Help me configure a computer ...

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • Dgtech
    E. Technician
    • Apr 2009
    • 1462
    • Steeler
    #1

    Help me configure a computer ...

    To start off - I just acquired a computer from trading a self repaired 42 Inch Vizio LCD TV. The computer I got is a HP ProLiant ML330 G6 Server. I am looking to make this into a gaming PC. I used to build computers about 10 years ago so my knowledge of PC's is of older stuff.

    So far this computer has:

    Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5606 (2.13GHz, 4M L3 Cache, 80 Watts)
    4GB RAM (PC3-10600E 2x2GB 2Rank Memory)
    4 Port SATA Controller
    Embedded NC326i Dual Port Network Adapter
    SATA DVD-ROM Optical Drive
    HP Storage RDX Internal Removable Disk Backup System
    460W Non-Hot Plug Power Supply


    There is no hard drive installed and the video card is the onboard video. It says that is supports PCI E 2. I'm not sure how to judge these cards anymore since the AGP days.

    Any help is appreciated!!!
    The strong-minded rise to the challenge of their goals,the weak-minded BECOME HATERS

    Tags: None
    • Dgtech
      E. Technician
      • Apr 2009
      • 1462
      • Steeler
      #2
      Re: Help me configure a computer ...

      The strong-minded rise to the challenge of their goals,the weak-minded BECOME HATERS

        Comment

        • t.j.
          Badcaps Veteran
          • Apr 2010
          • 383
          • canada
          #3
          Re: Help me configure a computer ...

          so ya will need a sata hard drive. http://internetgames.about.com/od/ha...videocards.htm has a list of the top gaming cards. an nothing other then specs an couple new slots as far as hardware goes!

            Comment

            • mariushm
              Badcaps Legend
              • May 2011
              • 3799
              #4
              Re: Help me configure a computer ...

              Say your budget.

              Download the manual for your motherboard and make sure the PCI Express slot will support a video card.

              Some motherboards will have the BIOS made in such a way that they won't turn off the on-board video card and won't switch to a video card on the PCI Express slot. On these motherboards, the slot is dedicated to network cards or SCSI controllers and stuff like that.

              It's also possible the slot is PCI Express x8 - check and see if it's physical x8, or physical x16 but with only 8 lanes.
              If it's the later, you're fine. All video cards will run on x8 mode with no problems or glitches. But if the slot is physically x8, you might need an x8 to x16 adapter (like a riser card) to use a video card.

              That is, if there are capacitors or things after the slot which would block the card, because if there aren't, you can just cut the end of the connector on the motherboard and the majority of video cards will run in x8 mode with the rest of the pins just hanging in the air.

              later edit: i didn't see the part where you mention it's a "HP ProLiant ML330 G6". If it's like it says on the site, you scored a nice server. It should have 4 pci express slots :

              http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/q.../13361_na.html

              Expansion
              Slot # Technology Bus Width** Connector Width Bus Number* Form Factor Notes
              6 PCI Express Gen2 x4 x8 4 Standard Height/ Half Length
              5 PCI Express Gen2 x4 x8 10 Standard Height/ Half Length
              4 PCI Express Gen2 x16 x16 13 Standard Height/Length
              3 PCI Express Gen1 x1 x8 7 Standard Height/Length

              So you can use any video card in that third slot.

              Again, say your budget and I'll suggest video cards. Basically, a 560ti or Radeon 7750 would be the base level video cards I'd recommend.
              Last edited by mariushm; 11-04-2012, 08:09 PM.

                Comment

                • Dgtech
                  E. Technician
                  • Apr 2009
                  • 1462
                  • Steeler
                  #5
                  Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                  First... thanks guys for chiming in.

                  I'll be trying to play some of the newer games like Halo 4 if it comes out on PC and some others. As far as my budget goes, wouldn't mind a 1 TB SATA hard drive - which suprisingly is very cheap nowadays. For a video card, as long as I dont have to upgrade it within the next 3 years, I'd be fine. If I can get both of these and not spend more than $200 to $250 combined, I'm great.
                  The strong-minded rise to the challenge of their goals,the weak-minded BECOME HATERS

                    Comment

                    • shovenose
                      Send Doge Memes
                      • Aug 2010
                      • 6575
                      • USA
                      #6
                      Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                      I would recommend selling the server. And then putting that money into a real computer

                        Comment

                        • Topcat
                          The Boss Stooge
                          • Oct 2003
                          • 16956
                          • United States
                          #7
                          Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                          What games do you want to play? Plenty of CPU power, what GPU is in it? That system would be a workhorse.
                          <--- Badcaps.net Founder

                          Badcaps.net Services:

                          Motherboard Repair Services
                          ----------------------------------------------
                          Badcaps.net Forum Members Folding Team
                          http://folding.stanford.edu/
                          Team : 49813
                          Join in!!
                          Team Stats

                            Comment

                            • Jooo
                              Badcaps Veteran
                              • Oct 2011
                              • 222
                              • Finland
                              #8
                              Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                              I would get something like HD7850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&PageSize=20

                              http://www.anandtech.com/show/5625/a...ern-islands/19

                                Comment

                                • Dgtech
                                  E. Technician
                                  • Apr 2009
                                  • 1462
                                  • Steeler
                                  #9
                                  Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                                  Well.... According to the site below, I cannot get even the lowest card with the worse graphics for less than $150. Is this really where computers have gone? I was looking at the prices for the AMD Radeon hd 4870. If I have to spend $300 to make this computer relavent, I'd just wait for the newest game system that comes out. I'm confused.

                                  http://www.anandtech.com/show/5625/a...ern-islands/19
                                  The strong-minded rise to the challenge of their goals,the weak-minded BECOME HATERS

                                    Comment

                                    • TELVM
                                      Badcaps Veteran
                                      • Oct 2012
                                      • 547
                                      • Spain
                                      #10
                                      Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                                      Have a look here to get the current picture: Uncle Tom's Best Graphics Cards For The Money: October 2012

                                        Comment

                                        • Time2Retire
                                          Badcaps Veteran
                                          • Aug 2012
                                          • 256
                                          • USA
                                          #11
                                          Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                                          nVidia cards are usually the best bang for the buck, and the bonus is they have good Linux drivers. And because of Win8, game developers are now taking Linux seriously as a gaming OS.

                                          http://steamforlinux.com/?q=en/node/127

                                            Comment

                                            • Uranium-235
                                              Comrade Glimmer
                                              • Aug 2007
                                              • 5042
                                              • US
                                              #12
                                              Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                                              it has (1) pci-e 16x slot. Before investing any money find a cheap nvidia pci-e card lying around and make sure this chipset likes it. I've seen server chipsets act funny with certain hardware

                                              but the chip rates more than high enough
                                              http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

                                              the only SOLD proliants of that model on ebay went for about $400, all others have an asking price of around $1500, which do not sell. Go ahead and make a gaming rig out of it cause you can't get as much out of it as you think, and the hardware is solid
                                              Cap Datasheet Depot: http://www.paullinebarger.net/DS/
                                              ^If you have datasheets not listed PM me

                                                Comment

                                                • Dgtech
                                                  E. Technician
                                                  • Apr 2009
                                                  • 1462
                                                  • Steeler
                                                  #13
                                                  Re: Help me configure a computer ...

                                                  Thanks for all of your help.

                                                  I bought a Radeon R6670 2GB card and a 1TB Western Digital SATA HD.

                                                  Both were reasonable and together only cost about $160. I got some headphones for the gaming too.
                                                  The strong-minded rise to the challenge of their goals,the weak-minded BECOME HATERS

                                                    Comment

                                                    Previous template Next

                                                    Related Topics

                                                    Collapse
                                                    • DynaxSC
                                                      GIGABYTE X299 AORUS ULTRA GAMING - SATA PORTS 4-7 NOT WORKING ???
                                                      by DynaxSC
                                                      Hi,

                                                      I have the above mentioned bord after repair, which was related to a lot of missing smd devices on the back of the board.
                                                      There were almost 20 devices missing, caps, resistors and some diodes/mosfets.
                                                      The board is generally working now, all PCIe ports are working, Windows installs normally.

                                                      However I have a problem with SATA ports 4-7 (the board has 8 SATA ports) - disks are not beeing recognized by the BIOS neither by Windows (which is usually normal in case BIOS does not recognize them).
                                                      The SATA 4-7 driver network is quite simple chipset<->buffers/drivers<->SATA...
                                                      03-10-2025, 12:27 PM
                                                    • Document Archive
                                                      HP Z2 G4 + 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 HDD i7-8700K Specification for Upgrade or Repair
                                                      by Document Archive
                                                      This specification for the HP Z2 G4 + 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 HDD can be useful for upgrading or repairing a desktop PC that is not working. As a community we are working through our specifications to add valuable data like the Z2 G4 + 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 HDD boardview and Z2 G4 + 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 HDD schematic. Our users have donated over 1 million documents which are being added to the site. This page will be updated soon with additional information. Alternatively you can request additional help from our users directly on the relevant badcaps forum. Please note that we offer no warranties that...
                                                      09-12-2024, 03:28 PM
                                                    • clabr
                                                      Lenovo 11e problems (any sata hdds are not recognized, sleep battery drain)
                                                      by clabr
                                                      Need help to solve some problems with this laptop.

                                                      After working in bed with it one night and heating up too much (probably the cause of this problems) the sata HDD OS windows froze
                                                      After restart the original Sata HDD was not recognized anymore (but works fine in other laptops or PCs)

                                                      Tried connecting other good Sata 2.5 HDDs but not one is working in this laptop anymore (not the original nor others)

                                                      Before this had happened I observed some other problems:
                                                      When I tried replacing original mecanical HDD with a SSD HDD could not get them...
                                                      12-02-2021, 08:09 AM
                                                    • momaka
                                                      Pegatron M2N78-LA (rev. 3.02) freezes on POST with SATA drives attached
                                                      by momaka
                                                      Like the title says, I have a Pegatron M2N78-LA (HP P/N: 513430-002) motherboard out of an HP Pavilion PC. The motherboard hard-locks during POST when it gets to the part of trying to detect the SATA devices *only* if there is a SATA device (be it HDD or optical drive) connected to any of the SATA ports. I cannot enter BIOS or do anything when this occurs. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del cannot restart the system either. In fact, the keyboard locks up too (Num Lock status LED cannot be toggled anymore.). However, if I disconnect everything from the motherboard's SATA ports, the motherboard can POST successfully...
                                                      11-28-2020, 11:08 PM
                                                    • playit
                                                      psu sata power wires thinner - does it make a difference ?
                                                      by playit
                                                      hello , i have a psu 450 zebronics (yes its bad crap) which used to work before with its own sata power cable ,but today its not able to power up harddrive efficiently with its own power sata cable , but when there is a connector which have a thick wire than the psu sata power cable wires - its powering up and working smooth , no problem yet .
                                                      i the voltages with multimeter shows 12 ,3.3 v , no problem , but hardrives powers well only with this thick wire sata power cable connector from psu power molex .
                                                      any explanation on this ?? thank you ,soon i am planning to buy some branded...
                                                      10-12-2023, 05:25 AM
                                                    • Loading...
                                                    • No more items.
                                                    Working...