Help with upgrading

[stalio]

ok so im using a old beater of a computer its a dell dimension 8300 with following specs:

pentium 4 2.60 GHz
130GB of older hard drives(one 100 and one 30)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
510mb ram.

Basically I want a new computer, but I dont have the money to drop on what I want. So Im wondering if I can buy any parts for it now and put them in this computer and slowly pick them up then throw it all together when I get enough to buy it all.

Just Curious if any parts will even work in this older model and if so which ones would be the best to buy to see the biggest improvement right away.

 

[TheViper]

Socket 478, DDR memory, IDE interface and AGP graphics adapter. All the main upgrade paths have been nixed.


There really isn't anything modern you can add.

 

[stalio]

alright i did a bunch of reading last night and kinda figured that out but thanks a lot.

 

[cory1234]

You could upgrade your ram to 2gb. That would make a noticable difference.

If you want to build a computer just save up and set a budget. Buy all the parts at once, you don't want to buy it piece by piece.

 

[stalio]

I was Wondering if i could buy a Bargain: $509.91


CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDX545WFGIBOX - Retail

MOBO: ASUS M3A76-CM w/ DualDDR2 1066, Radeon HD 3000, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, PCI-E, Hybrid CrossFireX

PSU: Antec earthwatts EA430 430W

Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

and toss in my hdd ram and dvd drive till i can grab more parts

 

[cory1234]

Link? That doesn't seem like a bargain to me.. I think you could build a whole computer for $500 that has better parts than that.

I would recommend getting a new sata hard drive. The old IDE drives are vastly inferior in performance.
Samsung f3 500gb:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&Tpk=samsung%20f3%20500

 

[capt_taco]

Honestly, if you want to just keep the existing machine alive a little longer, you should go to 2GB of RAM and get one of the new-generation AGP graphics cards like the HD 4650 or HD 4670.

But understand that'll probably cost you in the neighborhood of $150, and that machine will still be just barely passable. If you can save up $250-$300 you can probably get a used Core 2 system that will be much better than anything you can do with your existing machine.

That's what I would do. I would NOT want to keep a P4 machine as my main computer.