Upgrade for OLD PC for around $200

[35g700]

I have convinced my parents to upgrade our family PC, the thing has a single core celeron 1.7GHz, an FX5200, and 1.5GB of DDR ram and locks up if you try to print something.

I've got about $200 to spend and should be ordering sometime next week.

For the upgrade I am going to need a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, and video card. We already have a decent PSU, it's a 500 watt antec basiq PSU so it should be able to handle a low end dual core set up.

Here is what I have come up with for about $200:

CPU: Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Processors - Desktops

RAM: Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Motherboard: Newegg.com - ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Heatsink: Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S963 92mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks


I also have some questions about the build I have:

1) Will the CPU work with the motherboard right out of the box? We don't own any AM2 CPU's that we could use to flash the BIOS

2) Does micro ATX fit in an ATX case? This is the case we have: Newegg.com - RAIDMAX Scorpio ATX-868WSP Silver 0.8mm SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420watts PS2 ATX12V Power Supply - Computer Cases

3) Will that Heatsink fit in the case above? I'm pretty sure it will but I just want to make sure.

Is it worth it to buy an aftermarket Heatsink for this CPU? I will try to overclock but I have heard that AMD CPU's don't OC as well as intel ones. If it's not worth getting the heatsink would it be worth it to go for a triple core CPU or even the 9600 ( I have heard works fine in 32 bit OS's, but does not work in 64 bit OS)

This is my first AMD build I'm unfamiliar with AMD (I really want to try out there products though) is there anything I should know about when buying AMD?

If there is anything better I can get for about the same cost don't hesitate to recommend, I will buy what is best bang/buck.

Thanks

 

[Trotter]

1) It should.

2) Yes. You will have to move the stand-offs, but any modern ATX case already has the holes for a mATX board in it.

3) Yes. It will fit, no problem.

The Black Edition CPUs OC pretty good. A minor OC wouldn't need any additional cooling, though. The stock speed will blow your folks away as-is.

One of the reviews says they used a 7750 and it worked out of the box, so you are safe where you stand. Another said they used a 9750 right off the bat, so the 9500 should work after all.

 

[35g700]

So it would not be worth it to buy an aftermarket heatsink? Would it be worth it to upgrade to a triple core or the Phenom 9600?

 

[Trotter]

Aftermarket HSF? Not unless you want to OC it more than just a tad.

Tri- or quad-core? I doubt they ould really be able to utilize it, but you never know. No sense in buying it just to buy it.

 

[35g700]

Ok I will stick with the 7750. If I did get an aftermarket Heatsink how much more of an overclock would I be able to get out of it over the stock heatsink? If it's not much I may just use the stock heatsink and not buy an aftermarket heatsink.

 

[Trotter]

I don't know what the headroom is for those. Check the AMD overclocking thread to get an idea about it.

 

[35g700]

Alright, I will just use the stock heatsink fan. If I get horrible temps then I will get an aftermarket heatsink.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Trotter]

De nada. My pleasure.

 

[35g700]

I'm ordering the stuff today, There is a promo code for the 9600 that brings it down to $79.99 would it be worth it to spend the extra $20 on the 9600 over the 7750? It may be a home use computer but there is stuff like user switching and we could have up to 4 users logged in at the same time, with programs running like office 2003, and some games my sister likes to play.

The OS is XP Pro 32bit.

 

[Da Viksta]

yeah, it should be worth it if you plan to do a lot of multitasking, but tbh either will be fine, it just sorta boils down to what you want. personally, id go for the 9600 though....