How old-school is your homebuilt?

[drakmon8]

I realized I needed an upgrade when I downloaded the bioshock demo, and only my amount of RAM met the minimum requirements...

Rules: List your system specs, and maybe a reason why you're stuck with something so behind the times


My Specs:
■CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (2.1GHz Single Core)
■MB: MSI (I don't recall the model)
■RAM: 1 GB 'No-Name' DDR 400
■HDD: Western Digital 80 GB IDE
■Media: Sony 52x/32x/52x CD-RW
■Media 2: 'No Name' Floppy Drive
■Graphics: Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB <-- this is still pretty fast
■Sound: Creative Soundblaster Audigy SE
■OS: Windows XP

Average Age of System: 4-5 years (!!!)

Why haven't I upgraded???:
Trying to rationalize the cost to my wife has been a challenge, as I have no real reason to upgrade other than for gaming I came to a point this year where I wanted to upgrade my video card (8800 GTX ), but realized that I would have to ugprade my motherboard as well (for PCI Express), and by extension the processor (dual/quad core, here I come). This would mean a RAM upgrade (to DDR2), probably a DVD-ROM drive (finally!), and most likely a new hard drive (something SATA).

I want to do the upgrade right, so it'll be ~$1500. Here's what I'm shooting for:

My DREAM SYSTEM Specs:
■CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 (3.0GHz Dual Core)
■MB: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
■RAM: 4GB CORSAIR XMS2 DDR2 1066 Dual Channel
■HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
■Media: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe (SATA)
■Media 2: 'No Name' Floppy Drive
■Graphics: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB
■Sound: Creative Soundblaster Audigy SE
■OS: Windows Vista

Thoughts? Anyone else have an old system they really want to give the old upgrade?

 

[jt001]

My system specs:

CPU: Athlon 64 3500+
MB: Unknown 939 board, got it from a friend
RAM: 2GB DDR 400
HDD: 2x 80GB WD SATA drives, then a ton of network storage
Media: TDK DL DVD+R
Graphics: Geforce 6600gt PCI-e
Sound: Soundblaster Live
OS: Fedora 7

Nothing too fancy, but it can handle whatever I need it to do, so no real reason for me to upgrade. Still, I'm getting the upgrade bug, and I have a spare 775 board waiting for a CPU.

 

[mitch074]

My system specsmade by myself at the end of 2005:
CPU: Athlon64 X2 3800+ s939
MB: Asus Micro ATX mobo with 1st gen 6150/430 Nvidia chipset
RAM: 2x1Gb of Corsair DDR
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 250 Gb SATA
Media: LG ATAPI DL DVD burner
Graphics: MSI 6600 Silcencer
Sound: onboard chip (7.1 sound anyway, so...)
OS: Mandriva 2007.1 Free

Like jt001, it just does whatever I ask it to do. Only way to put it to its knees is to try, say, playing Nexuiz in 1680x1050 with all details at maximum.

 

[lunyone]

I realized I needed an upgrade when I downloaded the bioshock demo, and only my amount of RAM met the minimum requirements...

Rules: List your system specs, and maybe a reason why you're stuck with something so behind the times


My Specs:
■CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (2.1GHz Single Core)
■MB: MSI (I don't recall the model)
■RAM: 1 GB 'No-Name' DDR 400
■HDD: Western Digital 80 GB IDE
■Media: Sony 52x/32x/52x CD-RW
■Media 2: 'No Name' Floppy Drive
■Graphics: Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB <-- this is still pretty fast
■Sound: Creative Soundblaster Audigy SE
■OS: Windows XP

Almost same EXACT system, just have 2gig's of mixed (I think) of Corsair DDR 3200. Did have the 9800pro in it until recently and had to steal (pilfer) a 9600xt, from sister-in-laws (which I sold to her a year ago) Athalon XP (first build) system. This system still plays games well, not the newest titles (obviously), but WoW, EQII, CSS, HL2, etc. not too demanding titles. Unfortunately we just moved at the beginning of the year and I don't see any upgrade for at least another year. Thankfully I have a better rig I made 18 or so months ago in my sig Not the best but was pretty good at the time before C2D's came out.

 

[KyleSTL]

My girlfriend's system (I built)
CPU: Athlon XP 2400+ (2.0GHz, 133FSB)
MB: Gigabyte GA-7ZMMH
RAM: 2 x 512 PC133 CL2.5
HDD: 1 x 80 GB Western Digital SE (8mb cache, WOW!)
GPU: nVidia MX4000 64MB
OS: Windows XP Pro

Reasons for Not Upgrading:
She's not a gamer and it has done whatever she needs it to do (internet, word, a little photo editing). However it has been getting slower recently and instead of doing the temporary fix by reloading XP, she'll be getting a new computer. So guess who gets to build one for her (which I'm kind of excited about)?

System I plan on building her (around Nov/Dec)
CPU: Intel E2140 or E2160
MB: Intel G35 based board (she only needs onboard graphics)
RAM: 2 x 1GB Name Brand (Corsair, Patriot, etc)
HDD: 320 GB WD AA-series
Media: DL DVD-RW (Probably the Samsung that's so popular on Newegg)
OS: I think I'll stick with XP Pro still
CASE: Lian Li (I know it sounds like overkill, but darnit, they're beautiful, and it'll probably be the last case she'll ever need)

 

[OldGoat]

Here is an oldie for ya. My last homebuild has been a few years ago, but here it is:

Pentium 866
MSI Mobo (Socket 370)
128 MB RAM (Unknown Brand)
ATI Rage 128 (PCI)
Fireball 13GB HDD, Palladium 1.6GB HDD
Sony CDRW

My oldest working computer made from spare parts:

Pentium Slot 1 300
Mobo unknown
64MB Ram
WD 2.6GB HDD
Onboard video and sound

Since I travel alot my recent computers have been laptops, I have been getting the bug to build again.

 

[runswindows95]

3.0Ghz 631 Prescott
Asus P5ND2-SLI
2GB Geil PC5300 5-5-5-15
120GB Seagate PATA
200GB Maxtor PATA
LG DVD/CD-RW Combo PATA
Memorex DL DVD Burner PATA
ATI X300
Antec Ninja 2 case with 450W PSU
Win XP Pro and Linuxmint 3.0

Reason for not upgrading: Lack of funds and this system is still fast enough for what I do. Far as a new system, I'm still debating. I'll most likely build a new system based around an Intel CPU again.

 

[KyleSTL]

Oh, I forgot, my backup computer:

CPU: Intel Celeron 1.4 GHz (Socket 370, 100MHz FSB)
MB: Shuttle FV25 (in a SV25 case)
RAM: 2 x 512 MB PC133 CL2 (Now we're cooking)
HDD: 1 x 80 GB WD SE PATA
GPU: Onboard (VIA something-or-other)
Media: CD-ROM (I think it's 24x)
PCI: USB 2.0 Controller (because it only has 1.1 onboard)

This computer was salvage from a guy I met who didn't feel like fixing it. I ordered 4 caps (look on badcaps.com it's one of the plagued MB's) from Digikey and it's been running strong for about a year. Last year when I was still in college we had it hooked up to my roommate's 42" Panasonic plasma for watching movies and stuff we downloaded or recorded, not bad for 8 bucks in electrical components.

 

[rammedstein]

CPU: Athlon XP 2600+ (2.1etcGHz, 170FSB)
MB: AsRock...something?
RAM: 1x 256mb 1x 512mb cl2.5 ddr
HDD: 1 x 200 GB seagate cuda (8mb cache), 8x seagate cuda ,250gb (usb)
GPU: nVidia geforce 2 MX200 32MB
P
OS: Windows 2k3 SE

reason... it runs bit torrent great and is great for syncing my backups, also, i have actually upgraded from it to:

CPU: Intel Q6600 G0 3.6ghz (9x400)
MB: MSI 975X Platinum PowerUp
RAM: 4GB Corsair DDR2 800 CL4 (2.1v)
HDD: 4 500GB Seagate Barracudas (RAID 0)
GPU: 2 HD2900XT X-Fire (850/900)
Media: 2x Pioneer DVD~RW drives
PCI: Creative X-fi Elite Pro /w Breakout Box

reason, x38 isn't out yet and i don 't feel i need to upgrade the 2900xts yet.

 

[TeraMedia]

Recently upgraded to Pentium D940 (my Intel D955XBK mobo won't support Core 2 - Doh!) to reduce power consumption and heat, and better-support HD Video. Also recently switched my HP DVD740i for a Lite-On (the HP burned out), and my X1800XL for a HIS HD2600 XT (better cooling as heat is exhausted from case and lower power consumption, and support for HDCP-protected digital video and audio for future-proofing. Plus, it actually fits in the case w/out me having to jury-rig the 6-pin connector).

 

[meadowlands]

CPU: AMD Opteron 165 @ 2250 MHZ
MB: Asus A8N5X Socket 939
RAM: 2 x 1GB Corsair PC3200
GPU: EVGA Geforce 7800GT 256MB
Sound: On-Board
PS: 550 Watt Rosewill
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate on my old 60 GB WD HDD and XP on my 250 GB Hitachi HD

It runs everything smooth on max resolution yet I really have the upgrade bug. I want to do water cooling in a nice lian-li case with quad core etc. However I think once the new Nvidia cards come out I will upgrade

 

[potatomanakaspud]

My systems so old school it just books and an abacus

Oh ok its really just a pIII with gforce 4 MX and 256 ram but the abacus can out run it on a good day

 

[texasnightowl]

4 yrs old this month :>

AMD Barton 2500+
Abit NF7-S v2

Since I built it in 2003 I did minor upgrades. Added a DVD burner, upgraded memory, upgraded video card (originally a GeForce 5200?, now an ATI x1650 Pro).

Still does everything I need of it really, and I will be keeping it around as a backup but I'm ready for new. Besides, my even older system (1997 - AMD K6-2/350) just died last month!

Just ordered:
e6750
Gigabyte P35-DS3R
Antec Solo case
2 gb DDR2 800 ram
8800GTS Superclocked 320
2 hard drives
1 DVD burner
LG 20" LCD

Now I just have to find somebody that wants my monster 22" Dell flatscreen CRT (80 pounds!)

 

[Martell77]

P4 3.2ghz 640 w/HT 800mhz FSB 2mb L2 cache (Socket 775)
Asus P5V800 Mobo
Radeon X1650Pro 512mb DDR2 AGP 8x
1 GB (2x512mb) PC2700 DDR
1x WD 80gb Hard rive (master)
1x Seagate 320gb Hard drive (slave)
Onboard sound, onboard Lan
2x DVD+-RW/CD-RW drives, 1 of which can burn dual layer

I built this machine about 3 years back, mostly through upgrades. I have had the same case for about 5 or 6 years. I have reached the end of my upgrade path as far as being able to justify spending the cash to upgrade an aging machine. I could double the ram, get a better video card and change to a Pentuim D, but would rather spend the money on a new build that will be better all the way around.

Also, there hasn't been a really good reason thus far because there really hasn't been a need to. While not the fastest machine, I can run just about anything out there, and that includes the demo for Bioshock. I run things on stock video settings and have never really had any issues.

With all the changes happening, I have decided to do a fresh build, not sure what parts I'm going to use as the build will be in March 08 (tax return) and the tech will surely have changed from now to then. I do know it will be at least a quad core, but from Intel or AMD I do not know, all depends on the budget (probably about 1k) and bang for buck.

 

[smokedyou911]

Texas is your dell 22" viewable? I'm interested if you sell it for fairly cheap.

 

[texasnightowl]

Texas is your dell 22" viewable? I'm interested if you sell it for fairly cheap.

umm...I'll measure when I get home but I think so. It's in North Carolina...I'll sell it cheap but shipping might suck unless you are close.

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

I have a old school computer in my basement.
256mb ram
pentium 450mhz cpu
ANTIQUE ati 3d rage 2mb of vram
i have zero idea what the hell the mobo is.
one cd drive

 

[jaguarskx]

I have the good 'ol Athlon XP-M 2600+ in my HTPC that I built over 4 years ago. Specs:

Athlon XP-M 2600+ (ummm... I think I already said that)
BioStar nForce2 mobo (I don't remember the model anymore)
2GB of DDR400 RAM
AIW Radeon 9600XT (you know, for recording stuff)
Soundblaster Audigy 2
1 40GB hard drive for the OS
2 120GB Drives
1 DVD-ROM
Antec Aria case w/ 300w PSU


I'm gonna retire it (probably just store it in a closet) when Penryn is released. The innards of my current PC will be the backbone of my next HTPC. I'll either drop a Dual or Quad Core Penryn in my primary PC.

 

[jaguarskx]

umm...I'll measure when I get home but I think so. It's in North Carolina...I'll sell it cheap but shipping might suck unless you are close.

Actually it shouldn't be too bad. I just went to www.usps.com to calculate shipping charges for a 20 lbs. package measuring 27" x 24" x 16". A 22" LCD monitor typically weighs in at about 12 lbs, it really doubt the packaging will add another 8 lbs.

Anywaste, shipping cost for a 20 lbs. package from NY to California works out to just $28 for 7 day delivery.

2 Day shipping = $80

Overnight (to most places) = $67 (uhh... is it me or does the slower 2 day delivery look more expensive?)

------

Anywaste (again), the weight matters not for 7 day delivery. A 5 lbs. object would still cost $28 in the same size box.

 

[nickc07]

AMD 3500+ Manchester 2.2GHz
ASUS A8N-SLI
1GB Corsair DDR400
7600GT
250GB WD

Upgrading to:
Intel E2140
Gigabyte P35
2GB DDR2 800

Same video card for now. In 6 months I will upgrade the CPU/Video card again.

 

[Shakey]

My Rig:
Intel 1.2 GHz Celeron overclocked to 1.6 GHz
Abit Mobo ... I actually forget the name of it but it supported the Tualatin core processors.
512 MB PC133 CL2 Ram
2x40 GB WD Hard Drives in RAID 0
GeForce 5700 128 MB
Sound Blaster Live!
19" CRT

 

[runswindows95]

My oldest system I rebuilt is this:

750Mhz Duron
512MB of PC100 RAM
ATI Rage 128 AGP
30GB and a 80GB HDD
DVD/CD-RW Combo

This was an old Compaq system I took out of a broken case and popped into a case I had laying around. It's now my Linux test system.

 

[Gravemind123]

I still have 2 old systems in use:

AthlonXP 2800+
Shuttle AN35N-Ultra
768Mb PC2700 generic
60GB IDE drive
Quadro NVS200 PCI

I have this system because apart from gaming it is still capable, it used to have a better video card, a Radeon 9600, and be my main computer, but the 9600 died on me.

 

[texasnightowl]

Actually it shouldn't be too bad. I just went to www.usps.com to calculate shipping charges for a 20 lbs. package measuring 27" x 24" x 16". A 22" LCD monitor typically weighs in at about 12 lbs, it really doubt the packaging will add another 8 lbs.

Anywaste, shipping cost for a 20 lbs. package from NY to California works out to just $28 for 7 day delivery.

Actually, it was a flatscreen CRT, not LCD...and is around 70 lbs...not 20

I will probably try to ditch it locally because USPS apparently has a 70lb limit and the estimator at UPS.com estimated $74 to ship a 74lb pkg that is 22"x22"x22" from NC to LA.

FWIW, it is a Dell Ultrascan P1110 (made by Sony). Technically a 21" monster but visible is only 19.8". It takes up huge space on my desk and I am ready for an LCD panel to get here.

Anyway, I guess we are not officially off topic

 

[jaguarskx]

Actually, it was a flatscreen CRT, not LCD...and is around 70 lbs...not 20

Uhhh... Oops!