Building/Upgrading a PC for TS2

[KatEnigma]

I don't think I'll be using vista soon, and I'm sad that the prices are high here. This is the best I could find in my price range, and not DELL as I have no trust in that company due to horrors lived by my dad and my sister.
Here's the specs:

HP Pavilion DV6189EA AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56 1.8GHz, 2GB DDR, 120GB SATA HDD, 15.4'', XP Media Center Notebook (RP957EA)

Processor: AMD Turion 64 X2 Technology TL-56 (1.8 Ghz)
Memory: 2 GB (2*1024 MB DDR-2 SDRAM-how is it DDR2 AND SD, I dunno)
Hard Disc: 120 GB SATA 5400rpm
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce Go 7200 sp. TurboCache 256 MB
Monitor?: 15,4'' WXGA HD BrightView (1280*800)
 *DVD-RW (+/-) LightScribe
*Entegre 10/100 Ethernet
*Modem: Entegre 56K modem
*Sound: Onboard / Altec Lansing speakers
*Mouse: TouchPad
*Wireless 802,11b/g, /Bluetooth/HP Mobile remote, WebCam

Guarantee : 2 Years

I'm not sure about the graphics card, is this on board or something, I'm not sure. I don't want an onboard card or if that's what it's called. Oh! And it's 1.650USD

The card is fine. It's a laptop, the card HAS to be onboard unless you're buying an expensive gaming machine (and even then, they can't really be upgraded since the specs are so tight that only 1 card, usually, will fit into any given machine. Which is why HP won't let you pick certain cards if you've picked certain other things).    If you don't buy this week, you'll be forced to have it come with Vista, and you should make sure you get the voucher for it anyway- it will either be free or something like $5, and then you'll have it come SP2 when it will be safe to run. LOL  The Turion processors aren't as good as the regular X2's or the Duo, but will be more than enough for Simming or writing papers, and you have enough RAM. Don't worry about it, it's a good computer and the price isn't bad, either.

[KatEnigma]

  My Sims 2  pets was taken over 45 mins to load and I got tired of it taken so long to load and I gave in and called Dell.ca they financed  me again for  a new computer..

For those wondering, I have all the Sims 2 games and stuff pack game's, my current computer  I'm on which is paid off, only had a
pentium 4  3.4 Ghz processor, it's a Dell Dimension 8400, I already had the hard drive and motherboard replaced under the 3 year warrenty and I maxed out the Ram to 4 Gigabytes DDR2 Ram last year,  video card ATI Radeon X300!..

 not mentioning the price  tag, because that's my business and last time I mentioned I financed a computer on a gaming forum they all where shocked by the ammount I'd end up paying at the end of the four year contract, these  places that rent to own or that finance you are place's of last resort and convenience for those of us that can't dish out the money needed for a new computer each year!, the amount that Dell is giving me well be a better deal then Canada's MDG or those rent to own place's here in Canada, and both Canada's MDG  and those  rent to own place's  have crappy computers that are  over priced, enough said about  that!..

 
  [I might transfer some of my DDR 2 Ram from my current PC to my new PC sense they both  use the same type of Ram]

Specs for new PC!.. [from e-mail from Dell]


 1 466-2278 DIM 9200,CDCR, E6400 (2.13GHZ),DCT,2MB
  1 310-7963 DELL USB KEYBOARD
  1 310-7966 DELL OPTICAL USB MOUSE
  1 310-8542 BACKUP MEDIA FOR XP MCE,05U,DIM 9200
  1 310-8583 XPRS UPG,VISTA PREM FRM XP MCE,ENG,DIM
  1 310-8590 WWW.DELLVISTAUPGRADE.COM TO REDEEM
  1 310-8591 VISTA CAPABLE STICKER, DIM
  1 310-8617 VISTA CAPABLE VALIDATOR INFO
  1 311-5115 1GB DDR2 SDRAM AT 533MHZ-2X512MB,DIM,P
  1 313-2758 INTEGRATED AUDIO
  1 313-4032 DELL A525 SPEAKERS, BLACK, DIM
  1 313-4423 16X DVD-ROM AND 16X DVD+/-RW,P
  1 313-4427 V.92/56K PCI DATAFAX,INT MDM,FULL,LF,DIM
  1 320-4807 256MB NVIDIA 7900 GS,DIM,P
  1 320-5212 22IN (22.0 IN) E228WFP,DIM,P
  1 341-3865 NO FLOPPY DRIVE REQUESTED
  1 412-0688 IMAGE RESTORE, DIM
  1 412-0853 MCAFEE 7.0,OEM,ENG,3YR,DIM/INSP
  1 412-0911 DELL SUPPORT 3.2,DIM/INSP
  1 412-0914 ADOBE ACROBAT READER 7.0,DIM
  1 412-0931 SNAPFIRE BASIC, DIM/INSP
  1 420-4927 WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 10,DIM
  1 420-5585 WINXP MCE 2005,ENG,DIM,NM,U
  1 420-5769 ISP SEARCH ASST PORTAL,DIM/INSP
  1 420-5781 SONIC CINEPLAYER,XPS
  1 420-5790 ROXIO CREATOR/MYDVD LE,NON XPS,DIM/INSP
  1 461-8388 NO DIGITAL MUSIC SOFTWARE REQUESTED
  1 463-2282 THANKS FOR PURCHASING YOUR DELL
  1 465-3892 320GB SERIAL ATA 2,7200 RPM,DIM,P
  1 412-0452 MICROSOF OFFICE 2003 BASIC EDITION,INSP
  1 412-0674 AOL 9.0 ,FI,ENGLISH CANADA
  1 465-8990 ELIGIBLE FOR OFFICE UPGRADE,CAN/DLA
  1 930-1570 NBD OS,DIM, 9200,GTN,INIT YR, RA
  1 930-1577 HW WRTY + SVC,DIM,9200,INIT, RA
  1 960-2800 WARRANTY SPRT,DIM,INIT YR
  1 930-1572 NBD OS,DIM, 9200,GTN,2YR EXT, RA
  1 930-1578 HW WRTY + SVC,DIM,9200,EXT, RA
  1 950-5462 WARRANTY SPRT,DIM,2YR EXT
  1 007-1429 DIMENSION, SHIPPING AND HANDLING

If you buy a top of the line computer to begin with, you don't need to buy one every year. You also didn't say how many downloads you have and if you bothered to defrag/de-spyware, etc before you decided to let them sell you a new machine. By the time you're done paying for your computer through Dell, it will be a doorstop. You'd be better off getting a credit card- the interest rate would be MUCH lower. We got an offer for 0% interest for X months and transferred our balance to it, and even when the time is up, the interest will be about half of what Dell was charging us. *shrug* But it's your money, and you can waste is anyway you please.

If you plan on running Vista or TS2 (not and, OR), you're going to wish you had at least 2 GB RAM instead of 1 and I hope you have enough slots for it, and I can't decipher what the processor is- I hope it's a Duo. Otherwise, it's okay.

[Craigsters]

In reply to katenigma

I have 10 gigabytes in my downloads folder, I defragmented my hard drive on Sunday and my pc has both Spybot - Search & Destroy & Ad-Aware SE Personal, I bought this PC almost 3 years ago, bought it out in December!..



I have a visa card its maxed out right now 


My current pc has four gigabyes of ram DDR 2  ram which I'll transfer to my new PC and leave this PC with 1 gig of ram, it only has windows XP service pack 2, my current pc is going to be for online downloading surfing  and emailing only when my new PC comes!..

The rent to own store would of tried to charge me  $39.99 plus insurance plus Canadian taxes a week for a clone pc, which is a total rip off, and they don't build them to your specs,  you take what those damn rent to own stores have in stock at the time!..

Dell is around 50 bucks cheaper a month  compared to rent to own stores here!..


Also I'm on disability and live way below the poverty line,  and get what I can afford!..

[blubug]

@Craigsters, I also have 10Gb of downloads, and it takes me 35 minutes for the game to load,I have an old 2.4GHZ processor  and I only have 1,5GB RAM (I say only, cos' I'm comparing to yours) I think 1,5 gigs is quite enough for any pc, and almost enough for a 10gig-loaded sims game. I don't know a lot about this, so I'm just guessing-maybe you won't get quite so much out of the new pc than you did with your other. But it's just my opinion.

@ katenigma: Thanks for your comments, I'm being more drawn to this laptop than I was before. But having never owned a notebook, and not too computer savvy, so I apologise if this sounds too dumb.(I've been reading a lot on computer stupidities)

 I still don't quite understand; when I said onboard, I meant; does it share the memory (the RAM), because that reduces my memory, right? And that's not so great, right?

Because when I built my own pc, I did most of the stuff myself. I wandered in forums, took advice from friends, etc. Bought the parts and knew that a pc with an onboard standard card gives crappy graphics, so I got  a good nvidia card I could afford and attached it myself. Not being a very musical person I didn't bother with the sound card.

So I'm just having trouble expressing myself here, hope it's clear.
And about vista, can't I uninstall that and install it again later? Because I need more than a week to make a decision Hehe. I guess I'm scared by the muck-ups of XP (Same with the sims ) too much to trust something the week it comes out. I have to adjust mentally.

[Craigsters]

I'm also getting a new PC because this PC rejected my Tom Clancey's Splinter Cell Double Agent Game,  system requirements for this game are!..

Supported OS: Windows® XP (only)
Processor: 3 Ghz Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon™ 3000 (3.5 Ghz Pentium 4 or Athlon 3500 recommended). Game optimized for Dual-processor-enabled computers.
RAM: 1 GB
Video Card: DirectX® 9.0c-compliant, Shader 3.0-enabled 128 MB video card (256 MB recommended) (see supported list*)
Sound Card: DirectX® 9.0c-compatible (EAX" recommended) - PC audio solution containing Dolby® Digital Live required for Dolby Digital audio.
DirectX Version: 9.0c or higher (9.0c included on disc)
DVD-ROM: 4x DVD-ROM or faster
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
Peripherals Supported: Mouse, keyboard
Multiplay: Broadband connection with 128 kbps upstream or faster


*Supported Video Cards at Time of Release

ATI® X1600/X1800/X1900 NVidia® 6600 /6800/7300/7600/7800/7900

[blubug]

I see, anyway, I was just explaining my own Sims experience. And I would also like some more RAM to go with my downloads No fries with that please. (just fooling around)

[KatEnigma]

@ katenigma: Thanks for your comments, I'm being more drawn to this laptop than I was before. But having never owned a notebook, and not too computer savvy, so I apologise if this sounds too dumb.(I've been reading a lot on computer stupidities)

 I still don't quite understand; when I said onboard, I meant; does it share the memory (the RAM), because that reduces my memory, right? And that's not so great, right?

Because when I built my own pc, I did most of the stuff myself. I wandered in forums, took advice from friends, etc. Bought the parts and knew that a pc with an onboard standard card gives crappy graphics, so I got  a good nvidia card I could afford and attached it myself. Not being a very musical person I didn't bother with the sound card.

So I'm just having trouble expressing myself here, hope it's clear.
And about vista, can't I uninstall that and install it again later? Because I need more than a week to make a decision Hehe. I guess I'm scared by the muck-ups of XP (Same with the sims ) too much to trust something the week it comes out. I have to adjust mentally.

I haven't looked up that specific card, but it probably does share some of the memory with the system. The one on my laptop, for instance, has some RAM of its own, but it also is configured to use some of the system RAM. It basically has to be set up that way, because the space inside of a laptop doesn't allow for a separate video card with its own massive amounts of RAM.  You can't judge a laptop using the same standards as you do a desktop, because the laptop will always come up short in that case. It's just the limitations of being a laptop.  Besides, onboard graphics does NOT automatically mean "crappy."  Two years ago, when TS2 came out, it required a top of the line video card. Top of the line two years ago= about what you can find in a good laptop today. My ATI 200M is a much less powerful card than the 7200 Go, and TS2 honestly looks beautiful on it- almost as good as on my desktop where I have the Radeon x850. It could use to be a little faster, but I have a sucky Sempron processor and only 1 GB RAM because I didn't buy it to play Sims on primarily, that's what I have the desktop for.    And once again, it comes down to the differences between a desktop and a laptop. The onboard cards they put on motherboards for a desktop are nowhere near as good as that onboard card on the laptop. I know it's a lot of money to spend all at once on something, but that laptop would be good enough to last you for 2-3 years, which is all you can really expect from laptops, since you can't really upgrade them.

As for Vista....it starts shipping the 31st. If you have an extra XP disk lying about or go out and buy one, you'll be able to uninstall Vista and install XP. Installing again later depends on whether HP sends you the installation disk or not.  Which is why, now, I'd much rather have a voucher so I could send away for the disk to install later, than to have it come pre-installed with Vista.

[blubug]

katenigma, thank you again for the very helpful information. I guess I did compare a laptop to a desktop, in standard features, and missed the whole point that a laptop is a computer you can carry around! So while it has some disadvantages to a desktop pc, it doesn't really matter coz I'll have both, and I'll be able to take one wherever I go). What one can't do, the other will, basically.

I assumed crappy graphics because my previous video card wasn't too good (pc), and I did get lots of game glitches and none of the top-end effects. But now that you say it's not the same thing in laptops, I get it, and anyway, that graphics card 7200 and 256memory, it's wayyy better than my old card, maybe even better than the one I have now (I have a Geforce 6600GT).

Anyway, more RAM is more important for me, as I tend to hog the game with downloads, and I've had a great experience since I upped the pc from 512MB to 1.5GB. So 2 is even better!

And Vista, well I'll try it for a while if my laptop comes with it. (but it says Windows XP media center installed. I'll ask about it)

[fionghuala]

I'm getting ready to purchase a new computer, i found a great deal. But I'm lost on the video card. It comes with
ATI RADEON X1950 XTX.   This computer is a good 1000 less than i would pay if i spec'd it out myself. But I'm totally unfamilar with this particular card. So I'm a little hesitant to jump on it.
Has anyone used this one for sims 2? And if so how are your graphics? I would rather wait if this one doesn't work than get a bad card for the game.

[ZiggyDoodle]

That happens to be a superlative video card.  Jump.

[fionghuala]

Heres the full specs on the system.
Any negatives? anyone got recommendations on monitors?


Operating Systems           Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition SP
        PCI Slots (Total) Learn More           3
Expansion Slots           7
Processor Brand           Intel®
Processor Class           Core2 Duo
Processor Number           E6700
Processor Speed           2.66GHz
Additional Technologies           Dual-Core Technology
Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology
Memory Type           DDR2
Total Memory           4.0GB
Interface           SATA
Capacity           1TB RAID 0 (2x500GB)
Optical Drive Type           DVD±RW Dual Layer
DVD-ROM / CD-RW Combo
Audio Description           Integrated Audio
Graphics Description           PCI-Express Video Card ATI 1950 XTX
Video Memory           512MB Memory
Communications Description           Integrated LAN Support
Data Transfer Rate           10Mbps
100Mbps
1000Mbps
Power           500 Watt
Mouse Type           Optical
Wireless
 Buttons           3
 Keyboard Type           Multimedia
Wireless
 Height           16.5"
Width           7.5"
Depth           20"

[kewian]

Well I had to purchase my computer fairly quickly due to total collapse of my lappy. The ram is fairly slow with Sims2 at 512 ram (will be upgrading as soon as possible) .  Im fairly happy with the processor, although I know very little about AMD Athlon 64 3800+  at 2.4 ghz   160gb storage  and Ive never heard of this video card although it does appear to support the higher graphics in sims2  nividia geforce 6150 le (low end?) turbo cache 256mb,  (cinematics run in slow motion-interesting effect in some scenes).  I was going to have one built but... so I ended up with a HP Compaq pressario sr2013wm.  IM thinking the extra ram will speed things up a bit or should I also check out another video card?

[KatEnigma]

Heres the full specs on the system.
Any negatives? anyone got recommendations on monitors?


Operating Systems           Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition SP
        PCI Slots (Total) Learn More           3
Expansion Slots           7
Processor Brand           Intel®
Processor Class           Core2 Duo
Processor Number           E6700
Processor Speed           2.66GHz
Additional Technologies           Dual-Core Technology
Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology
Memory Type           DDR2
Total Memory           4.0GB
Interface           SATA
Capacity           1TB RAID 0 (2x500GB)
Optical Drive Type           DVD±RW Dual Layer
DVD-ROM / CD-RW Combo
Audio Description           Integrated Audio
Graphics Description           PCI-Express Video Card ATI 1950 XTX
Video Memory           512MB Memory
Communications Description           Integrated LAN Support
Data Transfer Rate           10Mbps
100Mbps
1000Mbps
Power           500 Watt
Mouse Type           Optical
Wireless
 Buttons           3
 Keyboard Type           Multimedia
Wireless
 Height           16.5"
Width           7.5"
Depth           20"

LOL That's a beauty!

Kewian, that card is the typical integrated one you get with a desktop from HP/Compaq and Gateway these days. I'd replace it, but I suspect you need RAM more. The processor is fine (is it an X2? If so, that's the processor I have), and you already know you need some more RAM. :-)

[kewian]

Well the ram is coming first.. Im considering going all the way up to 2 gb.  What would be a good replacement for the video card though.  I know this is a walmart buy .. I had to have something and most of these specs looked good to me.  I saw a radeon 8200 but Im not sure about that one.

[ZiggyDoodle]

Kewian, this site might be of help:  http://buy.ati.com/productinfo/ua/index.asp

ATI's upgrade advisor was helpful when I was looking for a new card.  Once you find out what card(s) will work, then you can go shopping on Egghead, etc.

[KatEnigma]

The good news is that you have a PCI-E slot, so basically the only limit is how much do you want to spend on the video card?  You can pick up a card more than good enough to play TS2 properly for $100 these days on Newegg.com.

The bad news is that your motherboard only has 2 slots for RAM, so if you want 2 GB, you're going to have to buy 2 1GB sticks.  I looked your model # up on HP.com

[kewian]

Thats what I noticed..I couldnt find my bobo (cheap) computer on that site so it was hard to tell which one would be right.  I was wondering about the ram sticks. I thought it would be like that...thanks for answering that question.

[KatEnigma]

Thats what I noticed..I couldnt find my bobo (cheap) computer on that site so it was hard to tell which one would be right.  I was wondering about the ram sticks. I thought it would be like that...thanks for answering that question.

HP doesn't let you do direct links to the support pages, but if you plug pressario sr2013wm into this page and then click Product Information, you can access all you need to know about your computer except power supply- none of the manufacturer's give that info  . The motherboard specs page even gives you nice pictures and a diagram of where everything is. With some help, your computer won't be half bad, at least not for awhile, it just has that little problem with the RAM- and if it weren't for TS2, you'd be fine with the 512 it came with. Unless you want to upgrade to Vista, 2GB of RAM will serve you, though, and for video card, I'd probably give it a Radeon x800 or Nvidia 7600 and it would be fine. For a Walmart buy, it will serve a couple years. 

[kewian]

HP is stupid and only has 256 mb ram for it.  I know I have found 1 and 2 gb out there at newegg. What gives with Hp holding me back?

[KatEnigma]

LOL They'd overcharge you for it anyway!

Your motherboard supports:     *   Two 240-pin DDR2 DIMM sockets
    * Supports PC 4200 (533 MHz) and PC2 5300 (667 MHz) DDR2 DIMMs
    * non-ECC memory only, unbuffered
    * Maximum HP/Compaq approved memory is 2 GB


I'd suggest this one or this one if you can find it in stock   OCZ makes beautiful RAM,it has the lowest latencies around, and a real lifetime guarantee- just don't take the sticker off, and if it dies at any time, they will replace it with almost no questions asked. I had a stick that was bad when I got it, despite it passing at the store as well as them,  and once I said it failed MemTest, that was the end of the discussion. And since they are local to me, I didn't even have to ship it to them, they let me exchange it in person. If they don't have the exact model in stock, they upgrade you. And they don't route you to India either, but that will probably change as they get bigger and more popular.    But I'm all for rewarding good customer service while it lasts.

[ElfPuddle]

fionghuala, did I miss where you mentioned a price?

[fionghuala]

With tax/shipping/extra warranty on the system and a monitor/speakers/headphones ( my choice on the extras) it came in at under 2700.
Spec'd out with a lot less bells and whistles, I came up with 3500 + and don't even ask what it would have cost at alienware or dell.
I would've needed a second mortgage!

[DrBeast]

fionghuala: your new rig looks fantastic, but being the pessimistic bastard I am (others call me killjoy too!), I'm a bit concerned about your power supply unit. 500W may be more than enough if the power supply unit (PSU) is of good quality, but your random, no-name PSUs will hardly pump out that juice. Careful with that.
As for monitors, I'm a huge fan of CRT monitors (you know, the good old "boxes"), but those are sadly becoming extinct. If you can find a Samsung 997MB (19in CRT), go for it ASAP! You won't regret it!

[fionghuala]

I wound up with a flat screen Lcd, the crt's were actually higher. We currentl have a computer by the same maker,
 and its a real workhorse. 3 + years without so much as a hiccup. If anyone is buying a system, I highly recommend
this maker.We had hp's and gateways and a sell in the house before this one, and it seemed like around a year and
they start throwing fits and breaking down.
I'll keep an eye on the power supply, if it looks like an issue, its an easy replacement. I've also been told I may want
to add a fan or 2 as that video card runs loud and hot. Again an easy add-on if needed.

Thanks for all the advice folks!

[SpaceDoll]

Did you actually mention who the maker was, fionghuala?   
Might like to have a look!