GabrielT Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 So I really want to get this machine running for my aunt. It is an HP Pavillion 620n desktop. She would love to play games on it "think Titan Quest" but it just doesn't have the graphic power to do it. The first problem is gave it to a tech guy at her work who promptly bought a new HIS Radeon 9550 256mb model. I know it was stupid of him to buy it but that is not the point. The point is Vista does not support 9000 series radion cards. I thought it was the PSu not having enough juice but that is not the case "to my knowledge at least". The second problem is Vista views the video card as having no RAM and it just gives a random blue screen when trying to do anything at all. Sometimes it does not even boot. I believe this is because 9000 series cards are not supported. Third problem, this thing is underpowered for what she wants it to do. It has a 2.2ghz single core Athlon 3200+. The system is supposedly limited to 512mb of ram as well but that is wrong because 2gb are currently installed recognized and being used. It works fine without the card in btw. I want to know if this thing can run a dual core. I can't really find if it can. Fourth problem is it is running Vista Ultimate to add to the epic slowness. Heavy OS on a machine that came with XP, I'm not sure when it was upgraded but I'm not sure there is a way to down grade it. The the final problem is that money is an issue, I told her without knowing any of these problems that I could fix it for her, I might have got her hopes up a tad with a cheap fix but I'm not sure I can do it. If she wants to play games on it I'm not sure the single core will cut it. I would like any advise at all. I just want this to work for her. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 ditch the card and get a better one...if it hasnt already..back it up an do a fresh install... beings it sounds like its AGP...get your aunt a better card... just a little FYI Vista and win7 have issues with motherboards using AGP slots...I'd honestly revert to XP.... any IT or Tech should have known that... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
l1o2l Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 A quick google search showed that the HP 620n does not exist. Shows that it's a print server. As to Vista/7 having problems with AGP? I installed it fine on my previous computer - Pentium D, Geforce 6200 LE TC. Dunno. For upgrade paths for AGP, there's really not much out there. An ATI HD3670 (I think) AGP is about $100. The processor, AMD 3200+ is 2.0 gHz, not 2.2 gHz. The motherboard is a socket 939. You would need to go onto eBay, or find someone who is selling an athlon X2 socket 939 (ask in the market place). The PSU is probably 250 watt to 350 watt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 there are plenty of AGP cards out there still... ATI/Sapphire 4650-1gb for 59.00 on newegg... thought about getting one myself Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GabrielT Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 It's a agp card. The a620n does exist, it is not a print server lol. ATI 9550 are not support but apparently nvidia 5000 and up are ok. Oh it also uses a non standard processor and if I upgrade the video card it will most certainly need a more powerful power supply. It refuses to turn on with my bfg 550watt psu no matter what I do. The psu is rated at 300 watts but I'm not so sure it can handle a 4650. I was wondering if anyone knows of a processor that would work with this motherboard. It's actually a socket A or a socket 462 proc, there is really no upgrade path for this processor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 honestly I would scrap that.... you can find a cheaper newer board int he forums....lol how much money can you spend? I got a Socket A with a 2600 or a Socket 754 that I could let go cheap....Taco has a decent AM2 board and a dual core can be had for 40.00...very cheap...then you got PCI-E... I got a 6600gt PCI-E that I could give you... we could make something better than what you have.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
l1o2l Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 My bad, lol. I couldn't find the comp on Google. Yeah, just go with the deal dr_bowtie mentioned. Much better than just upgrading the video card. However.... I not sure but, HP power supplies may move around the cables like Dell. That's why it may not work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 that old of an HP would....thats why they call it Proprietary... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
l1o2l Posted August 14, 2010 Posted August 14, 2010 Haha... Upgrade time for your Aunt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GabrielT Posted August 15, 2010 Posted August 15, 2010 I'm not sure how much she can spend, I can't get her on the phone. Her husband died recently and medical bills are quite steep for her. I would like her to have something new but if I could get used parts for next to nothing I might be able to talk her into it. New Challenge! Who can build the cheapest PC on newegg that can run WoW at 1080p with decent settings. I built one with a Athlon 5000+ for $450. Any takers on my challenge? AMD Athlon II 245 and Biostar AM2+ Mobo combo $84 PQI 4gb DDR2 800 $76 Zotac 9600GSO $70 Coolermaster RC 310 with PSU $70 Seagate 320gb HDD $45 Windows 7 combo $90 And a PATA DVD drive I have lying around for free. Total $435 $450 if I bought a new dvd drive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
l1o2l Posted August 15, 2010 Posted August 15, 2010 I got my PC for $430. The one in my sig. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted August 15, 2010 Posted August 15, 2010 AM2 board from Taco http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=160146 (14.00+SH) AM2 cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819104021 ($32.00) 2x1gb ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141064 ($40.00) PSU donated 6600gt (me) use her stuff thats less than 100.00 and it will play wow easy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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