Recycling Parts?

[SethEffect]

So I've been thinking about building a PC for a while, but money is an issue at the moment. The question I have is.... Is there any way to swap the CPU from my current HP PC to the one I'm going to build? Or is that simply not an option? If it is, are there any other components that I could re-use for my new build until I can afford to upgrade them?

 

[BigBurn]

What is your HP pc CPU?

 

[SethEffect]

It's a AMD Athlon 64 x2 3800+

 

[BigBurn]

Shouldn't be a problem, you just need a motherboard that fits the CPU (Socket AM2 i think). You might need new thermal grease too.

If you use only 2 stick of ram in your HP, take them and buy another pair for your new build for 3-5GB of ram (im guessing the HP used 2x512mb DDR2 ram) you could also reuse the hdd.

 

[SethEffect]

Ahh nice! Thanks for the info!

I will definately been swapping over my ram and my video card since I upgraded them long ago. I'm going to pick an SLI mobo and another 8800gt card and run them in SLI. Bringing over the ram,cpu, and the video card will definately save me some cash.

Another question, if I swaped over the hdd, would that save me from having to install a new OS? Sorry if thats a dumb question, but again I'm new to this

 

[Grimmy]

Errr... be careful.

You said x2 3800+

There is a 939 version and AM2 version.

I don't believe you can run a 939 version on AM2 MB. The 939 uses DDR, while the AM2 uses DDR2 memory. The memory controller on the 939 will not work with it, if memory serves.

Run CPU-Z if your not sure.

 

[BigBurn]

About the OS, if its OEM version (which i beleive it is) you will need to reinstall it. If a retail, you can move it form computer to computer while OEM are stuck to it (well you can still call MS make up a story that your mobo blew up yadayada and they will give you a new key).

And listen to Grimmy he seems to know more about me about AMD CPU XD

 

[vmardegan]

Grimmy is right. Make sure first on what kind of processor do you have before moving forward.

However, let me share some of my experience with you on your update. I had a 4600+ months ago on a S939 board. Given the good price/performance on a 8800GT back then, I swapped my old 7800GTX with a new 8800GT to improve gaming experience.

I got some significant improvement, but not what I was truly expecting from the card. Back then I had a Asus A8N-SLI with 2 gb of DDR Ram.

Since I wasn't happy with the performance, I decided it was time to a major upgrade, changing to an E8400, new MB, 8 Gb of DDR2 RAM, another 8800GT, new PSU, new HDs and etc. I have ordered all the new parts and when I got them I decided to run some tests SLI tests in the old system... Results were even more disappointing.

I had some improvement, but it was so marginal that would never justify the SLI upgrade. My impression is that my 4600+ with old DDR RAM was severely bottlenecking the video cards.

After I upgraded the system, I ran some tests on a single card before going to SLI. The results on the single card with the new system were higher of what I got with SLI in the old system, which confirmed to me my theory. Needless to say that SLI in the new system was smokin' fast.

To make it short, I believe you're going to have sort of the same experience that I had... This 8800GT has a lot of juice in it that can be unleashed with a faster processor/ram set up. Maybe this will give the performance that you need, other than adding another video card.

However, I'm not sure if the AM2 with DDR2 RAM will bottleneck the system like the S939/DDR did for me... Maybe somebody else with that experience could give you some feedback...

 

[SethEffect]

Wow thanks for the input, I'll definately have to verify what version of the CPU I have, though I'm fairly certain that it's the AM2 with DDR2. But I'll check it out.

But now you got me wondering... How much should I worry about bottlenecking even if it is the AM2 version? Or will I be ok?

 

[someguy7]

So what you are saying is you are planning on building a new system but keeping your current cpu/ram/video card. To me that just seems like a complete waste of time/money. All it sounds like you're basically going to do is a mobo swap into a new case and probally a new power supply. From what I gatherd from this thread it just doesnt make much sense to me.

Also you said you upgraded your ram but you're not certain what kind of ram(DDR/DDR2) the system has.

What I would do is look into what the fastest X2 that your mobo supports. If its a AM2 board hopefully it will support the faster and very cheap X2s out now. If not just sit tight. Dont build a system until you got money for the new mobo/cpu and ram if needed.

Doing what you said you want to do will "save" you cash in parts in a new build but you're not really saying anything cause all your basically going to end up doing is taking your current system and put it in a new case