Eric640

Looking for constructive criticisim here. I want to find the cheapest upgrade route so I can keep my PC somewhat up to date.

The key here is to get the most performance from the least money. I'm a cheapass when it comes to this stuff. It's all outdated in 6months anyways.

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA7-DX+ (AMD - 266 mhz FSB)
Upgrade:
Keeping it.

RAM:
256MB PC-2100
Upgrade:
256MB of PC-2100. Been wanting to do this forever. Considering adding more.

The major question here is would it be worth it to get more than an additional 256MB (for 512MB total)? There is 2 open slots (3 total) so if I did do something I'd want to stick a 512 in the last slot probably.

Video:
Radon 8500 64MB
Upgrade:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

No brainer here. All my friends got em, and they say they work great and are a great value.


Heres where I get confused... I want to do something with my pittiful 1.33Ghz processor, but I am not so sure what. I don't want to change the motherboard since this would be too expensive, so I'm stuck with th crappy 266mhz FSB.

Heres a list of processors that are supposedly compatible with my motherboard... the list is very incomplete...
http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...st_GA-7DX+.htm

Processor:
Athlon Thunderbird (1333mhz)
Upgrade:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

I couldn't find a 2600+ /w a 266FSB (on newegg anyways...) so I went for the 2400+... the 2400+ seems to come in 2 types, a thouroughbred core and a thorton core. Does anyone know what the difference is and weather it will effect compatibility?


Mabye I will just skip the processor upgrade and add the additional stick of RAM as mentioned above.

I wanna keep this under 300$ including shipping.

kutulu

It would be very helpfull if you could post a suggested budget

*edit
shit I'm a dumbass. I see it

I don't have time to go through all of it, but with $300 you can afford to do the RAM (add a 512 stick of PC3200), processor (possibly the 2400+), and a vid card.

Most stuff at newegg is free to ship.

Eric640

What? I thought you cant mix types of ram... the system already has 256mb of pc-2100. Would I have to get rid of that?What makes 3200 better than 2100?

Wouldn't I be better off adding more 2100 than completely changing over to faster ram?

kutulu

You can mix RAM speeds, however the faster RAM might not operate to its full potential. I don't know this for sure, but it should be better than a 512 stick of 2100. I'm thinking more long term here. Although you could get a 2100 stick for a good price, it is already VERY outdated. By the time you get an all new computer, the 2100 will be worthless. The 3200 stick will still be usefull (probably).

The 256MB PC2100 will set you back at least $40. For less than double the price you can get a 512MB PC 3200 stick. You'll have to check for compatibility of course, if it isn't compatible, maybe the PC2700.

overall, the 512MB PC3200+256MB PC2100 (should be) >> 2*256MB PC2100

Eric640

Memory
1. Supports up to 3GB DDR SDRAM (2GB unbrffered memory)
2. 2.5V/2.7V/2.9V DDR memory voltage adjustable
3. 3 DIMMs of 184-pin DDR sockets
4. Supports either PC1600/DDR200 or PC2100/DDR266 DDR memory
5. Supports 72bits ECC type DRAM integrity mode


This is a 200\266 FSB motherboard. Putting 333mhz(PC-2700\DDR333) or 400mhz(PC-3200\DDR400) RAM in it will not work.



Mabye I need to rethink this and get a new motherboard and then work up. Mabye I should just look into a new system.

Lasereth

$300?

ATI Radeon 9600 Pro - $100
Some simple Athlon XP mobo that supports DDR 400 and 333 MHz FSB Athlon XP's - $50
Athlon XP 2500+ $80
512 MB of PC2700 generic RAM - $70

There's ya $300 well spent. If ya need any more advice, just ask! Your old RAM will work with the new system, but it'd drop the speed of the PC2700 RAM down to 266 MHz..and ya don't want that. 512 MB will hold ya over until you can muster up enough money for an additional 256 MB of PC2700. Most of today's games need 768 MB of RAM or more to run *well.*

-Lasereth

__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

MooseMan3000

I agree with Lasereth. Upgrade your motherboard. Upgrading just the processor and adding more slow RAM won't help you very much at all. For $300 you can get a significant upgrade, if you're only willing to put in the effort.

And you can get good generic RAM for about $70. Samsung and Micron both make budget models that run at about $70, but anything will peform similarly.

Banginblaz

If you live near a fry's they routinly have deals on Athlon/mobo bundles. They just had a xp 2700 with an ECS mobo for $99.

kutulu

I don't know if it's true, but I've hear the ECS mobos are crap