Upgrading The Old Pc
Smoke_Nova
Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8697Members
Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8697Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Argh, I hate being bloody stupid</div> It's that time folks...not that anyone really cares, but i'm upgrading my computer (I got it Freshman year highschool. I graduate HS in june).
The current specs are:
Intel Pentium 3 450 mhz CPU
128mb SDRAM
16mb TNT2 Vid Card
48x CD-Rom
good sound card, plays music fine enough.
All in all, not the worst computer but then again...it gets 8-15 FPS for NS.
While upgrading it, i'm trying to stay below the 500$ mark.
So far, I've found a good (I think) vid card.
VisionTek GeForce4 Ti4200 64MB AGP Video Card - 99.99$
and a new cpu
Intel Pentium 4 1.80GHz / 256k Cache / 400FSB / Socket 478 / Processor - 139.99
I'm wondering, since so many of you are good with 'puters, do I need to upgrade my mother board to install some of the new upgrades? Also, should I go with 512 ram @ 59.99 or 256 @ 19.99 and get two 256 sticks?
Any feedback/help would be mucho appreciated
The current specs are:
Intel Pentium 3 450 mhz CPU
128mb SDRAM
16mb TNT2 Vid Card
48x CD-Rom
good sound card, plays music fine enough.
All in all, not the worst computer but then again...it gets 8-15 FPS for NS.
While upgrading it, i'm trying to stay below the 500$ mark.
So far, I've found a good (I think) vid card.
VisionTek GeForce4 Ti4200 64MB AGP Video Card - 99.99$
and a new cpu
Intel Pentium 4 1.80GHz / 256k Cache / 400FSB / Socket 478 / Processor - 139.99
I'm wondering, since so many of you are good with 'puters, do I need to upgrade my mother board to install some of the new upgrades? Also, should I go with 512 ram @ 59.99 or 256 @ 19.99 and get two 256 sticks?
Any feedback/help would be mucho appreciated
Comments
I know how how you feel. A few years ago, I tried to upgrade my old system (PI 75 mhz, it was horrid), thinking that i could do it for under about $500. Then all of those hidden but nescecary costs screwed that over.
As far as CPU goes, don't get a silly 1.8. Go with the P4 2.4B (make sure you get B, as that's the one that runs at 533FSB) for $191. It is hands down the most economical choice right now (as 2.5 is $70 more, and 2.3 is only $10 less). You'll be glad you spent the extra $50 for that extra 600mhz. :)
As far as motherboards go, since you are on a budget I'd recommend the Asus P4PE, which should run you about $100. Its on a 533mhz FSB so that means it can take a cpu up to 3.06ghz,so when those get dirt cheap you can cheaply upgrade just your CPU for 600 more mhz power. :)
Good choice on the video card. 4200 is a great buy. 4400 is too if its not too much more expensive, but no reason to go get a 4600. And Vistiontek = best brand ever. :)
for ram, either go with <a href='http://www.crucial.com' target='_blank'>Crucial</a> or Kingston or some high quality brand. Crucial is very high quality ram, but its quite affordable too. Do not get less than 512MB RAM if you plan on playing any of the new games (Unreal2, Generals, and of course the ones not out yet like DOOM III).
As far as whehter to get 1 stick or two, that also depends on the motherboard you get, and how lucky you are. Me, i'll always get two, cause a few times I've had a stick die on me, and I woulda been screwed if all the ram woulda been on one stick. But since it was 2, i was just inconvenienced while the stick was RMA'ed out. :)
Now, if you have more money to spend on mobo's you can get some REALLY REALLY nice ones. The one I'm gonna get is $190, but the really good ones are both $230 heh. Dual-Channel DDR is the main feature of those boards, which makes your ram essentially work twice as fast. :) Requires two sticks of ram though, so if you want that keep that in mind when buying your ram.
$ 99 - GF4 4200
$ 90 = $45x2 - <a href='http://www.crucial.com/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=CT3264Z265&cat=RAM' target='_blank'>256MB Crucial PC2100 184-pin DDR RAM</a> - Quantity: 2
$190- <a href='http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80646' target='_blank'>P4 2.4B CPU</a>
$117 - <a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=13-131-429' target='_blank'>Asus P4PE Motherboard</a>
_____
$496
Just under $500. :)
And just in case you care what I'm picking out for myself, I'm going with the <a href='http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=241037' target='_blank'>MSI E7205 Master-L</a> and the P4 2.4B cpu. :)
-OR- If you wanna do a lesser upgrade for dirt cheap, I'll sell you my 1.4ghz CPU and motherboard for $70. :)
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=19-103-370&depa=1' target='_blank'>AMD Athlon XP 2100+</a> $93
<a href='http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80083' target='_blank'>2x256MB PC3000</a> $118
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=13-122-106&depa=1' target='_blank'>Leadtek nForce 2 mobo</a> $110
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=35-150-010&depa=1' target='_blank'>Spire Heatsink</a> $13
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=14-102-252&depa=1' target='_blank'>Radeon 9500</a> $163
total: 497 approx w/ shipping
however, u probably need a new case too, so if so i would:
drop to a single stick of PC2100 of 512MB (save 50 bucks)
get a KT333 or a KT400 mobo instead of nForce2 (save 30-40 bucks)
drop to a slightly slower proc (1700+, save 40 bucks)
then pick up a good cheap case (45 bucks) and a new hard disk (70 bucks)
u have a lot of options here. personally I would go AMD because it will give you bang for the buck. and if you feel advenerous, you can really overclock those 1700+ real high.
if u have any questions feel free to ask
Disk I/O is a major concern for any OS, and keeping that swap file running fast will give huge speed improvements. Once we get Readyroom.org back up, I can point you towards our config guide as well to squeeze better performance out of that rig. If you're using Win2000 or XP. You are planning on that, yes?
LIES! <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
(No really, will RR ever be back?)
EDIT: That was pretty off topic so..
I'm a big AMD fan. Better price for comparable performance. Have fun with the build <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> I'm getting the itch to build another myself.
Smoke: <i>Please</i> say that you're going to run Linux. I wanna see MonsE explode <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Actually, the SAME SPEED p4's are now the same price as athlons. A Pentium 4 2.4ghz is only like $10 more than the AMD.
Now, I shall run from Monse's shoe :O
Luckily, for installing it all I have my cousin, who got his A+ certification.
and actually Msr. Evil, i'm gonna be running ol' reliable...I mean Win98SE, which hasn't crashed on me yet, well it has lately but that's because my drive is full of ghosts.
and i'm happy with my HD for now, 20GB is all I need. I keep 3-5 games (about 3gb total) installed at most, I have less then 500mb music and The Animatrix will fill another 500...though I might get a 60. Now that the place I wanna work is hiring i'll have extra money to lavish on the PC.
And my cousin had an AMD. I couldn't get any Worms games to run. I have hated AMD since. And I like the Intel warranty.