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Geek Culture / Some technical help, please?

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Ian T
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Posted: 5th May 2003 04:13
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Well, I'm going to be buying my new soundcard today. But it just stuck me ( )-- and I really should have realized this before-- that my really stinky motherboard might not be able to handle a real sound card (it came with one of those fake onboard ones). I was going to wait to buy a motherboard until I get my new video card, but it looks like a might need it now.

Thing is, I'm lost when it comes to hardware :-s... basically, I need to know 2 things:

1) If my current motherboard will support a Soundblaster Live! 5.1

2) What new motherboard I can buy, within the price range of (ideally, I can break it if I really have to) $100, that will fit inside my chassis and handle a Soundblaster Live! 5.1, ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, and the rest of the hardware that came with my computer.

All my computer's specs are here, at:

http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?lc=en&docName=bph06247

I'd really appreicate some help with this... thanks, all!
--Mouse

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APEXnow
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Posted: 5th May 2003 04:20 Edited at: 5th May 2003 04:23
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Surely on a machine of that spec, the onboard sound can be switched off in the BIOS, plus as long as you've got PCI, which I'm sure you have, it'l be fine, plus you've got the AGP socket for Video etc and 3 PCI slots

"Man who looses key to woman's appartment...... He get no nookie" - A wise chinese man.
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Stevo
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Posted: 5th May 2003 04:40
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I have an mci motherboard with onboard sound, you just have to switch it off in the bios, that is the best way, maybe some one else can say how?, but otherwise you can have both,- in your multimedia tab (start menu- settings-control panel-multi media-) you would then just use your new card as "preferred device".

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Stevo
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Posted: 5th May 2003 04:47
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ps yeah get the sblive, I have one and theyre still good, I know a lot of people have the audigy now, it is better ( i presume), but the sbs still ok. If you can as well get 4.1 or 5.1 sourround sound it is so much better than just two desktop speakers.

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Ian T
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Posted: 5th May 2003 05:40
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Actually, the problem of existing sound is removed, because I went back to Win98 and my system dosen't recognize the sound . I just don't know if my motherboard can handle the card... y'think so? Well, if not, I can always buy a new one. Thankee.

--Mouse

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APEXnow
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Posted: 5th May 2003 15:12
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Did you download the latest sound drivers from HP's site for your specific onboard sound chips? Just seems strange that 98 didn't recognize your onboard sound.

"Man who looses key to woman's appartment...... He get no nookie" - A wise chinese man.
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Van B
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Posted: 5th May 2003 15:29
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Nah, not strange at all mate - 98 is notoriously lacking when it comes to motherboard specific sound cards (I can't remember 98se ever detecting an on-board sound chip and finding decent drivers for it). Your motherboard should definately support it, as long as you have a free PCI slot your jamming.


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Kangaroo2
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Posted: 5th May 2003 15:31
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yup bios off, and stick it in a PCI slot. I've only seen one pc in the last 5 years without a pci slot, and that was one of those designer miniature ones

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Danmatsuma
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Posted: 5th May 2003 16:07
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The soundblaster live ain't that demanding, should work fine. One of the great things about consumer rights is that if you specifically ask the store guy "will it work" and he says yes, then it doesn't, you can always get your money back

I ran my sblive in a pentium mmx 233mhz running at 225mhz to get the 70mhz bus speed, and never had a problem

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APEXnow
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Posted: 5th May 2003 17:50
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Van B, I was thinking that because it as am HP machine, it would have an OEM version of Windows with all the necessary drivers for the motherboard supplied. Either way, SBLive much better anywayz LOL

"Man who looses key to woman's appartment...... He get no nookie" - A wise chinese man.
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Ian T
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Posted: 6th May 2003 00:16
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Apex, I changed to ME, so... . Thanks anyhow. Personally I can't imagine better sound, becuase even the onboard one was 5x better than the staticy, buzzy noise that came from my old system's single working speaker...


Er, PCI slot, eh? Hope I can find it . I've never even LOOKED at my motherboard, and as you can see if you go to that link I posted, the computer dosen't come with *any* documentation for the hardware, except a monitor manual .

Thanks for your help all .

--Mouse

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Ian T
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Posted: 6th May 2003 06:32
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GAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!



The bloody 9800 Pro has reviews already!!!!

*fumes*

Oh well ... I'll be all right...



--Mouse

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Van B
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Posted: 6th May 2003 12:39
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Hehe, look for the row of white slots, you've probably got about 3 of them, near the brown AGP slot the your GFX card sits in. Securely fit the card into a PCI slot, using moderate pressure it should go in without much bother, then screw it firmly to the case. It could'nt be simpler.

If you want to be careful, leave the power lead in the power supply, but switch off at the mains, doing this will ground the case, so static from your hands won't fry anything! - touch the case before handling anything though.


Van-B
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Ian T
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Posted: 7th May 2003 00:43
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Yikes! I'll make sure to do that. I thought that whole hand-static-fries-stuff was an urban legend . Tabloid stuff. Oh well... I'll make sure to follow those instructions .

I've ordered off for the card, and it'll be here in '2 to 14 days'. In other words, 3 weeks, maybe a bit more if they're feeling lazy . I can live with that, as long as it arrives!

I'm glad I was able to find it for just $29.99. Amazon's still at $45!

Glurk... now I am **torn** between saving up for my video card, or buying another 256 SDRAM chip to replace my 128 (I currently have 384 total). My computer came with the 128, and I got the 256 SDRAM as an addon... could I replace the original with a similar chip without any problems?

Thanks for all your help .

--Mouse

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Van B
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Posted: 7th May 2003 12:15
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Yeah, perhaps trying to find an identical 256mb strip to replace the 128mb strip (matching memory is a very good idea), but memory prices are sooooo low these days, like 256mb won't cost your very much at all, probably $20 or something silly like that. Brings back memories of saving $100 for 4mb of 486 memory!.


Van-B
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Ian T
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Posted: 7th May 2003 18:27
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Yeah, computers advance blindingly fast, don't they . Some decades ago, they were CERTAIN we'd only need so many thousand cooling tubes for a computer able to perform advanced mathematics .

I have one more question. One of the places I can buy a Radeon also offers side-fans, cooling systems, and other accessories (4 drop-down lists) for extra cash. Do I really need these much? Is my current fan sufficient? I've been looking, but I can't seem to find ANY good explination or guide to this :/.

All thanks your help for

--Mouse

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Van B
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Posted: 7th May 2003 19:20
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Nah, a standard desktop PC is usually fine with the PSU fan. Other fans are added to cases that suffer a lot of overheating - those with a lot of peripherals inside benefit from extra coolage. A typical extra fan setup would be a large PSU style fan at the front of the PC, which would suck cold air in and blow it out the back.

I doubt you need extra coolage, the GFX card will come with it's own built in cooling fan, just try and use the furthest away PCI slots first, so there's a lot of space around your GFX card. There's lots of options for processer cooling, but not really necessary for most PC's - mainly just for monster setups and file servers.


Van-B
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Ian T
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Posted: 7th May 2003 21:45
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Ah, I see . Just trying to con me, I think they were .

Your all thanks for help

--Mouse

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