4 posts shown.
Alexander Richardson said:What drives me absolutely insane is waiting for Windows to boot up. It’s taking nearly ten minutes just to get my Windows 64-bit system fully loaded and ready to go. Honestly, I’ve been half a second away from chucking the whole tower out the window, and that’s even after I went through the hassle of disabling every single unnecessary startup program.
That's why I'm planning to do a clean install of Windows 64-bit onto an SSD. How much faster do you guys think the boot time will actually be with that upgrade?
Well, I finally installed the Western Digital SSD. I don't actually need an answer anymore because the computer boots up incredibly fast now. 🙂
I also swapped out the power supply, and based on your advice, I've updated the graphics card and the processor too. Thanks for the help.
By the way, the guy who sold me the power supply was acting all skeptical about whether that specific graphics card would even work with my motherboard. 🙄
wiredotter14 said:1) You aren't going to find a motherboard out there that pairs SATA III with DDR2.
2) That "2x" figure is purely theoretical, so don't go thinking your SSD is actually going to hit the maximum SATA III speeds.
In the real world, you might see a performance bump of maybe 20% during peak transfer speeds, but honestly, it'll be even less since drives rarely run at their absolute limit anyway.
What really drives me up the wall is the Windows boot time. Right now, it takes me a solid 10 minutes just to get my Windows 64-bit system up and running. By the time everything finally loads and stabilizes, I'm ready to chuck the whole machine out the window. And that's after I've already disabled every single unnecessary startup item.
That’s exactly why I want to do a clean install of Windows 64-bit onto an SSD. Based on this upgrade path, how much faster do you guys think my boot times will actually get?
Alexander Richardson said:I’m looking to upgrade my rig because it’s painfully slow, and honestly, it frustrates me so much I barely even want to turn it on. Here is the current situation:
OS: Licensed Windows 10 Enterprise, 64-bit
Monitor resolution: 1920x1080
Current specs: Motherboard: ASUS Prime Motherboard ---->not looking to change this
Current specs: Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Package: Socket AM2 (940); Core speed: 2511,05 MHz) ---->not looking to change this
Current specs: 4 GB DDR2 --------> ordered 16 GB DDR2 (4x4 GB) via eBay, just waiting for delivery --->definitely changing this
Current specs: Power Supply: Corsair 400 W ----> not sure if I need one or how many watts I should get. ------> If it isn't strictly necessary, I'd rather skip it
Current specs: Old 80GB HDD ------>upgrading to a Western Digital SSD, SATA3, 500GB
Now for the part that really gets under my skin. I love playing Minecraft, but whenever I try to move forward, the graphics fail to render the landscape ahead, leaving these massive blue voids instead. It’s obvious my GPU just can't handle the load.
What I really need to know is: what would be the best value GPU that actually works with my motherboard within a budget of $167?
My current GPU is: ASUS Nvidia Geforce 210, type: DDR 3; PC Express
And please, don't just tell me to go out and buy an entirely new tower, because sticking with what I have is much cheaper.
Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I finally picked up the 16 GB of DDR2. Now I'm starting to think I should actually listen to your advice. However, I just realized that the Western Digital SSD I was planning to grab will run at half speed since my motherboard only supports SATA2. Can anyone recommend a budget-friendly motherboard that supports SATA3 and DDR2, so I can actually use everything that Smartic suggested for my upgrade on the previous page?
I don't necessarily need to swap the CPU, but here's what I was thinking:
https://www.craigslist.com/search/cp/gpu-listing
https://www.craigslist.com/search/cp/case-listing
https://www.craigslist.com/search/cp/cpu-listing
I’m finally getting around to upgrading this PC because it’s painfully slow, and honestly, I can barely stand to even turn it on anymore—it's driving me absolutely insane. Here is the current breakdown of what I'm working with:
OS: Licensed Windows 10 Enterprise, 64-bit
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-M56S-S3 ---->I'd rather not swap this out
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 485 ---->leaving this as is
RAM: 4 GB DDR2 --------> I actually already pulled the trigger on some 16 GB DDR2 (4x4 GB) via eBay, so it should be arriving soon --->definitely replacing this
PSU: Codegon 400 w ----> I have no clue if I need to upgrade this or what wattage I should aim for. ------> If it isn't strictly necessary, I'll stick with what I've got
Storage: Old 80GB HDD ------>upgrading to a 500GB Samsung SSD, SATA3
Now, here is the real headache that’s actually bothering me. I am a huge fan of playing Minecraft, but whenever I try to move forward in the game, the graphics just fail to render the upcoming landscape, leaving these massive blue voids where the world should be. It’s obvious my current GPU just doesn't have the muscle to handle it.
What I really want to know is: what would be the absolute best value graphics card that stays compatible with my motherboard while staying under $167?
My current GPU is a: Gigabyte Nvidia Geforce 210, type: DDR3; PCI Express
And please, don't start giving me all that advice about just buying a whole new rig, because sticking with this setup is much cheaper for me.