Building/Upgrading questions

troyhanf · 07-04-2009, 06:37 PM

This is my current computer: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/re...outThisProduct

My model is a couple years older, it's a P4 3.2GHz processor, not the one shown in the link. The rest of the specs however are about the same.

Here's my question: With this case and everything, is it possible for me to upgrade the processor? And, if so, what else would I need to upgrade? Motherboard I'm assuming, but what else? I'd like to upgrade my graphics card. I current have Radeon x1550, but may be wanting something better, since I just got a new monitor, and my current card is running at it's max I think. I'd possibly also like to add another gig of RAM. I'm just not sure if I would need to get a new PSU or anything..

Any help is greatly appreciated. And thanks in advance..

**Tyree** · 07-04-2009, 08:24 PM

Not knowing what Mobo is in the Compaq, it's hard to determine what you could upgrade to. Adding another Gb of RAM would show a noticeable improvement.
Be certain you have enough room in that case before buying a video card. You will probably have to upgrade your PSU if you upgrade the graphics card. Prebuilts usually have sufficient power for the original configuration and adding/upgrading hardware demands more power.

troyhanf · 07-04-2009, 08:41 PM

The graphics card I have now is one I purchased and put in myself, there was plenty of room for it then, and although newer graphics cards are bigger, I think there should be plenty of room.

Is there a way I can see what type of Mobo I have so I can post it on here?

dai · 07-04-2009, 08:43 PM

see what this lists

http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

troyhanf · 07-04-2009, 08:52 PM

PCWizard says:

Mainboard: ECS Livemore
Chipset: Intel i945g/GZ
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 @ 3200 MHz

dai · 07-04-2009, 09:56 PM

it may support a higher c/duo cpu than listed with a bios update

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...name=c00910113

troyhanf · 07-04-2009, 10:04 PM

How good of a processor is a "Core 2 Duo (Conroe) up to E4300"? Is it a big enough upgrade to even be worth it? Or would be it more worth my while to get something better and get a new mobo as well?

Secondly.. is it difficult to replace the processor? I haven't really looked at mine..

dai · 07-04-2009, 10:33 PM

it's not difficult to put in a new cpu,there are tutorials on it

your looking at upgrading the

video card
psu
cpu

so you are probably better off just rebuilding

troyhanf · 07-04-2009, 10:43 PM

It would essentially be a rebuild, but I won't need a new DVD-ROM, HDD, Case, or the small things like that would I?

Or is it not possible to just replace the CPU, Video, and PSU, while adding 1GB RAM without doing a lot more work with other things as well?

Mcninjaguy · 07-05-2009, 12:05 AM

Ok What is your budget and what are looking to run? If its games well that would cover everything else since games will cover everything else, like video editing and all that jazz.

If you have a compaq case, its probably not that good.

I will make a new system for you, without you needing to buy a OS at the moment. Just use Windows 7 RC, as its free and very stable.

Windows 7 RC
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win.../download.aspx

I will help you pick out the parts for a $650 dollar tower - no speakers, monitor, HDD, DVD drive. Tell me if you want to go cheaper and I 'll change the parts up.

Case
Antec Three Hundred
$55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
$110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128387

CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 810 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 4MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor
$140
*Free Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103650

Ram
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P10664GK
$50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227298

PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
$100
after rebate $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

GPU
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100273L Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$150
after rebate $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102834

Total $605
after rebates $585

troyhanf · 07-05-2009, 07:55 AM

I gotta say, thanks for doing the parts research for me Mc.

That all looks great, and the price is reasonable, but is there anything that could be done to cut costs even a little more? I'm on a tight budget..

Also the computer would only really be used for games (me) and regular old web browsing (my wife).

And the games I play are not all that demanding anyways. The most demanding thing I play is WoW, which really isn't that bad.

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 08:08 AM

Dual core instead of Quad> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103681

Drop the video card down to a HD4670> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102820

You could drop the power supply back to a 550w but the Seasonic and Corsair 550W are the same price as the 650tx after rebates so stick with the 650 it may come in handy for future upgrades.

troyhanf · 07-05-2009, 12:05 PM

Wrench, is there much of a difference between the Video Card you linked and this: http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonx1550/specs.html

That's what I've got now, and if it wouldn't be much of an upgrade, it probably wouldn't be worth the money.

The one I have now plays WoW okay, but I get some significant FPS drops in more populated areas, and can't really turn the visual settings up as high as I'd like to. Would the card you linked be better for it? Or should I maybe try to scratch up a few extra dollars for one like what Mc listed for me?

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 12:35 PM

Quite a bit the 4670 is more powerful then the X1950XTX in crossfire.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/g...andx4,736.html

raptorkid · 07-05-2009, 12:37 PM

I have a 4670, and it runs pretty much every game I've tried at near maximum settings.

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 12:39 PM

There is also a HD4770 which is almost as good as the HD4850 but runs cooler and uses less power> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121317

troyhanf · 07-05-2009, 01:03 PM

Awesome! Thanks for the help guys!

Now all that's left is to talk my wife into letting me spend the money for the new build.

Pray for me!

troyhanf · 07-05-2009, 01:05 PM

Looking at the chart you posted, would the 3870 be a better option? Just $10 more and scored significantly better.

Or is there something I don't know about the 3870 when compared to the 4670?

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 01:13 PM

The 3870 is an older card it was replaced by the 4870 it runs hotter(=more fan noise) and uses more power then the 4670 or 4850 but the 650w will cover that.

Mcninjaguy · 07-05-2009, 02:17 PM

Yea those new Dual cores by AMD are cheap and they run on 45 nm core so they run nice and cool.

All the downgrades/upgrades whatever way you look at it seem nice and should run games and anything you throw at it nicely.

Running cards in crossfire is never worth the money.

So lets hope the wife can spare the money!

07-04-2009, 06:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Building/Upgrading questions This is my current computer: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/re...outThisProduct My model is a couple years older, it's a P4 3.2GHz processor, not the one shown in the link. The rest of the specs however are about the same. Here's my question: With this case and everything, is it possible for me to upgrade the processor? And, if so, what else would I need to upgrade? Motherboard I'm assuming, but what else? I'd like to upgrade my graphics card. I current have Radeon x1550, but may be wanting something better, since I just got a new monitor, and my current card is running at it's max I think. I'd possibly also like to add another gig of RAM. I'm just not sure if I would need to get a new PSU or anything.. Any help is greatly appreciated. And thanks in advance..

07-04-2009, 08:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,579 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Building/Upgrading questions Not knowing what Mobo is in the Compaq, it's hard to determine what you could upgrade to. Adding another Gb of RAM would show a noticeable improvement. Be certain you have enough room in that case before buying a video card. You will probably have to upgrade your PSU if you upgrade the graphics card. Prebuilts usually have sufficient power for the original configuration and adding/upgrading hardware demands more power. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

07-04-2009, 08:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Re: Building/Upgrading questions The graphics card I have now is one I purchased and put in myself, there was plenty of room for it then, and although newer graphics cards are bigger, I think there should be plenty of room. Is there a way I can see what type of Mobo I have so I can post it on here?

07-04-2009, 08:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,609 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Building/Upgrading questions see what this lists http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php __________________

07-04-2009, 08:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Re: Building/Upgrading questions PCWizard says: Mainboard: ECS Livemore Chipset: Intel i945g/GZ Processor: Intel Pentium 4 @ 3200 MHz

07-04-2009, 09:56 PM	#6 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,609 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Building/Upgrading questions it may support a higher c/duo cpu than listed with a bios update http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...name=c00910113 __________________

07-04-2009, 10:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Re: Building/Upgrading questions How good of a processor is a "Core 2 Duo (Conroe) up to E4300"? Is it a big enough upgrade to even be worth it? Or would be it more worth my while to get something better and get a new mobo as well? Secondly.. is it difficult to replace the processor? I haven't really looked at mine..

07-04-2009, 10:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,609 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Building/Upgrading questions it's not difficult to put in a new cpu,there are tutorials on it your looking at upgrading the video card psu cpu so you are probably better off just rebuilding __________________

07-04-2009, 10:43 PM	#9 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Re: Building/Upgrading questions It would essentially be a rebuild, but I won't need a new DVD-ROM, HDD, Case, or the small things like that would I? Or is it not possible to just replace the CPU, Video, and PSU, while adding 1GB RAM without doing a lot more work with other things as well?

07-05-2009, 12:05 AM	#10 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Building/Upgrading questions Ok What is your budget and what are looking to run? If its games well that would cover everything else since games will cover everything else, like video editing and all that jazz. If you have a compaq case, its probably not that good. I will make a new system for you, without you needing to buy a OS at the moment. Just use Windows 7 RC, as its free and very stable. Windows 7 RC http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win.../download.aspx I will help you pick out the parts for a $650 dollar tower - no speakers, monitor, HDD, DVD drive. Tell me if you want to go cheaper and I 'll change the parts up. Case Antec Three Hundred $55 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042 Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard $110 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128387 CPU AMD Phenom II X4 810 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 4MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor $140 *Free Shipping http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103650 Ram OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P10664GK $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227298 PSU CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail $100 after rebate $80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005 GPU SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100273L Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $150 after rebate $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102834 Total $605 after rebates $585

07-05-2009, 07:55 AM	#11 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Re: Building/Upgrading questions I gotta say, thanks for doing the parts research for me Mc. That all looks great, and the price is reasonable, but is there anything that could be done to cut costs even a little more? I'm on a tight budget.. Also the computer would only really be used for games (me) and regular old web browsing (my wife). And the games I play are not all that demanding anyways. The most demanding thing I play is WoW, which really isn't that bad.

07-05-2009, 08:08 AM	#12 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,550 OS: Win7	Re: Building/Upgrading questions Dual core instead of Quad> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103681 Drop the video card down to a HD4670> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102820 You could drop the power supply back to a 550w but the Seasonic and Corsair 550W are the same price as the 650tx after rebates so stick with the 650 it may come in handy for future upgrades. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-05-2009, 12:05 PM	#13 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Re: Building/Upgrading questions Wrench, is there much of a difference between the Video Card you linked and this: http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonx1550/specs.html That's what I've got now, and if it wouldn't be much of an upgrade, it probably wouldn't be worth the money. The one I have now plays WoW okay, but I get some significant FPS drops in more populated areas, and can't really turn the visual settings up as high as I'd like to. Would the card you linked be better for it? Or should I maybe try to scratch up a few extra dollars for one like what Mc listed for me?

07-05-2009, 12:35 PM	#14 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,550 OS: Win7	Re: Building/Upgrading questions Quite a bit the 4670 is more powerful then the X1950XTX in crossfire. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/g...andx4,736.html __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-05-2009, 12:37 PM	#15 (permalink)
raptorkid Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Biddulph, UK Posts: 91 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: Building/Upgrading questions I have a 4670, and it runs pretty much every game I've tried at near maximum settings.

07-05-2009, 12:39 PM	#16 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,550 OS: Win7	Re: Building/Upgrading questions There is also a HD4770 which is almost as good as the HD4850 but runs cooler and uses less power> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121317 __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-05-2009, 01:03 PM	#17 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Re: Building/Upgrading questions Awesome! Thanks for the help guys! Now all that's left is to talk my wife into letting me spend the money for the new build. Pray for me!

07-05-2009, 01:05 PM	#18 (permalink)
troyhanf Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 28 OS: Vista	Re: Building/Upgrading questions Looking at the chart you posted, would the 3870 be a better option? Just $10 more and scored significantly better. Or is there something I don't know about the 3870 when compared to the 4670?

07-05-2009, 01:13 PM	#19 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,550 OS: Win7	Re: Building/Upgrading questions The 3870 is an older card it was replaced by the 4870 it runs hotter(=more fan noise) and uses more power then the 4670 or 4850 but the 650w will cover that. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-05-2009, 02:17 PM	#20 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Building/Upgrading questions Yea those new Dual cores by AMD are cheap and they run on 45 nm core so they run nice and cool. All the downgrades/upgrades whatever way you look at it seem nice and should run games and anything you throw at it nicely. Running cards in crossfire is never worth the money. So lets hope the wife can spare the money!