Reply With QuoteNewegg.com and zipzoomfly.com are good places for parts.Originally Posted by Mman
As for the other questions would you mind posting your current setup, then I (or someone else) could give you some suggestions as far as upgrades go.
your mom
Ok, in the other thread I said I wanted to upgrade my video card. I have been thinking about it more and I think my computer is in need of a bigger upgrade than that. I don't want to go and build a whole computer because most of the parts in mine are fine. Really I just need a new motherboard, cpu, ram and graphics card.
I just don't know how to go about it exactly. Like, where is a good website to purchase the parts I need. Will I run into any problems? Any suggestions on parts (anything that is particularly well performing for cheap). Any help would be appreciated.
*edit* $500 would be the ideal upper crust of what I'd be willing to part with.
Last edited by Mman; 26 Mar 2006 at 10:47 PM.
your mom
Casual Gamer
Newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com are good places for parts.
As for the other questions would you mind posting your current setup, then I (or someone else) could give you some suggestions as far as upgrades go.
Disgruntled Loudness War Vet
Pricewatch.com. What is your budget?
Order in Chaos
Also, this may be a stupid question, but what Operating System do you plan on using? (some people prefer to not use Windows at all, so this is why I ask..)
http://www.ammosart.com/~iidx/images...OS-TNL-Sig.jpg
Der Wille zur Macht
Jenseits von Gut und Böse
Also Sprach Zarathustra
your mom
I don't have my computer handy to list the exact specs. I have an Intel pentium 4 @ around 2.7. 512mb ram (probably sdram, not sure) and a terrible NVidia GeForce MX 420 in it.
I will be running windows on it.
Like I said, my limit is $500, but I'd be willing to pay less. I'm not wanting to play the newest games on this thing. Just want to make some upgrades and be able to play WoW on the thing.
your mom
Sausage-in-Training
I love AMD, so people like Dyne may disagree with me here.
You may need a more powerful powersupply. I recommend a minimum 400W for the system below.
For $500 I get
-A64 3200+ - $153
-1x1024 Corsair ValueRam -$66
-MSI Nf4 motherboard - $80
-eVGA 6800GS - $169 ( $154 after rebate)
Total = $453
I recommend you also get a 400W PSU, which you should pay around $50, do not cheap out on this.
This fits in the $500, but I am an AMD whore, so see what somebody else can come up with for intel before deciding.
This will kick the shit out of whatever you are using, and all these parts here are good quality, no As-rock no-brand shit.
NB, that's assuming you already have winxp, or you will pirate it (I am not recommending here)
Last edited by Burky; 27 Mar 2006 at 01:54 PM.
your mom
That seems pretty nice. One question, right now I have USB and firewire ports running to the front of my case. I'm assuming those are connected to the motherboard and I will have to lose them if I switch.
your mom
Sausage-in-Training
You won't lose them. They plug into the pins on your motherboard, which means you can unplug the ports from your current one, and switch them onto your new one.
The only issue is making sure that you new motherboard has one for firewire, as it not always the case. I can scout one out later which does, but I'm too busy to go looking now.
Your USB ports will work fine.
You need to be able to read a motherboard manual though, to see which pins you plug in where on the motherboard to do this. I don't know how comfortable you are with that sort of thing, but it is fairly easy to do.
What power supply have you got now?
your mom
I've never messed around with a motherboard before. But I've put in ram into other peoples computers and can easily change out HDs and such. So I think I could figure it out. Right now I belive I only have 160w power supply. Looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954 though.
Also, the firewire isn't really that important. I used to use it for my ipod, but the thing died so it just sits there now.
Oh, and my computer has a soundblaster live value card on it. Would I be better off using that still or the onboard motherboard audio?
This ASUS motherboard seems to be really similar to the one you posted, but with better reviews. Any preference in the brands that I don't know about?
Last edited by Mman; 27 Mar 2006 at 02:44 PM.
your mom
Sausage-in-Training
Asus is better than most brands; I only spent two minutes making that list, but I just built someone a computer with that MSI board and it seems fine so far. But Asus is better.
The only better brand is DFI, but they're for overclocking; they don't perform as best they can till you tweak them manually, and they cost $120+, so it's probably not the best choice for you.
That fortron is great, it has plenty of amps on the 12v which is what matters. I have a forton 500W and I have no problems with it at all, and Im running SLI too with it.
It has a 24 pin ATX supply too, which is what you need for nf4 motherboards, so you will have no problem with that.
You might as well keep your soundblaster card, try it out and see which performs better. The motherboard audio is very good though, so I don't know whether an outdated sound card would top it or not.
If you decide you still need firewire, just buy a PCI card, which you can get for like $10.
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