Help needed on upgrading my pc for gaming..

D

drewdeluxe

CAGiversary!
NEED HELP.. trying to upgrade my computer bought 2 years ago for gaming.. its a sony viao.. Though i do not have the computer with me because it is being serviced by sony (getting a new tv tuner) I bought stuff for it already and need to know if it will work out or else i need to return them..

Model :pcv-rs530g
Intel Pentium 4
3.20GHz with hyperthreading
512 mb
ATI RADEON 9600 Series AGP


Basically besybuy is having a sale on memory sticks and graphics cards.. I bought 2 sticks of 1gb, and a geforce 7800 gs oc agp graphics card on this sundays ad.. Cant find the wattage of my power source.. Got 2 mains questions..

What am i looking for in a power source and how much $$??

And I have 4 slots for memory.. can i use my 512 (2X256) and add my 2gb (1gbX2) to make 2.5gb??

Thanks..
 
Sony PCs often use proprietary parts, and I would assume power supply falls into that. That means you may have to buy a non-standard power supply (one that fits into the Sony tower). 7800GS isn't exactly a power hog, assuming the PC is already running a 350W power supply, I think you should be fine. If the memory you bought is either DDR333 (2700) or DDR400 (3200), then you'll have no problem. Are you sure your motherboard has 4 slots for memory? The online specs only said 2 slots with 2GB as max. But either way, since you already got 2 sticks of 1GB, then you can use the full 2GB capacity.
 
everything trooper said is true. do a little research on your system and see what things it will handle and allow to be used. the vid card sounds fine and the power supply, as stated, depends on if it will work with the sony parts already installed. The larger the power supply(more wattage) the better off you are. I think a 650 is great and will make sure everything runs absolutely fine and it's good for sli/crossfire if you ever move to that.

the ram, you just have to make sure it's supported by the motherboard and that you can use the amount(it doesn't go over the max allowed). DDR 400 is pretty common on older computers so as long as you haven't bought ddr2 you should be set.

T. Foolery
 
the thing is i wont have my computer until next week when sony ships it back to me.. I cant find anything online other than my power suppy might be 120watts.. thats horrible.. The video card geforce 7800 gs oc agp needs at least 400watts..

also i got the geforce 7800 gs oc agp on sale for $230 at bestbuy.. was $354.. Is that a good deal for that type of card, because im pretty limited with AGP.. will that make a big difference from my ATI RADEON 9600 Series AGP that i already got in there??

The memory is fine i think its ddr not ddr2..

thanks again for the help..
 
What I found is prebuilt PCs usually have only a 250w power supply. You may need to find some way to upgrade that. And considering these 250w aren't from a Seasonic or whatever, you may be looking at trouble.

Edit: That's about the going rate on a 7800 gs. Not really a deal since that's how much newegg has been selling it for a while. But I guess it's a deal if you don't like to shop online.
 
The 7800GS is fine, and while its not a deal, it's definitely a good upgrade from your previous card. You should contact Sony's tech support to see if they have option to upgrade your power supply. Either that or you can wait till you get your PC back and see if it is a specially sized power supply.
 
[quote name='Thongsy']What I found is prebuilt PCs usually have only a 250w power supply. You may need to find some way to upgrade that. And considering these 250w aren't from a Seasonic or whatever, you may be looking at trouble.

Edit: That's about the going rate on a 7800 gs. Not really a deal since that's how much newegg has been selling it for a while. But I guess it's a deal if you don't like to shop online.[/quote]

Here is my computer..
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-PCV-RS530G-Digital-Hyper-threading-Pentium/dp/B0001BEZ4K

Thats just great.. I am fearing buying a whole new power supply.. I have no clue what the price range for that will be, i am hoping under $100 because ive already spent about $400.. I might as well just start from stratch if its goin to cost me more money.. Here is what i bought so far, but have not opened them yet just in case i need to return them..

BFG GeForce 7800 GS OC 256MB GDDR3 AGP Graphics Card $230 with 12% off rewards..
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7638318&type=product&cmp=++&id=1130987962424

Memory sticks $100 a pop with the 12% off rewards..
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7642688&productCategoryId=cat01169&type=product&cmp=++&id=1134697746464
 
That's what I hate most about PCs, they're usually only good for a couple of years before you need to start patching it up with new parts. I tried looking for more info, but I can't find what PSU it has. I did run a old 5900 xt or something on I think it was 300w, so if you do got 350w you should be fine, hopefully.
 
Yea i paid around $1300 for it back then, and now its worth a couple hundred, with everything out of date.. I thought it was time to upgrade it, but im running into problems with new hardware that my comp cant handle, its confusing to me.. Now im very worried about the wattage on my computer..

Now my BFG GeForce 7800 GS OC 256MB GDDR3 AGP Graphics Card "overclocked"
 
If you're very luck, you may be able to put a standard ATX power supply into it. A decent 400W+ power supply runs you about $40 ~ $60 depending on brand & wattage. You shouldn't spend that much on it, but don't skim on it either. We can give you some options when you find out what physical size of power supply your Sony can support.
 
You can get quality 400w PSes for about $50. But like the others have said, whether it'll fit or not is the issue... if you can, get one from a local store that'll let you return it if it doesn't fit (without question) and try it. If it works, return it and buy it online (because it's cheaper online).
 
yea id prolly for with 400-500watts if i were to upgrade and that would bring my bill to around $500..

Waiting around for my desktop to be shipped back to me, im starting to think i should build my own computer..

How much would it be to build a good computer for gaming??
 
[quote name='drewdeluxe']yea id prolly for with 400-500watts if i were to upgrade and that would bring my bill to around $500..

Waiting around for my desktop to be shipped back to me, im starting to think i should build my own computer..

How much would it be to build a good computer for gaming??[/QUOTE]

You usually pay more by building your own these days... you just can't compete with the massed produced, cheapo parts that Dell, HP and the like give you. But Sony PCs are usually just... more expensive. Not sure how much you can save... if any.

But the good part comes at the point you're at now. Upgrading a self built computer is hell of a lot easier than one with propitiatory parts.
 
Buying a prebuilt is the way to go, if you're not going to game. Mainly because when people configure their own PC, they never think of the price of the OS. Otherwise it is pretty much equal in price, but you get no warranty and you have to service it yourself.

Since you're already going to spend like 500+ just on upgrades, it might be better to built it yourself or have someone who knows their way around PCs do it for you.
 
well i think i found my answer on this site.. here is someones review on this computer..

"The big problems came when I tried to install a better video card. The 9200 isn't much good for games. I found out the power supply isn't beefy enough for any decent video card. Worse, it has a proprietary form factor so it can't be upgraded without replacing the case. "

Well this really blows.. Sony over prices their computer and leaves you no option to upgrade them.. I wish i knew this 2 years ago.. I guess im screwed now..
 
[quote name='drewdeluxe']well i think i found my answer on this site.. here is someones review on this computer..

"The big problems came when I tried to install a better video card. The 9200 isn't much good for games. I found out the power supply isn't beefy enough for any decent video card. Worse, it has a proprietary form factor so it can't be upgraded without replacing the case. "

Well this really blows.. Sony over prices their computer and leaves you no option to upgrade them.. I wish i knew this 2 years ago.. I guess im screwed now..[/quote]

Talked with sony and they said my power supply is not upgradable.. (Sony does not recommend or assist in the upgrading of the computers power supply)..

What i do not understand it that he said my motherboard has one AGP slot covered by my graphics cards and 3 PCI slot which one was free.. Does this mean i can use a PCI graphics card??
 
[quote name='drewdeluxe']Talked with sony and they said my power supply is not upgradable.. (Sony does not recommend or assist in the upgrading of the computers power supply)..

What i do not understand it that he said my motherboard has one AGP slot covered by my graphics cards and 3 PCI slot which one was free.. Does this mean i can use a PCI graphics card??[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that sounds like the typical Sony answer when a customer needs help.

The reason why they don't want to recommend or assist you is because if something goes wrong, they could be held liable even if it's your fault. Even still, you could pull out the old PS, take it to a computer store, and ask them to see if it comes close to one of the PS form factors. Dell and HP do the same thing, some of the gaming brands (Alienware, Falcon West, ect.) aren't as strict.

You can use PCI for graphics but PCI is basically dead in terms of graphics cards. You won't be able to get anything better than a GeForce 5 series card using the PCI slot, I think. PCIe is the most supported format these days but AGP can still be found in many computers and still supported. Since you only have PCI and AGP, use AGP as AGP cards are faster and cheaper.
 
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