LITTLEBLACKDOG.COM

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2002 8:55 pm Post subject:

Hey Guys,

I asked you all about my monitor and you all helped out alot, Now I need to ask you all about upgradeing my motherboard & cpu. Right now I have a little ole 300mhz amd k6-2 mmx , a gigabyte Ga-586tx3 motherboard (AT Style ), 256meg bytes, 20 gig HD .I downloaded that program that Robbo said to get. I have a pic of it, But can't get it to show up. I you want to see the pic, Tell me how to get it up on the board.PLZ. Wink Smile

. What I want to know is , Is it better for me to upgrade to a better motherboard that can handle different cpu's ( like AMD duron.athlon,athlon xp cpus )and can handle more ram ? And what do you think of the motherboard's with audio on board ? I've looked on ebay and there are some sweet deals on there now. But I want all of your guys advice first. I'm going to try and upgrade for about $100.00 to 150.00 if I can. Can I use my power supply now its 200 watts or get a bigger one, Same thing with my case, I think its a baby AT case, Its got 2-5.25 bays,2-3.5 bays. Oh and how hard is it to swap out the motherboard and cpu ? I know I can do it, I just have the jidders about doing it. What would all of you reckamend ?

Thanks for all your help:-D
Puterbabe

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2002 9:59 pm Post subject:

Press the 'Print Screen' button on your keyboard, which will copy a shot of your screen to clipboard. Then paste it into an image editor, save it as .gif or .jpeg, find somewhere on the web you can put it, and link to it from the form. It sounds complicated, but it's easy to get the hang of [ Wink

]

Upgrading a motherboard and CPU can be a daunting task, and your setup sounds like you're going to run into some cost. You're going to need an ATX-compatable case (ATX is the dominating standard now), an ATX-compatable power supply, and new RAM.

If you want my recommendation, head over to Newegg and pick up an Abit KX7-333 and an Athlon XP 1600+ (that's close to $150 right there). They also have a good selection of power supplies; you can get an Enermax 365W (what I run on a decked-out, overclocked system) for less than $50 now, I believe. While you're there, check out cases; Chieftec and Antec make good entry-level ones. Then go to GoogleGear and get 256MB of Corsair PC2700 RAM; that's another $80 or so. Finally, you need to head over to CrazyPC and get a heatsink and fan...I suggest the Thermalright AX-7 with a medium-flow (20-30 CFM) 80mm fan. Don't forget to pick up some Arctic Silver III.

And if you're completely lost at this point, head over to Tom's and check out their PC Building Guide. Or just ask more questions, which I'm pretty sure you're going to have [ Wink

]

Oh, and thanks for making my five-dog post a useful one [ Very Happy

]

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strokes 'till genius.

EEps · Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2002 11:52 pm Post subject:

Coolness...

Guess it's all going to depend on what yer budget is going to be. From what you've described about yer comp, it's not going to be worth it to upgrade it. You would have to get a new case, mobo, CPU, HSF, keyboard/mouse (if the old ones aren't PS/2), and possibly new RAM depending on what type of RAM you have and what mobo you get. You'll be able to reuse yer current hard drive and CDROM but you'll probably want to upgrade those when you get more cash.

Newegg is a great place to shop/get yer hardware and I'm sure you won't be disappointed as long as you do yer homework to figure out what you want to get.

Combo boards are okay (built in video, network, sound) but they're usually lacking in speed, gaming ability. But they will give you a working system for a low cost.

Most mobos come with built-in sound and will work okay, but yer better off with an add-in sound card for optimal sound especially for gaming. Unless you get a mobo with the newer 6.1 chipset...

AMD motherboards are a great start as they are pretty cheap to start in building yer own. You just have to be careful about not chipping/crushing the core when installing the HSF.

You could check out the Lindows comps from Walmart...

BamZipPow
...how things get done

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2002 12:45 am Post subject:

I totally agree with Jonathan. I myself have the Abit KX7-333 and the Athlon XP1600. Both bought from Newegg. Whatever you do, don't try to save money by buying no-name brand stuff. Stick with the name brands like Abit and Crucial for memory. I went through 2 mobo's before I settled on the Abit.

On Newegg.com:

Abit KX7-333 mobo = $82.00 + $4.00 s/h = $86.00
Athlon XP1600 = $52.99 free s/h

On Crucial.com:

Crucial 256mb 184 pin PC2100 DDR memory = $63.89 free s/h =
Or, just get the same memory module from Newegg for $68.00 free s/h

Your total is $202.88.
You aren't going to do much better than that.
BTW, that's all the exact same stuff I have.

Oh, and stay away from Ebay for stuff like mobo's, cpu's, and memory. I got ripped on a dead memory module and a Shuttle AK31 mobo that fried within a month. You are much better off buying it from a place like Newegg where you can return it if necessary.

Life is a like a box of chocolates.....when it's done it's done.

Edited by - hrbib21 on 09/07/2002 04:47:57

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2002 7:43 pm Post subject:

Thanks Guys,

I have a usb optie mouse and a logitech keyboard the has both ps2 and standerd conneter. I have the motherboard and case maxed out right now..lmao.I have pc133 ram. Etherlink card for the cable modem, TNT-2 32meg graphic's card. A sony cd-r ( the expenive one )less then a year old. ATX power supply already.Heres the pic,Thanks Jonathan,Had a blond moment. Tongue Smile

.Well my cash flow is not that big right now. I can do it like a piece at a time. I was looking at name brand motherboards,like abit,soyo and the one I really liked was MSI K7T266 PRO socket A, The only thing I didn't like was it had onboard audio. It's real hard to find a mother board without audio any more. I also need a motherboard with atlest 5 PCi slots. I like to add stuff... Evil Smile

.I'm always getting the computer in hot water,always tweaking something.Its a chick thing,just can't leave well enough alone. I don't need DDR ram just yet or 160gig HD ( I want real bad )all of the extras are just going to have to wait a while till the home town job market opens up more.Plus I don't have a credit card to buy from on line stores yet. I need one the takes snail mail with money orders,thats why I was looking on Ebay for stuff. We only have to computer stores in my town and there very small, And half the time they don't have what you want or closed. Well if you all have any more ideas let me know. Thanks.

PuterBabe[ Mad

]

EEps · Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2002 8:07 pm Post subject:

Just so you know...NewEgg does take money orders...

Newegg.com accepts the following Payment Methods:
• Visa
• Mastercard
• Discover
• American Express
• Prepaid Company Check, Personal Check, Cashier Check or Money Order
• No Purchase Order, Fax, and C.O.D. orders please.

BamZipPow
...how things get done

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2002 8:18 pm Post subject:

Thanks Bamzippow, That really helped me out alot.Now I can really read and look at the motherboards for all the info on them and find the one I really want.

Puterbabe

EEps · Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2002 8:58 pm Post subject:

After reviewing what you have and what you can spend ($150), I'd recommend the Athlon XP 1600+ $53-free shipping, ECS K7S5A mobo (you can use the PC133 now and upgrade to DDR later) $55-free shipping, and a decent HSF (heatsink/fan). I would suggest all copper like the Thermalright SLK-800 and a simple 80mm case fan. It would get you started in the right direction and also be within yer budget...

Make sure you check out the dimensions of the mobo and the dimensions of yer case for the mobo. Would hate to see you have to go ghetto on yer new comp by not putting it the case for now. You could always mount it to a piece of wood and mount it to the wall...for the time being until you get a decent case...

And before some of these dogs get all drooling and snarly about my suggestions, I did run the ECS board with a Compaq 150 watt ATX PS...stable!!

BamZipPow
...how things get done

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2002 10:00 pm Post subject:

Yeah, the $150 budget is pretty tight.
Here is a cheap ($36+$15 shipping) ATX mid-tower case with off-brand 350W power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-150-027

For heatsinks, you could go as cheap as $10, or for a bit more, she might consider these:
$20 Taisol CGK760172
$24 Coolermaster HCC-002
$26 Coolermaster HSC-V62
$27 Coolermaster HHC-001 (SmokinAMD's favorite)
$29 Alpha PAL-6035 (I liked mine.)
$38 ThermalTake Volcano7+
$45 Thermalright SLK-800 (Heatsink only--Needs a fan.)
$ 8 YS-Tech 80x25 adjustable fan

:pawa1:

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2002 10:02 pm Post subject:

That K7S5A and the XP1600 are a great idea as she can update to ddr later.

Life is a like a box of chocolates.....when it's done it's done.

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2002 10:13 pm Post subject:

$55 ECS K7S5A motherboard (SIS 730 chipset)
$53 AMD AthlonXP 1600+
$20 Taisol CGK760172 heatsink&fan
$36 MAXTOP CSX-917K ATX case w/350W PS
$21 shipping
$185--We're over budget.

[img]icon_smile_pawa1.gif[/img]

Edited by - JustAnEngineer on 09/08/2002 02:31:13

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2002 6:28 am Post subject:

If she has the ATX PS and its less than a year old, then I would do what Just an Eng said except I would skip the case. That way she would be on budget.

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2002 9:35 am Post subject:

She's going to want to replace that vid card too but if she won't be gaming, it's probably not necessary. If she wants to go cheap, she can get the Visiontek Geforce2 GTS for 45.00 on Newegg.com

Life is a like a box of chocolates.....when it's done it's done.

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2002 10:06 am Post subject:

Definantly get the Abit KX7-333, it dosent have any of that onboard crap that sucks. The same goes for the XP 1600+, that is a must buy. As for the ram, the motherboard supports pc2700, so you might as well splurge the extra bucks and get that over pc2100.

As for cooling this, its a toss-up between the Coolermaster HHC-001 and the Coolermaster HHC-002, the 001 looks purrty, but those damn heatpipes can be a pain in the ass. The 002 performs the same and it dosent have the heatpipes. Although the 001 fits fine on the KX7-333, but just barely. What the hell, get the purrty one, gives you something to look at if you decide to do the computer on a board thing. Or if you ever do a window mod.

Your video card will work fine for now *just dont play any games*, you can always get a new one later.

I suppose you can always use your sound card now too *if you have one*, and then you could upgrade to a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz later.

Theres my $.02

"You can prick your finger, but dont finger your prick"

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2002 3:59 pm Post subject:

OK,lots of good advice,But one question, Why would I have to buy another video card. I just bought it last week.I splurged to update from my old video card it was an e-savage 3 card with 16 megs.The new one is made to run on all the new systems even XP.I'm not a big gamer ( I buy a game,Play it a couple of times and then it sets on the shelf to collect dustbunnys ),I spend most of my time on the net looking stuff up.I know I have to update the sound card,right now its an Opti sound card ( old ). I don't know how old the Power supply is. The whole system was custom built about 2 years ago. At the time it was cheap and I needed a PC, So it was not some big pc,Yeah it's small as for MHZ but it has worked very well and have had no major problems with it. On the funny side of it, My little ole pc beats my friends pc for startup time and loading even apps.And his is a 1.4mhz pc. To me all these new computers are slow for startup and loading time anyway. I know I need a new case,I can get one at the puter store for about $ 50- $ 70.It just depends on the case I like,and how many bays. Same with the motherboard,I want one with 5 pci slots,and can use PC133 Ram,With no on board audio or video. Same with the cpu,I don't need the big boy on the block,just something over 700mhz.I'm not looking to kill myself in the finance deptment just yet. I can go up to $200 if I need to,But that is pushing it. All I'm trying to do is get a little better then what I have now. I know some of you all had to start small and then work your way up,Thats what I'm trying to do. Thanks for all the help and info.

Puterbabe

Edited by - puterbabe on 09/08/2002 20:03:06