HELP-Computer Buildin'

[Highlordawesome]

In short-birthday was April 5(yesterday), gots moneys, about $400. Wanted to upgrade my computer but was limited because of it being a slim(as in the case).(MINITOWER!)

Current Computer-Dell C521
Specs-
AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core (2.2 ghz)
Vista Premium-Wish to reuse.
280 Power Supply
250gb HD-Wish to reuse.
ATI Radeon x1300 pro- mid range graphics
Plus Optical Drives-Wish to reuse.

I want to know:

• 
  [li]What can i salvage, i want to upgrade my RAM, Power, and Video Card-RAM's broken[/li]
  [li]Can i use my old OS if i use the same hard drive- i intend to get a new motherboard[/li]

I intend to build this thing, this is what i think will be sufficient:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156062 [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156062] -Case w/ Power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773 [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773]-Will this go with the mother board? Does this count as AM2+ so i can use 1066 RAM?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135075 [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135075]Does this work with everything?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166 [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166]Does this work with everything?

Please Help, i dont want to spend all of that money.

 

[cathou]

is there a particular reason that you go with AMD. the CPU you choose is a 90nm. they tend to heat a lot and use lot of electricity. You could get better results for about the same price if you go with a E5300 for exemple.

beside i'm sorry but a 800 mhz RAM stick is the fastest support by your CPU. even if the motherboard support it...

and beware for one thing. this motherboard have only one IDE slot. so if you have two IDE optical drive, and an IDE hard drive, you cannot put all three. you gonna go with sata at some point. you can use one optical with one hard drive. but that's your limit.

you can reuse the OS, the graphic card if it's pci-e, sound card if you have one. chances are that your current ram will not be compatible...

 

[megapenguinx]

Besides the HDD not much, you can take out the other stuff and sell it to hopefully get some more money to help fund your upgrade.

 

[Highlordawesome]

I like amd because it cheaper and i game. What Mobo do you suggest then?

 

[cathou]

I like amd because it cheaper and i game. What Mobo do you suggest then?

i suggest intel in fact.

this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206

it's 30$ more than the one you choose and you get way better benchmark

use it with this board : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131288

which is cheaper and you can keep the 1066 mhz memory...

 

[CIA]

I have to suggest intel over AMD. I have had no problems gaming with my 2.66 core 2 quad, not that I've tried too much yet. Neverwinter Nights 2 mostly.

Anyways.

I like amd because it cheaper and i game. What Mobo do you suggest then?

i suggest intel in fact.

this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206

it's 30$ more than the one you choose and you get way better benchmark

use it with this board : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131288

which is cheaper and you can keep the 1066 mhz memory...

The processor is a good bet, but I'm unsure about the MoBo. Scratch that, more digging verified that your suggestions are sound. Although Left 4 Dead has a recommended system spec of 2GB vista; its only a matter of time before games get up to 4GB. MoBo only supports 4GB max.

Source: http://pc.ign.com/articles/913/913954p1.html

 

[cathou]

The processor is a good bet, but I'm unsure about the MoBo. Scratch that, more digging verified that your suggestions are sound. Although Left 4 Dead has a recommended system spec of 2GB vista; its only a matter of time before games get up to 4GB. MoBo only supports 4GB max.

Source: http://pc.ign.com/articles/913/913954p1.html

that doest really matter for the memory, because even if his mobo could support more than 4 gb, there's just no way a 32 bits windows can see more than 3.5 gb ram...

...

oh, just to be sure, your windows vista is not a OEM from dell right ? because if it is, it will see that you dont have a Dell bios anymore and will not work with youor new pc...

 

[Highlordawesome]

what about this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157139

 

[Highlordawesome]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 ??

or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116511 ??

 

[cathou]

what about this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157139

doesnt worth it if you keep the AMD processor you showed me. it's not the motherboard that cannot handle the memory and that heat, it's the processor.

Seriously, do not buy that processor, it's crappy. an old 90nm technology, 800mhz memory, you can get better for the same price. in a benchmark i found (that i will not link because it's in french and you will likly not understand) the intel one i linked to you is just killing the amd...

beside, for the OS both are fine, it's a question of personal choice. Vista is not so bad after SP1, and it support direct X 10 if your graphic card supports it. But some people just prefer XP. only thing is that this summer it will be out of support for end users, so dont expect much update after this year...

the hard drive is fine. for now stay away from seagate they have an increasing failure rate. it might be risky for a couple of month to get seagate, so good choice for the western digital

 

[Highlordawesome]

all right, but what processor do i get then, i want a dual core at 2.2 or higher. I dont want to spend more than $70 on it, but i want to get the right motherboard so i can upgrade if i need to.

 

[cathou]

well, the first thing you showed me was costing 160$

what i showed you after was 175$ (cost of the processor was higher, but the motherboard was cheaper.

if you dont mind putting the extra 15$, the motherboard i showed to you can take any processor on socket 775, which mean core2duo and quad-core. So you could very easily upgrade.

like we pointed before, the only down side is that you are limited to 4 gb ram, but frankly it's more than enough, and remember than you must have a 64 bits OS to use more than 3.5 bg of ram.


if you really dont want to put more than what you first showed, go for that processor :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116076

with the asus motherboard (but take ddr2 800 mhz). it will cost you 155$. But the gain in performance by having 1066 mhz memory, and the 1066 FSB and the extra mb cache is worthing the extra 20$

 

[Horticulture]

If you want to game, a new video card will help a lot. The Radeon 4830 [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822] is a good deal and a huge upgrade over your X1300.

 

[Ophiuchus]

This topic might be of some use to you:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.92893