Cheap upgrade for an aging machine

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ManyCowsMoo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 3, 2005
Messages
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So I have a secondary S754 system (2800+, 1.5gb ram, 7800gs) and I'd like to spend about 300$ to upgrade to dual-core & PCI-e. I'm willing to go up to 400$ if it's really worth it.

So I looked on newegg and picked these out:

CPU: X2 4200+ Toledo 2.2GHz - $69.99

or CPU: Opteron 165 Denmark 1.8GHz - $93.99

Mobo: Foxconn NF4UK8AA-8EKRS 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra - $67.99

GPU: SAPPHIRE X1950PRO 256MB 256-bit - $134.99

RAM 1.5GB DDR-400 - 0$

Total with x2 4200+: 272.97$
Total with Opty 165: 296.97$

I guess since the 4200+ is OEM I'd have to factor in the cost of a HSF, but is the opty worth the extra money over the x2? Will I be able to get a higher OC from the opty and mobo even with the lower multiplier than the x2? I doubt I'll be upgrading this machine again so screwing myself upgrade-wise by going S939 isn't a factor, I choose it because I already have DDR1 ram so I wouldnt have to buy DDR2 ram by going AM2/775.

Are there any cpu + mobo + gpu (+ ram if it's DDR2) for 400$ total that'd be a big improvement over what I have here?

BTW: How much could I get selling my 2800+ with a K8N Neo-FSR mobo and a 7800gs 256mb?
 
The 4200+ can OC pretty high on stock volts. I read 2.8ghz somewhere around here. The plus side to the opty is that it comes with a nice stock HSF and 3yr warranty. So, if you fuck up the OC, you can get the chip replaced, lol. The 4200+ will be easier to OC, but you already knew that.

Here's a good cooler for 939:
$20 - Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro with PWM fan control

Intel alternative is:

$115 - Sapphire 100199L Radeon X1950GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
$85 - Intel Dual-Core E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache
$89 - ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ($20 MIR)
$60 - A-DATA 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-667 ADQPE1A16K ($10MIR)
=============
$350 + tax and shipping - $30 MIRs

What PSU do you have?

That intel alternative would rock the 4200+, even if both were OC'd. The GT can reach Pro speeds easily with ATI Tool. They're the same card, just lower stock clocks.

If you want to save yourself more cash, you can go with the AsRock board and re-use your RAM and Vidcard. The AsRock 4CoreDual-VSTA or 4CoreDual-SATA2 supports both AGP and PCI-E, as well as DDR and DDR2. AT did some reviews on that board:
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3024

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2810
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2813
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2814

Summary: The board is a good, budget stopgap solution for people who want to get more life out of their DDR and AGP stuff. DDR400 is still fine for today's applications, and only high end NVIDIA graphics cards will be affected by the 4x speed of the 16x sized pci-e slot, but not by much (PCI-E Scaling Review).

Pair it with an E2160 or E4400 and OC either one to 2.7-3Ghz, and you'll be all set!

$69 - Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 Socket 775 Via PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra Chipset DDR2 667Mhz, AGP & PCI-E x16 8-Ch Audio

$85 - Intel Dual-Core E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache (review)
$127 - Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache

You don't really need this if you're only OC'ing to 3Ghz, which is the limit of the AsRock board (~300FSB).
$30 - Cooler Master RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 ($20MIR)
 
I agree with enginurd. Stick with Intel (even the low end Allendale) will be better. Do not go for Foxconn, have heard bad things about them. The ABIT IP35-E is in that price range and is a great motherboard for the money.
 
enginurd said:
PC_User said:
Do not go for Foxconn, have heard bad things about them.
Click to expand...
What've you heard about Foxconn?
Click to expand...

My last two mobos were Foxconn -- one AMD, and one Intel -- and they've both worked with no problems.

PC_User, what bad things have you heard about them?

(Oh, and ManyCowsMoo: You can't go wrong with enginurd's recommendations.)
 
Well, I decided not to upgrade until now. My old mobo just crapped out on me so I need a replacement and might as well spend the money on newer hardware. How's this?

CPU: x2 4000+ Brisbane AM2 - $57.99
RAM: G.Skill 2GB DDR2-800 - $46.99
Mobo: Asus M2NPV-VM AM2 Geforce 6150 - $89.99

Total: $194.97

I'm pretty happy with the cpu and the ram, but the mobo seems a bit expensive for what it is. Any better suggestions? The only requirement for the mobo is it has to have 2 pata connectors on it so I can hook all my harddrives up. Integrated video would be nice but not necessary. I have a spare mx440 PCI card I can use for now. I'll sell my current 7800gs and get a decent video card about a month from now.

BTW, this is just a for a spare computer I use to stream music, use IM, browse the internet and use occasionally as a extra for LAN parties.
 
Your alternative is a cheaper GeForce 6100 board w/ a single IDE controller onboard, then a PCI IDE Controller for ~$10.
 
Biostar vanilla is ok, but their TForce line is much better, so you're good. That build looks good. I'd go for it, especially since the 7025 is much better than the 6150.
 
If you are going to spend the cash for new hardware, spend 65.00 for a sata 3.0 harddrive (320gb) or just 42.99 (80gb) and put you OS on it.
 
gwarren007 said:
If you are going to spend the cash for new hardware, spend 65.00 for a sata 3.0 harddrive (320gb) or just 42.99 (80gb) and put you OS on it.
Click to expand...

I have to agree, only because I hate slow HDDs... and most old IDE drives are SLOW, lol.
 
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