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I know what do about getting used stuff, Test it out
How about for PC? I'm in the hunt getting Gateway Vista PC Desktop only for $12, I'm bringing my USB Keyboard, and my TV with VGA inputs
I forgot to take a pic of the Specs, What else should I look for?
Other than basic operation of components (boots, loads OS, display/sound works) there isn't much you can do with limited time. You can check to make sure it has the HDD space, ram, video card, etc specified... but for $12 there isn't much you can really expect. Gateways tended to be pretty low end systems, so it wasn't going to be a performance beast even when new.
Just make sure it works and that's about all you can really do. Bring a CD or DVD if it has a drive, and can check to see if that works.
Beyond all that, you would need to just run it for a bit, throw some things at it to stress it a bit, see if it overheats, run a memtest/disk check. Things of that nature.
As mentioned, bring a diagnostics CD like UBCD. Run all the diagnostics you can. Memory, Hard Drive SMART status, see if the BIOS throws any error codes etc.
Some of those take a lot of time. The seller might not be willing to hang around for 30+ Minutes while he lets it do the basic tests. If he was shelling out hundreds maybe. But for a tenner + a lil bit, he's probably looking to just dump it and be gone. Unless he knows the guy personally anyways, but if that was the case he'd likely be able to trust the person.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blades
It's at a thrift store,
Windows Vista Home Premiunm
Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor E21
Super Multi DVD Burner with Labelflash Technology
400 GB SATA II Hard Drive
3 GB DDR2 Dual-Channel Memory
15 in 1 Memory Card Reader
Intel Graphics Media Accelerrator 950 Video Card
Is that good -- now a days?
Just going to Surf the Web
Watch Video
Play Music Edit Videos
Edit Music
Good, no. It's a several year old system.
Is it functional? Of course. It'll surf the web fine, it'll play most movies/video's fine.
For editing it depends what you are editing and what tools you use. In that regard it's going to lag far, far behind anything you would buy currently specifically to do that job.
But if you're doing very minor work it's going to generally be fine, just not all that zippy about it.
I got it up and running..Cool, Bad is..Seems like it was a work PC most web site is blocked in IE, Firefox
I can't get on Google, Facebook, Sega-16...I can't even install Chrome, It need the Net..MSN.com loads
How do I unblock everything in Vista
Just nuke the entire hard drive and install Windows 7, Linux, Windows 95 or anything other than Vista.Quote:
Originally Posted by KnightWarrior
If I had the DVD I would do that, But I don't
Vista isn't as bad as most people make it out to be.
Especially compared to buying another OS, or downloading a crack or keygen that may do who knows what
to the system that you may trust with a huge chunk of your personal information.
If you can find the COA sticker on the case or the license key from within windows,
you may be able to download the relevant version ISO from Microsoft themselves and re-install from scratch.
Yeah seriously, this is the best route to take, and like others have said you should be able to get a key pretty easily if it's still on the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by ComradeOj
For $12 I think you got a good deal. Especially if all you are going to do is surf the web and pay music. You may have a problem watching Youtube videos though. Truth be told: if you don`t care about watching it in HD, just lower the video quality to one that is acceptable.
For $12 it's great! We truly live in a golden age where 3GB of RAM are in a throw away PC. You'll have no trouble with video/audio/etc. Heck, my ancient 2003 Dell Latitude P4 with 32MB VRAM plays Youtube just fine (admittedly under Linux).
Definitely reinstall Windoze though. There's no reason not to. Make sure you download the drivers from Gateway before you set off however.
I have
Windows 7 Home Premium, A friend gave me the Key to Activate it
I need to see if I can Upgrade the Graphic Card on here to run Games
Nice!
The question isn't if you can, it's whether you should. That's completely up to you. What interface does it have?
interface?
Can you please explain it to me?
You probably already know this, I was referring to what video card interface your PC uses. If it is PCI Express, you can use really any modern video card (but you should pick one that matches your PC's specs, anything excessive would be a waste). If it's AGP, your choices will be more limited but you will be able to find a competent video card for almost nothing.
GPU #1 Type Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME
GPU #1 Brand 0x1019 (0x2107)
VRAM #1 Type 256 MB
DirectX 11.0
My guess is that your setup doesn't have AGPX8, or PCI-E.
I have a DDR 2
This is your onboard video. This means your setup doesn't have a dedicated video card, but it may have an empty slot waiting for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by KnightWarrior
Give us your Gateway model number if you want us to help you find what will work with your computer.
Why do you want to update your video card? Quite honestly, most onboard solutions these days are plenty powerful. Onboard chips got a bad reputation from the early days (when they had 2MB of VRAM if you were lucky enough to find the proprietary RAM expansion).
Well I can't play most of the Battlenet Games like Heroes
Well that sucks.
Just pick up a decent video card.
On my Gateway it's
9006417-QW and the other is 00144-492-893-148
Model # GT5622 S/NO CCS7B 110 86491
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883113051
Here are the specs for your Gateway PC. It does have a 1st gen PCI-E x 16 slot, but the CPU is a really slow 1.8 Ghz Core2. Your CPU is almost too slow for anything outside of MOBA. You could swap out the CPU for an E6700 if you're not afraid to get your hands a little dirty.
You can put a GT 730 in there for about $70, but you'll need at least a 300 watt power supply.
If it's not too late, use a key finder to retrieve the product key from your Vista installation:
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/produc...pkeyfinder.htm
You may not use it, but a valid Windows key is worth preserving. I've used Jelly Bean with success.
Why do I need the Vista Key for?
I have Windows 7 HP ...
You don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by KnightWarrior
A 1.8 C2D isn't bad. Just find a cheap PCIe graphics card. Pick up something like this (make sure your monitor has DVI input if you pick a card like this).
Any graphics card that requires a new power supply would probably be a waste economically.
What does Kernal_Stack_Handle means? I can't find it on google
There are such things as Kernel Stacks and Kernel Handles... where are you seeing that term being used?Quote:
Originally Posted by KnightWarrior
Well this morning it Popped up when I was starting my PC, Blue Screen with Kernel Handle Error
I restored Windows 7 like 6 hours ago ..Installed all the Update and it's working fine now
He's not going to be able to run that card, or the card that I'd suggested with the stock power supply in that computer. The power supply that is shipped with those PCs is usually around 230-250 Watts; they don't even come with a 6 pin power cord for a GPU.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blades
The HD 4870 is a power hungry card that can draw as much as 140 watts by itself.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/asus_eah4870/
Your system is experiencing memory failure. You can run a memory test that is built into Windows 7. If it fails, run the test with 1 stick of memory and swap them out until you find a good stick.Quote:
Originally Posted by KnightWarrior
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/.../ff700221.aspx
Well I restored the system & it's working for now
That card needs its own power line? What the heck. It's not even that powerful.Quote:
Originally Posted by gamevet
What a good Graphic Card for my PC I can run Games like Heroes of the Storm & most of the Blizzard Games
Most graphics cards require at least a 6-pin power connector. The GT 730 that I had suggest does not, and at only 40 watts, it does not require a 6-pin connector. Still, if his power supply is only 230 watts, he's going to have a hard time running an extra GPU, even if it's a 40 watt card.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blades
I never run anything lower than 400w for anything I put a 3d card into.
I never run a power supply that's less than Bronze rated.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tripredacus
I had (I still have, but not for gaming) an HP Media PC that I'd bought in 2009. I pulled out the factory 250 Watt power supply, installed a Cooler Master (yeah, I didn't know better) 600 watt PSU and a GTS 250. It wasn't too bad of a gaming PC at the time.
Wow things have changed. Admittedly, the last time I bought a video card was a Voodoo3 3000 in 1999. It was one of the most powerful cards you could buy then, and it didn't have a power supply or even a fan.Quote:
Originally Posted by gamevet
Since then, I've used laptops and onboard video had caught up with the mainstream and could run most games without issues, given that it was dedicated.
Yeah. It was pretty much plug and play when I had a Geforce 2, Geforce 4 and FX5200 Extreme in my old 2002 PC. I still had to upgrade my crappy power supply to run those cards though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blades
The only laptop gaming that I have played were with older titles like StarCraft and Fallout. My current desktop PCs are much more powerful than what you could get with a laptop, but for a hefty price, you can get a pretty decent gaming laptop.