Basic ?'s on dell 4700..

[beany323]

Hi all,

here is the basics:

dim 4700 series
P4-3.4
512 DDR2
80 gb hdd
256 Nvida geforce 6800 Card (not sure which one this is going to end up being)(still confused on what is what in that damn system!)
fax/modum (no need i have broadband)(now i need a card)
sound blaster live 24 bit advanced hd with audio 100dB perform (no idea if this is any good)
48x cd rw
16 dvd rom
and a bunch of bs programs.

total: 629.00

a few questions for you guys...

- good deal?
- primarily for my sons to play WoW ....
- do i need to open up the video card for better graphics?
- I know i need to get more memory... from what i read, it accepts up to 2 gb...

thanks!

 

[amol]

wow, NICE VIDEO CARD

i hear WoW is memory intensive, might wanna upgrade to 1GB

 

[beany323]

yea i am planning on that already... just wondering how high is high enough...

 

[Tavoc]

That should be plenty to run WoW after you upgrade the ram to 1GB. Doesnt really matter which variant of the 6800 you get, all should run WoW very well.

 

[Hanpan]

Pretty good deal. Probably a 6800GTO which can be softmodded to an ultra in many cases (check out the video forum) More memory would be nice but DDR2 is still kina pricy though many have predicted a fall in memory prices soon. Also the sound blaster live is not really a great card, but should do the job if you do not have a 5.1 speaker system.

 

[beany323]

thanks for the help guys... i liked that it is a 3.4. ok so its a smaller case then the 8700 (but all my kids know is to turn it on and shoot!)

found some memory...
Corsair 512MB PC2-4200 DDR2 DIMM Memory -- 90.00 bucks or so..thats not so bad is it?

(and i really need only one stick)

(would it be ok/wise/worthless to go to 2gb---4gb)

amazing how intel and dell rhyme..hmmmm

anyways... that should keep the boys off my back (till i can get "my" system...

and that soft mod i saw in passing... gonna give it a shot and see what happens...

thank you again.

/em bows

 

[beany323]

should be shipping today..now i got the network card (14.00 at target)

need to get some memory, is it worth it to get up to 4gb... or a waste?

thanks

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: beany323
need to get some memory, is it worth it to get up to 4gb... or a waste?

Complete waste. You are incorrect in your original post of it accepting 2 GB. It should accept 4 GB. However, you likely cannot use it.
(1) If you need to ask about memory, you don't need over 1 GB. You'd know for sure you needed that much if you have the programs that would utilize over 1 GB.
(2) Non 64-bit versions of Windows won't utilize all 4 GB. It craps out around 3 GB - 3.5 GB depending on how much modding you do.

I think that is a nice computer for a decent price.

 

[beany323]

yes after i typed that i saw that i could use 4gb of mem, but didnt think i would need it..


its bascially for gaming and such bs stuff, and i know that i need at least 1gb so thats a gimme...

thanks for the input!!

 

[beany323]

well it seems to be on its way....

as long as my kids dont want to play farcry or any "real" fps games, I should be ok... *crosses fingers*!! :evil:

 

[mechBgon]

Can I suggest working hard on the security right away. A stitch in time saves nine and all that If it comes with... Norton, I suppose? then go into the antivirus settings and ensure that it's using maximum heuristics, is scanning within compressed files, is SILENTLY DELETING threats instead of asking the user what to do. Note when your update subscription expires.

I'd also make sure the Windows Firewall is enabled (NAV2005 may disable it), get a broadband router as an outer firewall, and enable Data Execution Prevention for all programs.

If your kids are click-happy, then Limited accounts might be a good idea too. I was reading the Microsoft security bulletins for the patches they released today, and the potential exploits would gain only the powers of the user that runs them, so a Limited account would be a powerful obstacle to stuff trying to mess with the Registry and the Windows directory. Or maybe your kids are already wise to the threat of malware packaged inside shiny bait

 

[smithdj]

just one quick note, you cannot just throw in one stick or ram. Dells run dual channel so you will need 256mb *2 sticks.

 

[beany323]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Can I suggest working hard on the security right away. A stitch in time saves nine and all that If it comes with... Norton, I suppose? then go into the antivirus settings and ensure that it's using maximum heuristics, is scanning within compressed files, is SILENTLY DELETING threats instead of asking the user what to do. Note when your update subscription expires.

I'd also make sure the Windows Firewall is enabled (NAV2005 may disable it), get a broadband router as an outer firewall, and enable Data Execution Prevention for all programs.

If your kids are click-happy, then Limited accounts might be a good idea too. I was reading the Microsoft security bulletins for the patches they released today, and the potential exploits would gain only the powers of the user that runs them, so a Limited account would be a powerful obstacle to stuff trying to mess with the Registry and the Windows directory. Or maybe your kids are already wise to the threat of malware packaged inside shiny bait

Yea i have every type of free anti-virus software along with norton firewall and virus scan. (after my sons found kazzaa that is, or rather was) this dell is for gaming until i can get my other system up and running.

in the mean time our "older" comp will do all the searching.. and downloading..ect ect.

as to memory, yea my system is coming with 512gb of mem. so i will upgrade once it gets here to 1 mb. and i can see what brand it is so i can get a matching one. I may go to 2 mb of mem, maybe even 4 but thats later... (need to put some funds away for my fx-55 system) :evil:

thanks for the input guys...

and i am looking at uploading/running riverthingy (cant recall name) to see what vid card i have and if i can bump it allitle... (i looked already at the program at work, just gotta figure which one it is for that list)

thanks again!

 

[beany323]

hi again,

ok it came in just in time for the weekend...

plugged it in and all that, turned it on...all is fine.

removed some of the stupid stuff, (aol, other trash) and ran all the updated drivers.

loaded WoW and played this weekend.

ok, its a Dell, but for the cost, well worth it.

anyway, basically just wanted to say thanks.

laterz

 

[beany323]

hey!! got a question.
my 4700 came with 512 gb mem... 2x 256 sticks.

gonna upgrade to 1gb and have a choice of pc2-3200 (400mhz) and pc2-4200 (522 mhz).. the 522 mhz is cheaper then the 400 mhz.. is that right? i thought that the higher (meaning speed in mhz) was more costly.. anyone wanna help a beginner out?

thanks in advance!!



edit: ok i see that on some of the mem. is 64M x 64-Bit and others are 128M x 72-Bit

does it really matter?
thanks again!