I have a compaq presario 5410US and it's just not cutting it. All I ask from my computer is to be able to play World of Warcraft, but I just meet the system requirements for ram at 512MBs and there is nothing I can do about it because that is what this PC tops out at. The game runs but not too well, I get some pretty hefty lag when I enter the major cities or whenever I come into an area where there's a lot of activity. Lots of lag in battlegrounds too. Buying a new computer isn't an option right now and I'm hoping it isn't necessary because the game requirements aren't exactly much and I prefer to play video games on my xbox 360 anyway.. I just want to run WoW on respectable settings without my system throwing fits. So I'm looking into replacing my motherboard. I've never really done anything hardware wise with a computer except for replacing ram, installing a video card, and installing a hard drive. Replacing the motherboard seems like it would be a pain. I don't want to buy something and then realize that I wasted my money because it is incompatible with half of my system. Could someone point me in the right direction as to what I should be looking for as to size, sockets, and such? Also if anyone knows of a guide that could walk me through doing this, that would be great. Maybe a recommendation on what board to buy too? Also want to note that I have a Visiontek Radeon 9550 (128 AGP) card that I want to keep... I'll replace it if necessary though.
Well, I took a look around newegg for a compatible motherboard and didn't have much luck. I only found 1 motherboard that takes the same cpu, but it doesn't take the same RAM. I dont really like telling people this, but honestly your computer is not really worth uprading, not to mention the difficulty of finding parts. I mean, you're looking at around $50 for the motherboard if/when you find one. There is a high probability it also will not hold more than 512MB because your computer takes 133mhz RAM. And even if the new motherboard holds more ram, you're still looking at spending a hundred or more getting the sticks to perform the upgrade. I understand you have a low budget and that is understandable. If you are even a little bit interested, we could help you in trying to build a budget system (ie: under 500 usd) that will outperform your current system by far. And as a sidenote, you can find computers that are much better/faster than yours for sale at local electronics stores for sub $500 every week, just watch for sales. For anyone else trying to help this person, here is a link to his computer's "out of the box" specs Compaq Presario 5410US Desktop PC - Product Specifications
i would also recommend buying a new computer, or building one yourself. a decent computer is here its an hp, and it isnt something youll be able to do a ton of gaming on, but for world of warcraft, it should work pretty well, just upgrade the graphics card on it when you configure it to the 8400 or 8600 and it will be able to run world of warcraft fairly well, and it is fairly cheap
oh and two other things that i forgot to mention. AGP ports are basically on their way out, so you should try to find a PCI or PCIE graphics card. and what kind of budget are you on? if you want to just buy a new computer, cyperpowerpc.com isnt a bad place to buy. i know most gamers dont like them, but they usually do work pretty well for people who dont plan on upgrading or doing all their gaming on them
Well on another board I had these suggested to me Motherboard: Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Processor: Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail Ram: Newegg.com - G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - Retail What do you guys think? Oh yeah, and the budget question. Really broke right now with bills and I just spent an awful lot of money on my nephew's birthday gift. Soooo... I'm looking at staying at about $200.00
That'd be a nice start. You may want to plot out for a power supply, however. Your system is old enough that the current unit may not be able to properly power what you have. Try it and see, but just be aware that you may need to purchase one. On the flip side, if you can, it might be wise to wait until you can toss at least $400 at the build. You'd be able to snag a decent power supply and use an actual video card instead of the integrated stuff (which siphons off part of the system RAM for it's own use). As far as Cyberpower/iBuyPower...uhh, I'd avoid them. They're cheap, sure, but their tech & customer support blows chunks from what I've heard. If the system works, fine, but if it doesn't--good luck trying to get them to fix it. Actually, here's a suggestion for an Intel-based system that would get you that newer power supply. Motherboard: ECS G31T-M $49.99 CPU: Intel Pentium E2160 $69.99 RAM: Kingston 1GB/2x512MB PC2-6400 $23.99 PSU: Silverstone ST400 400W ATX $46.49 Total: $190.46 There's free shipping on the Pentium E2160 (the Pentium E's use the same design as those Core 2 Duo's, which are a better CPU line), but the others do have some charges. The ECS board has a $10 rebate as well. You'll be in the $200-210 range all said and done, and you can add a video card later and still have the power to run something at least half decent.
