Hi, first-time post on THW. I'd appreciate some opinions on the sanity of upgrading my teenagers' PC.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: next couple of weeks
BUDGET RANGE: CAD$300 to $400, after rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: web surfing, iTunes, word processing/presentations/homework, web games
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: case, power supply, keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, HD, CD-RW
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.ca
PARTS PREFERENCES: No preferences
OVERCLOCKING: Not likely
MONITOR RESOLUTION: will be replacing old Dell Trinitron CRT with a flat-panel LCD around CAD$150, e.g. ASUS VH198T Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor.
MY SKILL LEVEL: advanced PC user; have done some simple hardware upgrades, e.g. RAM, HD, CD
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: want a quiet system!
The whine of the CPU fan in my teenagers' PC is driving me nuts! I was told by a parts vendor the fan on this particular motherboard (ECS L7VMM3 Rev 1.0c Micro ATX, which has an on-board AMD Athlon 1600 Mhz XP-M CPU) can't be replaced. I am now considering upgrading the motherboard/CPU/RAM, to a) get a quieter fan! and b) hopefully get a couple more years useful life out of the system.
Here's what I'm thinking of putting into it, for about CAD$350:
Motherboard/CPU combo
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor
RAM: Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR667D2K2/2GR
I will keep the following components:
Power supply: Youngyear model PSIV-400-1 300W, about 5 years old
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160Gb model ST3160815A, PATA interface, about 1 year old
LG CD-RW drive, about 4 years old, IDE - I have a second CD drive that I'd like to keep, but all motherboards appear to have only one PATA/IDE interface nowadays. Can I use a CAD$9 adapter like this one to attach the second CD drive to the GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM board specified above?
But then again, for CAD$30 more, I may consider ditching the CD-RW for this LITE-ON SATA DVD burner!
PS2 Keyboard
USB mouse
small USB Wacom graphics tablet
speakers
USB printer
OS: Windows XP Home - I will probably do a fresh install.
Thanks for your help!
Philip
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: next couple of weeks
BUDGET RANGE: CAD$300 to $400, after rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: web surfing, iTunes, word processing/presentations/homework, web games
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: case, power supply, keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, HD, CD-RW
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.ca
PARTS PREFERENCES: No preferences
OVERCLOCKING: Not likely
MONITOR RESOLUTION: will be replacing old Dell Trinitron CRT with a flat-panel LCD around CAD$150, e.g. ASUS VH198T Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor.
MY SKILL LEVEL: advanced PC user; have done some simple hardware upgrades, e.g. RAM, HD, CD
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: want a quiet system!
The whine of the CPU fan in my teenagers' PC is driving me nuts! I was told by a parts vendor the fan on this particular motherboard (ECS L7VMM3 Rev 1.0c Micro ATX, which has an on-board AMD Athlon 1600 Mhz XP-M CPU) can't be replaced. I am now considering upgrading the motherboard/CPU/RAM, to a) get a quieter fan! and b) hopefully get a couple more years useful life out of the system.
Here's what I'm thinking of putting into it, for about CAD$350:
Motherboard/CPU combo
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor
RAM: Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR667D2K2/2GR
I will keep the following components:
Power supply: Youngyear model PSIV-400-1 300W, about 5 years old
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160Gb model ST3160815A, PATA interface, about 1 year old
LG CD-RW drive, about 4 years old, IDE - I have a second CD drive that I'd like to keep, but all motherboards appear to have only one PATA/IDE interface nowadays. Can I use a CAD$9 adapter like this one to attach the second CD drive to the GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM board specified above?
But then again, for CAD$30 more, I may consider ditching the CD-RW for this LITE-ON SATA DVD burner!
PS2 Keyboard
USB mouse
small USB Wacom graphics tablet
speakers
USB printer
OS: Windows XP Home - I will probably do a fresh install.
Thanks for your help!
Philip