Please help me upgrade my office computer

Chevy-SS

Chevy-SS

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 5, 2007
Messages
265
OK, my office computer (desktop) is churning away. Not sure if the HD is failing, or possibly its infected. But in either case, it needs an upgrade.

This is what I have and would like to KEEP:
* Gigabyte S-series GA-M61PME-S2P mobo: seems adequate (manual says - "Supports AMD Phenom™ x 4 / Athlon™ x 2 series Processors")
* Case, power supply and graphics card are also adequate.
* Also have acceptable monitor, keyboard and mouse and DVD drive.

Here's what I WANT TO BUY:
1) SSD (~240GB)
2) Faster CPU (currently have AMD:SEM LE1200 2.1G)
3) More RAM (currently have 1Gx2:OCZ DII800) - would like 4GB

Budget is not really a consideration. These three parts should be relatively inexpensive. I'm pretty good at installing parts, it's the selection of the parts that I need help with. Computer is office mule only, no heavy demands on it at all. I just need this thing to do spreadsheets, e-mail and browsing.

Also, I will be re-using my Windows 7 Home Premium 'Upgrade' disc, and I want to see if there's any shortcut that would eliminate the requirement to install Windows XP first.

Many thanks for any help. Dave F.
 
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1. Crucial BX100 250gb
2. AM2 Athlon 64 x2 6000+
3. Any decent 2x2gb DDR2 800 set
 
Horrorshow's suggestions are spot on. For under $200, you can basically make the system perform like a completely different class of machine.
 
CPU Support List here: http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3262

Horrorshow's SSD / ram recommends are fine, but don't go with an A64 X2 when you could run a a true quad like one of the classic Athlon II X4 6xx's or Phenom II X4s. You mention light usage, so i recommend something like an Athlon II X4 630 off Fleabay for $30. Thats a heck of an upgrade over your current chip and a better performer than any 6xxx A64 X2 variant.

Personally, I'd spend a couple bucks more and drop a classic Deneb core Phenom II X4 940 or better in there. You can get those somewhat cheaply on Fleabay too. Once again, you'll have an order of magnitude better performance just with stock clocks.
 
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atp1916 said:
CPU Support List here: http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3262

Horrorshow's SSD / ram recommends are fine, but don't go with an A64 X2 when you could run a a true quad like one of the classic Athlon II X4 6xx's or Phenom II X4s. You mention light usage, so i recommend something like an Athlon II X4 630 off Fleabay for $30. Thats a heck of an upgrade over your current chip and a better performer than any 6xxx A64 X2 variant.

Personally, I'd spend a couple bucks more and drop a classic Deneb core Phenom II X4 940 or better in there. You can get those somewhat cheaply on Fleabay too. Once again, you'll have an order of magnitude better performance just with stock clocks.
Click to expand...

His board is the AM2 vanilla revision.

6000+ is the best he can do.
 
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horrorshow said:
1. Crucial BX100 250gb
2. AM2 Athlon 64 x2 6000+
3. Any decent 2x2gb DDR2 800 set
Click to expand...

Many thanks! I'm not sure exactly what constitutes a "decent" 2x2gb DDR2 800 set. Would you mind linking me to a set?? Is there any one particular vendor that you guys are mostly buying from?

Again, much appreciated. You guys rock................. :D

I have these two Socket 939 AMD's already (pic below) laying around in my spare parts pile. Will one of them fit? If so, which one is best (the X2, I'm assuming)?
twoAMDcpu.jpg




Chas said:
Horrorshow's suggestions are spot on. For under $200, you can basically make the system perform like a completely different class of machine.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I was absolutely hoping to "make the system perform like a completely different class of machine"...... ;)

-
 
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atp1916 said:
CPU Support List here: http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3262

Horrorshow's SSD / ram recommends are fine, but don't go with an A64 X2 ......
Click to expand...


Well, it looks like I already have a A64 X2 that will fit. It's from a previous gaming computer. Can you confirm that it will fit (see pic above, CPU on left)? I looked at the CPU support list (thanks for posting link) and it appears to indicate that my A64 X2 will drop in, and it will be plenty of horsepower for this office computer.

Gracias! :)
 
A 939 CPU will NOT fit a AM2 motherboard. So those two cpu's are out of the question. Just go with horrorshow's list. Its the best you can do with that board.

*edit* If your mother is the AM2+ (must have the + on it) variant of the motherboard, then go with the phenom II 940 instead.
 
chibe said:
A 939 CPU will NOT fit a AM2 motherboard. So those two cpu's are out of the question. Just go with horrorshow's list. Its the best you can do with that board.

*edit* If your mother is the AM2+ (must have the + on it) variant of the motherboard, then go with the phenom II 940 instead.
Click to expand...


Can you tell me by looking at the box if this is the "+" version mobo? It looks like it is, but I am never sure with this stuff.....
gigabytebox.jpg


Many thanks
 
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as for ram, anything with a brand you recognise: kingston,corsair, crucial ect.
 
According to this, your board maxes out at 8GB.
The problem is finding an 8GB DDR2 1066 kit.
Then second problem is stomaching a $250 pricetag.

So yeah, 4GB will probably be your most economical way.
 
Yeah, that's why I didn't recommend 8gb.

I found 4x2 for around $150.

But with 2x2 for only $40, it just didn't make much sense.

Any unfortunately, he only has two DIMM slots to work with etc.
 
horrorshow said:
Sweet.

Yeah, go with the "AM2+ AMD Phenom II 940".

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/181599947862?lpid=82&chn=ps
(you WILL need to buy a CPU fan)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=033496ARBCDEK29K0NT1

As for a decent DDR2 set....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0148160&cm_re=ddr2_800-_-20-148-160-_-Product
Click to expand...

You da man! If you was local, I'd buy you a beer (or two), haha. Thanks very much.... :cool:



Chas said:
According to this, your board maxes out at 8GB.
The problem is finding an 8GB DDR2 1066 kit.
Then second problem is stomaching a $250 pricetag.

So yeah, 4GB will probably be your most economical way.
Click to expand...

Ouchie, $250 would be crazy to spend on office mule, so yeah, 4GB is the way for me, thanks

-
 
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Hopefully you didn't order the Phenom II 940 as suggested. If you look at the supported CPU list you will notice it’s NOT SUPPORTED. Well for that matter all of the 125W parts aren’t, but on the other hand your board supports AM3 parts.
Personally I would go with either an X4 960T or X4 640. Probably the later since they are dirt cheap and the performance difference isn’t worth about 2x the value you will pay more.

Also while you're at it you should upgrade the BIOS to the latest revision.
 
5DVX0130 said:
Hopefully you didn't order the Phenom II 940 as suggested. If you look at the supported CPU list you will notice it’s NOT SUPPORTED. Well for that matter all of the 125W parts aren’t, but on the other hand your board supports AM3 parts.
Personally I would go with either an X4 960T or X4 640. Probably the later since they are dirt cheap and the performance difference isn’t worth about 2x the value you will pay more.

Also while you're at it you should upgrade the BIOS to the latest revision.
Click to expand...

You sir are wrong.

His board does support AM2+ AND the 125W Phenom II 940.

It does NOT support any of the stuff YOU listed.

But, you did bring up one good point and that is that he should update his BIOS.

Guy, update your BIOS asap while the old CPU is still installed etc.
 
horrorshow said:
You sir are wrong.

His board does support AM2+ AND the 125W Phenom II 940.

It does NOT support any of the stuff YOU listed.

But, you did bring up one good point and that is that he should update his BIOS.

Guy, update your BIOS asap while the old CPU is still installed etc.
Click to expand...


OK, thanks, I will update BIOS before I do much else. I DID order that 125W Phenom II 940 from China that you linked. But 5DVX0130 is correct in saying that the CPU is not listed here: http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3009.... At least, I do not see it anywhere. It seems like EVERYTHING else is listed except that one.

Is there any way to solidly confirm this? I can probably still cancel the order if it won't work. Thanks
 
It is listed. Scroll to the bottom and under Socket AM2+ it’s the first one.
Sadly it’s also listed N/A = Not support.
 
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The nice little bonus with the AII X4s is that they run cool as a cucumber. When in an office setting, i found that to be a serious plus.

My personal experience with one was a 640 and specficially some overclocking test runs. The TLDR version was that it would just not crest 75C+ in Prime95, even at 4.06ghz @ 1.44v with a CM 212 Evo. At one point, it had me thinking that the temp sensors were broken.:D
 
Well, I thought I would follow up on this with a quick report..... perhaps this will help someone else.

I installed the X4 635 CPU and 4GB of ram, then tried out the computer (without installing SSD or new Win 7). It was still slow, but I dug further and found a Windows Update issue, that I resolved and now the computer is just perfect.

So in the end, I did not need the SSD or the CPU cooler (re-used the old one). Just posting this as it may help someone save a few bucks by scrutinizing your needs more carefully than me and buying only those parts that you really need!

Thanks to everyone who helped me out. I am grateful for the valued assistance on this forum..... :)

-
 
A quick note here as well that no one in the thread seems to have considered yet - the SATA II connection I assume is what you're getting on this board is going through the addon Nvidia chipset. I am willing to bet I/O on this is below the SATA II standard, which is already low enough that you will not be seeing the true benefits of SSDs (although you will still see a pretty good speedup as the 300mb/s bandwidth of the interface is much higher than the typical spinner drive will attain).

I am pretty surprised that no one thought to suggest the AM1 platform here:

PC Hound Part List

CPU: AMD Athlon 5350 ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: BIOSTAR AM1ML ($28.36 @ Mwave)
Memory: Patriot 4GB ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: PNY 240GB CS1100 SSD7CS1111-240-RB (CS1111) ($69.99 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $166.32
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound

Gets the OP up to date for pennies on the dollar - a modern quad core, a modern integrated GPU, a modern SATA interface, much lower power requirements and heat generated, and modern RAM. Should fit just fine in his old case with his old PSU as well.

Just a thought for others seeing this thread - I see the OP has already gone with another good choice.
 
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