Old stuff be compatable with the new? (Upgrading my system)

[Magic8Ball]

Hello, I currently have an old Dell mobo, Intel Pentium 4 2.0GHz, PCI Geforce 5700 128MB, (2 x 512MB) PC2100 Kingston RAM, 60GB 5400rpm hard drive, 380 Watt PSU.

I am looking into buying these three items and re-using my hardrive, power supply, and ram. But I am wondering if my other hardware will be compatable with the new motherboard. Will 380 watts be enough for an athlon 64 x2 4200 and a 7600gt? And im pretty sure my RAM is 184 pin, but is there anyway to check that? And my last question is, will my harddrive still work through the standard IDE cables? Thanks in advance.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Toledo 2.2GHz Socket 939 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103053

ASUS A8V-XE Socket 939 VIA K8T890 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131125

EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062

 

[MoNeY3865]

The Ram and HD will work without a problem. I would think 380W should power the system just fine, however..... Be sure to check the power supply connector before ordering parts as many of the Dell systems used a proprietary pinout for their power connectors.

 

[choirbass]

yeah... the only hardware problem youll most likely have, is psu compatability, but the actual amperages supplied by it may not be enough anyhow, assuming it does work (for the psu to work, you need a minimum of a 4pin cpu power connector, and a 20-24pin atx power connector on the psu). if the amperages arent enough, youll most likely experience application crashes, blue screens, and other possible instabilities.

as far as software, you 'may' end up needing to reinstall windows on the hdd (more often than not thats whats needed), due to simply having HAL differences and incompatabilities between your older motherboard, etc, and newer motherboard, etc. at which point, you may receive BSODs upon booting, or it may simply just take awhile to boot into windows, if it does actually work (due to excess baggage of no longer detectable hardware, etc). so at the very least, you may want to have a windows repair or installation disc handy, just in case it doesnt work, or you could wait and find out.

which also brings up that you should make sure to have all your data backed up before installing all the hardware too, because losing everything would sure suck, if you dont already have things backed up.

edit: looking at the X2 cpu link, it doesnt come with a cpu heatsink, i guess because its only oem, and not retail. so you may want to look for a retail s939 X2/DC opteron, or just invest in a seperate third party s939 cpu cooler

though you are planning on keeping your 5400rpm hdd, so you dont need to reinstall everything im guessing (and to reduce costs some)... it may be worth investing in an inexpensive 7200rpm hdd that comes with pmr, simply due to the relatively massive performance differences between them in everyday use. and if you do end up needing to reinstall as mentioned above, youll be glad you did purchase it to install windows on. (and that way you wont need to even bother redoing everything on your 5400, which i imagine really would take quite awhile in comparison)

and all this is assuming everything will fit in your current dell case too, unless youve purchased a new case already (it is possible for things to fit, but dells cases, just as with their psus, are more proprietary, so you should find that out beforehand, too)

it seems things are looking a bit more expensive than at first, but this is realistically whats more feasible with what hardware you currently have... youre basically purchasing almost a whole new budget tower (assuming your psu and tower wont work).... its almost like you should just leave your current dell tower in tact assuming the worst, and get recommendations on a new budget DIY tower, amd may be the better option, simply due to them being less expensive than current competing intel cpus, but, in the end its going to come down to what your budget is, and preferences are. if you dont have enough for a new tower (usually around $400 or so minimum for a current budget system), its probably better to save up till you can afford to invest in one.

 

[Magic8Ball]

Thanks alot choirbass, my psu isnt stock, I had to buy another one because the Dell one took a poop on me. So I dont think the psu connectors should be a problem. I have decently big case that my friend handed down to me from his old build. And for now, I am going to stick with my old hdd and in the future I will upgrade to a 7200rpm.

But since you have mentioned the heatsink, I am going to buy the,
Rosewill RCX-Z1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200014

This is a very low budget upgrade and with everything put together, including the heatsink, the total cost will be: $215 plus shipping.

I really appreciate all your help and I wont buy the stuff till you respond and give me the "ok" to proceed to check out. Thx alot.

 

[choirbass]

the cpu heatsink should work fine for cooling (though i wouldnt recommend OCing too high with it, maybe a few hundred MHz higher [at stock voltages] should be okay to maintain temperatures, assuming youre going to OC), and since it comes with a fan controller, i would recommend keeping the rpms low, simply due to additional noise that would be generated at higher rpms, which is oftentimes distracting for many people (the fan is only 92mm, same size as the stock heatsink), so its not like a quieter 120mm fan, which also cools better usually too due to being able to move more air at lower rpms. all that aside though, the heatsink should work fine, since it is enough for basic cooling.

all that aside though, the parts youve chosen out should work fine.

 

[Magic8Ball]

Ok, thx alot choirbass. After reading what you said about the heatsink, I decided to buy a 100mm fan, here is what I bought.

Thermaltake CL-P0220 100mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835106062

It should be alot quiter and a better overall cooler.

Thanks you so much for all your help! I will PM you when the build/upgrade is done so you will know how things turned out.

 

[choirbass]

again, before you assemble it, if you have any data on the 5400 that you want to keep that isnt backed up yet, be sure to do so.

 

[gpippas]

As others have said. Everything should work fine.

Have you considered buying AM2 parts. The only extra you would need is ram. But thats really cheap at the moment. The ram you have is quite slow and wont get the most out of the IMC.

It will also allow you to upgrade easier in the future because skt 939 is no longer supported.

An AM2 system also has lower power usage because of the ddr2 ram. You can also get for about the same price a low energy cpu. These will all help to put less strain on your power supply.