[john.roswen]

I got an old custom built Nobilis for free. It was previously being used as a server. It has a 2.0Ghz pentium 4 processor, 1gb ram, and two 80 gig hard drives. The graphics, however, are some integrated intel chipset. I tried some older games on this machine (hl2) and they dragged.

If I were to invest in a new graphics card for this thing, could it be turned around into something worth keeping? I know I won't be able to get a supercomputer here, but would COD4 on low detail be possible?

I opened it up and from what I can tell it has 5 PCI slots and 1 AGP slot. AGP slots are brown, right?

I could really use some help here, I've never done anything like this before.

Thanks!

[Pinscher]

The slots don't have a specific color. That is determined by the manufacturer or the motherboard. Look on the motherboard for indications of what the slots are such as 'x16' or 'PCI' or something like that. They are usually marked somewhere around the slot.

That computer MIGHT be able to pull off COD4 on low settings with a graphics upgrade.

It would be best if you could give us the model of the motherboard. Look around closely for it.

Right off the bat though, I'm going to tell you that no matter what, that computer is going to suck. Whether or not you think its worth it to put money in it is up to you but I personally wouldn't. I would personally save up and build yourself a brand new computer, which we can help you do too.

[john.roswen]

I figured as much. I'd feel kind of bad just tossing it though. Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I'll just keep saving.

[cole.mccloud]

go to ibuypower.com good site if your looking for custom make

[john.roswen]

I know this is getting off topic, but I was looking through that site. Something is wrong. I was toying through the options and got a dual core setup with more than I could ever need for just under 800 dollars. How is that possible for a custom built machine with that much power?

[Pinscher]

If you build it yourself it will probably be even cheaper.

I don't know when the last time is that you looked at computer stuff but I can tell you prices have come down astronomically

[hikaricloud]

Yeah, ibuypower is only good if you REALLY don't want to build your own. For 800 bucks you could get a kickin' quad core setup.

You could still use the old machine for something you know, even if you build a new one. You could turn it into a media server or something, so you can share files over a network.

[john.roswen]

If I start looking into a custom built machine, what should I be weary of?

I have been using my white macbook for four years now so I am really out of it.

iBuyPower has a ton of options. Is it even possible that every single option works with every other option? Could I end up with a computer that just doesn't work, or has components that don't like eachother?

Are there similar websites I could browse through?

I don't think I'm up to building my own computer quite yet, but ordering one for a price under 800 is defiantly something I would like to look into.

[hikaricloud]

Fair enough. If you decide you want to try your hand at building something, we can help you pick out parts, and there are plenty of guides about putting it together. Most of it is self explanatory anyway.

You could always check out Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! for prebuilt machines, they have iBuyPower among others to choose from. Newegg is always great for pricing out components to build your own.

If you want, pick out a couple desktops, and we can compare the cost of parts in comparison.

[john.roswen]

I don't doubt you that building one would be much cheaper than buying one already built, but I don't want to risk spending money on something that I end up not being able to assemble or that I break.