Can I Upgrade This Computer?

C

computer

Weaksauce
Joined
May 22, 2009
Messages
119
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Web Browsing, General Usage, Gaming (Online and Age of Empires 3 type games--NO Crysis, first person shooters, etc)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

Low as possible? (300-350ish -- this is not set in stone)

3) Where do you live?

US

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

I think I only need a motherboard, CPU, and ram to upgrade the existing computer, but I'm checking with people here to make sure!

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Here are my parts:

- Intel BOXD955XBKLKR 955XE P4/P4EE/Pentium XE LGA775 1066FSB DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio
- Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C4 1GB Kit DDR2-667 XMS2-5400 Xtreme Performance Memory w/Black Heat Spreader Retail
- Intel Pentium 4 660 Processor Prescott 3.6GHz 800MHz FSB, Socket 775, 2B Cache Retail
- eVGA Geforce 7800 GT CO PCI Express 256MB GDDR3 Video Card
- Western Digital Caviar SE WD1200JS 120GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer
- DVD RW Drive
- Antec TX1050B case with 500W Power Supply (http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NjY3)

I would like to reuse everything but the motherboard (since it does not support any decent processors), the memory, and the processor. I would think the power supply is powerful enough.

6) Will you be overclocking?

No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

19 inch, currently on 800x600 resolution. May upgrade it later

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

A few weeks

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

Don't have a need for SLI or Crossfire

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?

Yes, XP
-----------------------------------
I am considering AMD since the intel lga775 is pretty much a dead end now, but I would not say no to an lga775 if it is a better deal. Is there anything different from using an AMD vs Intel based processor? Everything should run the same, correct?

The cheapest motherboard and cpu for and i7 setup is above what I would like to pay.

I was looking at this combo deal and maybe 4GB of ram for a little over 300.

I guess my main question is: Can I get away with only upgrading the motherboard/cpu/ram, and what would be the best motherboard/cpu/ram for me to go with for around ~300-350ish?
 
Last edited:
You can look at something like this. If you don't care for a video card upgrade for now, a Phenom II X3 720 triple core build can be put together quite nicely.

RAM/CPU - OCZ 4GB DDR2 1066mhz + AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma both for $98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.194356

MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 for $70 ($10 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376

VIDEO – Sapphire Radeon HD 4830 512MB for $90 w/free shipping ($10 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822

PSU – BFG LS-550 for $68.49 w/free shipping
http://www.buy.com/prod/bfg-tech-55...-eps12v-power-supply/q/loc/101/207955009.html

Total: $326 before shipping
 
I highly recommend replacing the PSU you have. It's a Smartpower. The Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series were well known for their above average death rates due to a poor choice in caps and cooling design. In more specific term, Antec/CWT specified/used caps that did not respond well to heat. Unfortunately, Antec made the decision to have the PSU fan only ramp at really high temps in an effort to keep the PSU quiet. However, just medium to high temps were enough to screw up the caps so really high temps were murderous. Over time, this degraded the quality and performance of those PSU series. So yeah it might be time to upgrade the PSU.

Here's what I recommend:
$159 - AMD Phenom II X3 710 CPU + ASUS M3A76-CM AMD 760G mATX Motherboard Combo
$46 - A-Data ADQVE1B16K 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM
$68 - BFG Tech LS-550 550W PSU
$77 - BFG Tech BFGE96512GTOCBE GeForce 9600 GT 512MB PCI-E Video Card
---
Total: $350 plus tax and shipping.

Faster CPU but slighly weaker GPU than HardwareGuru's setup.
 
I have to bow down and say that Dannys build is superior to my build. The reason is that although the 9600GT is a bit slower than the HD4830, it's not by a huge margin. Also, it is far faster than your 256mb 7800GT video card. Plus, you only have a 19" 1280 x 1024 monitor. On top of that, the Triple Core X3 710 would be overall better due to the extra core it has over the Dual Core 7750 Kuma.
 
HardwareGuru said:
I have to bow down and say that Dannys build is superior to my build.
Click to expand...

*bows back :)

I will say this though: I took the PSU recommendation from you :) Had the EA650 in there earlier. But saw your post and realized that the LS-550 was a better deal.
 
just curious. what makes the BFG PSU a better deal? I guess this system wouldn't need 650W...however theres a $10 off promo code for the EA650: Maypsu10

that makes it $65 from newegg, and also means you're getting all your parts from a single place (if that matters to you)
 
robotlegs said:
just curious. what makes the BFG PSU a better deal? I guess this system wouldn't need 650W...however theres a $10 off promo code for the EA650: Maypsu10

that makes it $65 from newegg, and also means you're getting all your parts from a single place (if that matters to you)
Click to expand...

The OP mentioned that he was going to buy in a few weeks. So that promo code might not be available by the time the OP finally buys his parts.

If the OP can buy the Antec EA650 right now with that promo code, I'd recommend it by all means over the BFG LS-550.
 
If you could scrounge up a little more you might be in i7 range.

eWiz.com has the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Core i7 DDR3 Motherboard + SuperTalent DDR3 6GB PC1333 memory kit combo for $235 - $20 off with coupon code MEMORIAL20 [Exp 5/26] - $15 rebate [Exp 5/31] + $0 shipping = $200 shipped. This is a great solution for those of you that are looking to build a new Core i7 system.

http://www.ewiz.com/combo.php?cat_id=306&src=DC


Maybe you have a Micro Center by you i7 920 for 200
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1419942

84 dollars for a 4850 after rebate and the 10% discount code. You might be able to live cb some of these too. Add another 4850 later and SLI them.
hhttp://bensbargains.net/deal/102172/
200 for board and memory
200 for processor

I know it's 500, but you're upgrade path is pretty nice.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top