Upgrade recommendations

marco79

marco79

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I feel its time to give my PC a overhaul. Which items to I need to add on or replace in order to give me a better performing PC.

Currently I have a P4 3.0Mhz with 2x512Mb DDR2 (533Mhz I think) with 160Gb HHD.

The exact specs:

Operating System
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (build 2600)

Processor
3000 megahertz Intel Pentium 4 (2 installed)
16 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Main Circuit Board
Board: PCCHIPS P23G 1.0
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 080012 07/20/2006

Memory Modules
960 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM0' has 512 MB (serial number SerNum0)
Slot 'DIMM1' has 512 MB

Drives Memory
137.43 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
4.16 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

BENQ DVD LS DW1655 [CD-ROM drive]
HUAWEI Mass Storage USB Device [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

WDC WD1600JS-08NCB1 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0

Display
VIA/S3G UniChrome Pro IGP [Display adapter]
BenQ FP71G X [Monitor] (17.1"vis, July 2006)

Multimedia
Realtek AC'97 Audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller
Unimodem Full-Duplex Audio Device

Communications
HUAWEI Mobile Connect - 3G Modem
Smart Link 56K Voice Modem
VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
Network Card MAC Address: 00:19:21:21:7E:57

--------------------------------------------

RAM
Firstly I want to upgrade the Ram to 4Gb. What would be better? 2 x 2Gb or 1 4Gb? And do I remove my current ram as i've heard you should mix sizes? I currently have 533Mhz, what size can my pc go up to?

HHD
Together with the RAM I'm going to get either an additional 500Gb or 620Gb

Motherboard
Do I need to upgrade this? If I must then i'll do it in the new year. What is the maximum chip I can run on this motherboard?

Chip
In the end I want a Core 2 duo. Whats the difference between a dual core and a core 2 duo? Do I need to change my motherboard for this?

Graphics
Non existant at the moment. The motherboard I currently have only supports AGP. Is it worth getting an AGP graphics card or should i get a motherboard that supports PCI Express. Which graphics card can I use to stream HD content to my TV?

What else do I need to upgrade? I am going to get the RAM and HHD on Monday. I am going to see how the feastive season drains me financially before I commit to any further upgrades, but it is highly possible that I might just do the motherboard & chip end January.

Any advice or recommendations will be greatly helpfull.
 
marco79 said:
RAM
Firstly I want to upgrade the Ram to 4Gb. What would be better? 2 x 2Gb or 1 4Gb? And do I remove my current ram as i've heard you should mix sizes? I currently have 533Mhz, what size can my pc go up to?

2 x 2GB for dual channel (RAM in dual channel is negligibly faster)

HHD
Together with the RAM I'm going to get either an additional 500Gb or 620Gb

Motherboard
Do I need to upgrade this? If I must then i'll do it in the new year. What is the maximum chip I can run on this motherboard?

This your board? - http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=P23G-R&cat=MBB - looks quite old, maximum 2GB RAM supported, AGP... I would also be weary about its support for the newer 45nm Intel Core2 CPUs. I suggest an entry-level G31 or G41 Intel motherboard.

Chip
In the end I want a Core 2 duo. Whats the difference between a dual core and a core 2 duo? Do I need to change my motherboard for this?

They are both dual cores. Core2 Duo has more cache.

Graphics
Non existant at the moment. The motherboard I currently have only supports AGP. Is it worth getting an AGP graphics card or should i get a motherboard that supports PCI Express. Which graphics card can I use to stream HD content to my TV?

New motherboard which you will need will have a PCI-E 16x slot for a graphics card. Any cheap graphics card will be fine for displaying on a HD TV, you could even get away with a motherboard with onboard Intel X4500 graphics (i.e. Intel G41), which supports full HD resolution. If it's not good enough you could get a graphcis card at a later stage.

What else do I need to upgrade? I am going to get the RAM and HHD on Monday. I am going to see how the feastive season drains me financially before I commit to any further upgrades, but it is highly possible that I might just do the motherboard & chip end January.

DVD writer? Case and PSU?

Any advice or recommendations will be greatly helpfull.
Click to expand...
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Whould not getting a new pc with new hardware etc be a better idea and cheaper in the end?
 
Definitely get a new pc. It's not worth upgrading that old pc.
 
You can keep your chassis, drives and DVD drive, but I reckon the rest can get replaced. A generic chassis, however, will probably only cost R300-R400, but it's the generic PSU that comes with it that could be dodgey.

If you have no intention of playing big-requirement games then get a motherboard with onboard graphics. Entry-level with Intel GMA stuff runs about R400-R500 for the motherboard. Going for AMD will get you better onboard graphics, but wind up being a little pricier.

I would recommend picking a budget first. It's all good and well deciding to upgrade, but without a set limit in mind on how much you want to spend could either wind up in dashed dreams when you see the bills or an unnecessarily high bill for something that's more powerful than you will need.
 
Thanks for the reply PostmanPot. I've been to Matrix Warehouse for some advice.

Here's my current plan...

Step 1: Upgrade motherboard to either Biostar G31 or GA-G41M-ES2L and get 1x 2Gb Ramm. (R449 + R379 = R828) or (R699 + R379 = R1078)

Step 2: Upgrade processor to either Intel Dual core E5200 2.5Ghz, Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8Ghz or Intel Quad Core Q8200 2.3Ghz. (R749 or R1399 or R1699) If I go the dual core route I will get an addition 2Gb Ramm.
BTW whats the difference between dual core, core 2 duo & quad core?

Step 3: Additional HHD. 500Gb or 620Gb (R579 or R629)

Step 4: Graphics card if I go with the G31 board. Geforce 9300GS 512Mb or 9400GT 1Gb. I must let you guys know that I don't play games on my PC (yet?). I have a X-box 360 for that. (R429 or R579 or R699)

Step 5: Upgrade my power supply, tower and get an additional DVD writer or BlueRay player. I haven't given any thought to this step yet.

These are the current prices at Matrix. I have about R1000 now, R1000 end January & R1000 end Febeuary.

The main factor in upgrading gradually is to still use my PC on a daily basis. Or do you recommend first buying the board, chip, ramm & HHD then replacing the old with the new?
 
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Dual core is older tech.

It doesn't sound like you stress you machine much so the core2duo setup will probably serve you well. The price on that E7400 and the Q8200 is a bit silly though.

Go with the Gigabyte board, leave the graphics card for later.
BluRay drive is pricey (+- R2K I think).

For the chassis, take a look at the Coolermaster RC-330 which comes with a 350W PSU. It's around the R500 mark.

Have you taken a look at AMD or would prefer to stay with Intel?

Asus M4A78-VM +- R950 (w/ HD3200 onboard graphics)
AMD Phenom2 X2 545 3GHz dual-core +- R1100

This takes DDR2 so the pricing you got for RAM still applies.
 
I am leaning towards getting the G41 mobo and 2Gb ramm tomorrow. When I get back from holiday middle January then I'll get either the Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8Ghz or the Quad Core Q8200 2.3Ghz and the HHD. End Jan I'll buy a new box and a new DVD writer.

Wouldn't I be better off getting the G31 mobo and a Graphics card rather than the G41?
(G31 R449 + Geforce 7300LE 256MB R369 = R818) (G31 R449 + Geforce 9300GS 512MB R429 = R878) or (G41 with onboard graphics for R699)
 
There are G31 motherboards with onboard graphics. I've got a FoxconnG31MXP which has onboard graphics and goes for around R400-R500. So rather get a G31 with onboard graphics for now and buy a graphics card with DVI/HDMI out later when you want to play blu-ray stuff. Or you'll end up having to upgrade the graphics card again...
 
marco79 said:
I am leaning towards getting the G41 mobo and 2Gb ramm tomorrow. When I get back from holiday middle January then I'll get either the Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8Ghz or the Quad Core Q8200 2.3Ghz and the HHD. End Jan I'll buy a new box and a new DVD writer.

Wouldn't I be better off getting the G31 mobo and a Graphics card rather than the G41?
(G31 R449 + Geforce 7300LE 256MB R369 = R818) (G31 R449 + Geforce 9300GS 512MB R429 = R878) or (G41 with onboard graphics for R699)
Click to expand...

Definitely go with the G41 - its onboard graphics is twice as fast as the G31's.

What do you use your PC for? Will help determine if you need Dual Core, Core2 Duo or Core2 Quad.

(I have a feeling the E5200 will serve you well, I see the 100MHz faster E5300 is about the same price now).
 
I have decided to build up a new PC from scratch and keep my P4 3.0Ghz for my son.

I have bought a Biostar G31-M7 TE Motherboard, a 500Gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 HHD and 2x 2Gb DDR2-800 Ramm

Here is the motherboard: http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/content.php?S_ID=363

I will get the CPU, DVD writer, case and maybe a graphics card end January. I still have to decide whether to go Core 2 Duo or Quad Core. I don't use my PC for gaming at all. Mostly internet, movies, music, etc.

Where in Cape Town can I buy a nice/cool PC case? What is the difference between a standard case with 450W power supply and a gaming case? If I do go for a gaming case, what power supply would I need?
 
What screen will you be running? G31 will most likely be fine in terms of graphics, but G41 is almost the same price and has twice as fast graphics.

A gaming case wouldn't really require a better PSU. A generic 450watt PSU would be more than enough for your system, with graphics card.
 
Don't get a Core2duo E7400, save some money and get a dual core E6300. They are practically identical processors (except for less cache on dual core) and you will not notice a difference in performance. They sell for a very good price. I'm running one on a mobo with G41 and I'm very happy. Graphics wise it doesn't matter if you get G31 or G41, the onboard graphics on both are equally useless for gaming. The G41 is better for HD content though.
 
I have a month and a half before I buy the cpu, gpu, DVD writer & case. I will do further research as to what would search my needs best. This will be my first upgrade in 4 years. I won't upgrade again until 2013 so I wan't to have a decent pc to last me till then.

Which graphics card would be recommended for about R600? Geforce or ATI? If I go the Dual Core route I will get a gpu of up to R1000. But if I get the Core 2 Duo or Quad Core it'll have to be about R600 max.

At the moment I will be using my old BenQ 17" LCD, but I would like to play HD content via my PC on my 42" Samsung HD ready plasma.
 
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It all boils down to what you will be using the PC for. If you using it for gaming, then rather spend slightly less on the CPU (going the dual core route) and more on the GPU and get more memory.

If you going to be using it just for internet, email, media - then go for the better CPU and just a GPU that can handle HD playback well. And again, get more memory:) Having memory available for the OS to use just makes your experience SO much better.

Let us know what your main purpose will be for the PC then I can put a list of things together which I think will work well for your situation.
 
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