Is it feasible to change motherboard & processor in old HP computer?

[creegah]

Hi,
I have a 4 year old HP a250y computer:
1. Have original motherboard
2. Have original Hyper-threading Pentium 4 2.6 MHZ chips - 2 of them
3. Upgraded it to 1 GB of RAM
4. Upgraded power supply to 550 Watts
5. Upgraded video card to AGP 8x NVidia 6800


Am able to play BioShock pretty well; just have to turn off High Detail Post Processing and High Detail Shaders.
I have an NEC 18" monitor which, I think, maxes out at 1280 x 1024 resolution.
I want a great gaming machine (on a budget).

This HP case is a GEM and is EASY to upgrade anything in it, BUT
I want to upgrade my motherboard and processor (Intel Quad) to the latest and greatest (want to get another 4 years out of it) and wonder if I can use the same case? The motherboard size is uATX.
I have another case which is ATX, but then I would have to switch out the power supply and DVD drives (have 2 in there) and hard drives (have 2 of those too). HP says I can use a standard uATX motherboard but I'm not sure they are right.

Trying to save money or I would buy a new computer AND I don't like Vista and all the new HP's (highend ones) come with it.

Anybody had experience with something like this and have any advice? I guess I would wind up upgrading my video card to Nvidia 8800 PCI Express too or can I find AGP and Intel Quad motherboard...don't think so. :-(

 

[Miramonti]

If you upgrade the cpu/motherboard, you'd most likely also need new ram (ddr2) and a new video card (pci/pci-e). You also might want a new case because the best cpu coolers for the quad cores are very large and probably wouldn't fit in the case. You'd also want 120mm fans for air circulation, which your HP case probably doesn't have.

So if you want to go quad core, I think you're probably best off by going all-in on this when you are able to put the budget towards upgrades, and build something to last you the next 4 years.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

No matter how sweet the case is, it's not going to have an adequate amount of cooling for newer components. Your best bet is to keep it around as a spare machine or file server and go with a complete rebuild as soon as you can afford it.

Read through a few threads in the General Hardware forum to get an idea of what others are recommending, and narrow down your list to a few choices. Then make a post specifying your budget and goals for the system (eg. upper-mid range gaming system) and you'll get some feedback.

Good luck!

 

[creegah]

Thanks for the helpful replies....will look through the forum some more and am looking on EBay at gaming machines...looks like there are some good deals there.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: creegah

This HP case is a GEM and is EASY to upgrade anything in it, BUT
I want to upgrade my motherboard and processor (Intel Quad) to the latest and greatest (want to get another 4 years out of it) and wonder if I can use the same case? The motherboard size is uATX.
I have another case which is ATX, but then I would have to switch out the power supply and DVD drives (have 2 in there) and hard drives (have 2 of those too). HP says I can use a standard uATX motherboard but I'm not sure they are right.

I don't think you will have a problem at all. New mATX mobos will have multtiple USB / Firewire / Audio headers that will allow you to connect and utilize all of your front panel devices in that HP case.

Anybody had experience with something like this and have any advice? I guess I would wind up upgrading my video card to Nvidia 8800 PCI Express too or can I find AGP and Intel Quad motherboard...don't think so. :-(

Ask and yee shall receive: ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 LGA 775 VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard


It will support a Quad and your DDR and AGP - upgradable to DDR2 and PCIe when you are ready

Around $65 with shipping



Edit: Just checked the manual - 2 USB headers (4 ports) and front panel audio - no firewire but yah can't have everything

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: creegah

This HP case is a GEM and is EASY to upgrade anything in it, BUT
I want to upgrade my motherboard and processor (Intel Quad) to the latest and greatest (want to get another 4 years out of it) and wonder if I can use the same case? The motherboard size is uATX.
I have another case which is ATX, but then I would have to switch out the power supply and DVD drives (have 2 in there) and hard drives (have 2 of those too). HP says I can use a standard uATX motherboard but I'm not sure they are right.

I don't think you will have a problem at all. New mATX mobos will have multtiple USB / Firewire / Audio headers that will allow you to connect and utilize all of your front panel devices in that HP case.

Anybody had experience with something like this and have any advice? I guess I would wind up upgrading my video card to Nvidia 8800 PCI Express too or can I find AGP and Intel Quad motherboard...don't think so. :-(

Ask and yee shall receive: ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 LGA 775 VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard


It will support a Quad and your DDR and AGP - upgradable to DDR2 and PCIe when you are ready

Around $65 with shipping



Edit: Just checked the manual - 2 USB headers (4 ports) and front panel audio - no firewire but yah can't have everything

Nice post. :thumbsup:

 

[hans007]

that case should be fine. i have worked with that series before and it has plenty of ventilation.

you'd need a new power supply thouhg.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: creegah
I have another case which is ATX, but then I would have to switch out the power supply and DVD drives (have 2 in there) and hard drives (have 2 of those too). HP says I can use a standard uATX motherboard but I'm not sure they are right.

You'll have no problem using a standard MicroATX board in this case, with the only possible exception of the cabling for front panel devices (USB, firewire, card reader) not matching up with the pin-out on the board. However, a full-length graphics card such as a GF8800GT(x) likely will be a problem.

Cooling and air-flow is potentially an issue, so you may want to keep it in the mid-range or use a different case.

 

[JustaGeek]

I have the same computer (Pavilion a250n), and in the upgrading process I have gotten the PSU and 6800, as you have. I also punched a hole in the side panel and installed an 80mm blue fan.

Then I have purchased the 7800GS AGP, and the extra 2 Hard Drives, and the case has become like a little oven, with the HD temps reaching 50C.

I decided to "repack" everything into an inexpensive Cooler Master case with the window, and I strongly recommend you do the same.

No window, but only $49.99 including shipping! (20 bucks more for the window)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119068

I still have this computer, with the E6600, 7800GS, 2GB RAM and 775Dual-VSTA going strong (my wife uses it playing Sims 2).

Good luck!

 

[wwswimming]

i tried that once with an eMachines, swapping out the power supply & the MB.

that case had some bumps/pultrusions/standoffs where you attach the MB -
but not all of them were in the right locations.

if the HP case passes a fit check, and the new Power supply fits - yes it's
feasible. good idea even.

 

[creegah]

Thanks for all the great advice. Still mulling it over. My "other" case is an aluminum Antec which is HUGE and has 2 big fans and tons of ventilation so I may wind up using it instead. Right now it is our "spare" computer with an older motherboard and AMD chip inside, but I sure like my cool HP case...see it here on EBAY with different motherboard and ONE cpu instead of TWO: http://tinyurl.com/2slhy4
The front on/off button is a cool lighted up blue.....I'm a sucker for gimmicks.

The Antec case would take an ATX sized motherboard, but has a 350 power supply so I would have to swap the 550 power supply out of my HP. I'll just think about it for awhile...thankfully, my back is not against the wall. I'm almost at the end of BioShock and having a few crashes, but not bad..and the graphics are pretty stunning.

 

[o1die]

You can get a bare bones case, and use your 550w power supply to get started. I always get a case or ps for a few dollars after rebate at Fry's or fry's.com around black friday, which is only 3 weeks away.

 

[bob4432]

you have made more than 1 reference to having 2 hyperthreading cpus - what m/b are you using? i am not familiar w/ a mATX m/b that has 2 zif sockets on it....

 

[creegah]

bob4432:

It's the a250y HP Pavilion computer. I bought it about 4 years ago, configuring it online with their top graphics card for a bargain price of $950 . I love the 2 chips and the hyperthreading. Yahoo widgets has a widget which shows the 2 chips use of resources separately and one will be using resources while the other is more or less dormant and then if you start another application, both chips spring into action.
Sisoft Sandra says I have 2 chips. Here's a link to the motherboard: http://tinyurl.com/2z9y92

Am I mistaken?

Edit: Just looked in Wikipedia and the second "chip" is a "virtual" chip. Does Dual Core do the same thing? I just thought they were 2 stacked chips. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

"Pentium 4 branded CPUs introduced the SSE2 and SSE3 instruction sets to accelerate calculations, transactions, media processing, 3D graphics, and games. They also integrated Hyper-Threading (HT), a feature to make one physical CPU working as two logical and virtual CPUs, and more other features."

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: creegah
bob4432:

It's the a250y HP Pavilion computer. I bought it about 4 years ago, configuring it online with their top graphics card for a bargain price of $950 . I love the 2 chips and the hyperthreading. Yahoo widgets has a widget which shows the 2 chips use of resources separately and one will be using resources while the other is more or less dormant and then if you start another application, both chips spring into action.
Sisoft Sandra says I have 2 chips. Here's a link to the motherboard: http://tinyurl.com/2z9y92

Am I mistaken?

Edit: Just looked in Wikipedia and the second "chip" is a "virtual" chip. Does Dual Core do the same thing? I just thought they were 2 stacked chips. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

"Pentium 4 branded CPUs introduced the SSE2 and SSE3 instruction sets to accelerate calculations, transactions, media processing, 3D graphics, and games. They also integrated Hyper-Threading (HT), a feature to make one physical CPU working as two logical and virtual CPUs, and more other features."

hyperthreading is virtual, as you see, but dual core is two physical cores in 1 package. so when i plug in my dual core cpu, i see 2 cores in task manager, but they are basically 2 cpus, not virtual