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internet/email box upgrade

A

Atheist

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 27, 2005
Messages
272
I'm looking to upgrade my mom's computer (my old XP2500+/2GB) with something a bit snappier. She literally uses it only to go online and type docs in Word.

I have a case and PSU already (Antec TP430 or TP380, I forgot) and could re-use a HDD but I'd prefer to get a new one. Monitor/mouse/kb blah blah blah I already have, just looking to upgrade the core.

I'm thinking of a 785G board, 4GB of DDR3, and either an athlon II X2 or X4, just to future proof it a tad. Throw in a 500GB drive for $50, unless you know of a better deal.

X2 250 - $60 / X4 640 - $100
M4A785TD-M EVO - $80+3
4GB G SKILL - $42
WD Blue 500GB - $50

It comes out to $235 or $275, depending on the processor.

Thoughts?
 
Find out what PSU you have. You may have to get a new PSU depending on which Truepower you have:
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 terms, Antec/CWT specified/used caps (Fuhjyyu 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 I recommend replacing the PSU, especially if you hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise coming from the PSU. Those are usually the first signs of those particular PSU lines dying. So if you do hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise, that's enough grounds to replace the PSU.

If you do need a new PSU, I recommend this:
$47 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU

Also I recommend this mobo + RAM combo:
$88 - Biostar TA880GB+ AMD 880G mATX Motherboard + Patriot PSD34G1333K 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM Combo

As for the CPU, flip a coin.
 
Danny Bui said:
Also I recommend this mobo + RAM combo:
$88 - Biostar TA880GB+ AMD 880G mATX Motherboard + Patriot PSD34G1333K 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM Combo

As for the CPU, flip a coin.
Click to expand...

With that bundle, I can fit the X4 in at $235. Nice find, thanks.
 
Come to think of it, does the 880G require 24 pin power? These PSU's are about 4 years old, and I'm looking for the documentation online to see if they have 24 pin connectors but it seems everyone's shoveled them into super-archive. If they do, I may be grabbing a new PSU for my main rig and swapping my NeoHE 500 into this upgrade one.
 
Technically no but I'd still grab a new PSU anyway since most of those 20Pin PSUs are now too old for a modern PC with decent +12V power requirements.
 
Yeah, I found it - True430, 20 pin. I think I'll just swap my NeoHE into this build and grab a new PSU for myself. Something in the 750W range ought to support my upgrade to a GTX 470...
 
I recommend this PSU then:
$110 - Antec Truepower New TP-750 750W PSU
 
IMO: Why even upgrade at all? If all she uses it for is internet/e-mail and word processing, then there isn't really a "need".

Kind of like people who say their computer is obsolete. If it still does what you want it to do, then it's not obsolete.
 
The parts came today and I have to say, that Biostar motherboard is pretty slick looking. The only downside to it is that there aren't any IDE ports and so it looks like there won't be a DVD drive on this computer anymore.


...Maybe I could bust out that IDE->SATA converter that came with my NF7-S....
 
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