Computor help

[Condor]

I'm thinking about changing out the graphics card on this old Dell XPS 400. I've noticed lately that my hyper speed down loads and streaming video are getting slower. I've cleaned out, tweeked and smoozed everything including the registry to no avail. It's plain sluggish. The wifi router is a brand new linksys E4200 running at 54mbps. So the only thing I can think of is the graphics card may be getting tired. The Dell is running a card in a slot instead of one built in the mother board. Also to throw fuel on the fire I don't know what I should be looking for. This whole graphics card business is confusing as he!!. Prices are all over the place, and discriptions are spoken in some language from another planet. Anyone have any idea what I should be looking for?? Something that isn't going to break the bank, but is good enough to handle big down loads and streaming. I'm at a loss..... :confused07:

PS: I,m not into any gaming.... Noticed some of those come with loan papers...

Edited November 19, 2011 by Condor

[GAWildKat]

Condor, I build computers as a hobby (sometimes to help pay the bills as well) if you can message me the specs of your computer (motherboard, processor, ram) and/or the serial number of it I'll look up some recommendations. However on avg you can get a good middle of the road vid card for less than $100, in some cases, less than $50. I or Mike would normally offer to install it for you, however it would be a bit far to go for us.

[Monty]

I looked up the specs on your Dell, and this card should do everything you need it to do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150570

 

Since you're not into gaming, this card will suffice. It will give you good performance, without having to upgrade your power supply. It does come with a decent game, but if you don't want it, just give it away as a Christmas gift.

 

 

I build gaming PCs. Getting ready to start building my latest one next week.

[GAWildKat]

Monty found a good card....but I found one cheaper, Biostar is an ok brand as a rule but my husband the network engineer is typing up his thought so wait before ordering either. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141130

[StormRaven]

It doesn't sound so much like a video card problem, on the surface. If you're just having trouble with Streaming video having hicups when it's playing, or not downloading fast enough, it sounds more like you're having a network bottleneck somewhere. 90% of the time the bottleneck is somewhere between your router and the ISP, it's not usually a connection between your system unit and the router. If you're on a heavily used cable trunk, you could have slowdown trying to watch movies while all the neighbors on the same trunk are trying to do the same thing(depending on Cable Company topology, you could have somewhere along the lines of upwards of 100-1000 households sharing the same trunk). Also, if you're trying to stream HD content, you're going to want to let the buffer fill up before trying to watch it, unless your ISP is providing you with a connection to your home that's greater than 10Mbps, even then it's a good idea to wait a minute or two before hitting play on a download, especially in Prime Time when everyone on the trunk is online.

 

If your system is not having any trouble playing a local movie file, or a DVD, or even playing a 3D game that's only moderately intensive on graphics by modern standards (Oblivion or Dragon Age would be examples of games in this category) then the problem is most likely NOT your video card. Also, telltale signs that a video card is failing are screen flickers, random crashes to desktop or blue screen of death, or the screen just going blank in the middle of doing something (this doesn't include the monitor powersave feature being kicked on for excessive time without punching keys on the keyboard or fiddling with the mouse.)

 

 

 

P.S. - If you're having to take out a loan to get a gaming rig that can play all the newest games on Ultra settings, you're doing it wrong. A very good gaming rig can be built for less than $1,000. The super expensive rigs with the $4,000+ just for the video cards are usually for doing High Resolution 3D modeling of the sort you'd find in developing a Pixar or Dreamworks production.

Edited November 19, 2011 by StormRaven

[friesman]

Hey Jack, how much ram are ya running? If youre running less than 4gigs bump it up to 4, not much point in going past that though unless youre running 64 bit, and even then I dont think you would ever be able to use it all.

Adding more ram is probably your cheapest upgrade, but sometimes it depends on type of ram

 

Brian

[Condor]

Condor, I build computers as a hobby (sometimes to help pay the bills as well) if you can message me the specs of your computer (motherboard, processor, ram) and/or the serial number of it I'll look up some recommendations. However on avg you can get a good middle of the road vid card for less than $100, in some cases, less than $50. I or Mike would normally offer to install it for you, however it would be a bit far to go for us.

 

I wouldn't know where to begin to find that stuff, but thanks for the reply. Yeah it would be a ways away.....

 

I looked up the specs on your Dell, and this card should do everything you need it to do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150570

 

Since you're not into gaming, this card will suffice. It will give you good performance, without having to upgrade your power supply. It does come with a decent game, but if you don't want it, just give it away as a Christmas gift.

 

 

I build gaming PCs. Getting ready to start building my latest one next week.

 

Thanks Monty. I did go to the link and I see where they have a mail in rebate going on that get's the card down to around $20 bucks.

 

Monty found a good card....but I found one cheaper, Biostar is an ok brand as a rule but my husband the network engineer is typing up his thought so wait before ordering either. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141130

 

That is another option, Thanks...

 

It doesn't sound so much like a video card problem, on the surface. If you're just having trouble with Streaming video having hicups when it's playing, or not downloading fast enough, it sounds more like you're having a network bottleneck somewhere. 90% of the time the bottleneck is somewhere between your router and the ISP, it's not usually a connection between your system unit and the router. If you're on a heavily used cable trunk, you could have slowdown trying to watch movies while all the neighbors on the same trunk are trying to do the same thing(depending on Cable Company topology, you could have somewhere along the lines of upwards of 100-1000 households sharing the same trunk). Also, if you're trying to stream HD content, you're going to want to let the buffer fill up before trying to watch it, unless your ISP is providing you with a connection to your home that's greater than 10Mbps, even then it's a good idea to wait a minute or two before hitting play on a download, especially in Prime Time when everyone on the trunk is online.

 

If your system is not having any trouble playing a local movie file, or a DVD, or even playing a 3D game that's only moderately intensive on graphics by modern standards (Oblivion or Dragon Age would be examples of games in this category) then the problem is most likely NOT your video card. Also, telltale signs that a video card is failing are screen flickers, random crashes to desktop or blue screen of death, or the screen just going blank in the middle of doing something (this doesn't include the monitor powersave feature being kicked on for excessive time without punching keys on the keyboard or fiddling with the mouse.)

 

 

 

P.S. - If you're having to take out a loan to get a gaming rig that can play all the newest games on Ultra settings, you're doing it wrong. A very good gaming rig can be built for less than $1,000. The super expensive rigs with the $4,000+ just for the video cards are usually for doing High Resolution 3D modeling of the sort you'd find in developing a Pixar or Dreamworks production.

 

Thanks but I don't play games... Hand eye co-ordination sucks..

I have a fiber optic line from the ISP at 15mbps, so it's pretty fast. I just did a few speed tests on a couple of different websites and the upload ranges from 2mbps to 8.30mbps. The download ranges 6.3mbps to 12.84mbps. San Francisco, Texas, and NY sources. You may be right about the bottleneck being on the ISP's side, but since the times are all over the place I thought the reason might be the card. It's just been within the last month that I've been experiencing the dithering and pauses. I may replace the card just because since we've replaced about everything else in the wifi path. However I will call the ISP in the AM to see what they've got to say. BTW my wife's computor is doing just fine. It's a slightly newer model. You did mention BlueRay needing a bigger faster cache. That may be the reason as I'm now getting some NetFlix in Blue Ray?? Thanks for the insight...

 

Hey Jack, how much ram are ya running? If youre running less than 4gigs bump it up to 4, not much point in going past that though unless youre running 64 bit, and even then I dont think you would ever be able to use it all.

Adding more ram is probably your cheapest upgrade, but sometimes it depends on type of ram

 

Brian

 

I'm at 3megs RAM. I could go to 4, but wonder if that would make a big difference???

Thanks everyone for all the help so far...

[FreezyRider]

Jack,

I don't know which speed test service you use, but try using speedtest.net and look at the ping times. They should be under 100ms, and the farther under the better. Compare those times with your wife's computer and see if they are within reason. Note that the times will vary a bit each time you run it (normally).

Post your times and let's see they indicate anything.

 

Joe

[SilvrT]

I've noticed lately that my hyper speed down loads and streaming video are getting slower. I've cleaned out, tweeked and smoozed everything including the registry to no avail. ...

 

Try some of these "pointers" if you haven't already...

 

http://www.delete-computer-history.com/slow-streaming-video.html

[Condor]

Jack,

I don't know which speed test service you use, but try using speedtest.net and look at the ping times. They should be under 100ms, and the farther under the better. Compare those times with your wife's computer and see if they are within reason. Note that the times will vary a bit each time you run it (normally).

Post your times and let's see they indicate anything.

 

Joe

 

Thanks Joe. I think that was the first site I used. Ping times ran 11,11, and 10ms for the 3 tests. I'll go give the wifes a shot later on this morning... I haven't had my first cuppa coffee yet... Stay tuned...

[Mike G in SC]

Like SilverT is pointing,,,,, software?

 

I use IE8 and soon after I got ATT U-verse I was getting bogged on most anything on the Internet. For some other reason, I did an IE reset and my problems stopped.

 

(always do a RESTORE point before any change)

 

To RESET IE8:

The panel is same as your tools - Internet options, but get to it from your control panel without IE running:

 

Close your IE browser, then:

START

CONTROL PANEL

INTERNET OPTIONS

ADVANCED TAB

down near the bottom RESET

there may be another screen, like OK.

 

This is used when IE goes bogus on you. It may loose cookies and "fill in's".

It basically sets IE8 back to new user.

 

It fixed my particular (similar) issue.

 

No cost is nice.

 

Mike G in SC

[bongobobny]

Jack, you need to monitor your system usage to determine just how much memory you are using while downloading to determine if an extra gig of memory will make a difference but personally I think you should try it to see what kind of difference it makes...

[FreezyRider]

Thanks Joe. I think that was the first site I used. Ping times ran 11,11, and 10ms for the 3 tests. I'll go give the wifes a shot later on this morning... I haven't had my first cuppa coffee yet... Stay tuned...

 

Those ping times are superb. Definitely eliminated that as the issue. Ping times measure the time it takes for the site being contacted to respond to you....in other words, the "delay" time caused by the path your data packets have to take. So, at least between your house and the speedtest location that you contacted, there is virtually no lag.

One possible problem eliminated.

[Condor]

Like SilverT is pointing,,,,, software?

 

I use IE8 and soon after I got ATT U-verse I was getting bogged on most anything on the Internet. For some other reason, I did an IE reset and my problems stopped.

 

(always do a RESTORE point before any change)

 

To RESET IE8:

The panel is same as your tools - Internet options, but get to it from your control panel without IE running:

 

Close your IE browser, then:

START

CONTROL PANEL

INTERNET OPTIONS

ADVANCED TAB

down near the bottom RESET

there may be another screen, like OK.

 

This is used when IE goes bogus on you. It may loose cookies and "fill in's".

It basically sets IE8 back to new user.

 

It fixed my particular (similar) issue.

 

No cost is nice.

 

Mike G in SC

 

OK Mike, I went and did the reset. And.... when I did the restart I got a 'Welcome to Windows 8' window, and asking if I wanted to install it?? I didn't, but wonder now if it might be something I should do???

BTW, Things seem 'spunkier' when browsing, but I have tried it with a video site yet...

Edited November 19, 2011 by Condor

[Mike G in SC]

Jack,

 

Nice talking this morning. Hope that solved the major problem.

 

If you are on IE7, yeah, may as well go to IE8. Not much difference but will probably be more compatible with sites. It will ask you a bunch of start-up preferences. I think I said no to most,, and stayed with previous search preference (Google).

 

Mike G

[GAWildKat]

Mike and I prefer Firefox and Chrome to any version of IE. You could also try those. Also don't wanna hear about hand-eye coordination issues either sir. I have cerebral palsy and have those issues and still play those games. Granted I turn on the cheats that make me invincible but I play for the enjoyment of the story, not to be the best player out there.

[SilvrT]

I turn on the cheats that make me invincible .

 

heh ... I do too ... it's the only way I can win!! LOL

[Condor]

Jack,

 

Nice talking this morning. Hope that solved the major problem.

 

If you are on IE7, yeah, may as well go to IE8. Not much difference but will probably be more compatible with sites. It will ask you a bunch of start-up preferences. I think I said no to most,, and stayed with previous search preference (Google).

 

Mike G

 

Thanks for the suggestions Mike. From the git-go it ran a little faster and then started to bog down again. Finally couldn't get a thing to move so did a restore. Back in business again, but still have the original problems. This Dell is about 5 years old and it might be getting tired. I still think it might be a hardware issue. I'm running a WMP54G PCI with a newer E4200N dual band router. It should be backwards compatable with the G but there might be some issues. Also is seems like I have very little cache. Downloading multiple pics takes a while where it used to be instantaneous no matter how many there were. Just checked the wife's machine and it's running 14mbps down and about 7 up. Same router different PCI. And her computer is not a storng as this one... 2 megs on the board and about 100g HD. So I think I'll go shopping for a 600N PCI and another graphics card. If that doesn't cure the problem there's always target practice....

[GAWildKat]

Same here! But Mike doesn't give me a hard time about it either like alot of gamer geeks would. If it's not fun then why play? Games are meant to be fun with a healthy balance of challenge, as well as stress relieving. If I have to turn on god mode to play through the game in single player mode, that's on me. If he and I play together in a game, I'm not allowed cheats, but we also play coop as well. I think the fact we do team play in games has made us better teamplayers in marriage. Just sayin...

[Condor]

Same here! But Mike doesn't give me a hard time about it either like alot of gamer geeks would. If it's not fun then why play? Games are meant to be fun with a healthy balance of challenge, as well as stress relieving. If I have to turn on god mode to play through the game in single player mode, that's on me. If he and I play together in a game, I'm not allowed cheats, but we also play coop as well. I think the fact we do team play in games has made us better teamplayers in marriage. Just sayin...

 

Hmmm?? OK I play solitare and do crosswords.. Does that count.

[flb_78]

Your wifi is password protected, right? No one is "borrowing" your internet connection?

 

I accidently killed the wifi card in my laptop, but instead of replacing it with another card, I replaced it with a USB wifi stick. It'll bump up the connection between your computer and router ,since your router also works on the "N" band, to 150Mbps and be in the $20 range on ebay.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=tp-link+tl-wn722n&_sacat=0&_sop=1&_odkw=tp-link&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

[GAWildKat]

Yes Sir, those do count. However, we need to get you playing some more games that work to improve that hand eye coordination. While I do play to relieve stress (Who says that beating on a dragon can't relieve stress?) I also play to work at those hand-eye coordination skills as well.

[Condor]

Your wifi is password protected, right? No one is "borrowing" your internet connection?

 

I accidently killed the wifi card in my laptop, but instead of replacing it with another card, I replaced it with a USB wifi stick. It'll bump up the connection between your computer and router ,since your router also works on the "N" band, to 150Mbps and be in the $20 range on ebay.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=tp-link+tl-wn722n&_sacat=0&_sop=1&_odkw=tp-link&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

 

Yep, ya gotta know the secret word.... That usb stick is a good idea. Thanks. My current CPU/PCI is buried under the desk in my detached office about 30' and 2 walls away from the router. Being able to remote the stick up on the window sill would give a much better line of sight to the router. My only question is will it support dual band, or does it still live in the single band world?? I tried to find some reference to it but couldn't. I did finally end up on the TP-Link website and see they are bringing out a TL-WDN4800 PCI. 450mbps, dual band, and three antenna technology. Price may be a problem, but it's worth looking into..

[friesman]

Hey Jack if youre using wireless maybe your neighbour has moved his wireless access point to the same channel youre using . Maybe try downloading a free program like wifi analyzer and have a look and see whos around you using wireless and check what channels they are using.

 

This just dawned on me this morning when my bandwidth dropped to nothing, when I checked, one of my neighbours upstairs had a Wireless router using the same channel that I was. I moved mine to a new channel that looked fairly clear and my speeds are back up to they were before.

 

Try this download http://www.snapfiles.com/get/wlnetview.html

 

 

Brian

Edited November 20, 2011 by friesman

[Condor]

Hey Jack if youre using wireless maybe your neighbour has moved his wireless access point to the same channel youre using . Maybe try downloading a free program like wifi analyzer and have a look and see whos around you using wireless and check what channels they are using.

 

This just dawned on me this morning when my bandwidth dropped to nothing, when I checked, one of my neighbours upstairs had a Wireless router using the same channel that I was. I moved mine to a new channel that looked fairly clear and my speeds are back up to they were before.

 

Try this download http://www.snapfiles.com/get/wlnetview.html

 

 

Brian

 

I have one of those programs already installed... inSSIDer 2.0. The three strongest router channels are 1,6,&11. So that shoot's down a 'good' idea....