Base build off a dell dimension 3000 (STRICT BUDGET)

[gamerking]

all the links work for me, just the first link was a combo that has expired now.

theyve changed some prices around too, so this is what i found this time.

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - MSI 785GTM-E45 AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AXT6400C5-2048K - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

total $244 + shipping

if the ram i linked above ^ shows up as out of stock, switch to this ram.
Newegg.com - WINTEC AMPO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model 3AMD2800-2G2K-R - Desktop Memory

Ok thanks so much Muffin, will definitely look into this.

 

[aliasaid]

Newegg.com - MSI GF615M-P33 AM3 NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
$55

Newegg.com - Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CT25664BA1339 - Desktop Memory
$45

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply - Power Supplies
$30

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
$59

Newegg.com - POWERCOLOR AX4650 512MD2-H Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
$50

thats one way you could go, PSU isn't of highest quality, but its not terrible and its appropriate for that budget. $239 + shipping. If you're not much into gaming then i would go with muffin's build, as it has a quad core, but integrated video!


they had a 4670 on newegg for $50 or something close to that, but it went up in price...

 

[gamerking]

Thanks all for your help, I decided on my parts and will order them soon.

 

[kmote]

Good stuff. Let us know how it goes.

 

[SECorBust]

Good stuff. Let us know how it goes.

x2

I have a non upgradeable Dimension 3000 also. Neither mine or my wife's Dell will play the new sims game that she has. Should have known.

Anyway I would like to get my computer up to speed to play at least that game and eventually replace my whole dell dog eventually. Would I need the same parts as gamerking?

This would be a first build for me - like I need a new hobby.

 

[Muffin Man]

depends on what your budget is for some new parts.

 

[SECorBust]

depends on what your budget is for some new parts.

The wife got permission from her IT guy to play her Sims game on her work Apple bada** laptop. So, no rush on gaming.

I understand that my video card is not upgradable in the Dell. I would like something powerful that I could upgrade a piece or few pieces at a time. I like the idea of the modular build of the pc. To spend like 100-150 at a time until I'm happy or is that even a good approach. I want a pc that can play todays games and use word and excel as well as serve as a media center - and whatever else I can come up with - for cheap. My dell just seems like an old ******* by todays standards.

 

[Muffin Man]

well the dell is upgradable, its just not worth your money to keep investing in a really old machine.

you could upgrade it bit by bit, but for the first initial upgrade i would save up a little more like maybe $250.

the first major upgrade would be for the cpu, mobo, ram and probably psu because for a new cpu, you need a new mobo with the correct socket and a new mobo will also require new ram. and a new psu too so you wont have to worry about that crap 250w possibly frying your new parts.

then later on, bit by bit you could go on about upgrading to a decent gfx card, more ram, new hdd, etc.

 

[glasshalffull]

I just located this thread as I'm trying to upgrade my parents dimension 3000. I just clean reinstalled xp on it and it's sluggish as they bought this with little on it years ago. I want to upgrade the ram on this for their daily use , minor programs and web surfing, and i saw the recommendations here for the 2gb ram at newegg for around $40 (WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400). what i was looking to get them was around $60 at newegg.

will this upgrade work with this stock setup? any drawbacks using this? I would also like to upgrade the video card but don't need anything that great just something to get them by for general web use and video watching.

M5264 Processor, 80546, 2.8, 1M, Pentium4 Prescott DT, 533, D0
1 J0201 Dual Inline Memory Module 256, 400M, 32X64 8K, 184
1 X2749 Modem, V.92, Data Fax, Internal Donny, Dell Americas Organization
1 X2746 Digital Video Disk Drive, 16X IDE, Half Height, External Midnight Gray
1 Y6575 Compact Disk Read Write, 48X32 Integrated Drive Electronics Samsung,
1 U4700 Hard Drive, 80GB, I, 7.2K, 2MEGB WD-XL80SD


thanks for any advice

 

[Trotter]

Yeah, DDR ain't getting any cheaper. If you want 2GB, go with these:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Value 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model F1-3200PHU2-2GBNT - Desktop Memory
They cost a couple of bucks more (never buy to get a rebate), but they will be good RAM as G.Skill are top notch on quality.

My wife used a MX4000 in her computer for several years. She mainly used it for multi-media and casual gaming:
Newegg.com - JATON Video-208PCI-128TV GeForce MX4000 128MB 64-bit DDR PCI Low Profile Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

For the same price you can get this FX 5200 which will give more "umph" than the MX 4000:
Newegg.com - PNY VCGFX522PEB GeForce FX 5200 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Comes with a rebate, but rebates can be iffy.

Those are really the only cards the power supply could support, but either would handle what you want it to do.