BF2142 CPU & Stuff upgrades

[coltboy]

Hey Everyone,

Its soon my birthday and my mum said i have about £200 - £250 to spend maybe a bit more but ive been looking around here and i really want my PC to run Bf2142 and even maybe BF2 (if im lucky). I just need to know if my PC is okay as it is or do i need to make upgrades on some stuff?.

PC SPECS

AMD Athlon(tm) XP 1500+
CPU SPEED. 1.29 GHz Performance Rated at 1.50 GHz
RAM. 511.5 MB
GRAPHIC CARD. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 (GeForce FX 5600)

Can you please help me out.

If i need to get upgrades to my PC can you please tell me what my best bet is and i would prefer to stay to the cheaper stuff. I also live in the UK so it would be best if you could help me out and find a UK site for me to find this stuff with links also please!.

Sorry for the bother!.

Thanks in Advance!

[Strike1.Tango]

That PC is not going to run bf2142 any good at all. Upgrading it is not going to help you much either. I'm sorry to tell you, but you will have to buy yourself an entirely new computer.

250£ isn't going to get you very far either. You don't seem to know a lot about computers, so I guess building one yourself is out of the question, which makes things a bit more expensive again.
I will recommend you to save up some more money or talk your parents into coughing up some :p

EDIT:
Did a quick look at Dell.co.uk; A decent computer with x2 4000+, 2GBs of RAM, 8600GT and a 19" inch monitor came down to a total £610.62.

[Natt]

Your PC might run the game, but it wont run well at all.
You really want to find the fastest CPU compatible with your motherboard, and you will need at least another 512mb of ram.
Need to know the make and model of your motherboard to give you the best cpu available, type of ram etc
Gfx could do with an upgrade, but I think the 5600 will run BF2/2142 at low settings.
Motherboard model number is usually printed on the board somewhere, sometimes between the PCI slots.
The other option would be to sell your PC and buy a new one.

[Merlin]

I would not bother upgrading that PC, any old component left would bottleneck the system. Like what the other guys say, save up for a new PC.

[Vreki]

Hey Everyone,

Its soon my birthday and my mum said i have about £200 - £250 to spend maybe a bit more but ive been looking around here and i really want my PC to run Bf2142 and even maybe BF2 (if im lucky). I just need to know if my PC is okay as it is or do i need to make upgrades on some stuff?.

PC SPECS

AMD Athlon(tm) XP 1500+
CPU SPEED. 1.29 GHz Performance Rated at 1.50 GHz
RAM. 511.5 MB
GRAPHIC CARD. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 (GeForce FX 5600)

Can you please help me out.

If i need to get upgrades to my PC can you please tell me what my best bet is and i would prefer to stay to the cheaper stuff. I also live in the UK so it would be best if you could help me out and find a UK site for me to find this stuff with links also please!.

Sorry for the bother!.

Thanks in Advance!

When I first started playing the game, it was on:
Athlon XP 2000+
768 Mb
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro.

It was playable on all low, but yours may not be strong enough.
I suggest you try the demo.

Components for a system you age can be found used on ebay: http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/sear...itle=athlon+xp

But are you sure that you are capable of upgrading a CPU?
It is not quite as simple as swapping a graphics card or inserting a memory module.

[Minmaster]

yup...save the money and get a new PC.

[TrooperJac]

Do some reading about system building. It's really not that hard to do. Discover which parts of the computer you can keep for now and which you will have to upgrade.

You will likely need to upgrade the motherboard, memory, CPU and gfx card. You may be able to hold on to your hard disk, case, cd and monitor for now. As well as stuff like your keyboard and mouse etc. You should look out for the type of hard disk you have, I expect it will be IDE and make sure your new motherboard has ide connectors. Your CD drive will likely be an IDE connection too.


You should be able to sell your old CPU, memory etc on eBay to make a bit more cash. See what other people are getting for the same components you have to estimate what you might make.

You could buy some used components off eBay to save a bit more but if you're unsure as to what your doing buy new and then you have warranty.

After a quick look at scan computers I put this together

Intel Core Duo E2160 - £55
ECS Nforce 570 SLI motherboard - £45
2GB Corsair Value Select 533mhz DDR2 memory £52
LEADTEK 256mb Nvidia 8600GT GFX Card £72

That comes to £224 and should give you decent performance for BF2 & BF2142. This was just a cursory look so you will want to do a bit more research before spending.

[Strike1.Tango]

Do some reading about system building. It's really not that hard to do. Discover which parts of the computer you can keep for now and which you will have to upgrade.

You will likely need to upgrade the motherboard, memory, CPU and gfx card. You may be able to hold on to your hard disk, case, cd and monitor for now. As well as stuff like your keyboard and mouse etc. You should look out for the type of hard disk you have, I expect it will be IDE and make sure your new motherboard has ide connectors. Your CD drive will likely be an IDE connection too.


You should be able to sell your old CPU, memory etc on eBay to make a bit more cash. See what other people are getting for the same components you have to estimate what you might make.

You could buy some used components off eBay to save a bit more but if you're unsure as to what your doing buy new and then you have warranty.

After a quick look at scan computers I put this together

Intel Core Duo E2160 - £55
ECS Nforce 570 SLI motherboard - £45
2GB Corsair Value Select 533mhz DDR2 memory £52
LEADTEK 256mb Nvidia 8600GT GFX Card £72

That comes to £224 and should give you decent performance for BF2 & BF2142. This was just a cursory look so you will want to do a bit more research before spending.

You forgot the PSU man :dead:. I would recommend an Arctic Cooling silentium (pro) case which comes with a Seasonic PSU. He also needs an operating system as the one he has now is most likely an OEM version.

But I wouldn't recommend him to build his own PC at this point. You are right about it "not being that hard", but judging by his first post, his computer hardware knowledge is a bit too low. I managed to break some stuff in my PC earlier when I didn't know that much.

[TrooperJac]

He will have a PSU in his machine. Don't believe people who state you need a 1000w PSU to run a 8600 it's just marketing hype by people in the business of selling 1000w PSU's to impressionable types.

With a bit of google research he can find all the info on building PCs which is a piece of cake and save himself a few quid. As for OP systems - well they can be found at extremely reasonable prices ;D

Reading his first post he doesn't sound like the complete computer noob people are making out. He knows what his in his machine! I work in IT and come across people who don't even know what a CPU is

[Merlin]

What number of pins will his old PSU connector have? Could it be so old that you cant convert it to a 20/24 pin?

If a new PSU is required, try and get a modular one. They look cool and keep the inside of you case free from loads of cables.

[TrooperJac]

What number of pins will his old PSU connector have? Could it be so old that you cant convert it to a 20/24 pin?

If a new PSU is required, try and get a modular one. They look cool and keep the inside of you case free from loads of cables.

That is a good point. He might have to upgrade his power supply after all. For a modern motherboard it would need to have an ATX connector, maybe a 12v CPU plug too. Thats why you need to do your research but is also why buying from someone like scan is a good idea. You can ask them all the daft questions you like. However I bought a 400w supply from PC world for £30 and that works fine for me.

[venny]

i dont think the 8600gt needs an additional connector....

[Vreki]

Reading his first post he doesn't sound like the complete computer noob people are making out. He knows what his in his machine! I work in IT and come across people who don't even know what a CPU is

The CPU is the main unit where the pictures appear, and the big box where you turn everything on is of course the power supply

But seriously, I think you are overestimating him.
The specs he is writing is very likely a dump from some tool.
511.5 MB RAM is not something you write if you understand computers, and the rest looks auto generated too.

So I think it is a bit much to ask him to assemble several hundreds of £ worth of equipment.

He might not even have an ATX case, so what is really left but the drives after the suggested system renovation?
I think someone at this level will be much better of with a preassembled product, preferably with the OS installed too.
There will of course be less bang for the buck, but that is not always the most important thing.

[venny]

ya, if u need that much help about whats parts u can get, u prolly might not have enough knowledge to fix up one properly either. better off with a preassembled one. im not belittling him, but i think its safer and easier overall for him than trying to tell him every single thing about computers, 12v plugs, 20/24 ping plugs and other jargon etc etc...