Cheap Upgrade

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NoobToast

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
247
I'm looking to make a cheap upgrade from AGP to PCI along with a new processor. Im not looking to spend more than 250 mabye 5 to 10 dollars more on it but my PC is so out of date that its not even funny.

MOBO -- ATX BioStar M7NCD -- to -- ABIT AN52 AM2
Processor -- 1.8 GHz something or another -- to -- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz
Video Card -- VisionTek ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256 mb -- to -- EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT

Total : 257

None of this is set in stone. Especially the video card. Id really like to not have to switch away from AGP even though a few weeks after i just got my 2600. But i am realizing that PCI is the way to go. . Suggestions and comments are welcome!!
 
is that all you're looking to upgrade? because you'd also need a new psu (as i'm assuming your current one won't power any of the new video cards)
 
ya i plan on keeping the Case, PSU, and RAM, DVD Drive and all the fans. My PSU should have enough, its 500W.
 
that psu should probably do

anyway, how's this?
BIOSTAR TF560 A2+ AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 560 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813138081

*with this motherboard you'll be able to upgrade to phenom in like a year or so (or whenever you want to upgrade) because of the socket type (am2+)

XFX PVT84JYAJG GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150247

*512MB as opposed to your original 256MB, and xfx's warranty's one of the best

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Brisbane 2.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103206

*sure it's .2GHz lower than your original one, but you're getting a better motherboard and a better graphics card
besides, you can always overclock it
Total ~ $245
 
That PSU isn't that good, but since you already have it, just don't buy another Rosewill PSU until you read some non-newegg reviews of it beforehand.

AM2 uses DDR2 RAM while the RAM from your old system is DDR1. DDR2 RAM is CHEAP right now, so pickup 2GB for around $45.

Your other option is a stopgap Intel route... 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 3Ghz, and you'll be all set!
$60 - Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 Socket 775 Via PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra Chipset DDR2 667Mhz, AGP & PCI-E x16 8-Ch Audio

$79 - Intel Dual-Core E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache (review)
$125 - Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.20GHz 800Mhz 2MB L2

I'd go the Intel route.
 
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