laptop died

[LITTLE FOOT]

ok my hd crashed on my lt and i want to upgrade the computer alittle bit.
i have acer 5610z laptop, i got a new hd and ram cards but what else can i do to make it fast for games and things like that? im on a tight budget.

 

[Twizzler09]

with laptops that werent originally built for games, theres not a chance of getting them to run them good.

ALOT of a computer's gaming ability comes from the graphics adapter. The Intel 950 Integrated graphics adapter on your laptop simply isn't made to handle the demand of modern games. Integrated adapters like the 950 have issues running some games due to lack of driver support for certain graphics engines, and a far more proprietary hardware setup. Not to mention the 950 is only equivalent to one of the lowest forms of the NVidia GeForce 6X00 series cards, which are VASTLY outdated now.

The 950 also wont have a hope of supporting DirectX 10, which is supported on all modern video cards, and is likely to become the new standard in the near-ish future.

In short, sorry to say it, but your laptop is pretty outdated. You might be able to play some games on it, but dont expect them to look nice at all, as you'll have to turn the graphics options down to minimum just to make them playable.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that its not possible to replace the graphics adapter on a laptop. As they are built in to the motherboard.

 

[LITTLE FOOT]

well what other things could i do to it to help it out for everyday use,minus the graphics.

 

[Twizzler09]

for everyday stuff, youve got it covered already. IIRC, it has a dual core cpu already, and Vista (ugh). Probably came with 512MB of RAM from the factory....how much did you buy? With Vista RAM is a pretty big factor...as it likes to absoluetly HOG it.

For everyday stuff a low-end dual core and 1GB RAM is more than sufficient. Just make sure its free of spyware and viruses all the time. Thats really about the best thing you could do for it.

In all it doesnt take much to do the everyday stuff, the only reason to spend alot of money on stuff is if your going to be doing some serious gaming.

 

[LITTLE FOOT]

it came with a g. but i whent and got two 1g card for it and a 250g hd
thanks for your help. ill just have to start working on my desk top pc for gaming then.

 

[fleck]

You'd have to get a high end gaming laptop, pretty much specifically made for gaming. It would come with a high end graphics GPU from nVidia or ATI and that one just has a plain Intel graphics processor. Also, a dual-core 1.6GHz really isn't that great, it's not gonna be faster than a single-core at 3GHz, that's for sure, and that's what you really need for modern gaming.

 

[Twizzler09]

2GB of RAM is more than sufficient for everyday stuff.

If your looking to build a cheap gaming desktop... I can help you there. Just went and bought me a number of parts to get my new gaming toy running. Didn't have to buy a case or a harddrive, though. I'll link you the parts from Newegg =)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106228 <--DVD Burner 20.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178133 1GB RAM sticks x2 (14.99 a piece)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103050 CPU cooler $15.19

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814140092 Graphics $84.99


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130187 Motherboard $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817709011 Power Supply $23.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103669 Dual Core CPU $39.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136010 250GB Sata HD $39.99

Grand Total: $305.11

I'll leave the case up to you, as thats a completely personal choice (as is the rest of this, but personal flavor is more precedent in cases =P ). Thats the same hardware I have in mine, minus the cpu. They discontinued my Dual Core Brisbane 2.1ghz shortly after I bought it. Also, the CPU cooler comes with thermal grease already on it, so the purchase of thermal grease in unnessecary. The setup as a whole runs strong and plays modern games quite well. And for the price I couldn't be happier.

 

[LITTLE FOOT]

wow now thats my price range! Y are laptop ramcards more$?
but now i have alot of work to do.
does it matter what mother boad i use?
thank you sir

 

[Twizzler09]

Laptop RAM sticks are more expensive because of the vastly superior architecture design required to maintain their compact stature. Fitting large amounts of RAM into a stick thats usually half the size of a normal RAM stick is a difficult task indeed.

And yes it does matter what motherboard you use, as the CPU socket types vary and so does the expansion slot bus types (I.E. your graphics slots like AGP vs PCIx and the variations there of). Matching of CPU socket/Motherboard cpu socket, and aforementioned graphics slots is nessecary. The video card I linked is PCIx x16 2.0 bus type, but runs just as strong on the Original PCIx x16. The physical slot is identical.

The motherboard I linked is an AM2 socket type, likewise the CPU is AM2 socket type, etc etc.

Also, if you buy the items I linked, please note that the power connector on the graphics card is 6 pin, and the power supply I linked only has the typical 4-pin Molex connectors. The Video card comes with an adaptor for this, to make the 4-pins work with the 6pin on the video card, it'd be in the box. Also note that the SATA HD power connector is not a 4-pin, but the powersupply comes with an adaptor to make the 4-pin work with the SATA connector.

And your welcome

 

[fleck]

I would go with an Intel platform and get the E7400 like I did. Intel CPUs are simply far superior to AMD for gaming, you get way more on-chip cache and this helps greatly with games. It would cost $80 more for the E7400 and you can still go with a $50 motherboard because I did too. And I would go for the Radeon 4830, being only an extra $15 than the 9600GT. The Radeon 4830 can be overclocked to the level of a 4850 which demolishes a 9800GT, especially the higher the resolution gets.

Just saying, think about spending the extra $95 and your setup will go a much longer way and keep you happy with performance for a much longer time.

 

[Twizzler09]

No reason to change the video card, really. ATI's newer cards do scream, though. I'm an NVidia/AMD guy, so thats pretty much all I ever recommend.

I do agree that intels have the advantage in the gaming market right now, but for a pure budget build, this is what I'd recommend. It'll do just fine.

EDIT: I play CoD4 @ ~70frames per second with graphics on high in 1280x1024 resolution. Not bad for a budget machine, eh?

EDIT2: the 9800GT isn't the strongest card available from NVidia anymore, kind of a moot point. Who cares if it beats whats already becoming semi-obsolete. Link below is Nvidia's latest....far superior to the 9800GT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130453

 

[fleck]

ATI has been owned by nVidia for a while so think about that )

 

[Twizzler09]

ATI is owned by AMD, NVidia is owned by Intel.

At least thats how it was a couple years ago. I've been under a rock (metaphorically speaking of course) for the last couple years and am still catching up on the juice. The Hardware is easy enough to catch up on but you miss out on all the corporate goings-on.

There wouldn't be a reason in the world for a graphics company to own its competitor and still make cards using the competitor's name.

Edit: Yes I realize if what I just said is true, that I support one chain of products from two competing companies. Thing is I supported NVidia and AMD before they ever got bought out by other companies >.>

 

[LITTLE FOOT]

is there anything i can start with with my emachines t5020?.

 

[Twizzler09]

Yeah...scrap it.

Much hate for the EMachines. Piles of total junk, they are. They're biggest problem (or used to be anyway, dunno if they fixed it) was the power supplies. Had a tendency to meltdown and cause a massive power overload that'd toast the motherboard and cpu simultaneously.

You have some room to upgrade the RAM if you wanted to, and it does have a PCIx x1 slot for a graphics card if you so choose. But the x1 is pretty outdated now and you wont find many, if any, of the modern cards available on that platform.

You could re-use the case its in and build a budget gaming machine, though.