Should I get one of those upgrade kits?

[RSI]

There are those $299-400 upgrade kits that come with a motherboard, cpu, sound, video, modem and network card. Would it be worth getting one of these? I don't have much choice, I can't get anything that costs more than that, so I can't buy an Asus A7V and Duron and buy an ATX case to go with it (all that would run up to well over $400-450 Canadian).

Most of these kits come with those motherboards with integrated parts such as sound, video, etc. Do they work OK? Which ones are better to get? I'd really like to get something that works well.. Top priority is to have a functioning motherboard. Then I need to make sure I have a modem, whether the one onboard works, or there is room for my ISA modem. Sound also, my sound card is ISA (SB16). My CDROM is extremely faulty, so I may get a new CDROM if I can.

Anyways, any suggestions/comments please let me know...

-RSI

 

[RSI]

I realized that I could get a Duron 600 and A7V for about $310. That's not too bad, but even if my parents agreed to that, I'd still need a case, good HSF, etc... argh.

-RSI

 

[Mem]

Post your current system specs & we will give you some ideas.

 

[RSI]

Don't really have one, I'm using a P83 in my parent's room right now.

What I used to have in my room WORKING was :

Crumbling old 486 AT case with 230w PS
FIC VA-503+ 1.2A mobo
96MB (64 + 32 + 32 <- but only 2 slots)
20.5GB Quantum Fireball+ LM
16MB PCI Voodoo Banshee
Sound Blaster 16 ISA
3com/USR 56K internal ISA
I have Cyrix 6x86MX PR200, Cyrix MII-300, AMD K6-2/350 and AMD K6-3+/450.

I was running the K6-2/350 at 400 and 450 for a long time, and when I got the K6-3+/450, I killed the mobo trying to get it to work. I had the K6-3+ at 600MHz, booted up without a hitch, benchmarked without a hitch. Mobo went downhill from there.

-RSI

 

[Sugadaddy]

Checked www.ncix.com, they have the following:

Duron 600mhz 95$
MSI k7tpro2A mobo 182$ (has onboard sound)
socket-a chrome orb 18$
aopen kf45A atx mid-tower with 250W psu 54$ (psu is amd approved)

Grand total including 18,40$ for shipping and excluding provincial taxes is = 393,33 $

Not too bad (below 400$)

 

[Mem]

I`m not sure on prices in Canada since I live in UK,anyway base systems that you talk about I would compare the price of them to buying a new motherboard,cpu+fan,ATX case,&amp; I think your ram is ok if you still have it (is it Sdram 100mhz dimms?)&amp; you can keep your harddrive.

Anyway if you CDROM is not 100% in working order add that to the list &amp; work out which way is cheaper,the soundcard you can change later,that`s what I would do &amp; see which one is available in your budget.

If you are not comfortable about building your own system then base systems would be better for you.BTW its better to buy the parts needed &amp; build your own ,but I know when you are short on money you have to look at all possible options.

 

[Jonny]

Hey Marc, still considering the upgrade eh? I recommend going the way Sugadaddy was talking....but I have told you that before

 

[RSI]

They are selling the Duron 600 for $95 and the K6-2/500 for $99. Somethin just ain't right there.

Well I doubt my parents would agree to pay $393, but y'never know... It'd kick ass if I could get that.

Motherboard is the most important thing, but if it's anything but Socket 7, I'll need a CPU and case as well. It would be nice to have a new CDROM too, but not really necessary. If someone can chip in some cheap 12-24x for next to nothing, that'd be cool

I have no problem with building my own system, I am no computer newbie. My memory is fine, it is 100MHz-capable PC66 Generic. Got kind of lucky with that I guess. Well, it does CAS3 PC100 but not CAS2 PC100 I think.

Anyways my dad was commenting on how cheap ram prices were, so if I'm lucky I might get 128MB PC133, but I don't think so. It was only about $80(CDN) where he saw it. That's a damn good price if you ask me.

I'll get the list of upgrade kits and prices and what's included, brb.

-RSI

 

[RSI]

OK here they are (9 of them):

1)MicroPC - www.micropc.com
4961C Queen Mary RD. - 514-341-4500
For $275:
-P2/P3 compatible motherboard
-PCI &quot;3d&quot; sound
-Riva TNT2 video
-600MHz Celery stick
-56k voice fax modem

2)Ecodata Inc - www.geocities.com/echodata-inc
4007 Decarie Blvd. - 514-487-6161
For $299:
-P2/P3 compatible motherboard
-PCI &quot;3d&quot; sound
-32MB AGP Video, didn't say what kind. Prolly integrated TNT2
-566MHz Celery stick
-56k voice fax modem
-64MB PC133 SDRAM
-10/100 lan
-Nice extra, Software bundle

3)MegaPC - www.megapc.com (this one isn't really as much of an upgrade kit)
8181 Decarie Blvd. - 514-341-4119
For $665:
-P2/P3 compatible motherboard
-PCI &quot;3d&quot; sound
-Built in TNT2
-666MHz Celery stick (it said 677, but I know better )
-Internal 56k data fax modem
-128MB PC133 SDRAM
-Medium ATX tower
-20.4GB hard disk
-40x CD-ROM drive
-Speakers (&quot;120w&quot, mouse, keyboard

4) Computer3000Canada - www.computer3000canada.com
2030 Crescent - 514-288-4207
For $379:
-440BX motherboard
-&quot;24 bit&quot; sound card
-8MB video card
-600MHz Celery stick
-56k v.90 modem
-64MB PC133 SDRAM
-Medium ATX case

5)Highway centre - www.highwaycenter.com
for $449,99:
-Athlon 500MHz
-Motherboard up to 1.2GHz
-300w PSU + tower
-64MB PC133 SDRAM

6)Info-Technologie - www.iti202.com
1027 Jean talon Ouest - 514-272-4004
For $269:
-P2/P3 compatible motherboard
-Integrated video, sound, 56k voice fax modem, 10/100 lan

7) Echange Micro
4610 Papineau - 514-525-0002
For $349:
-Celeron 666MHz
-64MB PC133 SDRAM
-440BX motherboard
-8MB integrated video + 3d accelerator
-Sound Blaster 64
-56k voice fax modem

8) Info Computer Electronic - www.infocomputer.net
1529 Sherbrooke Street West - 514-932-8688
For $499,99:
-700MHz Celery stick (Celeron II?)
-64MB RAM (probably PC133 as well. but what's the point?)
-QDI i815 board
-16MB AGP video
-AWE64 sound
-56k fax modem

9) Infotek Plus - www.infotekplus.com
1632 Concorde Est - 514-990-1807
&quot;Transformez votre 486 en Pentium 500MHz a partir de 299,95&quot;
In English it means, turn your 486 into a 500MHz Pentium starting at $299,95.

Have a look at those...

-RSI

 

[ForeverSilky]

Here's what I just recently bought as an upgrade: (in us $)

duron 600@1000 $85 (from compuwiz1, he also has one duron 900 for $65)
epox ep-8kta+ $102 (mwave.com)
1.1ghz cpu cooler $9 (mwave.com)
i bought the case from a local computer store, it cost me $60 but comes with a 300w power supply. i'm using my pc100 ram, HD, sound and video card and floppy from my older computer till I can upgrade those too.