Old wine in a new bottle !

[avdhut_s]

Hi guys, i'm planning to upgrade my PC but i'm very confused. PLZ HLP !
I'm using a Compaq Presario *www.syscomusa.com/simg/choice2/products/prod00201.gif having config P4, 1.5GHz, 128MB RDRAM & RIVA TNT2 I have following questions:-

1. Can i change my motherboard n buy a new one with DDR RAM keepin my old CPU? If Yes which one?
2. Will this new combination ( old CPU+new mobo+DDR RAM+new graphics card) give me a decent performance?
3. Will i be able to play latest games such as HL2 n P.O.P-SOT?
4. And finally, do i have to reinstall windows after upgrade?

Waiting for your suggestions( my budget is 15k).....

 

[bizzyboy]

now that u have a budget to adhere to..lets see some specs

first i need to admonish u for buying a branded PC..they dont work for us, man..so the next time u buy a pc, go for an assembled one at all costs.

ok now coming to ur specs, better change the whole cpu, if u ask me.

first sell the processor, MB, and RAM to some bakra and then go for a asus board with ago slot and a pentium 2.4 GHZ, also a 256 Mb ram and 3d card, i guess ur card is good enough, wats the spec of ur memory card?

now, all of these should cost u somewhre around 13 K, and from the money u get from selling ur old pc, u shud be able to get a nice graphic card..

so go ahead and indulge..

Good Luck

 

[pimpom]

Q1. Yes, you can install your old CPU on a new motherboard. But since I'm more familiar with the options available for AMD systems, I'll leave it to the Intel guys to suggest a suitable model.

Q2. Yes, although your CPU is a bit on the low side by current standards, you can get good performance with your CPU if you have sufficient memory and a decent graphics card. E.g., I upgraded a friend's computer by fitting 512MB DDR RAM and an FX5700 card. The CPU is 'only' a Duron 1.1GHz, but for gaming it blazes ahead of many 2+GHz systems with lower memory and/or poor graphics.

Q3. I'm not really a gamer, but yes, you should be able to play those games if you install a decent gfx card.

Q4. You may be able to change the drivers for your new hardware with the old Windows installation, but with a major hardware change, it's preferable to do a fresh installation.

 

[theraven]

Can i change my motherboard n buy a new one with DDR RAM keepin my old CPU? If Yes which one?

Will this new combination ( old CPU+new mobo+DDR RAM+new graphics card) give me a decent performance?

Will i be able to play latest games such as HL2 n P.O.P-SOT?

And finally, do i have to reinstall windows after upgrade?

1.) depends. .. i think ull have to go for an 845 mobo ... which is a definite nono
they are obsolete and being phased out !
besides they have only ddr 333 suppot and agp 4x ....
SOME models may say otherwise .. but i havent seen them yet

2.) yes . with enuff ram and a good graphics card u will get much better performacne than what u are gettin right now

3.) yes u will .. if u get the right components ( ie min 512 mb ram and a good decent graphics card like say the radeon 9600 pro)

4.) no u wont have to reinstall windows
just load the new mobo dirvers .. then the display drivers
ull be up and runnin in no time ...


now that ive answered all ur questions heres my 2 bits
DONT upgarde a branded computer
anyways they suck !!! besides amount of upgradability depends on the company/model

do not keep ur old CPU ... ull get a decent AMD rig
very decent one infact ...
all dependin in how much u are ready to spend
if u are interested .. check out the under 30k rigs that are being posted almost everyday on the forums ... they'll help u !
pick any one of them

besides like i said .. dont go for anything less than ddr 400 and agp 8x ... why should u also ??
if u keep the cpu u wont have another choice

 

[amitsaudy]

Another 128 mb Ram and a newer agp card will do wonders for ur system.
TNT2 is dead.

 

[avdhut_s]

First of all, thnx for ur advices

first i need to admonish u for buying a branded PC..they dont work for us, man..so the next time u buy a pc, go for an assembled one at all costs.

Ditto... thats what i tell to others!
Branded PC is a wastage of money . it was a biggest n costliest mistake i ever did.
BTW , i bought it for 69K!!!
Sadly for me , there was no such Forum available for me at that time

 

[avdhut_s]

do not keep ur old CPU ... ull get a decent AMD rig
very decent one infact ...

Yes, although your CPU is a bit on the low side by current standards, you can get good performance with your CPU if you have sufficient memory and a decent graphics card.

Well, which one is better considering my budget (cant spend more than 15k ) .Plz let me know...........

 

[maverickrohan]

Hey Me too An AMD Freak!!!

I dont know much about Intel Mobos for ur Processor, but for 15K the best i could suggest is:

Buy A Mobo with AGP8x & DDR 400MHz support; which supports ur processor too! (I really dont know which ones r there, just ask ur retailer or search on the net )

Buy 512MB DDR 400MHz RAM

Try getting a Radeon 9700(If u can, cos its been phased out) or atleast a Radeon 9600XT.

But if u do the above, u'll hav difficulty finding someone buyin only ur old Mobo, RAM & GFX!!!

Or else for a complete makeover in that budget, sell the processor too n:

AMD AthlonXP 2800+

nForce2 Mobo

512MB DDR 400MHz RAM

Radeon 9600

Now the Flavour n Brand of the Mobo n GFX will depend on ur budget!!!(U'll have to do market research urself to figure that one out)

ENJOY

 

[avdhut_s]

Hey Me too An AMD Freak!!! Twisted Evil

Now, i did ask few vendors abt AMD kit but they said i'll need to change my cabinet and SMPS too....
Is tht true? If yes, thn i wont go 4 AMD

 

[maverickrohan]

Hey, I dont think, u need to change ur cabinet or SMPS to accomodate an AthlonXP if u already have a P4 1.5GHz.

As long as u have an ATX cabinet with minimum 300Watt SMPS...Will Do

 

[pimpom]

Now, i did ask few vendors abt AMD kit but they said i'll need to change my cabinet and SMPS too....
Is tht true? If yes, thn i wont go 4 AMD

Sniff sniff.... I smell a rat, a big rat in the guise of a greedy seller. You don't have to change your cabinet and PSU (SMPS) just because you're changing to AMD. (**Edited 'cos I wrote 'mobo' here instead of 'PSU').

If your cabinet, mobo and PSU are non-standard proprietary designs that do not conform to standard ATX specs, then you'll have to change them even if you stay with an Intel system.

If they are standard ATX types, they will match any standard ATX mobo, whether Intel or AMD. However, if your PSU is of low capacity, you may have to upgrade it to one of higher rating if you're going for a more powerful processor and graphics card, again whether you're going for Intel or AMD.

The output power rating of your PSU is probably printed on it. One of the few advantages of a branded product is that the PSU rating is probably reliable, i.e., if it says 300W, it can probably supply 300W, and may actually be better than some cheap so-called 350W or even 400W unit.

 

[grinning_devil]

hey avdhut_s whats ur model number...???
i bet it wud be 53XX series ...either 5320...5310.....

nd if its 5300 series then u NEED to change the SMPS as it have 250watts of SMPS supply...nd dats not at all suited for new hardware....

still to be sure i need the model number...

PS....the first PC i brought was HP Pavilion 4509....was a BIG BLUNT MISTAKE!!!!!

 

[avdhut_s]

hey avdhut_s whats ur model number...???
i bet it wud be 53XX series ...either 5320...5310.....

its compaq presario 7000 R1 . and i think it has got 300W SMPS .

 

[pimpom]

Still finding it hard to make a decision ? I had an idea - in fact I should have thought of this before. A close friend of mine has a Compaq Presario. I don't remember the model but IIRC the cabinet looks exactly like the one in the picture in your first post. I THINK I upgraded it some time ago with an AMD Athlon XP 2600+.

I say 'think' because I'm not quite certain if it's that one or another computer that I upgraded for him (This guy's filthy rich and I assembled half a dozen computers for his family's use in 2004 alone).

If it's the same one, then the question of whether it will accept a standard ATX mobo will be settled. I'll ask him to send it over tomorrow and I'll check it to make sure.

 

[avdhut_s]

after a week of hectic search for my new config, i've decided on following config

• AMD Athlon 64 939 3200+ Barton @ 2.2 GHz
• ASUS mobo AA7v
• Hynix 400Mhz (256*2)

cpu+mobo = Rs 12500
RAM = Rs 3200
Plz correct me if i'm wrong......

 

[pimpom]

Hold on a sec. I think you've mixed up some of the information you collected.

1. The Barton is a member of the Athlon XP range of 32-bit socket A processors, not 64-bit socket 939.

2. AFAIK, there is no Asus mobo called AA7V. The nearest is the A7V series using VIA chipsets, and these are for Athlon XP processors.

3. Even if your choice of mobo and CPU were existing, compatible ones, you've already used up your whole budget on the CPU, mobo and RAM. What are you going to use for graphics ?

Unless you're going to ignore gaming completely, any onboard graphics based on VIA chipsets will be a very poor match for a powerful processor. A motherboard with onboard graphics based on the nForce 2 chipset such as the Asus A7N8X-VM would be a much better choice.

 

[avdhut_s]

Sorry for the previous post. actually all the info got mixed up and i posted a cocktail combination !!