday rig is similar, but has the following differences:
CPU: Intel Core i7 940 Processor BX80601940 - 2.93GHz
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB Hard Drive ST31500341AS - 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA-3G x4
GPU: PNY QuadroFX 5800 Workstation Video Card - 4GB GDDR3, PCI-Express 2.0, (2) Dual-link DVI, Display Port, 240 Cores
Display: Samsung 305T 30" LCD

HA LOOK AT MY SUPER PCS!!!111

You do know that this thread is meant to be a computer hardware/help thread rather than spec posting...? maybe if you wanted you could create an e-pe computer spec thread instead...

Jealous much.

Jealous much.

Not really, if i wanted to burn/blow a couple of grand on a e-pen pc i would, but i prefer to leave the cash in the bank (as long as they don't go bankrupt). So for the time being my pc with it's £17 graphics card and a netbook will be just fine for internets/work and a few source games (console for anything else )

I build a few new rigs every 2 years, or so and donate the old ones to a local charity. I get a tax write-off and they get a decent toy to teach kids on. I have four PCs: 2 built to the first spec and two built to the second. One is a gaming rig, one for video editing/burning (especially Blu-Ray), one for internet/torrenting, and one for GP.

I build a few new rigs every 2 years, or so and donate the old ones to a local charity. I get a tax write-off and they get a decent toy to teach kids on.

Here's hoping you remembered to wipe all the smut off those things.

Total HDD erasure/reformatting then a clean reinstall of the OS from the original disk...I've been doing this for over 20 years, kid.

I've been doing this for over 20 years, kid.

oh wow

I've been a videogamer since 1972...I AM that old...

Yeah, that's awesome....

But by calling people 'kid', it appears you have a mental maturity of a 12 year old. Congrats.

Ichigo you remind me of my Dad. He likes to think he knows best when it comes to technology. Then he gets Norton Antivirus...

I'm popping in to add that you seem to be vastly underestimating the ages of the people in this forum. Sure, some of us are teenagers, but some aren't. The person you just called "kid" is one of them. Look at his profile.

Also yes we all know you're 40 or so, you remind us in like every other thread!

I would add something on topic but I don't even have the privilages to update flash on this pc (and no I'm not going to hack in to get better privilages I like being allowed to use this) and I don't have the funds to buy myself a laptop to the spec I want anyway so~

I'll probably regret posting this later as I usually do 😀 *steps out of the thread again*

I use McAfee...

Gentlemen (and ladies), My CD-RW drive doesn't open anymore. Granted its pretty old and hardly used but is there anything I can do that isn't get a new one?

Thanks.

Paper clip in the little hole?

Time to upgrade to a DVD-R/CD-R combo drive? They're pretty cheap nowadays.

You have a disc inside the drive? Then follow Hiro's suggestion.

Based on my home server usage, I predict I'll need to upgrade one of my 1TB drives in about 4 months (not urgent). I'll probably just keep deciding whether to jump until I find out [link removed] by Dell.Just beat me!This is red hot!!!

[Ari Edit: removed link. Please do not post ads/spam.]

Here's my situation:

I purchased a Panasonic CF-M34 laptop. I cannot get the touchscreen to work for me: the correct drivers are there; I don't want to mess with BIOS settings (unless you went through it and can help me out).

Any suggestions (asides from smashing it into a wall: tough to do)?

i am very sorry for you