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I have $550 and an old P4 system...

C

Chappie

Senior member
Hi guys,

Here's the question..I currently have: A P4 2.53, 512 PC2100 ram, a radeon 9600xt video card, Soundblaster sound card ( I forgot the model), an HP DVD/cd writer combo drive, a cheapo cd rom drive and a 5400 rpm 80 gig hard-drive.

How can I best use my existing hardware and upgrade with $550??? I've put some wish lists together on Newegg that basically consist of a new 939 motherboard, amd 3200 processor, new video card, new case, new Powersupply and new ram...Would that be the best bet?

Or should I go socket 754...754 would allow a new hard-drive as well. I realize 754 is a dead end...I'm worried about using that old hard-drive with newer components.

any opinions are welcome and thanks!!!

Chappie
 
Sorry should of covered that as well...I'll probably piece together what remains of the old system with an even older P3 system that I have for our kids to use!! LOL

Sorry and thanks.

Chappie
 
Wow, you guys are quick.. The usual I guess..surfing...occasional ripping of cd's...I do play games. mostly driving sims. However, I'm really enjoying BF2 at the moment and would like to be able to play it at decent settings...Right now I have to play at 800x600 with most settings at low. 🙁 ugh... If I could play that game at 1024x768 or above with some AA and AF I would love it!! But I don't know if that's possible in my situation...

anyway thanks again!!!

Chappie

 
Yeah if you want a system for gaming your going have to fork over at least 800 dollars...I suggest you buy a dell desktop which would suit most of your needs...except BF2.
 
Hmmm..

That's not good news....I think I'll piece together something and see what you think....I'm tired of buying from the big guys. I'd rather put together an average system than buy from Dell or HP.

Thanks for the info!!!

Chappie
 
Hi again,

This is something I've been working on today....I realize this is not a great gaming system...but surely it will be better than what I already have!! LOL (see first post in thread...😉 )

COOLER MASTER Centurion 540 RC-540-SKN1 Silver Aluminumm bezel, SECC chassis MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case - Retail

BIOSTAR GEFORCE 6100-M9 Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

SAPPHIRE 100129 Radeon X800GTO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM

ePOWER Puma II EP-450XP-P2B ATX12V 450W Power Supply -

gigaram 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model GR1DD8T-K1GB/400/2.5 - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail

Subtotal: $550.50

 
you can still get some life out of your computer...

1) get a faster bigger HD (7200rpm)
2) throw in another 512mb of ram
3) a newer video card if you want. then you'd probably need a new PSU.
 
Hmmm. You are probably looking at almost a complete re-build. First, you need to decide which of the existing components you are willing to keep in the "new" system. Probably the two optical drives, the floppy drive, the case(?). Anything else?

After you have established what you are going to keep, then you can figure out what components you are going to need to purchase. The list may look something like this:

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
Video Card
PSU

Once you have this list, then you can start shopping to see what you can get with the $550 in your budget. Some generic suggestions would be:

Socket 939 motherboard
Socket 939 Processor
1 GB of PC3200 RAM
Mid-range Video Card
400 - 450 Watt PSU (like the a Fortron)

Take it one step at a time. Come back to this thread when you have specific questions or you want opinions about several types/brands of memory, or PSUs, etc. If/when you develop your plan with a list of proposed components, post it in this thread and ask for opinions.

Good luck. If you need more specifics, ask.

By-the-way, you can get a Seagate from Outpost.com for about $50 after mail in rebates. That would be a 160 GB drive.
 
Originally posted by: Chappie
Hi again,

This is something I've been working on today....I realize this is not a great gaming system...but surely it will be better than what I already have!! LOL (see first post in thread...😉 )

COOLER MASTER Centurion 540 RC-540-SKN1 Silver Aluminumm bezel, SECC chassis MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case - Retail

BIOSTAR GEFORCE 6100-M9 Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

SAPPHIRE 100129 Radeon X800GTO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM

ePOWER Puma II EP-450XP-P2B ATX12V 450W Power Supply -

gigaram 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model GR1DD8T-K1GB/400/2.5 - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail

Subtotal: $550.50
Click to expand...

Cut down on the X800GT0 and get a 6600GT...(BF2 is great on it)
Do not skim on a powersupply or a mobo...I suggest you get an Epox board or Asus and a power supply from Antec(Get the Antec NeoPower 480w)

 
Grrrrr...just did a full post with links and accidentally closed the window...

For a full new system, yeah, you're gonna have to start at around $800.

You can get a lot from your existing system for under $400.

512mb ram: $37.50
Puma II: $46.50
6800 GS AGP: $229 OR
6600 GT AGP: $139 if you don't want to drop that much on a video card for AGP since a new machine will be PCI-E
120gb 7200rpm HD: $29.99 A/R

$342 for the 6800GS or $253 for the 6600GT

-z
 
Chappie...you've forgotten some stuff if you're going to build from scratch.

You're going to need a new hard drive, you should go SATA.

The mATX case you picked before won't fit the new motherboard you picked out, so look for another case.

Whatever case you get you'll probably need to get a few new fans.

You'll need an aftermarket heatsink for your processor, you're never satisfied with stock cooling.

That's an extra $100-$200.

Just FYI.

-z
 
Originally posted by: Chappie
OK,

How are these parts...They are'nt top of the line ..but pretty good I believe..

Power supply: Fortron Source 400 watt..Model http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817104953

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813123243

Video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814150098

I have a question about the 6600GT..with an AMD 3200 pushing it how will it play BF2??

Thanks for all your help guys!! 🙂

Chappie
Click to expand...

I can play mine at 1024x768 with no slow downs...BUT on med settings(BF2 is a pretty demanding game)...lateron if you add another gig you can play full

Power Supply seems to be good now also the same with mobo...

Get a evGA 6600GT instead of xfx 6600GT...they are a better brand
 
Chappie -

The components that you selected look good:

Fortron 400 Watt PSU ($47)
EPoX EP-9NPAJ Motherboard ($84)
XFX 6600GT ($130)

Now you need RAM, hard drive and CPU. Maybe these items from NewEgg...

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ ($165)
Mushkin Value 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) PC3200 ($78)
Seagate 160 GB Hard Drive ($50 after MIR) Link

The total cost is about $554

You might be able to save a little more money if you shop around. You can try ZipZoonFly and ChiefValue as alternatives. For hard drives, your local best buy, Circuit City, Staples, Office Depot, and Office Max often run pretty good sales (check your Sunday paper). As zagood said in his reply, Best Buy had a 120 GB for $30 after MIR this week (but I noticed on their Web site that they are sold out).

Good luck. Let us know what you decide to do.

EDIT: Shop around at other Web sites for better deals on 6600GT video cards. I bought a PNY 6600GT for my father about six weeks ago for $99 after MIR.
 
Abit NV8 (skt 754 / nf4-x / pci-express / single channel ddr)
AMD Sempron (skt 754 / 64bit / 128k L2 / 2600+ 1.6GHz)
XFX 6600 DDR2 pci-express

total $264

budget gaming, done! 😉
 
Originally posted by: DrCool
Abit NV8 (skt 754 / nf4-x / pci-express / single channel ddr)
AMD Sempron (skt 754 / 64bit / 128k L2 / 2600+ 1.6GHz)
XFX 6600 DDR2 pci-express

total $264

budget gaming, done! 😉
Click to expand...

they have pci-e for s754??

OP, maybe u should try this epox, it's the Ultra version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236
the 6600gt will also work out very well. my friend has a regular 6600 on medium settings and it looks real good. you should get an amd 3000+ or a 3200+ if you can afford it. sticking to value ram is a good idea so the suggestions the previous posters made are good as well as Corsair.
get an 80gb hard drive if you're not looking for deals. if i recall correctly, you already said you have 2 spare storage drives

good luck with your build. be sure to post your final results so you know what you decided on 🙂
 
Hi again.

So here's what I have as of right now....I've decided to go Socket 754 because when I upgrade again in a year to two years I'll be able to use most of the system except the motherboard and processor. Anyway here's the specs...fire away..hehehe
Case: Cheap Aspire..decent ratings on the egg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811144149

Hard drive: WD Sata 80 gig. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822135106
Are Sata drives hard to install????

MB..Abit...Nforce4 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813127220

Video card Radeon x800GTO 128 mb Pci-express
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102644

Power supply..Fortron Source 400Watt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817104953

Memory..Corsair Valuselect 1 Gig stick
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145505

CPU...Sempron 64 3100 for $100....should be better what I have now...(P4 2.53, 533 fsb)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145505

I know this is not a killer gaming rig...but it is a big update to my system...The only things that I'll be using from my existing rig are the optical drives, floppy, and maybe the soundcard.

Let me know what you think..OH Yea!! after shipping this comes to $551.24..only a $1.24 over budget!! LOL I think the wife will be ok with that!!! 😉

thanks again!!

Chappie
 
I'd say, depending on your motherboard you have in there, upgrade to the fastest intel p4 cpu it will support, 7200rpm harddrive, another 512mb of ram and any money left over upgrade the videocard to at least an 9800xt 256mb
 
Hi,

the motherboard is 533 fsb with a 4x agp slot. If it was a better board I might think about heading that route...but seeing that it's not I feel that I need to upgrade the whole system except keep the optical drives for the rebuild.

thanks,

Chappie
 
Id prob go with the 939 socket (not much more money anyways). With the 939 socket you can run dual channel RAM (which is not to big of deal with AMD but it is still nice). http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail....10-15491088-2&adcampaign=email,ECOSTPG you can get a Venice 3000+ processor for 129$ (119 plus shipping). 939 socket will also let you upgrade to dual core later. 6600 gt is a good way to go for graphics, but you may even want to find a cheap 6800 (much better for gaming and you can find one sub 200$).

Edit: You can build a nice system for <600$. Use pricegrabber.com to help you reserach some. Don't just stiock to Newegg on everything.
 
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