system specs and bios questions

[philip]

I just saw the new system specs for NWN HotU. As I doubt I miss 2 or 3 of these specs (CPU and RAM, maybe video card) I have some questions:

1) where can I find the size of my RAM memory? (i doubt it's in the first screen on startup as it says 32 mb but I can run NWN SoU, which needs 128 mb, easy)

2) i have 733 mHz. in my bios i can adjust it a bit with the clock multiplier (5.5 now and default) to get to 800 mHz (or 1200 but 800 is what i need and i suppose it's safer as well), would this take a huge risk with it? are there any other things i have to be aware of when i change this (i have a cpu temperature meter)?
also will i trick games to see i have 800 mHz this way?
I will only do this if i can't run HotU but it's better to know beforehand if i
can do this

3) the BW site says something about T&L support on video cards. What does that mean? also if you know from the top of your head if NVidia TNT2 32 MB has this plz say so, otherwise I'll look it up myself

4) can i keep my current RAM and add new to it to have higher or do I have to replace it? does this depend on my motherboard?

5) is it hard to add new memory yourself (never done anything like this, opened a computer once to clean it up) ?

6) is $60 expensive for this: 512 MB DDR-333 (also is this a brand or just the specs, as it's the only thing the site lists) what kind of extra benefits i get from adding this RAM memory (apart from being able to play HotU)?

7) what's the difference between 512 MB Sdram PC 133 and 512 MB Sdram PC 100? and what's the difference from one of these to 512 MB DDR-333

8) is the Geforce 4 MX 440 64 MB AGP/4 + TV Out a good video card or is it dated (just as it is, i can't find on the site if it has T&L support so i'll look into that later)? is going from 32 MB TNT2 to 64 MB GeForce 4MX a significant change in performance or should I aim for a better card (with the future in mind a bit)

9) is around $100 expensive to upgrade RAM and my videocard?

I especially chose these components because I can buy them at the shop I bought my computer.
I might be back later with more questions.

Thanks in advance for anything you can clear up!

[andrewas]

1) The first screen on startup comes from the video card, not the PC. The RAM size you need is given on the next screen. Its the one that counts up freom zero, and its given in Kb, not Mb. Divide by 1024.

2) This is called overclocking. The risk is that by running your computer overspeed, it puts out more heat. If your heatsinks and fans can remove this heat fast enough to keep the processor stable, its safe enough. If your processor gets too hot, its not. If your going to go further that you already are with this, be very careful and go one notch at a time. Look for the prime95 program, it has a torture test which is designed to show when the processor is running beyond its limits. A few hours of that every time you up the overclock will show you how far you can go. Pay attention to temps as well, I would make an effort to stay below 50C loaded. CPU power is not that essential to NWN anyway, and you should already be well past the HotU specs.

3) The Riva TNT 2 is from the second generation of 3d accelerators. Hardware T&L didnt become available until much later than that. If you want to run modern games, this old graphics card is the primary component to upgrade.

4) Depends on what you have and what the motherboard supports. If you have a free slot of the appropriate type, you can add new RAM. I would need to know more about your system to tell you what type to buy. More on this in point 7.

5) This is quite probably the single easiest modification you can make to your computer. Ground yourself before touching anything in the comp, and check the directions first (in your mobo manual and ususaly comes with the RAM as well) and (almost) nothing can go wrong.

6) Thats just the specs. Probably generic. Crap, in other words. But whether its worth paying extra for kingston or corsair high-quality stuff depends on whether you have the knowledge/desire/patience to tweak all the settings in your BIOS to get the absolute best performance from every component.

7) Yes, PC133 is faster than PC100. But if you put PC133 in a machine that dosent support it, it will run at the lower speed. The reverse is not true. PC133 is cheapest, so buy that if your going for SDRAM.

DDR RAM is a different memory standard. It sends data twice on each clock pulse, effectively doubling the speed. It also has more pins that SDRAM, and a different socket. So you can't use the wrong type.

RDRAM is yet another memory standard, and has yet another socket.

You motherboard may support both SDRAM and DDR, in which case get DDR but remember you can only run one type at a time.

8) MX! Burn it, Buuurn it!. Im only half kidding. MX cards are the lowest-end cards in their respective series. The Geforce4 MX isnt even a proper G4, its basicaly a faster version of the G2. Not bad cards, but for any machine intended for more than office work, I would recommend something better. You should be able to get a Geforce4 TI of some description for a little more money, and that is a sold card that does have hardware T&L. But it dosent have the latest DX9 features, for which you need something from the GeforceFx line. And GeforceFX is a minefield, some really bad cards in there. For NWN though, a Geforce4 Ti is a good bet.

Theres also the competing ATI radeon cards, which use a naming system that drives me nuts, and have compatability problems with NWN.

9) Whats that in real money? But I think thats an OK price, if only a G4MX was worth owning.

Find your system manual, there are two things you need to find out. First, do you have an AGP4X slot - without one, you won't be able to upgrade your graphics card significantly (although there are PCI versions of most cards, hard to find sometimes though). Second, what types of RAM does your motherboard support.

[philip]

Thanks for the explanation! I'll look up those things and going to have a better look on that site for other video cards.

[philip]

Originally posted by andrewas: 4) Depends on what you have and what the motherboard supports. If you have a free slot of the appropriate type, you can add new RAM. I would need to know more about your system to tell you what type to buy. More on this in point 7.

AOpen AX 34 motherboard. it seems i have 3 slots for PC133 DIMM so i guess i can add if it's of the correct type. does that mean i can get 512+128 = 640 MB?

6) Thats just the specs. Probably generic. Crap, in other words. But whether its worth paying extra for kingston or corsair high-quality stuff depends on whether you have the knowledge/desire/patience to tweak all the settings in your BIOS to get the absolute best performance from every component.

but it would do for the prupose as i just want to put them in and play the game and for a relative low price. i find the kingston ones too expensive (i want to upgrade my computer, if i want to do those things i can probably buy an all new system). just saw DIMM after the PC133 and i loooked into the list of new RAM and only kingston lists their card with DIMM behind it does that mean I can't add any other RAM in it?

7) Yes, PC133 is faster than PC100. But if you put PC133 in a machine that dosent support it, it will run at the lower speed. The reverse is not true. PC133 is cheapest, so buy that if your going for SDRAM.

the manual says i have PC133 DIMM slot (it shows a picture with a line to 3 similar looking slots, is it high chance these are 3 slots or is it one?) so i can get a PC133 one.

8) . You should be able to get a Geforce4 TI of some description for a little more money, and that is a sold card that does have hardware T&L.

so i have to expect to pay around $175 for a good card or do i get ripped of at that price? (this is the one from the shop i bought my computer but i'll go to a cheaper shop if possible)

if i won't upgrade my video card would extra RAM make a large difference (128 mb to this: 512 MB DDR-266 )

Find your system manual, there are two things you need to find out. First, do you have an AGP4X slot - without one, you won't be able to upgrade your graphics card significantly (although there are PCI versions of most cards, hard to find sometimes though). Second, what types of RAM does your motherboard support.

i have an AOpen AX 34 motherboard. according to the drawing of it, it has 4X AGP, luckily .

[philip]

also would this card be good: Asus V9520 Geforce FX 5200 Magic, 128Mb, TVout.
is it new enough to have t&l support (is there a good site i can find this info on, i tried googling something up but couldn't find a site that listed it for each model?)