What should i do to upgrade?

J

JoJoKer

New Member
First off, hello guys im a n00b to this forum.

My current computer:

AMD Athlone X2 250 - 3.01 Dual Core
1GB Kingston, 512MB Unknown – 1.5GB Ram DDR2
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT – 515 MB
1TB, 80GB – 1080GB HDD
LG L1900J Monitor 19.1"
Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P motherboard
A standard compaq case

I want to upgrade this but within a budget.

Im happy to spend alot of money on it but over time so what i need is in what order should i upgrade parts?
What parts should i upgrade to?

I'm thinking i should get another monitor and a grpahics card and run dual monitors but im not sure.

My order that i think i should do would be:
1. New case (i had an ASUS Vento TA-K11 in mind, what is it like for upgradeing room?)
2.Mother board (this one only supports DDR2)
3. Grpahics card/s
4.monitor

Can i have someone who knows a little more than me about computers opinion?


Also check this out. This is a machine i found that blew my mind.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/custom-liqui...wItemQQptZAU_comp_dekstop?hash=item4cee4c4901

I worked it to:
LG W2442PA-BF x3 1200
DDR3 Patriot 1600Mhz (8 GB) 250
128 Kingstion SSD HDD 638
30G OCZ vertex SSD 272
MSI 790FX-GD70 217
AMD phenom II 965BE @ 3.9Ghz 215
Antec 1200 350
Asus ATI HD5870 1G GDDR5 tri-fire 1677
Thermaltake 1500w Toughpower 516
Logitech G15 Keyboard 87
Logitech G9 Mouse 100
Microsoft windows ultimate 64bit 214
Pioneer B-ray drive BDR-203 278
Cooling equipment
TOTAL $6014

Thats excluding cooling stuff...
 
CrayonMuncher

CrayonMuncher

Active Member
welcome to cf

you first may want to check if your ram is working in dual channel by that i mean you have 4 slots full two with 512mb and two with 256mb,

your current graphics card supports dual monitors

what do you intend to use your computer for and what is your current budget is it 4000 aud lol, for that you could probably build your own computer and save money plus everyone on cf would be able to help you build it, but that machine is a bit of beast to say the least:)
 
J

jarlmaster47

New Member
1. definitely get a new case. I recommend the xclio windtunnel for a case with lots of room and great cooling power. at 80 bucks its cheap as well
if you want something with a little more room and cooling ability then the antec 1200 is da bomb!
2. its time for a new mobo!
3. make sure you have a good psu to power ur new parts
4. new cpu with aftermarket cpu cooler
5. upgrade ram and graphics card
 
D

daisymtc

Active Member
JoJoKer said:
First off, hello guys im a n00b to this forum.

My current computer:

AMD Athlone X2 250 - 3.01 Dual Core
1GB Kingston, 512MB Unknown – 1.5GB Ram DDR2
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT – 515 MB
1TB, 80GB – 1080GB HDD
LG L1900J Monitor 19.1"
Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P motherboard
A standard compaq case

I want to upgrade this but within a budget.

Im happy to spend alot of money on it but over time so what i need is in what order should i upgrade parts?
What parts should i upgrade to?

I'm thinking i should get another monitor and a grpahics card and run dual monitors but im not sure.

My order that i think i should do would be:
1. New case (i had an ASUS Vento TA-K11 in mind, what is it like for upgradeing room?)
2.Mother board (this one only supports DDR2)
3. Grpahics card/s
4.monitor

Can i have someone who knows a little more than me about computers opinion?


Also check this out. This is a machine i found that blew my mind.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/custom-liqui...wItemQQptZAU_comp_dekstop?hash=item4cee4c4901

I worked it to:
LG W2442PA-BF x3 1200
DDR3 Patriot 1600Mhz (8 GB) 250
128 Kingstion SSD HDD 638
30G OCZ vertex SSD 272
MSI 790FX-GD70 217
AMD phenom II 965BE @ 3.9Ghz 215
Antec 1200 350
Asus ATI HD5870 1G GDDR5 tri-fire 1677
Thermaltake 1500w Toughpower 516
Logitech G15 Keyboard 87
Logitech G9 Mouse 100
Microsoft windows ultimate 64bit 214
Pioneer B-ray drive BDR-203 278
Cooling equipment
TOTAL $6014

Thats excluding cooling stuff...
Click to expand...

$6014?? Good way to waste money...
 
D

daisymtc

Active Member
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

Anyway for your current PC upgrade -

1.PSU + Case + Video Card.
What PSU have you got? probably need a quality 500 -550W, e.g. Consair VX550
While for case, I generally recommend case with bottom mounted PSU. e.g. antec 300Video Card - probably 5770/5850??

2. Mobo - not necessary to change unless you upgrade to DDR3 RAM at same time.
G-B MA770TA-UD3/G-B MA785GT-UD3H / Asus 79T-Deluxe
RAM - 4G Kit DDR3 1600 G.Skill-Trident/Patriot-Gaming

3.Monitor - Probably 23" with 2ms??

4. CPU is a bit slow.
Take out your 1TB HDD. Sell the existing PC with monitor.
Build new PC with better CPU.
 
Last edited:
J

JoJoKer

New Member
Thanks

Thanks for all those replies!
THe PSU is just a standard one that comes with the compaq computers lol

@innercx There are only two ram slots, I guess theres no dual channel? My current budget is $1000 aud but im happy to wait and slowly upgrade. Thats why prioritized list would help me out.

@jarlmaster47 I thought case first, those two you mentioned look pretty sweet. I think i may aswell go for the antec 1200 because im going to need space. Will any DDR3 motherboard do? The point of this PC is, i think, to have something that i can keep upgrading for a while to come. Its probably going to need lots of slots. PSU wise, what would you recommend? Something within a budget but powerful. New CPU it is then! I think quad core is what ill end up getting. DDR3 ram i guess. Is the graphics card fully outdated? or could i keep it to run dual monitors off separate GPUs? In this setup, do they GPUs need to be the same?

@daisymtc Yeah, i was more thinking of what a steel it was, $2000 off. It would have cost him easily that much though...

Thats a very nice list! Its clear and meaningful. I wanted your guys opinions because rather than go to a local computer store where they just sell you the most expensive, you guys look at it from a is it any good point of view.

Thats not a bad idea selling this setup and starting fresh! I actually have a mate i was about to build a rig for! :rolleyes:


Thanks again for all your replies, they have been really helpful.
 
J

JoJoKer

New Member
AMD Athlone X2 250 - 3.01 Dual Core $73
1GB Kingston, 512MB Unknown – 1.5GB Ram DDR2 $60
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT – 515 MB $57
1TB, 80GB – 1080GB HDD $95
LG L1900J Monitor 19.1" $100
Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P motherboard $57
TOTAL : $442 + all the good loving $500 even :rolleyes:

I think the idea of selling to a friend is a good one. Looking at my machine, do you think $442 + $58 for labor ;) is reasonable?

I'll keep my HDDs so I'll get him another 1tb for $95 and then I'll upgrade the case for him, something cheap?

But yeah, what do you think of that?
 
J

JoJoKer

New Member
Sorry for posting heaps...
Heres what i think the best approach is. Using parts from my old computer and purchsed parts im going to build two computers, one for me and one for my friend.

Mine
1TB, 80GB – 1080GB HDD
LG L1900J Monitor 19.1"
Consair VX550 (PSU) $106
1GB 5770 MSI (GPU) $172
G-B MA785GT-UD3H(MOBO) $103
AM3 x4 620 (CPU) $108
4G Kit DDR3 1600 G.Skill-NQ $145
Antec 300 (Case) $80
Fan (NEED YOUR INPUT)
Bros monitor $110
Gigabyte Desktop GK-KM5000 $12
Coolermaster Thermal Compound $5

TOTAL: $841

Friends
AMD Athlone X2 250 - 3.01 Dual Core
1GB Kingston, 512MB Unknown – 1.5GB Ram DDR2
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT – 515 MB
Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P motherboard
WD SATA 1TB $95
Antec NSK4000B-II $109
16” VH162D Wide $99
Logitech X530 5.1 $68
Gigabyte Desktop GK-KM5000 $12

TOTAL: $383

Items in italic are from my current machine.

So what do you think about this? What fan/form of cooling should i buy? Is my rig all compatible?
 
D

daisymtc

Active Member
Since you are posting with ebay.com.au, i would assume you are in australia.
You can have a look on pricespy.com.au to check the price.

Antec 300 should have enough fans. Don't see a need of addtional at the moment.

Your friend monitor - Is he on budget? 16" with D-sub and 8ms, seems really low spec...
Your friend PSU - What PSU have you used?
 
J

JoJoKer

New Member
The monitor is just what i've picked out. He doesn't play games and he is on a budget. The PSU will be a HIRPRO HP-D3057F3H. This is just the standard PSU that came with the Compaq. I am from Australia!
Thanks for your input again.
 
J

JoJoKer

New Member
Well thanks to your help and the help of another forum (OCAU) i have reached a decision.

Mine
1TB, 80GB – 1080GB HDD (EXISTING)
LG L1900J Monitor 19.1" (EXISTING)
Viewsonic VX2240W 22" (EXISTING)
TP-LINK Wireless G NIC (EXISTING)
Consair TX750 (PSU) $164
1GB 5850 Powercolor $352
G-B MA785GT-UD3H (MOBO) $103
AM3 x4 620 (CPU) $108
4G Kit DDR3 1600 G.Skill-NQ $145
Antec 300 (Case) $80
Gigabyte Desktop GK-KM5000 $12
Arctic Silver 5 3.5gram $9
IDE LiteOn $30
Logitech X530 5.1 $68

TOTAL: $1063


Guy
AMD Athlone X2 250 - 3.01 Dual Core (EXISTING)
1GB Kingston, 512MB Unknown – 1.5GB Ram DDR2 (EXISTING)
NVIDIA Ge Force 8600 GT – 515 MB (EXISTING)
Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P motherboard (EXISTING)
WD SATA 1TB $95
ASUS Vento TA-K11 $85
16” VH162D Wide $99
Logitech X530 5.1 $68
Gigabyte Desktop GK-KM5000 $12
TP-Link PCI WN651G Wireless 108M $27
IDE LiteOn $30

TOTAL: $416


Thanks for all your help guys.
 
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