Upgrading a Dell!

[Joudoki]

Alright, so I failed to make enough money this summer to build a new computer; however, I do have a bit of a budget ( MAX $200 ) to upgrade my computer. Here are the specs:

( It's a Dell )
Pentium 4 2.8GHz w/ Hyperthreading ( 32bit )
GeForce 7600 GS ( AGP )
512mb PC3200/DDR400 Memory ( 184 Pin )
80gb 7200rps HD
Soundblaster Live! Series 5.1 Card
Windows XP Professional

Alright, so what can I upgrade in this ancient rig to make it better? I've already selected some RAM, but is there anything else I could do?

RAM - CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145440

 

[Evilonigiri]

By the looks of things, your motherboard doesn't support Core2duo...In all seriousness, I don't think you should spend money upgrading. Save it for later.

However if you must, you could probably get the 1950pro vidcard AGP version here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814241041

Maybe if you're lucky, you can dig up a 1950XT for under 200, AGP version.

 

[Joe_The_Dragon]

you can get a P 9xx D for under $100 as well.

 

[Joudoki]

I'm pretty sure that it's a Socket 478; Is there any way to check for sure, other than looking at the cpu itself?

 

[babybudha]

I think upgrading the ram is a good chose. It will improve you whole PC experience, with having to spend alot of cash.

I would not upgrade anything else. I know getting a better Videocard would be nice, but you would then probably have to upgrade your powersupply too. Plus your CPU will bottleneck a stronger videocards performance.

Save the rest of your money for a whole new build.

 

[StevieD]

Run the Dell program that lets you determine what components you can upgrade.

Most likely it will be a choice of Pent D CPU's, RAM (of course), and graphics cards.

With what you got there as a computer, the choices versus cost versus benefit is going to be fairly restricted.

Example, upgrading the CPU would be good, but the cost benefit of the upgrade is not justifable. The CPU improvement might be 10 or 20% speed upgrade, but at a cost of $100. If the improvement was 30 or 40% then sure, upgrade the CPU, but for a nibbling of an improvement it is most likely not worth the cost and effort.

RAM is a cheap upgrade. Upgrading to 1gig is most likely a very good idea and a benefit that you can actually see in response times. Going past 1 gig would have a smaller benefit at an increasingly larger cost.

Upgrading the graphics card will improve your rig, but how much versus the cost. Going to an 8800GTX would be foolish as the CPU would the bottleneck. The standard written on Tom's is to bump to a new card with it is 3 levels better in performance.

Unless you just want to spend money, I would save my bucks work towards a DualCore system.

 

[Joudoki]

You'd be rather hard pressed to find an AGP 8800 GTX

 

[spuddyt]

You'd be rather hard pressed to find an AGP 8800 GTX

lol, stevied got owned

 

[Joudoki]

Okay, so I'm looking at memory, mostly from this category:
Newegg Search

And here are the 2 Main contenders:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit
2GB (2 x 1GB)
2.5 Cas Latency
2.5-3-3-6
2.6V - 2.75V
Heat Spreader
Comprehensive rigorously tested in pair at dual channel environment
6 Layers PCB


CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit
1GB (2 x 512MB)
2.5 Cas Latency
2.5V
No Heat Spreader


Both have an life warranty, and they both come out to $109.99 in terms of price for 2gb worth of memory.
Which one would be the better choice? ( I have 4 memory slots, and I have a Dual Channel setup )


Also, I found a socket 478 CPU that may work:
Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 3.0GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket 478 RoHS Version Processor - OEM
Prescott Pentium 4 3.0E 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
L1: 12KB+16KB
L2: 1MB L2
Hyperthreading Support

Now, what I currently have is something like this:
2.8ghz, 533MHz FSB
L1: 8kb
L2: 512kb
Hyperthreading

Is it worth the $80?

 

[spuddyt]

probably, ram does tend to make a large difference (unless you add more when it isn't necessary, obviously)

 

[Joudoki]

I need help... Which RAM should I buy?
( See two posts up )

 

[babybudha]

Buy the cheaper memory. Difference in performance is small to none. Heatspeads are not neccessary, as you are not overclocking of stressing that memory.

PS.......absolutely DO NOT upgrade to that 3Ghz prescott. Totally not worth it. As I said before, save your money for your later build.

 

[Gravemind123]

There are no socket 478 CPUs worth upgrading too, as they won't increase performance much. A new video would probably require a new PSU and even then won't have as much effect as ram. Currently ram is your main bottleneck for that system, so I would upgrade it and then save money for a whole new system.

 

[Noya]

Okay, so I'm looking at memory, mostly from this category:
Newegg Search

And here are the 2 Main contenders:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit
2GB (2 x 1GB)
2.5 Cas Latency
2.5-3-3-6
2.6V - 2.75V
Heat Spreader
Comprehensive rigorously tested in pair at dual channel environment
6 Layers PCB


CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit
1GB (2 x 512MB)
2.5 Cas Latency
2.5V
No Heat Spreader


Both have an life warranty, and they both come out to $109.99 in terms of price for 2gb worth of memory.
Which one would be the better choice? ( I have 4 memory slots, and I have a Dual Channel setup )


Also, I found a socket 478 CPU that may work:
Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 3.0GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket 478 RoHS Version Processor - OEM
Prescott Pentium 4 3.0E 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
L1: 12KB+16KB
L2: 1MB L2
Hyperthreading Support

Now, what I currently have is something like this:
2.8ghz, 533MHz FSB
L1: 8kb
L2: 512kb
Hyperthreading

Is it worth the $80?

You're contemplating spending $110 on RAM and $80 for an inferior processor. That's $190.

Better idea is to sell your Dell on craigslist for $200'ish, add the $190 that you would have spent on upgrads and build from scratch

Something like this:

$60 - AMD 3600+ dual-core
$75 - 2x1gb DDR2-800
$60 - 250gb SATA
$20 - generic PC case (120mm fans would be great, but you might have to take a dremel to get good cooling)
$60 - basic motherboard (w/ onboard sound/etc) that allows overclocking to at least 2.4ghz
$30 - DVD / CD burner
$50 - 400watt+ PSU with decent (30+) amps on +12v rail(s)

Depending on how much you're into gaming, a 7600gt can be had for $75, or the best for the money x1950pro can be had for $115.

The above would absolutely destroy your Dell (even if you upgraded) in every test / benchmark out there.