Upgrading the old computer

M

mwerner

Joined
Apr 23, 2002
Messages
5,354
I've been upgrading my aging rig for some time, adding a second HD, a DVD drive, new video card, and suchlike.
However, I'm getting to the point of no-further possible. I'm limited with this Motherboard to AGP for the video card, and upgrading the processor to the 3.0 gig Pent 4 that it will take will be over 200.00 alone.

I was looking at Tiger Direct's "barebones kits", which gives you a case, 500 watt power supply, dual-core Pent 4 at 2.9 gig, cooling fan, memory, etc.
Only 269.00 for the whole thing.
Slap in my present drives, hard drives, etc and viola, a new rig!

However, I notice most of the offered MBs are either AGP or PCI express. I'm hoping to find one with both, so I can use my present card till I can afford to upgrade that...
 
i read microworms has a new operating system due out in the spring that everyone will be running-

might want to wait a bit
 
I understand your frustration with motherboard shopping. I'd build a computer tomorrow if I could find a board with top-of-the-line specs that did NOT have integrated or onboard sound/graphics. I found a good one a couple of years ago for a backup machine I was building, but that model is no longer available at most stores, and it's not up to current specs anyway.

Good Luck,
-Bob
 
I think you are going to find that most MB's are going to be PCI only soon. AGP is so outdated and with the technology to make smaller, faster PCI products they might go the way of the dodo. Building your our rig is a commitment. I've built many rigs and alot of them are still kicking today with AGP MB's. I also built them with possible upgrades in mind and top of the line items such as HD's, DVD burners, RAM, and graphics cards. Most of the rigs I built were for people with alot of $$$ to throw around. If AGP is a must I would search www.NewEgg.com or search eBay for MB's.
 
Go to Newegg, buy a refurbished socket 939 motherboard with a PCI Express slot and at least an NForce4 chipset (around $50 shipped). Now go find an AMD Opteron (144 or 146) chip - I've seen them sell on EBay recently for $120-$130. Now - you can either buy a cheap ass PCI-Express card for about $20-$30 to get you by or you can spend around $200 at NewEgg for a real barn burner. Or anywhere inbetween. Regardless - your new 64 bit system is ready for future upgrades and will perform significantly better than your Intel setup. I upgraded my P4 2.8E recently with an Opteron 146 and am happy that I did. There's also a lot of overclocking headroom on the Opteron. On stock cooling you should be able to crank out a few hundred Mhz easily. This is the best upgrade option on the market for your price range.

Shao
 
Go for it and upgrade , compared to a lot of other hobbies/necessities computers are really not that expensive if you can "do it yourself".
I havent upgraded anything except video for a few years because what I have is almost as fast as anything on the market and performs excellent.
I know sooner or later I will want to upgrade but the need to upgrade wont happen for a few years.
 
I appreciate the advice. After due consideration (hehe-ongoing for months) I've decided to wait a bit. The rig is functioning OK at present, and I can play the games I have at acceptable levels.
There are new chipsets due out within weeks that will offer (we are told) quantum increases in performance. Also, MS new operating system, Vista, will come out...Sometime.
Supposedly a much improved gaming platform, though I'm not holding my breath.
Still, we'll see.
I continue to salt money away...
 
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