Upgrading a computer for $200.

Forums › Desktop computing › Upgrading a computer for $200.

crshbndct

44 posts

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#87233 23-Jul-2011 08:13

Currently i have the following:

Celeron D (skt775) 2.66ghz

asus p5-vdc-mx motherboard (supports up to fsb 1066 processors) ddr or ddr2 memory

1.5gb ddr-400

it doesnt have PCIe, so i am using an fx5200 graphics card

i want to upgrade.

do i get some ddr2 memory and a faster processor, such as core2duo e6600 and 4gb of ddr2, and try find the fastest agp card that i can put in it?

do i keep the processor, get a new board which supports ddr3, and which has much more powerful graphics built in? (ddr3 is les than half the price of ddr2, so possibly this is not such a bad option, and then get a faster cpu/gfx card down the road. intel g41 inbuilt graphics will blow my fx5200 into the weeds.

or do i wait a month, save up more get a socket fm1 board, an amd a8 3850, and some ddr for just over $400?

the pc is going to be used mainly for websurfing and messing about with new os's and stuff. (i currently use about 4 diferent flavours of linux, depending of preference)

xpd

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#497025 23-Jul-2011 09:35

As you mentioned, DDR/2 memory isnt cheap anymore. 6600 CPU is "old" now so youd only get a 2nd hand one with no guarantees etc that it hasnt been overclocked to an inch of its life.
Good luck on finding AGP cards above a 6600 that is less than $100 - decent AGP cards are a premium these days, I was lucky and a GZ member sold me a 7600GT cheap.

Save your $$$ and buy a pre-built system from Playtech such as this - this is what Im looking at to replace my P4 if the bills ever stop rolling in.

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ulrikov

17 posts

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#497039 23-Jul-2011 10:32

Yeah, xpd is correct. It is impractical to upgrade your old components with better parts, which are obsolete also.

I'd have to go with your AMD Fusion option. It's quite good and it even performs better than the Sandybridge HD3000. Save up, it's not that much. ;)

crshbndct

44 posts

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#497076 23-Jul-2011 12:50

i dont really want to have to spend the $400 if i can avoid it.

but what about a gigabyte 880g motherboard, amd athlon x2 255 and 4gb g.skill ram from that same site?

that gets me a much much better processor (and possibly when bulldozer comes out, the phenom x6's will be much cheaper, so i can grab one then, much better ram, and amd hd 4250 graphics, which will probably blow my old piece of crap into the weeds

and its probably upgradeable to some extent for the future. although i would really like an am3+ board for this reason (bulldozer), they are simply too expensive

robbyp

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#497083 23-Jul-2011 13:15

IMHO it is not ecomically viable to upgrade that. You would be better to put that $200 towards a new computer, even that $400 suggested which will have a longer life than an upgraded one, and you could always sell the old one. You may get $100 for it on trademe,

gzt

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#497317 24-Jul-2011 11:29

Agree. If you only have to wait a month, wait. That is by far the best option.

But if that is a problem - if you could get a better processor and a better graphics card for $50 total for a bit more life, then go for it. Any Pentium D would be a vast improvement on the Celeron - put a WTB on geekzone and see if you can get one for $30 pick up. Mail and Trademe is a hassle some people would rather avoid when getting rid of old parts. You might be lucky.

crshbndct

44 posts

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#497550 25-Jul-2011 12:11

I just picked us a core 2 duo 6320 for$40 it was down to that or a Pentium d 915 but I saw a few benchmarks where a c2d 6300 2mb l2 beats a Pentium d 945 in virtually everything and the 6320 has 4mb and its up against a 915 so it was a no brainer. I also got 4gb ddr2 for 50. should be a sweet speed increase for less than the price of 2 rounds of drinks at the pub, so this rig should handle all I need out of it for now. it already plays Divx fine when I turn compiz off so it will be sweet . I have decided to save up and buy a completely new system for Christmas.

D1023319

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#497558 25-Jul-2011 12:25

xpd: Save your $$$ and buy a pre-built system from Playtech such as this - this is what Im looking at to replace my P4 if the bills ever stop rolling in.

Wow thats a excellent pc for the price.

like XPD i like to eek that last bit of value out of my pc - hence why I just ditched my Pentium after 7 plus years of loyal service.

really makes you think is it better to buy good hardward and hold onto it for long time or buy one of these pcs every year?

if I had of done that 7 years ago - at which point would I have crossed the pentium performance level?

xpd

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#497562 25-Jul-2011 12:29

D1023319:
xpd: Save your $$$ and buy a pre-built system from Playtech such as this - this is what Im looking at to replace my P4 if the bills ever stop rolling in.

like XPD i like to eek that last bit of value out of my pc - hence why I just ditched my Pentium after 7 plus years of loyal service.

Well, I must admit, Ive only had the p4 for about 3 months.... downgraded from a Athlon FX60 Dual core with 2GB and an 8800GT video card.... why ? Because I wanted a PS3.... then missed having a desktop for other things.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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gzt

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#497578 25-Jul-2011 13:01

crshbndct: I just picked us a core 2 duo 6320 for$40 it was down to that or a Pentium d 915 but I saw a few benchmarks where a c2d 6300 2mb l2 beats a Pentium d 945 in virtually everything and the 6320 has 4mb and its up against a 915 so it was a no brainer. I also got 4gb ddr2 for 50.

Bargain. But - are you aware your motherboard cpu support lists only up to D950 and below?

The promo material does say "Intel Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Duo Ready" - but it is not clear if Asus have ever added support for that to the bios. I do not see any bios readme.txt available.

I would be careful. Look up the voltage inputs / ratio support etc and see if they are the same for the Dxxx and Core2/Duo and/or search/post on Asus support forums for guidance.

crshbndct

44 posts

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#497708 25-Jul-2011 18:05

i had a look around a few forums, and there are people running these cpus in these boards and they work.

one thing i wanna know though... i am running 32 bit windows and linuxon my system. however both my current processor and the new one which should be in the mail tomorrow are 64 bit. would it be worth my time to run on 64 bit versions of windows and linux?

or is the 64bit thing just a way of addressing more memory.

kyhwana2

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#497709 25-Jul-2011 18:21

crshbndct: i had a look around a few forums, and there are people running these cpus in these boards and they work.

one thing i wanna know though... i am running 32 bit windows and linuxon my system. however both my current processor and the new one which should be in the mail tomorrow are 64 bit. would it be worth my time to run on 64 bit versions of windows and linux?

or is the 64bit thing just a way of addressing more memory.

Only if you have 4GB or more of RAM..
You'll have to reinstall from scratch to upgrade to 64bit..

crshbndct

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#497771 25-Jul-2011 21:50

lol reinstalling is not a problem. I cn on my 16th new os in 8 days lol. in fact I think each post in this thread has been from a new one.
I have been doing some Googling and there are a few optimizations for 64 bit in the Linux kernel. I might do some benchmarks between the two. I will post the results here if any one is interested.

gzt

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#497776 25-Jul-2011 21:57

That would definitely be interesting.

crshbndct

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#497978 26-Jul-2011 12:37

what benchmarks should i do? (hopefully linux ones)
also i dont have a license for 64 bit windows, so it will have to be linux.