Hardware upgrade questions

[Jedi Master Tofu]

About the best card I can get right now (im agp 4x  :'() is the ATI radeon x800xt. Does anone know how to find out my motherboard type?

[Ghostly_Substance]

Ok i'm pissed now.....What keeps causing my Win32 Services to bug out? At least each day now (sometimes twice) my audio craps out. It started when C&C Generals Xenoforce mod crapped out on my computer and it happens every now and then. Just recently it only started a 4 day striking habit (Sorry if this is confusing). I always have to uninstall Realtek AC'97 Audio just because my audio goes out. I then can't watch my anime videos or listen to music and sometimes no sound in games  >

 

Is this my video card or some annoying bug thats harassing my computer? Both? Guys know the issue?

[VZaknaril]

Is it "dropping out" meaning that a few minutes into an applicationg (game, song, whatever) that it just goes mute?  I have heard of Realtek AC'97 doing this.  If this is the problem then it is more a motherboard problem, as it's a jumper setting that causes it.  Does your computer have a set of front audio/mic jacks?  If so read on with the solution, if not, more info is needed and I'm sure I can help.

 

 

 

In order to fix the "drop out" ensure that there is a jumper on the Speaker Out and Speaker Out Return pins. There should be a pair, corresponding to a channel of audio. So, if you have a Left and Right channel, there will be a Speaker Out and Speaker Out Return for the Left and Right channel. However the only drawback is that this resolution disables any attachment of a front audio jack for Headphones or a MIC. Ideally, if you do not use any front panel audio connection or if your case doesn't allow an option to, you can simply make sure to check that there is jumpers on the Speaker Out and Speaker Out Return. This enables you to use your speakers that are attached into the audio jacks on the rear of your computer as normal, thus no more "drop outs".

 

The "drop out" is caused in the jumper assignment itself. The motherboard has a semiconductor chip dedicated to sound distribution (aka. the Realtek AC'97 chipset). The jumpers allow the connection of a front audio jack, or by default, a rear stack of audio inputs/outputs provided by your motherboard. If those jumpers aren't correctly installed on the pins, or the front audio panel has some issues, a circuit is not formed correctly, causing the motherboard to "time-out" its cycles of audio. Thus, by disabling any variables to the audio circuit, there is less is likely for anything to go wrong. Also, updating to the latest version whilst doing so, will remove more variables, such as defective driver install or release.

[Star Wars Man]

Well, I'm finally going to get a new computer.

 

Which brand, you ask? Hewlett-Packard. Why? Simply put, their products kick (censored).

 

Which model? The HP A1640N, shown here. It looks like a good system, has all good specs, but just needs a better video card.