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Bought a computer for 80 bucks ! help me build it into a..

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i was at a computer show recently and a man was selling refurbished computers from offices and i got one for 80 bucks :-) he are the specs

Compaq EVO D300
Intel Celeron 1.3GHz
256MB DDR Memory
20GB IDE Hard Drive
CD-ROM
10/100 LAN Ethernet
4 USB Ports
Floppy Drive
Windows XP Professional genuine disc ! :-)

PSU unit seems to be 250 watts.....

now i really want to turn this into a semi decent gaming rig just strong enough to play command and conquer 3 here is what im thinking

i have a spare 1 gig of ram i will throw in and get rid of the 256 megs
and a dvd rom drive

also

i want to upgrade the CPU to this CPU for 38 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116035
Intel Celeron 2.5 Northwood 2.5GHz 128KB L2 Cache Socket 478 Processor - OEM

but i dont know if the motherboard will suport that cpu

and i will buy a 7600 GS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125039

99.00

but i dont know if the PSU is strong enough for this graphics card

if anyone can answer my questions or recomend something please do :-) thank you

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Sorry dude but you would be better of scrapping it and starting again, it looks about 7 years old. Celerons are pretty crap processors. I had a 6 year old Dell( 512Meg, 40gig, P4 2.4Ghz ) and it was crap for gaming and that was even higher spec'd that yours

i would have paid $5 for that rig or taken it for free seeing as it would cost money to get rid of it, lol, at least you got XP out of it :) ( unless its OEM 8O )

The reason i say scrap it is i had the same decision to make with my old dell and it worked out too expensive. It'll be a money pit, youll need an AGP card and thats more expensive than a PCI-E card. You could build a similar system around that that would allow for the latest processors,mem, gpu's for cheap, maybe $200

Reply to lmimmfn

its a real genine version of windows xp pro cd and all it was still sealed when i got it lol

7 years old ???????? ! lol


so no way i should waste my time upgrading it huh :-(

Reply to Gadzookie

yeah, lol, im serious, it is from around 2000( maybe even 1999 ), sorry dude, you may be able to use the case if it takes ATX mobo's, floppy maybe, but theyre being extinguished with USB sticks, and i wouldnt trust a PSU that old with new components( you dont know if its 250W contineous or if it will crap out on anything over 250 and be unstable over 230w )

It is great that you got a genuine copy of XP Pro though, nice one, made a saving there :)

You might stick it in a museum :twisted: i think it would be fine to have it as a second PC for web browsing, throw linux on it and use that XP Pro on a new build/second hand comp( if thats what youre into ). Did you get a screen?

Reply to lmimmfn

im using the PC now does everything except play games lol looks like 16 mb of video memory lol

Reply to Gadzookie

lmao, well itll be fine for messing around/surfing on, reminds me o fmy tecra laptop, i tried using it a ew months ago, 64mb ram, 16meg gpu, some form of P3, 8 gig harddrive. Im gonna try installing linux on it sometime as i think it would be cool to control music or control a server for streaming video or something like that( a glorified remote control lol )

Reply to lmimmfn

Quote :

im using the PC now does everything except play games lol looks like 16 mb of video memory lol



you could build a rig to play Halflife, Counterstrike, and Quake II.

Great games... although I have only played Halflife and Quake 2.

Quake 2 was the first real video game that I played... I was like 9 :)
Civilization 2 is also SWEET!

Reply to billdcat4

the motherboard is 845 i didnt think it was that old dam i thought i could upgrade this thing lo

Reply to Gadzookie

Quote :

the motherboard is 845 i didnt think it was that old dam i thought i could upgrade this thing lo



I think I have that chipset in my family's Dell Dimension 2400.

The graphics chipset is 82845G anyhow

Reply to billdcat4

lol, lesson here, beware refurbished PC's :twisted:

As was said though, if youre ok running older games like CS/HL2 at lower settings you could get a new GPU etc. i personally think it would be a waste of cash that you wont get back, like trying to start converting an old ford into a ferrari, paint it pure white and you could use it as a huge mp3 player 8O youre new ipod mini!!!!!!!

Reply to lmimmfn

what do you think about trying to run Unreal Tournament 2004 on it and i get my hands on a crappy GPU

Reply to Gadzookie

Quote :

what do you think about trying to run Unreal Tournament 2004 on it and i get my hands on a crappy GPU



it sure as hell doesnt have pci express

does it have AGP? If not, you could get a PCI Video card based on the FX5200. Should run Unreal 04 fine.

Reply to billdcat4

it says here http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products [...] Components
that it has a 4x AGP 8O
Im still with converting it into a huge mini ipod
I think looks wise its deadly, look away now if you scare easily http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/10948_div/10948_OV_div.jpg[/img]

Reply to lmimmfn

lol, sorry man i shouldnt be making fun of your hot system
You could stick in a semi decent GPU in it but it'll be bottlenecked at 4xAGP, maybe you could replace the mobo with an 865 one that will have 8xagp

Reply to lmimmfn

Quote :

it says here http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products [...] Components
that it has a 4x AGP 8O
Im still with converting it into a huge mini ipod
I think looks wise its deadly, look away now if you scare easily http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/10948_div/10948_OV_div.jpg[/img]



Stick with the 256megs of ram though. You dont need more than that to run old games like the ones I mentioned before. I would get a PCI vid card though. Cheaper than AGP, and you can use it on any PC

Reply to billdcat4

But that wont run Command and Conquer 3 which is the OP's game of choice, you could play the older Command and Conquer games though

Reply to lmimmfn

Quote :

But that wont run Command and Conquer 3 which is the OP's game of choice, you could play the older Command and Conquer games though



no way in hell you are running C&C3 on that relic. Give it up.

The OP HAS to have a faster rig than that..... ??

Reply to billdcat4

but lets say i get that CPU upgrade to work to 2.5 ghz and then i put a 7600 gs in there and get it to work it should be able to run command and conquer

i think i might have to replace the PSU too ............. i will look around at the next computer show for used junk lol i think my friend might have a ATI 9800 pro somewhere lol

Reply to Gadzookie

Quote :

But that wont run Command and Conquer 3 which is the OP's game of choice, you could play the older Command and Conquer games though



no way in hell you are running C&C3 on that relic. Give it up.

The OP HAS to have a faster rig than that..... ??
lol@relic, that PC should be in the next Indiana Jones movie
Seriously though, you could still make an ipod mini out of it and carry it around in a back pack

Quote :

but lets say i get that CPU upgrade to work to 2.5 ghz and then i put a 7600 gs in there and get it to work it should be able to run command and conquer

i think i might have to replace the PSU too ............. i will look around at the next computer show for used junk lol i think my friend might have a ATI 9800 pro somewhere lol


Seriously, by the time youve spent all that money you'll have built a new low spec rig with a decent gpu that would probably run C&C on medium to high. Youll get a case & PSU for $100, an intel 4300 Core 2 for under $100, i gig DDR2 for probably $70 and an Asrock 775 mobo for $45, cheap sata 2 harddrive for $40, Thats around $300 to build a new rig without gpu, but yopud have a lot more choice and stick in a 7600 or 7900GT into that and C&C 3 would run super

Reply to lmimmfn

A celeron 1.3 GHz, is a Taulatin, which didn't debut until late 2001 at the very earliest, which makes the D300 you have probably an early 2002 model. In no way, shape, or form can it even be close to 2000 or 1999 model year.

Another point I would like to clarify is that your new desktop does not have an i845 chipset. It has an i815E chipset. It does not use DDR ram, but PC100/PC133 sdram.

Perhaps this webpage will inform you on your new purchase:
http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products [...] 9_div.HTML

Reply to joefriday

Quote :

but lets say i get that CPU upgrade to work to 2.5 ghz and then i put a 7600 gs in there and get it to work it should be able to run command and conquer

i think i might have to replace the PSU too ............. i will look around at the next computer show for used junk lol i think my friend might have a ATI 9800 pro somewhere lol



I say that it wont happen....

Reply to billdcat4

If you're really hell bent on keeping this thing, then here are some potential processor upgrades.

Processors @ Newegg

If you look up the 845 chipset at the Intel website...you're northbridge will support 400mhz FSB's.

Intel 845 Chipset

You still have a 4X AGP bus too. You might be able to find a better deal, but a two minute search revealed this for a solution...

256MB X1950GT

Granted, these aren't the cheapest parts and you could easily find a better price/performance ratio if you bought a new platform, but I still think you could live with it for a little bit and you're $80 machine seems somewhat salvagable for the occasional Direct X 9 game.

Reply to I800C0LLECT

Quote :

but lets say i get that CPU upgrade to work to 2.5 ghz and then i put a 7600 gs in there and get it to work it should be able to run command and conquer

i think i might have to replace the PSU too ............. i will look around at the next computer show for used junk lol i think my friend might have a ATI 9800 pro somewhere lol



It won't work because it is not even the same CPU socket type. You have socket 370. The P4 in question is socket 478.

Reply to joefriday

Quote :

A celeron 1.3 GHz, is a Taulatin, which didn't debut until late 2001 at the very earliest, which makes the D300 you have probably an early 2002 model. In no way, shape, or form can it even be close to 2000 or 1999 model year.

Another point I would like to clarify is that your new desktop does not have an i845 chipset. It has an i815E chipset. It does not use DDR ram, but PC100/PC133 sdram.

Perhaps this webpage will inform you on your new purchase:
http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products [...] 9_div.HTML



Do you think that this PC, at any level could run Command and Conquer 3?

Reply to billdcat4

ati 9800 pro could run it at 800x600 on that setup

Reply to amddiesel

Quote :

A celeron 1.3 GHz, is a Taulatin, which didn't debut until late 2001 at the very earliest, which makes the D300 you have probably an early 2002 model. In no way, shape, or form can it even be close to 2000 or 1999 model year.

Another point I would like to clarify is that your new desktop does not have an i845 chipset. It has an i815E chipset. It does not use DDR ram, but PC100/PC133 sdram.

Perhaps this webpage will inform you on your new purchase:
http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products [...] 9_div.HTML


My bad on the date, i was only guestimating seeing as my old Dell was higher speced, but good point on the ram though, would an abacus work?

Reply to lmimmfn

I think Joe Friday killed the dream :)

Reply to I800C0LLECT

of course it wont run C&C3 as it is now that why i need to upgrade it lol

also im looking at the MOBO and its 845 the bios say it is also i did a search for evo mobos and this EBAY auction has the evo mobo with the 845 chipset

http://cgi.ebay.com/Compaq-EVO-D30 [...] dZViewItem

the only thing i can think of is that maybe when it was refurbished compaq replaced the mobo ?

Reply to Gadzookie

Quote :

I think Joe Friday killed the dream :)


lmao, can we have a vote on whether we think OP should convert it to an ipod mini that can be carried around in a ruck sack?

Or better yet, an ipod shuffle like this http://cache.gizmodo.com/gadgets/images/ipod_shuffle_sc.jpg

Reply to lmimmfn

Quote :

of course it wont run C&C3 as it is now that why i need to upgrade it lol

also im looking at the MOBO and its 845 the bios say it is also i did a search for evo mobos and this EBAY auction has the evo mobo with the 845 chipset

http://cgi.ebay.com/Compaq-EVO-D30 [...] dZViewItem

the only thing i can think of is that maybe when it was refurbished compaq replaced the mobo ?



yes, if you replace the motherboard, cpu, ram, graphics card, adn power supply, it can run command and conquer 3.

grumble... freakin ridiculous

Reply to billdcat4

Unfortunately this computer has no AGP slot, so it's PCI only GPUs for the choosing. Even with the strongest GPU available for PCI, which is an x1300, it would still be pretty tough to run C&C3; it's got some pretty steep minimun system requirements.

Another thing to consider: since the computer is based on the 81x chipset, it can only support a total of 512MB of ram.

The computer can be an awsome office PC, but a gaming rig it is not.

Reply to joefriday

Quote :


yes, if you replace the motherboard, cpu, ram, graphics card, adn power supply, it can run command and conquer 3.


I agree, if pretty much everything is replaced it will run C&C great

joefriday - how come you have different specs to the links i found on the HP site?

Reply to lmimmfn

Quote :

I think Joe Friday killed the dream :)


lmao, can we have a vote on whether we think OP should convert it to an ipod mini that can be carried around in a ruck sack?

Or better yet, an ipod shuffle like this http://cache.gizmodo.com/gadgets/images/ipod_shuffle_sc.jpg

I dunno if the cpu could manage to decode the mp3s. Or if the hard drive has enough bandwidth (128kbps min )

Reply to billdcat4

Quote :

Unfortunately this computer has no AGP slot, so it's PCI only GPUs for the choosing. Even with the strongest GPU available for PCI, which is an x1300, it would still be pretty tough to run C&C3; it's got some pretty steep minimun system requirements.

Another this to consider: since the computer is based on the 81x chipset, it can only support a total of 512MB of ram.

The computer can be an awsome office PC, but a gaming rig it is not.



See, I was right... PCI. I still suggest playing Halflife, Quake 2, and Civilization 2 on it.

Reply to billdcat4

Don,t waste any money on it I have one the power supply is propriatery size and wiring, mine had 1.7 willy 20 gig WD 7200 drive and when i tried a 6200 card the cpu would overheat when playing games. heat sink is also compaq, sorry about your luck.

Reply to frozencpu

Quote :


I dunno if the cpu could manage to decode the mp3s. Or if the hard drive has enough bandwidth (128kbps min )


lol, i would be sure it could,my P3 laptop was fine at it, and 128kbps is only 16K per second which is easily managable

i say R.I.P poor Compaq EVO D300 for she was once fit n healthy, but the homemakeover didnt work
http://www.chriswaters.com/img/rip.jpg

A charity might accept it, if you pay them too

Gadzookie - I have a top of the range refurbished Tecra laptop here would you be interested in it? - a full 64Mb ram, onboard ultra video card, 12.5" multimatrix TFT, a whopping 8Gig harddrive space, comes complete with Windows98 and M4 certiied mouse $70 and its yours, no, seeing as its you $50

Reply to lmimmfn

Quote :


I dunno if the cpu could manage to decode the mp3s. Or if the hard drive has enough bandwidth (128kbps min )


lol, i would be sure it could,my P3 laptop was fine at it, and 128kbps is only 16K per second which is easily managable

i say R.I.P poor Compaq EVO D300 for she was once fit n healthy, but the homemakeover didnt work
http://www.chriswaters.com/img/rip.jpg

I was joking about not being up to the level of an ipod...

someone should make an ipod into a full-fledged PC. Find out how to attach a keyboard, printers, internet. Linux... we already have rockbox, or otterbox for ipod, or whatever its called.

Reply to billdcat4

lol

im going to scroung up parts and experiment on it bye next week i will post more about this hopefually with pictures

and it has a AGP slot im looking at it now lol

Reply to Gadzookie

Quote :

lol

im going to scroung up parts and experiment on it bye next week i will post more about this hopefually with pictures

and it has a AGP slot im looking at it now lol



ya sure? you know what agp looks like?

cause I dont... although I probably could figure it out

Reply to billdcat4

Quote :



I was joking about not being up to the level of an ipod...

someone should make an ipod into a full-fledged PC. Find out how to attach a keyboard, printers, internet. Linux... we already have rockbox, or otterbox for ipod, or whatever its called.


lol, my bad its late here, that ipod project would be cool, dunno what kinda processor is in an ipod though?

Gadzookie - the offer still stands on my high spec laptop , it sounds perfect for a gentleman like yourself - "fully refurbished Tecra laptop, a full 64Mb ram, onboard ultra video card, 12.5" multimatrix TFT, a whopping 8Gig harddrive space, comes complete with Windows98 and M4 certiied mouse $70 and its yours, no, seeing as its you $50"

Reply to lmimmfn

Quote :



I was joking about not being up to the level of an ipod...

someone should make an ipod into a full-fledged PC. Find out how to attach a keyboard, printers, internet. Linux... we already have rockbox, or otterbox for ipod, or whatever its called.


lol, my bad its late here, that ipod project would be cool, dunno what kinda processor is in an ipod though?

Gadzookie - the offer still stands on my high spec laptop , it sounds perfect for a gentleman like yourself - "fully refurbished Tecra laptop, a full 64Mb ram, onboard ultra video card, 12.5" multimatrix TFT, a whopping 8Gig harddrive space, comes complete with Windows98 and M4 certiied mouse $70 and its yours, no, seeing as its you $50"

I used to know what was in an ipod..... its not that bad.... ill find out...
RIGHT NOW:


WHAT CPU AND RAM IS AN A F*CKING IPOD???


that should do it

Reply to billdcat4

[quote="lmimmfn"]

Quote :


joefriday - how come you have different specs to the links i found on the HP site?



Apparently the D300 comes in two flavors: P4 and Celeron. The P4 got the i845 chipset, while the Celeron got the i815 chipset. This was a necessary evil for the time period: for almost 2 years, there was no Celeron version of the Pentium 4. In August 2002, Intel eventually made a Netburst Celeron based on the older Williamette core in 1.7, 1.8, and (maybe) 1.9GHz flavors. At 2.0GHz and above the Celeron transitioned onto the newer Northwood core that initially debuted in January 2002. With a product life of only 10 months, the Tualatin Celeron was really just a stop-gap to compete with the AMD Duron until the debut of the Netburst Celeron.

Reply to joefriday

Quote :



Apparantly the D300 comes in two flavors: P4 and Celeron. The P4 got the i845 chipset, while the Celeron got the i815 chipset. This was a necessary evil for the time period: for almost 2 years, there was no Celeron version of the Pentium 4. In August 2002, Intel eventually made a Netburst Celeron based on the older Williamette core in 1.7, 1.8, and (maybe) 1.9GHz flavors. At 2.0GHz and above the Celeron transitioned onto the newer Northwood core that initially debuated in January 2002. With a product life of only 10 months, the Tualatin Celeron was really just a stop-gap to compete with the AMD Duron until the debut of the Netburst Celeron.


8O youre scary joe

Reply to lmimmfn

hmm the front case has a P4 sticker put inside a celeron lol

Reply to Gadzookie

If you are certain that you have the 845 chipset, then Compaq probably did give you the AGP bus. Everything I've read on D300 production models shows that they shipped standard configurations for either a P4 or Celeron. The P4 models could easily be downgraded to a Celly but still carry the standard motherboard that had the 845 chipset. The standard celeron configuration carried the 815 chipset and had no AGP slot.

Either way, make sure you research your components. If you have the 845 with the AGP slot then I stand by my first reply. However, they did ship 845 variants between SDR and DDR for your memory subsystem. Any upgraded processor will most likely bottleneck the X1950GT I pointed out.

Good luck....with all that.

Reply to I800C0LLECT

that joe guy...always beating me to it :)

Reply to I800C0LLECT

sure it can run C&C3! If you set all details and settings to minimum it probably will. Then it will look if not the same, probably much worse than C&C2 or even 1! Then why all this bother to play C&C3 anyway? Don't understand people that want to play new games with old VGAs at minimum settings. An older game at higher settings will look better. So if you want to play a new game, get a new PC to really enjoy it. Unfortunately that is the painful truth.

Reply to darkguset

btw...I must clear up some confusion.


When I said the P4 model could easily be downgraded, I'm assuming the vendor you bought it from may have been parting out his systems to maximize sales. From memory, Joe seems correct concerning his history lesson.

Reply to I800C0LLECT

i think 1800 is correct he took out the P4 to sell and popped in a crappy celeron

Reply to Gadzookie
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