2 PC upgrades

Yoshimo

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Feb 11, 2004
Messages
681
posted this on the camlann section but think i will get more help here:

Ok i'm thinking of upgrading BOTH of my current pcs, looking at a budget of around 900euros, £600
PC1:
Dell-P4 2.8 ghz
Windows XP
512ddr (2*256)
60gbs hd
Geforce MX440(!!!!!!!!!!!)
PC2:
AMD Athlon 1Ghz
Windows ME
128 SDRam
20gbs hd
Geforce MX200 or something stupid

upgrades i was thinking of:
PC1: another 2*256 ddr ram
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=MY-040-CR&NOLOGIN=1
new graphics card
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=GX-050-LT&NOLOGIN=1


PC2: new motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=MB-092-AS&NOLOGIN=1
new processor
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=CP-053-IN&NOLOGIN=1
new ram
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=MY-037-CR&NOLOGIN=1
new hard drive
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=HD-012-WD&NOLOGIN=1
new graphics card
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=GX-050-LT&NOLOGIN=1
new operating system
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=OS-001-MS&NOLOGIN=1
+new fan
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?PRODREF=HS-014-AR&NOLOGIN=1


If i'm not a complete nub this would make them both roughly the same spec could anyone who knows anything about PC's have a look at the parts i suggested? any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Edit: key points that i'm not sure about are:
- if Dell systems support 4 ram cards
- and if so would the ram i have listed here work with the ram (probably different brand already with my Dell
- if existing sound card/other things on pc 2 will be compatable with new motherboard given how old it is
- if all the stuff is compatable
- if anyone in the world would be stupid enough to buy a used MX440 :)
 

Void959

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
887
Well... none of the links work so its kinda hard to say anything useful yet ;)


EDIT: It seems to be mozilla thats at fault...nvm, works fine with IE
 

chretien

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Dec 24, 2003
Messages
1,079
The bits look fine although a couple of things to be aware of.
1: Overclockers.co.uk are crap for support. I don't know a single person who has a good thing to say about them. They might be cheap but you'll end up tearing your hair out if any of the bits are faulty. My advice is try Aria. Much the same prices and customer service way above anything that OcUK provide.

2: I remember that Dell machines use non-standard Ram which means you have to buy memory upgrades from them at ludicrous prices (my friend was quoted £400 to take his system from 256MB to 512MB). They may have stopped doing this now but check with them first to find out what kind of ram your model of Dell uses.

3: Mostly older components will work with newer mobos. Occasionally they don't but it's hard to tell in advance.

4: No, I don't think anyone wants a MX440. Get with the 21st century man...
 

- English -

Resident Freddy
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Messages
5,263
512ddr (2*256)

I got the 2*256 one and I really wanna upgrade to 1gig ram :)
 

Kicks

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Dec 29, 2003
Messages
1,031
chretien said:
1: Overclockers.co.uk are crap for support. I don't know a single person who has a good thing to say about them. They might be cheap but you'll end up tearing your hair out if any of the bits are faulty. My advice is try Aria. Much the same prices and customer service way above anything that OcUK provide.

I've found them easy and quick to deal with, never used another company for PC bits since I found OverClockers. I used Aria once and the experience was not pleasant 3 months it took for a refund on a faulty mobo. Had 1 faulty RAM stick with OC and it was sorted FAST.

I wub um :)

Incidently, if my memory serves me correctly you are correct about Dell RAM you can buy extra bits but you gotta know exactly what you need.

Just a thought, have you checked out the bundle deals that OC do for PC2? Covers mobo, processor, cooler/fan and memory and is often cheaper than buying bits separately.
 

Sycho

Can't get enough of FH
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
2,255
I've never had a problem with overclockers, their service is fine.To the original poster, if i were you i would go with:

Antec case with 380 watt psu=£80 or so
Athlon 3000 winchester=£90 or so.
Neo 2 platinum motherboard=£90.
Geil value 1gb ram=£100.
Seagate 200gb barracuda=£80.(you could get a 120gb for £50 i think)
NEC 3500 DvD writer/CD driver=£40.
Geforce 6600GT 128mb=£130-150.(well even a radeon 9700 pro is fine for today's games, that's around £90)
Floppy disk=£8.
Onboard sound= Free with motherboard and 7.1 supported.This onboard sound DOESN'T slow games down like other chipsets have done in the past.

This set up gives you a perfect games machine for today's titles though it would be around £550-600 each pc.Never the less it would last a good time.
 

poisono

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
May 10, 2004
Messages
271
Remember that OcUK do the bundel of memory, mobo + CPU. Meaning then only a harddrive and case is needed to be bought.

The Ge Force 6600 GT's are damned nice and reliable :)
 

Yoshimo

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Feb 11, 2004
Messages
681
yes but if you look carefully you will find that the price difference between the bundles and the componants in the bundles is £0. and most of the componants in the bundles have features that aren't needed. thus, higher prices. and as i did mention its 2 budget upgrades :)
 

Coolan

One of Freddy's beloved
Joined
Dec 24, 2003
Messages
761
in reply to some of the parts, the reason alot of people have problems with dell, is the older dell machines that used the original p4's also use rd ram, which was discontined shortly after because it was far to expensive and unreliable. yes the 6600gt's are very nice have one myself.
 

Yoshimo

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Feb 11, 2004
Messages
681
hmmmmmmmm dell gave me this info about PC1, why do i suddenly feel screwed?:

Memory

System memory
DIMM: 256 Mb SDRAM
DIMM: 256 Mb SDRAM
DIMM
DIMM

Windows Memory/Resources
Total Memory 523264 Kb
Available Memory 354756 Kb
Page File Size 1321852 Kb
Available Page File 1094888 Kb
Virtual Memory 2097024 Kb
Available Virtual Memory 1948864 Kb


Also does this mean my PC's not set up to process as fast as it can:

Processors

Central Processor
Manufacturer Intel
External Clock Speed 533 MHz
Maximum Clock Speed 3060 MHz
Current Clock Speed 2800 MHz
 

Void959

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
887
No way will the RAM work together, 4 dimms is generally a bad idea anyway, if you can afford a bit more, go with 2*512, otherwise leave it as is. Make sure you choose branded ram, Corsair value is fairly cheap but still good performance and most importantly very reliable.

Good choice with the graphcs card, 6600GT is the best card to get in the mid range, and also the best value IMO.

I would go with AMD myself though, haven't checked prices recently, but a low range athlon 64, say 2800+ should fit in the budget, almost any MSI or ASUS mobo will be good if you dont want to do too much research.

As for the store, there are really only two kinds, expensive and good service or cheap but poor service. The cheap ones are often much cheaper (10-30%) and whilst it's unlikely that there will be any problems, if there are, and you've gone with a cheap option, you'll probably end up regretting it. Overclockers.co.uk falls into the cheap in my opinion, that's not to say don't go with them, just be prepared to put in a lot of time and deal with a lot of very stupid people if there does happen to be any problems.
 

Ctuchik

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 23, 2003
Messages
10,459
Yoshimo said:
Also does this mean my PC's not set up to process as fast as it can:

Processors

Central Processor
Manufacturer Intel
External Clock Speed 533 MHz
Maximum Clock Speed 3060 MHz
Current Clock Speed 2800 MHz


no its not. but then again, NO standard CPU's are. they set the default speed a fair bit under its actual max capacity for safty reasons. they dont wanna be sued for selling stuff that goes boom coz the CPU couldent really handle the speed to well. thats why u can acually overclock the CPU's.. (at your own risk)

atleast thats what ppl have told me.
 

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