Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I don't know much about computer hardware. I do know I updated my RAM to ~2g and now my very old computer stopped freezing on me! YAY! However while I was doing that, I noticed these card slots. What are these for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I think for more hard drives and such, probably for gaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopderson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I can help with that! A) PCI Express 1x. This can be used for sound cards or other expansion cards. PCI Express. 8x or 16x. This is typically used for graphics cards. A newer form, and faster. C) Legacy PCI. This is used for expansion cards such as network cards or maybe sound cards. This is an older style of PCI. If ya have questions let me know. I build computers as another hobby, and work as an IT support professional. Here is a wikipedia article that breaks the difference down. It really comes down to speed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express JamesHe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Oh cool! What's cheap that I can put in the slots and what difference will it make? Yeah, I'm ignorant of this stuff, but since I have this old computer open I may as well stuff it. LOL One advantage I have is since the computer is old, the cards are often cheap. I was buying 516 memory cards for less than $5 ea off ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopderson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Its all good, you're just learning. Be careful, modding pcs is like shrimp and MTS. That's true! Well, you could always drop in a graphics card. That would up the ante a bit. Depending on what you get they can be expensive though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 How do I know what graphics card to add? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopderson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Welp, let's start with this: what model of computer do ya have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Intel core 2 cpu hp dc7700 small form factor base unit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopderson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Righty-o, in which case you will need a small form factor card. For example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127557 The only challenge you face is your power supply. Looks like it is only 200w, which may be a bit shakey if you add too many items. You can try the card, and most likely it will work. Do you have only one hard drive in there? Here is the hp specs and info on your machine: http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=c04290684 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I have 1 hard drive, but my 2nd computer crashed, so I currently have a 2nd one hooked up to it for the data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 So do I connect the monitor to the card outlit then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopderson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 That is correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Sweet. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHe Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Bryce, I'm not sure if you need add-on graphic card. If we just browsing the web, on-board graphic is good enough. Add-on would help only you do gaming, photo-editing... but you also need higher performance CPU/PCH, more memory etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopderson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Seconding what James said. You may see some benefit, but probably not enough. Save your $$ for your next computer Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopderson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 And if ya need consulting give me a shout! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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