Need some upgrade advice...

[Supermercado]

I've got a 800MHZ P3 w/ GF2 Ti and 768MB PC133 right now that I'm wanting to upgrade. I'm looking at getting a Pentium 4 in the 2.4 to 2.53 GHz range and a Radeon 9700 non-pro. For the new motherboard, I've got a friend that will sell me an Abit IT7-MAX2 and a PCI card for a serial port (my printer is serial, so I'd need either this card or a serial -> USB converter if such things are made) for $90 plus shipping. The only thing I think I'm concerned about with that board is that it only has 4 PCI slots. If I recall correctly, I've only got 4 PCI cards right now as it is and this Abit board will make two of them redundant (NIC and a 4-port USB card), so that's likely not a problem. I'd be using my SoundBlaster Live and that serial card so that leaves me two free PCI slots.

I've currently got a 250W generic power supply, so I'd be upgrading that to either a 300 or a 350W (probably Enermax) PSU. Would 300 be enough or is it better just go ahead and get the 350?

As far as a processor goes, I'm thinking of getting the P4 2.4BGHz (model #BX80532PE2400D) retail for $160.

RAM would probably be 512MB Crucial PC2700 for about $70.

I think that about sums everything up. I'm not too current on current products, etc., so what I'm basically asking is for a little advice, suggestions, ideas, comments, etc. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JSSheridan]

I think that the 350W Enermax would be my choice. It pays to have a bit more power than you need. Good choice on the CPU. I'd go with PC3200 memory since it's not a lot more expensive right now. For other parts, ATI video cards are a good value right now. A Radeon 9600Pro would work well or a 9500Pro, there isn't a large overall difference. If you would like a better sound card, have a look at the M-Audio Revolution. Peace.

 

[chin311]

sounds like a good upgrade to me.

I'd def. go w/ the 350w PSU if your gonna have a radeon 9700, they are kinda power hungry, plus you can never have too much power . The more RAM the better, its pretty cheap now, i dont kno if theres still the crucial 15$ off coupon, but if you play games or use highend apps, go for the gig of ram

 

[chin311]

sounds like a good upgrade to me.

I'd def. go w/ the 350w PSU if your gonna have a radeon 9700, they are kinda power hungry, plus you can never have too much power . The more RAM the better, its pretty cheap now, i dont kno if theres still the crucial 15$ off coupon, but if you play games or use highend apps, go for the gig of ram

 

[Supermercado]

Thanks for the advice, guys.

I don't know that that motherboard takes anything higher than PC2700. I used Crucial's matching thing to find out what Crucial sticks are compatible with it and the fastest that came up was the PC2700.

As far as the video card, I thought about both the 9500 and the 9600 (haven't really checked out the 9600, though, I'll definitely look into that a bit more before buying anything, though) and I think I want the power of the 9700. It'll last me a little longer, too, I think.

A new sound card would be nice, but I don't know that that's a priority for me. I'm kind of on a tight budget and I'm definitely not an audiophile, so my SBLive seems to be working just fine right now. I don't have digital speakers or a 5.1 system hooked up to my computer, so a card that has all the bells and whistles is a little overboard, I think.

Thanks for the tips. Anyone else have any other thoughts?

 

[NelsonMuntz]

I was at Fry's Electronics this past weekend and noticed they did have
some Serial to USB convertors. BTW, most printers are parallel not serial,
but you might have that special one, I guess. I am pretty sure they had
parallel to USB convertors as well. Seemed like they were like $30 though...

 

[Supermercado]

Originally posted by: NelsonMuntz
I was at Fry's Electronics this past weekend and noticed they did have
some Serial to USB convertors. BTW, most printers are parallel not serial,
but you might have that special one, I guess. I am pretty sure they had
parallel to USB convertors as well. Seemed like they were like $30 though...

Whoops. My fault. I meant parallel, which is what the PCI card my friend has is. I figure, rather than buying the motherboard from him for $85 and a parallel to USB converter, I'd get the board for $85 and the PCI card for parallel for $5.

Honestly, I do know the difference between serial and parallel Just got mixed up. Hehe. Thanks for the head's up on the converter.

 

[Supermercado]

Bump for more replies?

 

[Schadenfroh]

looking over your system, i think you can still go for several more months without having to upgrade. if you want to wait for prices to go down and new parts to come out. although i will admit that ram prices cant get much lower.