xboxrulz1405241485 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 For those who don't know, it's been 5 years since I got a desktop, and now I'm pondering if I should overhaul my rig (getting a new one is NOT an option). I'm going to fuse both old and new parts together to overhaul my current rig. My main concerns are: speed, durability, extendability and cheap. My budget is approxiately $500 max. My current rig: Intel Pentium 4 2533 MHz Northwood 512KB L2 Cache 130nm process 61.5W (pre-HT) ASUSTek P4B533-VM Socket 478 120 GB Maxtor ATA-133 (8MB Cache), 7200 RPM 80 GB WDD ATA-100 (8 MB Cache), 7200 RPM 1 GB Kingston PC3200 (running @ PC2100 speed) NVIDIA GeForce 6600 AGP (running 4x) 1x DVD burner 1x CD-RW WEI: 3.7 (CPU, lowest) (Inside of my current rig) Planned rig: AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.0 GHz Windsor 512KBx2 L2 Cache 90nm process 65W ASUS M2A-VM Socket AM2 (w/ Integrated ATI Radeon X1200, 256 MB shared) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA NCQ 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache (OEM) 120 GB Maxtor ATA-133 (8MB Cache), 7200 RPM (external) Corsair DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz Value Select 2GB KIT (2X1024MB) 240-pin Unbuffered DIMM 1x DVD burner 1x CD-RW Cost: $386.41 (price and parts from canadacomputers.com. All Sales Tax Included.) ALL CURRENCY IS IN CANADIAN DOLLARS. xboxrulz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tansqrx 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 To me it doesn’t sound that your current setup is too bad. I will be glad to take that process and board off your hands. The one that replaced current machine finally died so I am looking for a new “in the closet PC.” I run also sorts of things that do not take up that much processor power but needs to run all the time.I have a AMD 64 dual core right now and I am very happy with it. I got it about a year ago. I hear that Intel is currently the best game in town now. They have dropped their prices and the performance is better than AMD (I’m still a AMD fan). All in all it sounds like you are getting a pretty good deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmy89 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 The AMD Athlon 64 X2 is a great processor! I have one myself and have had no problems with it - it is very fast and deals with what I do like nothing!Your choice of 2x 1GB memory is good also and corsair is a great brand!One question though, when you say ASUS M2A-VM Socket AM2 (w/ Integrated ATI Radeon X1200, 256 MB shared)does this mean that the ATI Radeon is built into the m/b and it is using 256 of the system memory?Good Luck with the computer-jimmyP.S What are you doing with the two old Hard Disks? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soto 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 It sounds good to me, but im not a computer technician, and i have no idea whats good and whats not good. I should probably go learn lol. I dont know what series processor im getting but itsa 4200+ AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core ProcessorIts good im sure but i dont know if the one he mentioned is a higher series or what Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xboxrulz1405241485 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 The AMD Athlon 64 X2 is a great processor! I have one myself and have had no problems with it - it is very fast and deals with what I do like nothing!Your choice of 2x 1GB memory is good also and corsair is a great brand!One question though, when you saydoes this mean that the ATI Radeon is built into the m/b and it is using 256 of the system memory?Good Luck with the computer-jimmyP.S What are you doing with the two old Hard Disks? Exactly what u said above.I'm going to retire my 80GB HDD and use it for my experiments or I'll also use it as an external HDD to install other OSes. As for the 120GB, I did say that I'm going to put it as an external disc to replace my 80GB as the data drive =)Anyways, thanks for your comments guys =)!xboxrulz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unimatrix 0 Report post Posted June 3, 2007 externals are good if you are using for projects or between machines. (Typically everytime I start a new video project for a client, I get a new External firewire drive) But if you are going for biggest bang for the buck, I just picked up a 160GB HDD (EIDE) for USD $94 with local sales taxes. The old 80GB in my G4 tower died and I replaced it with this. I saw a SATA drive for $120 that was 300GB. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nintendo 0 Report post Posted June 3, 2007 (edited) Well I must say that your current PC rocks. I'd love to have one like that!Don't upgrade B)I have had the same one since the 80s until recently. Edited June 3, 2007 by Nintendo (see edit history) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Techno1405241546 0 Report post Posted June 4, 2007 Your PC you have right now is almost as good as mine...If you are a gamer then upgrade is recommended to play the latest games. (eg Halo2 and Farcry 3) Your planned rig would handle these quite well however, the graphics card could be upgraded too. I understand you have a limited budget but just from my experience. I recommend nVidia 7xxx or 8xxx series. If it's just for general use then upgrading the video card isn't necessary Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xboxrulz1405241485 0 Report post Posted June 4, 2007 Problem is that it runs Vista. However, I can't even play Battlefield 2142 at 1280x1024 on lowest settings, the fram rates are jumpy and laggy.The AGP4X and PC2100 RAM is lagging me behind. My bro has a newer machine with full AGP and PC3200 and it runs great. Also, the processor is the one that is ranked the lowest of them all.xboxrulz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nightfox1405241487 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2007 Problem is that it runs Vista. However, I can't even play Battlefield 2142 at 1280x1024 on lowest settings, the fram rates are jumpy and laggy.Remember that Vista eats up 57% of 1 GB RAM with nothing running! Be sure to calculate that in your plans since you are a Vista user.[N]F Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xboxrulz1405241485 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2007 It gobbles up 48% with no extra programs running (only services and start-up programs consisting of WLM, Skype, AVG, QuickTime QuickStarter and OpenOffice) and like 55+% when I do other stuff and Battlefield 2142 just LAGS.I think it's that my FSB is slow.xboxrulz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soto 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2007 Remember that Vista eats up 57% of 1 GB RAM with nothing running! Be sure to calculate that in your plans since you are a Vista user.[N]F Their is no problems with it eating up more then half 1gb of ram lol, why would you have any less then 2gb of ram anyway, especially if your a gamers and always running alot of programs.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xboxrulz1405241485 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2007 Not everyone has the money for 2GB of RAM, especially if its DDRs. They cost a lot for a stick of RAM. My 1 GB upgrade was purchased in December 2006 and it cost me $100 CAD. DDR2 costs me CAD$80 for 2 GB. Huge difference.xboxrulz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xboxrulz1405241485 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2007 Ok, now I have a problem (and pretty close in maybe getting it):Ok, I want to know if my 300W power supply can support my configuration as shown on the first page. I really don't want to buy a new power supply, but if I have to, then I think I have to then.xboxrulz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grafitti 0 Report post Posted June 9, 2007 (edited) I would think not. You didn't specify what 6600 series card you have. especially if it's a GT, i would upgrade the power supply if you're going to be doing anything using lots of GPU power. It also depends if your power supply is branded, or if it's one of those generics, which generally deliver lower power ratings. I had a generic 400w in my comp, and i used to have a 6600GT, which after a couple hours of NFS actually caught fire due to inadequate power.Now i run a 7600 GTS with a 450w ASUS supply, and never experienced problems again.edit: then again, if you don't have dirty power coming into your house, maybe it's not a problem to have a 300w supply. Edited June 9, 2007 by Grafitti (see edit history) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
