Here are
the specs for your machine. Your CPU is a single core
Pentium 4 515, the RAM is DDR, and unless you added more RAM, you have only 256 MB, much of which is shared by the onboard video. If you haven't added a bigger hard drive, yours is only 80 GB, which isn't much by current standards.
All things considered, it would cost you less to buy a completely new setup with much better performance because:
1. You could gain a lot of performance by bumping the RAM up to 4 GB. Windows XP can use up to 3 GB, and the rest would be available to the onboard video without taking any away from memory available for applications. However, PC3200 DDR RAM is MUCH slower and MUCH more expensive than the current DDR3 form factor.
You could accomplish a similar gain by installing only 2 - 3 GB of RAM and a separate, inexpensive PCI-e video card, but the cost would be about the same and certainly not worth the investment.
On a good day (sale prices) in a high volume U.S. market, you're looking at $100 or more for either option.
2. If you intend to use your current case, you will encounter several problems trying to install a new motherboard in it.
Like most motherboards used in "department store" packaged computers (HP, Dell, etc.) use a 9 pin header to connect to the front panel switches and LED's. Most separate motherboards use a different arrangement for these front panel connections that anticipates separate wire pairs with independent 1 - 4 pin connectors.
Unless you find a motherboard with the 9 pin connector, either you will have to find an after-market adapter (rare and expensive), or you will have to cut off the 9 pin connector from the front panel and attach independent connectors to each of the wire pairs to connect them to the new board.
It can be done if you have soldering skills and you know what you're doing, but it's a lot of work. If you don't know how to do this, the money a qualified tech would probably charge would be better spent on a new system.
2. These same "department store" computers almost always include undersized power supplies. I'd be suprised if the one that came with your machine was more than 250 watts, and it's around six years old. It was barely adequate for its purpose when it was new, and you have no way of knowing how much longer it will last.
3. The license for Windows is attached to your machine so unless you replace the motherboard with another similar HP board that will accept your serial number, the copy of Windows in your CD recovery disk set will not install, and you will need a new copy of Windows.
Sorry, but it isn't worth the cost or effort to ressurect an old, underpowered pile of components in need of a motherboard.
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