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So I just picked up a 1.6 GHz PC...
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Professional Poster
Join Date: May 2001
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Anyway, I just got this old computer (since the office just got new upgrades), and I was wondering how good it is. It's a 1.6 GHz Pentium 4 with 256 MB RAM. I don't know if there's a video card inside, but if not I could go buy one. Now, my question is, would something like that be fast enough to play a game like Final Fantasy XI at decent speed? I'm sure a lot of you have PCs in here and would happen to know an answer. Thanks.
In addition, are there any cool programs I should get for it. Although I am a proud Mac owner, it's nice to be able to experience a little bit of both worlds since not everything is multi-platform compatible.
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World of Warcraft (Whisperwind - Alliance) <The Eternal Spiral>
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Professional Poster
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Originally posted by Jansar:
256 MB RAM.
512 MB or above is satisfactory.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2001
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Doom3 requires a 1.5GHz processor - so you've got enough power to play the leading-edge games. I'd add another 128MB of RAM if it isnt too much trouble. I'm gonna guess you have one of the 1st generation P4's (socket423, newer P4s use Socket478) that's using Rambus memory instead of the more common DDR. If it's Rambus, it might cost more...and you *might* have to install in pairs. 256MB is adequate for most tasks, since WindowsXP uses about 115MB on its own. You'd really want to have more than 100MB available (200MB would be fine)for certain games...especially those with large maps. So shoot for 384MB for a minimum if you're gaming.
If the machine is a common one, like a gateway or dell - it probably doesn't even have a replaceable video card. Might be on-board video. Check to see if there's a AGP slot. and something in it, hopefully. I'm pretty sure you'll need to upgrade the video card in order to play the newest games. You'll need to spend at least $100 to get a low-end gaming card.
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Professional Poster
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I opened the computer up and there's three PCI slots and another slot that looks like an AGP slot (although I'm unsure since it doesn't correspond with the outside of the computer). I'm certain that the video is "on-board" since it's an IBM "business" computer. I'll see what I can do with it. I notice that there are some empty RAM slots. I'm sure any RAM would work in it.
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World of Warcraft (Whisperwind - Alliance) <The Eternal Spiral>
Go Dogcows!
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Apr 2003
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Originally posted by Jansar:
I'm sure any RAM would work in it.
Sure, are you? Have fun with that one.
Also, I'd recommend checking out the model number and finding exact specs for the mainboard. There are two kinds of AGP, 2X and 4X, and if you pick up the wrong card, it's back to the store with you. You should, however, be able to disable the onboard video through the bios and work with an AGP card instead.
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"Leave it. Leave it, it's fine. It's fine. I WILL DESTROY YOU!" -Morbo
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Addicted to MacNN
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Originally posted by Jansar:
I opened the computer up and there's three PCI slots and another slot that looks like an AGP slot (although I'm unsure since it doesn't correspond with the outside of the computer). I'm certain that the video is "on-board" since it's an IBM "business" computer. I'll see what I can do with it. I notice that there are some empty RAM slots. I'm sure any RAM would work in it.
Ya, that looks like an AGP slot but it isn't; its for the onboard AGP video. I have a slot like that in my old IBM business computer. I believe those slots are for adding video ram.
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Power Macintosh Dual G4
SGI Indigo2 6.5.21f
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Join Date: Aug 2003
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If it has an onboard video card you can always bypass it in the bios settings. Get an ATI card and more ram and play doom3!
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How about plug in the serial number or service tag number on the IBM support site and see what's the guts?
I know most PC makers do that.
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Originally posted by RiSE:
If it has an onboard video card you can always bypass it in the bios settings. Get an ATI card and more ram and play doom3!
Sure can. I did that to add a card supported by my alternate OS. Works like a charm.
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Power Macintosh Dual G4
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Professional Poster
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On my older IBM (with onboard memory) I used the AGP slot for another videocard and just set that as the default in the BIOS, works like a charm!
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Professional Poster
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Would I have to plug in my monitor into the card though? I'm not sure if the card will be able to poke out of the machine like it would on a normal machine.
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World of Warcraft (Whisperwind - Alliance) <The Eternal Spiral>
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Addicted to MacNN
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Originally posted by Jansar:
Would I have to plug in my monitor into the card though? I'm not sure if the card will be able to poke out of the machine like it would on a normal machine.
If its a PCI slot, your fine.
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Power Macintosh Dual G4
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