Is my Computer Upgradable or Just Buy/Build New?

[Park305]

I built my current computer a little over 2 years ago for about a grand or less. It's starting to age now and also using a Geforce4 card so I can't play Battlefield 2 neither.

I'm wondering though can/should I simply add new components (video card, processor, RAM) on to my current motherboard? Or should I shell out the extra money to build basically a completely new computer?

Current System Specs:
ASUS A7V266-E/AA Motherboard (http://usa.asus.com/aap/a7v266e-aa/overview.htm) or (manual: http://www.governancematters.org/web/Portals/0/a7v266e-100.pdf)
Athlon XP 1700+
768MB PC2100 DDR RAM
64mb Geforce4 Ti4200
DVD drive, cdrw drive, 2 hard drives, built in audio/LAN
340 Watt PSU

So, I basically want a budget graphics card that can run BF2, new Athlon processor in the range of 2100+ to 2900+, and a gig of RAM.

What worries is though is that the Asus motherboard has 266 FSB and 4x AGP. I'm not sure how important these two factors are. Is a 333mhz processor work with this motherboard? Would it be a huge disadvantage?

Got about a $300-$500 budget. If the Asus motherboard is just too aged I was eyeing the Tigerdirect motherboard/case/processor bundles even though TB has such a terrible reputation.

 

[UsandThem]

Sell your system, and use those additional funds to buy a new setup.

 

[Bucks]

Originally posted by: UsandThem
Sell your system, and use those additional funds to buy a new setup.

With that budget you should try to save a little more and get a new rig. If you are desperate. You can maybe get a cheaper video card like a 9600 and you will be able to play some games.

 

[Park305]

Well the thing is, if my motherboard can take it then really all I need to buy is a decent graphics card, a new processor, and 256mb of RAM. I can't see that costing more than $400 max.

If I have to build an entire rig because my motherboard is too outdated then I need to get a new motherboard, processor, video card and all new RAM. I plan to be keeping my hard drives and cdrw/dvd.

I built this computer for less than a grand 2 years ago, and this is counting keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, and the rest. Don't need anything that lets me play on High settings and huge resolutions, just something that'll let me play games for a good year or two.

 

[Pixle]

I play bf 2 on a:

p3 1ghz
512mb rd ram
ati 9800 AIW Pro


I can play bf2 flawlessly on it at 1280 x 1024 resolution with medium textures medium terrain and 97% distance viewing. I could probably up all the settings to medium and still be able to play flawlessly (I have not tried this yet). You might just need a new video card to be set.

Pixle.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I certainly wouldn't invest $300-$500 in a socket A system.

$250 would get you a nice socket 939 cpu and MB. Another $80 for a gig of RAM.

That leaves you $170 for a budget GPU (actually you can get a 6600GT for this).

 

[Bucks]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
I certainly wouldn't invest $300-$500 in a socket A system.

$250 would get you a nice socket 939 cpu and MB. Another $80 for a gig of RAM.

That leaves you $170 for a budget GPU (actually you can get a 6600GT for this).

Agreed. It is obvious your Motherboard needs updating, which means you have to upgrade things like graphics card, cpu, and ram.

 

[SlitheryDee]

What do you think of this?

CHAINTECH VNF4 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail

Leadtek PX6600GT TDH Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail

$484.82 shipped.

This is merely an example, mix and match components as you please.

Edit: oops, changed mb and adjusted price

 

[Bucks]

Looks pretty good, but I would change the video card to an MSI one. Also, you are going to need a new power supply for sure. Perhaps this one Antec PSU or this Seasonic PSU It is extremely important you have a good power supply or else it could damage all of the other parts

 

[UsandThem]

Originally posted by: Bucks
Looks pretty good, but I would change the video card to an MSI one. Also, you are going to need a new power supply for sure.

The Leadtek comes with a much better heatsink than the MSI. Just read Anand's review.

 

[Bucks]

Originally posted by: UsandThem

Originally posted by: Bucks
Looks pretty good, but I would change the video card to an MSI one. Also, you are going to need a new power supply for sure.

The Leadtek comes with a much better heatsink than the MSI. Just read Anand's review.

Just a suggestion. I have heard a lot of good things about MSI cards

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Okay, first of all, your system, as given, should be able to run Battlefield 2 without a problem. This page http://battlefield2.filefront.com/info/Requirements says you need DirectX 8.1 or later, and transform/lighting. This page http://www.mega-penny.com/mpc0088.html says you have both. So, I'm not sure where the problem is.

Your motherboard does not support 333 MHz bus, so anything beyond an Athlon XP 2400+ is right out. To make matters worse, I can't find any indication your board supports Thoroughbreds. The overview says it's "XP 2000+ certified," which leads me to believe that anything beyond that speed may not function properly. In other words, any CPU upgrade is going to involve replacing the motherboard, as well.

Technically speaking, you can keep your RAM. PC2100 is pretty slow, but it's a toss-up whether replacing it with PC3200 will be worth the money or not. My suggestion is to hold off on new memory until a later date.

For $267, you can get a motherboard supporting PCI-e 16x, an Athlon 64 3400+ and cpu cooler from newegg.com. You can use the rest of your budget to get a new video card, although personally I think the card you have is just fine.

 

[Mik3y]

buy the mobile athlon xp 3000+ w/ 266mhz fsb along with a 6600gt and you're good to go for a while. i have the same setup at home, and i wish i did that rather then get what i have in my sig right now, cuz it would have given me more time and money to save for dual-core.

 

[Mik3y]

Athlon XP-M 3000+ Barton 266MHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket A Processor

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: Mik3y
buy the mobile athlon xp 3000+ w/ 266mhz fsb along with a 6600gt and you're good to go for a while. i have the same setup at home, and i wish i did that rather then get what i have in my sig right now, cuz it would have given me more time and money to save for dual-core.

I'm don't think his motherboard can handle the 130nm cores. Besides, for $139 you could get a socket-754 board ($53) and a Sempron 2800+ ($87).

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou

Originally posted by: Mik3y
buy the mobile athlon xp 3000+ w/ 266mhz fsb along with a 6600gt and you're good to go for a while. i have the same setup at home, and i wish i did that rather then get what i have in my sig right now, cuz it would have given me more time and money to save for dual-core.

I'm don't think his motherboard can handle the 130nm cores. Besides, for $139 you could get a socket-754 board ($53) and a Sempron 2800+ ($87).

You can, but I would recommend going for socket 939 just for the upgrade options. It's a bit more costly, but you won't have to get a new mb if you want to move to dual core.

just my $0.02

 

[Park305]

I appreciate the feedback. Relearning everything about the computer parts, obviously made my options and choices a lot more than I expected...

Few questions I have though that hopefully someone can answer

The Socket A motherboards only support Sempron and Athlon XP therefore I won't ever be able to get anything above a 3000+ processor?

How much wattage for the PSU does a person need for today's computer? I was under the assumption that 350-400Watts would be fine.
--

I would really prefer to keep the computer I have now whether whether I upgrade or just build something brand new. My brother has been needing a decent desktop and I've also wanted a test box just to play around with.

Somewhat stuck between two options then
1) Take my chances and buy one of the motherboard/case/processor combos at Tigerdirect which are ridculously cheap after rebate.
For example:
Abit KV7-V, XP 2900+, 512MB PC3200, Case w/500 Watt PSU
That's only $180 after MIR
I would bring over my hard drives and cd drives, buy an exra 512MB stick of RAM and a new AGP graphics card. I would probably be spending $380 total for a brand new computer. I fiqure this computer could last me at least two years before I'ld need to upgrade again like now.



2) On the other hand, it seems a few of you are telling me that I'ld be better off getting a 939 Socket motherboard along with a PCI-E card so that I could upgrade again easily in the future. With motherboard, processor, RAM, and graphics card, this comes out easily to around $500 dollars. I really want to keep this current box so with a new case, that's around $500-$600 dollars. I'ld be investing an extra ~$200 dollars for this computer but hopefully it would pay off later when I can easily upgrade my processor and GPU to something better off?

I don't know, probably have a better idea in the morning. Well, at least I got settled that my mobo is too old. I might still buy a cheap AGP card just so I can run BF2 in the meantime.

 

[Park305]

Just to clear up too, I'm not sure what's wrong with FileFront's page, but BF2 definitely doesn't run naturally on a Geforce4 card. I tried it already. Someone made a tool that removes/edits the shader graphics in BF2 so you can play but it looks terrible.
Playing BF2 Demo on Unsupported Cards *FIX*
Real Sys Requirements

 

[Stas]

Go with 939, PCI-E

 

[SrGuapo]

Originally posted by: Park305
2) On the other hand, it seems a few of you are telling me that I'ld be better off getting a 939 Socket motherboard along with a PCI-E card so that I could upgrade again easily in the future. With motherboard, processor, RAM, and graphics card, this comes out easily to around $500 dollars. I really want to keep this current box so with a new case, that's around $500-$600 dollars. I'ld be investing an extra ~$200 dollars for this computer but hopefully it would pay off later when I can easily upgrade my processor and GPU to something better off?

This seems like the best idea. A chaintech vnf4 ($80), 3000+ venice ($150), gig corsair value ($80) and 6600gt ($160) come to $480. Add in a decent PSU for ~$60 and you are set for a year or so. Then you will still be able to upgrade the CPU and video card!

Think of it as an investment. Even if you save some on the AXP, the next upgrade will have to be complete (Mobo, CPU, RAM, video, PSU, etc.), so I would guess you are saving money overall.

 

[l Xes l]

ur system is not worth upgrading....
sell it as a whole system and build a new one as others have suggested...

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: Bucks
Looks pretty good, but I would change the video card to an MSI one. Also, you are going to need a new power supply for sure. Perhaps this one Antec PSU or this Seasonic PSU It is extremely important you have a good power supply or else it could damage all of the other parts

I wouldn't recommend spending $90 on a PSU for a $500 rig though.