Oops... Might have bought the wrong pc

T

trd753

New Member
Hey guys, first time posting on here, and a fairly decent noob.

I purchased a used, newly reformatted pc, gateway sx2840-01, with intel i3 processor 530.
I know I could buy a better computer new... but I'm trying to figure out how to make this work and most articles I've read, and websites haven't been much help. I need to know what its going to take to make my pc setup 'badass'. I want to figure out how to do a double monitor setup. I was dead set to hook mine up to a 32" lcd, but after doing so, the graphics just weren't up to par, so I need to figure out what I need to do. Upgrade my video card (intel GMA HD)? Any suggestions on where to look? What to read? I am wanting to make my office into a command center, I'm not necessarily a gamer, but there are games I'm wanting to get into, and more importantly, I need the experience and knowledge to start working with and working on computers.

I've been working on the PCS and Broadband network on the tower side of things, and after knowing how RF and frequency and networking works... I need to know the other side of things. A monkey can do what I have done... I need to know what makes what I do, work...

Thanks for the help... or *ss ripping for being an obnoxious punk! lol
 
trd753 said:
Hey guys, first time posting on here, and a fairly decent noob.

I purchased a used, newly reformatted pc, gateway sx2840-01, with intel i3 processor 530.
I know I could buy a better computer new... but I'm trying to figure out how to make this work and most articles I've read, and websites haven't been much help. I need to know what its going to take to make my pc setup 'badass'. I want to figure out how to do a double monitor setup. I was dead set to hook mine up to a 32" lcd, but after doing so, the graphics just weren't up to par, so I need to figure out what I need to do. Upgrade my video card (intel GMA HD)? Any suggestions on where to look? What to read? I am wanting to make my office into a command center, I'm not necessarily a gamer, but there are games I'm wanting to get into, and more importantly, I need the experience and knowledge to start working with and working on computers.

I've been working on the PCS and Broadband network on the tower side of things, and after knowing how RF and frequency and networking works... I need to know the other side of things. A monkey can do what I have done... I need to know what makes what I do, work...

Thanks for the help... or *ss ripping for being an obnoxious punk! lol
Click to expand...

What is your price range for a new graphics card and what gpu do you currently have? Does your machine have the graphics card built into the motherboard itself (integrated), or does your machine have a separate graphics card (dedicated)?

Dual monitors are pretty cool...and the way to set that up is to have a dedicated graphics card with two ports on it. You simply hook the monitors up to those ports, boot your machine up, go into your display settings, and select the setting that extends your desktop onto the other monitor.
 
trd753 said:
... so I need to figure out what I need to do. Upgrade my video card (intel GMA HD)?
Click to expand...

Jaraldo said:
...what gpu do you currently have?

Does your machine have the graphics card built into the motherboard itself (integrated), or does your machine have a separate graphics card (dedicated)?
Click to expand...

As it indicates in the original post, the computer only has integrated graphics (X4500HD) which is likely to struggle at anything 3D and has limitations for some resolutions. In your case, you may want to try updating the driver as the 'fuzzy' text results when you don't run a flat panel at its native resolution. When using Intel® chipset graphics, the native resolution of some displays, such as 1920x1080, 1680x1050, and 1440x900, is not available in graphics properties. The display extended display information data (EDID) does not read properly when connecting to a subset of digital flat panel (DFP) displays.

Intel has a graphics driver to specifically address this issue that can have longer than normal resume times from standby. The solution only works with external displays such as DFP displays connected to the VGA port on the computer. This driver is not designed to address issues with the built-in display--local flat panel on a laptop, or with a TV-connected to a computer.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18400

In addition to that your computer only fits half height PCIe cards making it very difficult to get a powerful graphics card. The are available, however not good for gaming. If you simply want to display 2D with basic 3D correctly on your TV, you will need to get something like thie Asus ATI EAH5450 Low Profile card.

If you want to game in 3D then you will need the following:

  1. New case (full ATX size)
  2. New Power Supply Unit
  3. New Grahphics card.
In the meantime, confirm your current specs by downloading PC Wizard from my sig and install it. Run it and go to FILE, SAVE AS and click OK. Then copy the text out of that file into this thread.

Then open the side of your computer and post the model and brand of your PSU.

Post the above information, your budget and which option you want to take (half height or full size) and we can advise you further.
 
Mainboard : Gateway FIH57
Chipset : Intel H57
Processor : Intel Core i3 530 @ 2933MHz
Physical Memory : 6144MBDDR3-SDRAM
Video Card : Intel(R) HD Graphics
Hard Disk : Western Digital WD10EADS-22M2B0 (1000GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : ATAPI DVD A DH16AASH
Monitor Type : SYLVANIA -
Network Card : Intel 82578DC Gigabit Network Connection
Operating System : Windows 7 Home Premium Home Edition Media Center 6.01.7600 (64-bit)
DirectX : Version 11.00
Windows Performance Index : 4.9 on 7.9
 
Well... I'm willing to shell out a few hundred bucks, and willing to take the time to build a nice computer and definitely willling to make a larger pc. I wish I would of just built from scratch rather than buying this thing.
 
well depends on how much you spent, it's a decent start depending on price, but yes, you will likely want a new case with better air flow and venting, along with a 500w at least power supply, and a good gpu such as a gtx 560/70 so your resolution will be high enough and frame rate smooth enough to utilize that tv, newegg is the fav for many along with tiger direct, and sice uyou're in the us your good to go with them, the case is your preference, the power supply should be checked with us as certain brands will suite you better and certain specs need to be checked by people that know enogh, and the gpu should be checked also, i'll recomend one later but you might wanna get some other opinions as i'm no expert on alot of this but i do good in general. but a tighter price range would be nice, as in real numbers not loose words.
 
Well... I've realized now that this is a very small pc/case, its cram packed in there. As to other information that could be useful. It is a Liteon power supply, and not very powerful.
I bought this PC from CraigsList for 500 bucks. I didnt research enough.......
But nonetheless, I'm willing to make this work. I need to figure out how to make this into a phenomonial computer center. I can buy a case, no problem. Looked on TigDir, and saw a 560 packaged with a Corsair TX650W 650-Watt Power Supply for 340$
I'm going to keep shopping. But honestly, I'm pretty confused. I think I need to buy a case and start building from ground up.
I'd like to make this a setup as it goes. I'm wiling to drop another 3-500 dollars, but after investing a thousand dollars, I feel like I should have a pretty decent setup. I understand.... ya get what ya get for being an idiot. But i need to learn from this experience and spend the money and make a pc that I can truly use and be proud of.
 
okay... I watched the Newegg video on basic computer components and such. Considering how my pc already has an integrated motherboard/cpu/video card, will a new video card not conflict to an already existing card?

And where I'm truly confused and still learning... how does all of this hardware come togethere, and where does the software come to play in all of this?
 
the software is drivers, they tell the cpu what to and how to send the info, as in send it to this drive not those, and it plugs into the largest slot on the motherboard near the center of the left side, called a pci-e x16, and once it is plugged in the cpu should automatically stop using the onboard, but it's smarter to disable the onboard once you know the new one works, that way there is no conflicting issues, this can be done by going to the control panel and finding the device manager, go to the display section the right click on the video device and properties then disable
 
Okay, I've bought a case and new power supply.

Am now shopping around for a new video card. A friend of mine is selling an e-GeForce 9600 GT. He'd practically just give it to me. Would this work for the short term until I come up with a couple hundred bucks for a new one?
 
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