I'm new and really newbie to hardware stuffs, trying to upgrade my system if possible haha.

[oldman09]

So if anyone here cares 2 help, I'd like to upgrade the motherboard to one that can support the cpu + get a new gfx card and rams to support the motherboard (or it isn't possible to support the CPU further?) So what are the so called better mobos for my CPU? with PCI-E slot for gfx card?

I have some questions hope someone can answer them so I know abit better of the direction I should take..

I know my system really old liao but I dont mind getting 2nd hand stuffs coz really tight on budget... so if bros here got any recommendation please let me know I see some people selling at the IT Garage for example forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2523480 (I cant post urls/images yet so bear with me) and i googled his motherboard specs it seem that can support Pentium 4 socket 775 too but i am guessing the FSB looks different from mine so cannot support? For example, take the MSI one.
msi.com/index.php?func=prodcpu2&prod_no=1261&maincat_no=1
It supports some Prescott CPUs (which is what is mine, except mine is 524) but only support 521 / 541 / 561 / 551.


Does that mean I have no other options but to get a new "set" inclusive of the CPU?
Or can I just upgrade my GFX card and get another stick of 1gig ram to make it 2gig? Would the additional 512mb make a difference?
What is the best gfx card I can get for this agp slot right now? The ATI HDxxxx 1gig looks interesting but I wonder if I would get a significant increase for the cost.. I know one is
PowerColor HD3650 512MD2 HDMIAGP but I saw a HDxxxx 1gig for agp in sls last week can't remember the model but its quite expensive.


Btw, I use the system mostly for gaming / doing some simple graphics editing and designing
the following are my system specs

Acer Aspire SA85 system

i.imagehost.org/view/0428/cpu31

Sorry I cant post urls/images yet, so please add hxxp infront of the links

Thanks for the posts and advices!
Have a nice day!

[repel89]

Originally Posted by oldman09

So if anyone here cares 2 help, I'd like to upgrade the motherboard to one that can support the cpu + get a new gfx card and rams to support the motherboard (or it isn't possible to support the CPU further?) So what are the so called better mobos for my CPU? with PCI-E slot for gfx card?

I have some questions hope someone can answer them so I know abit better of the direction I should take..

I know my system really old liao but I dont mind getting 2nd hand stuffs coz really tight on budget... so if bros here got any recommendation please let me know I see some people selling at the IT Garage for example forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2523480 (I cant post urls/images yet so bear with me) and i googled his motherboard specs it seem that can support Pentium 4 socket 775 too but i am guessing the FSB looks different from mine so cannot support? For example, take the MSI one.
msi.com/index.php?func=prodcpu2&prod_no=1261&maincat_no=1
It supports some Prescott CPUs (which is what is mine, except mine is 524) but only support 521 / 541 / 561 / 551.


Does that mean I have no other options but to get a new "set" inclusive of the CPU?
Or can I just upgrade my GFX card and get another stick of 1gig ram to make it 2gig? Would the additional 512mb make a difference?
What is the best gfx card I can get for this agp slot right now? The ATI HDxxxx 1gig looks interesting but I wonder if I would get a significant increase for the cost.. I know one is
PowerColor HD3650 512MD2 HDMIAGP but I saw a HDxxxx 1gig for agp in sls last week can't remember the model but its quite expensive.


Btw, I use the system mostly for gaming / doing some simple graphics editing and designing
the following are my system specs

Acer Aspire SA85 system

i.imagehost.org/view/0428/cpu31

Sorry I cant post urls/images yet, so please add hxxp infront of the links

Thanks for the posts and advices!
Have a nice day!

Ok, i will try to answer all ur questions.

Basically u want to get a new com but u dunno wad to upgrade? Can tell us roughly wad ur budget is and what are u able to fork out. No point changing the motherboard but using the old processor, ultimately its the processor that decide how fast ur com is. Urs is a Pentium 4, might want to upgrade the processor too.

Might want to get a new motherboard and new gfx. No point getting AGP cards now, they are pricey then a PCI-E card. Alternatively u can get a motherboard with IGP to lower the cost. Eg, the 785G is good enough for daily usage,

Might want to check ur PSU and rams, to see if they can be reused.

[oldman09]

Originally Posted by repel89

Ok, i will try to answer all ur questions.

Basically u want to get a new com but u dunno wad to upgrade? Can tell us roughly wad ur budget is and what are u able to fork out. No point changing the motherboard but using the old processor, ultimately its the processor that decide how fast ur com is. Urs is a Pentium 4, might want to upgrade the processor too.

Might want to get a new motherboard and new gfx. No point getting AGP cards now, they are pricey then a PCI-E card. Alternatively u can get a motherboard with IGP to lower the cost. Eg, the 785G is good enough for daily usage,

Might want to check ur PSU and rams, to see if they can be reused.

Hi, thanks for the prompt reply, this board going so fast for this oldman here I cant even find my post anymore haha.

Erm what I meant was I would like to upgrade my motherboard so that I can still use back this old P4 Cpu. That's if its still possible. (Budget upgrade mah)

Yeah, thats what I was wondering why AGP cards more ex that PCI-e cards?
What is IGP? Sorry 4 noob question.

Btw if interested, I found this while searching around..

ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=607080

seems like this 524 Prescott still can work pretty well, But from his specs his mobo is this
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard


Would it be a possible upgrade if I get the same mobo as him and then get some ddr-2 rams and a new pci-e gfx card?
If possible, this would last me for awhile till I save enough to get a c2d or c2q processor.

Thanks alot!


edit : forgot to state, my psu is 450w and the rams are kingston ddr400 1 gig and 512mb ddr400

[majora]

oldman89, i understand that you're on budget but i think letting us know how much you are willing to spend is quite important.

if i were you, i would try to live with ur system and save up along the way. With around 600, you can get a good system.

e.g

Intel Pentium E6300 & MSI P43 NEO3-F ~ $251
or AMD Athlon II X2 250 & Biostar TA760G ~ $230
Kingston ValueRam PC2-6400 DDR2-800 4GB (2X2GB) ~ $76
Palit HD4850 Sonic ~ $159 or Palit HD4850 ~ $139
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB ~ $82
Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $31
Andyson G480W PSU ~ $65
Cooler Master Elite 334 ~ $59

More can be found here: http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/sh....php?t=1093205

[repel89]

Originally Posted by oldman09

Hi, thanks for the prompt reply, this board going so fast for this oldman here I cant even find my post anymore haha.

Erm what I meant was I would like to upgrade my motherboard so that I can still use back this old P4 Cpu. That's if its still possible. (Budget upgrade mah)

Yeah, thats what I was wondering why AGP cards more ex that PCI-e cards?
What is IGP? Sorry 4 noob question.

Btw if interested, I found this while searching around..

ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=607080

seems like this 524 Prescott still can work pretty well, But from his specs his mobo is this
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard


Would it be a possible upgrade if I get the same mobo as him and then get some ddr-2 rams and a new pci-e gfx card?
If possible, this would last me for awhile till I save enough to get a c2d or c2q processor.

Thanks alot!


edit : forgot to state, my psu is 450w and the rams are kingston ddr400 1 gig and 512mb ddr400

Lol, must state ur budget so we can recommend upgrades according to ur budget

Its hard to find a P4 motherboard now unless u buy second hard. Alot of P4 boards in the markets.

Cuz now manufacturers no longer mass produce AGP cards. Therefore low supply, high demand = higher prices. For the price of a AGP card u can get a better performing PCI-E card.

I would say stick with ur system until u are ready to do a whole system overhaul. Save up for a total system upgrade. Cuz now all ur hardware are the old gen. Around $300 would be enough to change the old system for a better one.

Biostar TA785GE + Athlon x2 240 $191
TeamEilte 2x2gb $102
HDD (reuse)
DVD-RW (reuse)
Casing(reuse)
PSU(reuse)

Basically u can use the IGP on the motherboard first then save up for future upgrades.

[oldman09]

Originally Posted by repel89

Lol, must state ur budget so we can recommend upgrades according to ur budget

Its hard to find a P4 motherboard now unless u buy second hard. Alot of P4 boards in the markets.

Cuz now manufacturers no longer mass produce AGP cards. Therefore low supply, high demand = higher prices. For the price of a AGP card u can get a better performing PCI-E card.

I would say stick with ur system until u are ready to do a whole system overhaul. Save up for a total system upgrade. Cuz now all ur hardware are the old gen. Around $300 would be enough to change the old system for a better one.

Biostar TA785GE + Athlon x2 240 $191
TeamEilte 2x2gb $102
HDD (reuse)
DVD-RW (reuse)
Casing(reuse)
PSU(reuse)

Basically u can use the IGP on the motherboard first then save up for future upgrades.

Thanks majora and repel for the reply, actually my budget about 300-400
The one you posted looks okay.. will consider it Thanks!!

But still my main question is not answered haha. I would really love it to know if my Prescott 524 can be given a new lease of life with a new mobo/rams/gfx card(pci-e). If its possible, which mobo to consider? Hehe..

Thanks alot for the opinions!

[repel89]

Originally Posted by oldman09

Thanks majora and repel for the reply, actually my budget about 300-400
The one you posted looks okay.. will consider it Thanks!!

But still my main question is not answered haha. I would really love it to know if my Prescott 524 can be given a new lease of life with a new mobo/rams/gfx card(pci-e). If its possible, which mobo to consider? Hehe..

Thanks alot for the opinions!

Yes, But its hard to find a P4 motherboard. The performance would not improve significantly as u are using back the old processor. Can try scouting the market for a 2nd hand motherboard. My advice is just get a new motherboard and processor.

[oldman09]

Originally Posted by repel89

Yes, But its hard to find a P4 motherboard. The performance would not improve significantly as u are using back the old processor. Can try scouting the market for a 2nd hand motherboard. My advice is just get a new motherboard and processor.

Oh I see, thanks alot for the reply..
I understand what you are getting at, but if its possible I would like to just change mobo/ram/gfx first n use back the cpu until I have enough to change the cpu again...

So please tell me which chipsets I need to look for in a mobo, or any defining specification that I need to see, that would allow me to use the Prescott on the mobo?

Like If I google the board, the board says P4 Supported but I cant find Prescott 524 on the CPU supported list, but it has 521 and so on, does it mean its supported? (I.E. 524 = 521 same family)

Thanks alot.. Really glad that you are helping!


edit: or does it mean all socket 775 mobos can be used?

[BlackWing1977]

Originally Posted by oldman09

Thanks majora and repel for the reply, actually my budget about 300-400
The one you posted looks okay.. will consider it Thanks!!

But still my main question is not answered haha. I would really love it to know if my Prescott 524 can be given a new lease of life with a new mobo/rams/gfx card(pci-e). If its possible, which mobo to consider? Hehe..

Thanks alot for the opinions!

I think the general opinion would be to dump the CPU.... just get any cheap AMD dual core will totally pwn it..... If I didn't remember it wrongly AMD Athlon series used to pwn Pentium 4..... and not to mention now AMD is already at Athlon II and Phenom II..... and of course all the Core2Duo..... i7 and i5.....

Seriously dun waste money on upgrading anything on this old CPU....

[repel89]

Originally Posted by oldman09

Oh I see, thanks alot for the reply..
I understand what you are getting at, but if its possible I would like to just change mobo/ram/gfx first n use back the cpu until I have enough to change the cpu again...

So please tell me which chipsets I need to look for in a mobo, or any defining specification that I need to see, that would allow me to use the Prescott on the mobo?

Like If I google the board, the board says P4 Supported but I cant find Prescott 524 on the CPU supported list, but it has 521 and so on, does it mean its supported? (I.E. 524 = 521 same family)

Thanks alot.. Really glad that you are helping!


edit: or does it mean all socket 775 mobos can be used?

Not very sure about the P4 era. Can try asking the others here. My stand is still the same It saves money in the long run. Rather then using two different upgrades which is most costly, just save up for a one time upgrade. Save time and money.

[oldman09]

Ok thanks guys for the views, gonna go down sls to take a look around n see what cheap combos I can get... prolly just need a new psu+mobo+cpu+ram first.. Thanks alot

[blue00]

Originally Posted by oldman09

Thanks majora and repel for the reply, actually my budget about 300-400
The one you posted looks okay.. will consider it Thanks!!

But still my main question is not answered haha. I would really love it to know if my Prescott 524 can be given a new lease of life with a new mobo/rams/gfx card(pci-e). If its possible, which mobo to consider? Hehe..

Thanks alot for the opinions!

if u r looking at ard this price.

why not go to pct n just get a amd or intel package. $358 can get a amd 250 or e5400. no

need thk so much.

casing oso nicer looking than coolermaster although everyone says coolermaster is great but i dunno why?

[oldman09]

Originally Posted by blue00

if u r looking at ard this price.

why not go to pct n just get a amd or intel package. $358 can get a amd 250 or e5400. no

need thk so much.

casing oso nicer looking than coolermaster although everyone says coolermaster is great but i dunno why?

well the main reason cause the gfx provided usually damn sucks... i need a mid-range gfx card so rather put more of my limited budget into gfx card/ram than processor

[Sendoh82]

Originally Posted by oldman09

well the main reason cause the gfx provided usually damn sucks... i need a mid-range gfx card so rather put more of my limited budget into gfx card/ram than processor

A few things that you need to note

1. if your cpu is too slow. it bottlenecks the graphic card anyway

2. AGP is at End of Line, nowadays most motherboard uses pcie hence explaining the higher pricing

My few suggestions for u is as below

1. get a second hand agp card and ram, first hand agp is not worth the price right now. plus if next time u wana upgrade. u cant use the same thing again

2. dont change com now. save abit more then next time upgrade together. cause given your processor, new games mostly ur come wont pass the min requirement, if u are not going to play alot of new games then its alright.

[oldman09]

Originally Posted by Sendoh82

A few things that you need to note

1. if your cpu is too slow. it bottlenecks the graphic card anyway

2. AGP is at End of Line, nowadays most motherboard uses pcie hence explaining the higher pricing

My few suggestions for u is as below

1. get a second hand agp card and ram, first hand agp is not worth the price right now. plus if next time u wana upgrade. u cant use the same thing again

2. dont change com now. save abit more then next time upgrade together. cause given your processor, new games mostly ur come wont pass the min requirement, if u are not going to play alot of new games then its alright.

Okay, just done some searching and saw that some weaker cpus and also amds actually limit the fps (get less fps when everything else is equal) when using gtx295.. haha. thanks for the info, always thought they are seperate

Well I'm guessing there's not much agp gfx card i can get now as i am already using 7600gt 256mb, is there a better card that's going to be worth the upgrade?