Upgrading my computer

Kickerz

Baseband Member
Messages
59
I still have my first computer, though i upgraded it. It has its 9 gb hard drive still in, here is how it is now.

1.7 ghz P4
Award Motherboard
Sound Blaster Live 5.1
512 MB Ram
80 GB hard Drive
9 GB Hard Drive
Creative SBS 5.1
32x CD-Rom
64 MB Geforece2 MX 400


I just recently had my bar-mitzvah, and recieved $2275, and im going to up grade my computer for Half-Life 2.


This is my plan:

3.0E Ghz P4
nForce Motherboard
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
Logitech Z-680s
80 GB Hard Drive
9 GB Hard Drive
52x CD-Rom
128 MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Inspire Case


Total Upgrade Cost: $860


Is this worth it (i didn't include fans in there, but I am buying fans.)?



[EDIT: I also forgot to ask if anyone has any suggestions for change? I really want to stick to a budget under $900, thanks ;-)]
 
Here are my suggestions.

1. Nforce boards only support AMD processors so look for a board made by a name brand company that supports the 3.0 ghz p4.

2. I would go with the socket 775 P4 instead of the 468 one.

3. Those speakers are way too expensive.
These are what I have and are dang nice. And cheap too. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006HYPD/ref=nosim/coffeeresearch/002-2689617-3608055

3. Make sure your Ram is at a speed of pc3200 or ddr400.

4. Stick with your normal cd rom drive unless you are getting a burner.

5. Use pricewatch.com to find the best prices on things.

Oh yeah, good luck on coming of age. Man I wish I got that much money at one time.
 
Thanks a lot, I have to get a new CD-rom drive because mine is messed up. I tried getting some songs off my CDs (actually about 200 songs) and some of the songs had this cracking sound in them. So no CD-Rom for sure. Also, im not going to buy the speakers you recommended since I bought my Creative SBS 5.1 for $70 and im really disappointed in them (center channel doesn't work, and front left turns off when volume is too low).

I'm also not too bad at computers (if i say so myself), but hardware completely confuses me. My ram i've been using for at least a year perfecly, and im satisfied with it. Though I have no idea what "Make sure your Ram is at a speed of pc3200 or ddr400." means.

"2. I would go with the socket 775 P4 instead of the 468 one."
Also the processor is a Socket 478, what motherboard do you recommend for that.

I forgot to mention that I'm not planning on upgrading my computer for another 3 years at least, so I don't want to buy crap again. (Sound Blaster Live and SBS 5.1)

"5. Use pricewatch.com to find the best prices on things."

I don't know... I'm really proud of NewEgg.com. What do you think about them, they get everything really cheap. The Logitech Z-680s are 225$ at newegg. As opposed to up to $400 on some sites.

Thanks.
 
LOL

Yeah 468 will be fine. 775 is fairly new and mobo's for them are expensive.

As fot the speakers. You bought some faulty ones. I have two sets of these each work fine. The only complaint about them is the blue led. Seriously it isnt worth it for the speakers you are getting. You must reconsider. These are incredible great speakers. Dont let the price deture you.

And now you ram. I dont think you mentioned you were going to upgrade RAM. According to your specs it looks like you arent planning on buying RAM. Your ram in your old system will cripple your processor if its not up to speed.

Also You probably should just build a complete new system and usethat one as a second one. I think you are buying all new parts for everything except RAM.
 
No, I am not planning on upgrading my ram, but if you suggest it, I just might. Maybe I'll buy a bit less expensive Logitech Z-5300, they are very nice and cheap. Here I'll find a link: http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review829.html

Though I am disappointed that the remote has wires now, when you have a 5.1 system you really want to cut down on the wires. Also with the Z-680s it was really way to powerful for me... 505 watts... just the center satelite was as strong as my current system's total RMS.

Anyways do you know what the best system would be without spending more than $800-900?

What I don't need:
Hard-drive
Floppy Drive
Optional:
Better ram?
What I want:
Audiy 2 ZS (for sure)
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Fast Intel (because I'm familiar with them) processor





Thanks man, your a lot of help. You see, i'm spending so much money I don't want to be disappointed with it.
 
airiox said:
P4 3.0GHZ $175

MSI Neo $78

Radeon 9800 pro $155

WD SATA 80GB $70

twin 256 corsair pc3200 =512 $86

Audigy 2 ZS $89

Logitech 640 5.1 $38

CD RW 52 x $25

------------------------------------------------------------------
Total $716

This is minus case, monitor, mouse, and keyboard.

Subtract the:
Hard Drive -$70
Ram (i'm not sure I already have 512MB ram, and i'm not sure if i have another memory slot, (keep in mind my motherboard is old).
Subtract the:
Speakers -$40

Add the:
Logitech Z-5300 +$150 (http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review829.html)

Add the:
ASPIRE X-Infinity Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with 350W Power Supply
(http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-144-076&DEPA=0)
+62.00

and

Half Life 2
+50


Depending how much money i have left i might buy another monitor since mine is really crappy, (extremly round, and not that big... I'd say Maybe 15-16" viewable)

[EDIT: Oh I recently got an awsome Keyboard, and I already have a Microsoft Optical Mouse (which i very much like, it has back and forward buttons as well as scrolling/mouse3 button)]
Thanks a ton, you replied before i got my other reply in... LOL


[EDIT2: uh... about the Mobo... uh... i don't know much about them, but judging by the eye candy on that site (not much) those guys arn't that skilled. I don't mind paying $100 for a mobo if it will make all the difference. Also about the CD-RW, I don't need it. I got an iPod (present for my bar-mitzvah from parents) and so I don't need CDs ever again (I got an AUX cable, so I can connect to stereo if i want). Sorry about all the editing I keep forgetting stuff i wanted to say.]
 
They make really nice motherboards. I just chose them so I wouldnt have to go searching all over the internet.

Take for instance Gigabyte. Their site is crap and their mobos look cheap but they are very nice.

But yeah looks pretty good.
 
Kickerz29 said:
Subtract the:
Ram (i'm not sure I already have 512MB ram, and i'm not sure if i have another memory slot, (keep in mind my motherboard is old).

Your old RAM will most likely be "SDRAM" you will need to buy new "DDR" RAM to be compatible with your motherboard, the SDRAM won't even fit.

Remember you can sell your old computer for a bit of cash?
 
i agree, sell your old pc the extra bits you need are peanuts in comparison to the money you will get for your old system also ditch the old 9gb drive its slowing the other drive and if you buy a hd disk thats IDE buy a 7200rpm with 8mb cache or go for Serial ATA faster the better with bigger cache
 
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