Upgrading a AMD 1900+ on a budget

[Malcolm]

Hello, this is the first time i have posted here and i need some advice. I want to upgrade my PC to play some of the newer games coming out. I currently have,

AMD 1900+
512MB DDR ram
80 GB hd
128MB video card, i think it is a nVdia but im not sure.

I bought the computer about 5 months ago, and i only paid $300 for it, and it came with a monitor and pretty much everything else one would need to get their computer up and running. But now i am to the point where i am getting high speed internet in a couple of months and i want to play some online FPS' like Counter Strike Source and Battlefield 2. I also want to be able to play Civilization 4 better than i can at the moment(Once i get about halfway through a game it takes a minute or two to complete the simulation for a turn)

I don't think this is very realisitic but i want to do this for $200-$400 canadian. I can always look for deals, i'm just not sure on what i invest my money in.

Any ideas would be great

 

[timberwolf1]

Hi Malcolm,

With regards to your question about upgrading your old PC, here are my opinions:

1) Your AMD 1900+ sounds like it is about 4 years old (I have an AMD Athlon 1800+ XP from 2002). High time to upgrade it.

2) If you want to be able to play games like Counterstrike and BF2, or Civ 4, then I'd say you should get a good video card, a good CPU and plenty of RAM. Those are the 3 most important components. For the video card, something like a 7900GT would be ideal, though its gonna cost ya. The CPU should be a Athlon FX-60 or similar, and RAM should ideally be around 1 GB.

3) Of course, in future, if you want to upgrade to SLI (i.e. 2 graphics cards) then you need an SLI motherboard. Also, there's a direction in the industry towards dual cores, meaning 2 CPUs running. Again, you will want to go with motherboards that support that.

If you want to learn more, you can check out this article which I wrote - it gives you sample configurations for 3 cheap gaming computers (each around $400 to $600 US). You can also check out this article over at ExtremeTech.com.

 

[sojrner]

wow, umm...

first: you do NOT need to jump from a 1900+ all the way to an fx-60... that is just overkill.

second: if the games you mentioned are all that you want, then an ati 97/9800pro will scream fine on them. But that is very old tech now and you should get more like an ati x800gto or nvidia 6600gt and it would do you fine.

The article timberwolf posted after the huge jumps in hardware is a pretty good one, and has some good advice. One issue: stick w/ asrock, asus or dfi mobos... they are more reliable. Shop around and you might even beat the prices posted there.

My advice: by the most you can afford. most current games need a gig of ram (especially bf2) and a single core athlon64 proc will suffice for what you are talking. If you can re-use the hard drive/monitor/optical drives and such from your current system then I would just get a new mobo, ram, proc and video card. Your current ram is unusable as it pc2100 (instead of pc3200) so you will need new ram. Make sure your current power supply is enough, if you have an e-machines then regardless of what it says upgrade it. e-machines and other budget systems have horribly inadequate power for upgrades.

you should be able to keep that stuff around $400, but I am not sure what canadian prices are like.

Read that article and other threads here and you will get quite a few ideas, just don't go WAY overboard like getting a 7900gtx or p4EE based on someone saying that your system sucks and you NEED that stuff to see any good performance. You dont. Your budget is fine and you should stick to it. Good luck.

 

[Pain]

Adding to what timberwolf said, or at least getting back to the original question, you'll need to know what motherboard you have to determine if it is upgradable. However, given the games you want to play, I think you'll be wasting money for unsatisfactory performance increase by trying to upgrade that box.

 

[timberwolf1]

Agree with pain. I think its best to invest in a new motherboard (something 4 years old is way too dated).

Just to clarify my original post - I don't think he needs an FX-60. I was just recommending it in case he wants great gaming performance. I guess Malcolm will do great by going for a cheap $400 to $600 system (without a monitor).

 

[sojrner]

he has a socket A mobo for that 1900+... that means that the mobo can only do another athlonXP... and I think it is safe to assume that it does not support the 400Mhz bus (barton) so it prb maxes out at 333, his is running 266 (but may actually have pc2700/ddr333 ram running at that slower speed).

Regardless, I would say that upgrading on that mobo is futile, and like timberwolf implied w/ his article links he should get a new mobo and proc, which implies new ram as well. This would allow him to get a pci-e video card. Not that pci-e will gain much over agp for that level, but it gets him newer tech like a higher end x800/850 etc...

 

[sojrner]

ya, nprb man... wasn't ripping on you for the fx-60, just making sure that he did not get confused.

there are alot of ppl here that just come on and say "your system sux, n00b" and then say "spend $1000+" on a "budget" system.

Your articles were great, sorry if i sounded like an a$$.

 

[Pain]

he has a socket A mobo for that 1900+... that means that the mobo can only do another athlonXP... and I think it is safe to assume that it does not support the 400Mhz bus (barton) so it prb maxes out at 333, his is running 266 (but may actually have pc2700/ddr333 ram running at that slower speed).

Yeah, I know, I have 7 socketA boards myself at home and another dozen at work. I was just not assuming what he had with full knowledge that he was likely limited to 333. But, if it is a new motherboard (year old) then there is a chance it will go to 400, but that will require new memory. In any case, we all agree he'd be throwing good money after bad trying to upgrade it.

 

[timberwolf1]

Hi sojrner,

Thanks for your comments. I think one problem I have is that way too many people recommend Athlon X2s, SLI, PCI-E systems. You know, the thing is, many, many casual gamers or builders out there don't need such systems.

Yes, its cool to play BF2 or Oblivion at the max resolutions, but not all folks need that. I think the community should try to focus less on 'top of the line' stuff and sometimes just recommend simple configurations for casual users.

 

[sojrner]

right-on man... that is my thoughts exactly.

That budget rig on the first article you posted above is a very respectable system, and will run circles around any budget rig you get from dell/hp/compaq etc. If malcolm were to save some of his components from his current system he could easily fit the major components on there under his budget and have a rockin' system.

I agree that you do not always need the top components for a good system. Yes, I enjoy my system... (just built it a month-or-so ago) and do like all the candy @ high-res. It just happened that I was able to up my budget at the time and get all that. Given a different time that would not have been the case. Honestly, the system that I upgraded from was built 3 years ago. (xp2700+, 9700pro etc...) and I got top performance from that system for a long time. Heck, that system still rocks in most games; even bf2 is great on it.

But reality is that I do not really need this system. I could get by w/ much less. I just believe that if I have the budget, I can use it all to get the most life out of it. In the case of a lower budget, you do what you can. (I have had MUCH lower budgets and built some systems that would make you cry... )

IMO while pci-e does not show any bennies on anything but super high-end video cards right now, it does give you a better upgrade path. I anyone were to buy a new mobo right now I would opt for the pci-e capable one.

just more thoughts

rock on.