Basic upgrade advice

I assembled a computer around three years ago and the specs were pretty ordinary even back then:

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939
Motherboard: ASUS A8N-E nVIDIA nFORCE4 Ultra Chipset Serial ATA150 ATX AMD
Graphics card: eVGA Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax 10 160GB 7200 8MB ATA-133 EIDE OEM
Memory: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel

I didn't really update any of the components until a few weeks ago when the computer stopped working. I tried a few simple things myself and suspected that the motherboard wasn't working properly. I took the computer in to a local computer shop and they confirmed that the motherboard was to blame. They're asking for around 150-160 bucks to purchase a replacement motherboard and to install it. I thought about it, but I've come to the conclusion that I might be better off just getting a new motherboard and a processor for the same price plus some.

I don't know much about the products on the market to be honest, but I'm guessing that even the worst probably function better than my current set up. But, I would like to get something decent and that will last me a few more years. I don't play too many games and the ones that I do play run fine with the 6600gt graphics card, so I'm not particularly worried about upgrading it.

I would appreciate any recommendations for decent but solid motherboards and processors that would total around 150-200 bucks. I know it's not much to work with, but I think it might be enough for my use.

Thanks.

You will need to get MB, CPU, and RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] _-Homepage

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813135075

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227124

That's under 200.

My E7200 would be a faster cpu than the AMD 5400 but both are light years faster than your current setup so you will be happy either way...

Nice find on the RAM Proximon.

Thanks for the recommendations and links. Englandr753, I'm fine with switching to Intel if it suits the need. There isn't a Frys store around these parts, unfortunately, and the lowest price I could find searching online for the E7200 was around 110 bucks. I'm not sure if that leaves much for a solid motherboard. I'm probably going to reuse Windows XP, so that shouldn't add to the cost.

Proximon, the AMD motherboard and the RAM you linked to look like good options, but I'm kind of worried about the ECS motherboard, because of the somewhat critical reviews of their products.

Again, thanks for the links. They're definitely a good base from which to start my search.

All good ideas, but tough to argue with the E5200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116072
and the RAM mobo combo that Juicejones pointed out.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138122
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227124

sure hate passing by that case/PSU/CPU combo though
if you can squeeze in the E7200 it would be worthwhile.

Gah why does everyone buy these crappy Rosewill PSUs?

While both the LGA 775 and AM2+ sockets are nearing the end of their run, I believe the Intel option will leave more room for future upgrades.

I think in your case you have to look at motherboards as well. A $90 MB, say a P43 chipset, would leave you with a whole lot of upgrade room... but of course you might have to sacrifice on the processor a bit for now.

I don't know the general consensus about ASROCK as a company, but that motherboard looks great at that price and the reviews, for whatever they're worth, look good as well.

The more I think about this, the more I feel I'm probably going to have to end up choosing in between the Intel E5200 and the AMD 5400+. How do you guys think those two compare? Is one markedly better than the other in terms of overall performance?

Also, is the performance increase in the Intel E7200 and the AMD 6000+ from the E5200 and the 5400+ worth the extra 20 or 30 bucks? Those two might make me go over the pretty frugal budget that I've set for myself, but honestly, I only upgrade my computer every two or three years and that too in small ways, so if the 7200 and 6000+ are significantly better, I might as well go with them in the long run.

I owned an ASRock at one point and it was a fine board. Had both AGP and PCI-E on it, and was useful so that I didn't have to upgrade my video card right away.

It's not as good a bet as ASUS or Gigabyte, but I think it's fine for someone on a very limited budget.

Given what you have, I would drop the ECS board as the least desirable.

While there are some benchmarks that the Athlon wins, most go to Intel... and you have better upgrade options with Intel.

I bought a new PSU just before the deal was announced, unfortunately. Definitely regretting it.

I think I'm settled on the E5200 as the processor if it works better than the AMD 5400+ overall.

I'm unsure about what motherboard to use with it though. I have two options right now - the ASRock P43Twins1600 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157130)
or the BIOSTAR TForce TP43D2A7 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138122). I don't know which one's better or if there's another motherboard aside from these two that I should consider using. I would appreciate any recommendations on this matter. Thanks.

Well, I would not necessarily recommend it. It'll probably work, but if you have an IDE DVD drive, then on most new motherboards, you'd end up having the hard drive as a slave to the dvd drive, which is not the best idea for performance. If you are worried about that, maybe drop to the amd rig or a cheaper intel chip, and get a sata drive. Trust me, big difference for performance in my opinion.

Hey, I'm almost ready to order, but I just wanted to get your final thoughts on the selections, so that I can, perhaps, make a few last minute changes.

I managed to sell the Rosewill PSU, so I've decided to take advantage of the Antec PSU/Case/CPU deal.

1. CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core black edition Processor (77.00)

2. Motherboard: ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (79.99)
( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131324 )

3. RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (21.50)

4. CPU Cooler: Rosewill RCX-Z1 Long life ball bearing for over 45,000/hrs CPU Cooler (9.99)

5. Case/PSU: Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply (79.99)

6. DVD burner: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-04 (24.99)

After the rebates and other discounts (including the money from the Rosewill PSU), the total comes to around $210, which isn't too bad, I think.

I don't need the SATA DVD burner, but I decided to add it on because I have to use the IDE Hard drive. But, I wonder if it would be worth spending another 20 bucks to get a decent WD or Seagate 160 GB, 8 mb cache hard drive.

Any thoughts, guys?

As I neared to ordering the parts that I had listed in the last post, Newegg increased its discounts on the motherboard and the RAM I was planning to use for the Intel. I'm pretty confused right now.

On the one hand, I have this option:

1. CPU: AMD Athlon amd athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core black edition Processor (77.00)

2. Motherboard motherboard : ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (79.99)

3. RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (21.50)

4. CPU Cooler: Rosewill RCX-Z1 Long life ball bearing for over 45,000/hrs CPU Cooler (9.99)

5. Case/PSU: Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply (79.99)

6. HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3400620AS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (65.00)

Total: $250-255

and on the other, there's this:

1. CPU: Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor (84.49)

2. Motherboard: BIOSTAR TForce TP43D2A7 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard (79.99)

3. RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (21.50)

4. HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3400620AS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (65.00)

Total: $240

I would use the case from my old PC and also the 500W psu. Should I just go with the better processor (E5200) or should I try to take advantage of that deal?

I could also drop down to a 160gb HDD and get the Intel E7200 processor with the total being around $250. I'm rather confused with all this, especially because the case/psu/cpu deal ends at midnight. I would appreciate any advice that will provide me with some clarity. Thanks.

I ended up going with the AMD option. I hope I made the right choice.