Sister-in-law gave me her old HP Pavilion a6314f desktop PC. It has an Asus M2N68-LA (Narra2) motherboard in it. AMD Athlon x2 64 5000+ CPU.
I'm going to use this PC as a second unit for my wife in our office, and as a stepping stone into a new Intel Core i7, or newer LGA1155, next year. I don't want to throw alot of money into this system, but plan on upgrade "things" in it, for use with a new build (i.e. future proof).
Already got an OCZ Agility 2 60GB SSD for OS/Programs, and pulled an Seagate 7200.11 500GB SATA II HDD out of a RAID 0 array in my rig for backups. Will use the original Seagate 7200.10 360GB SATA II HDD for data/media.
Up'd the RAM to 4GB, no problem, only $19.99 a 1GB DDR2-667 (PC-5300) stick, needed 2. I know this is a loss for future build, that's why I didn't up it to 4 or 8GB DDR2-800 (PC-6400) RAM.
Next, I would like to upgrade the video from the onboard NVidia 6150-SE GeForce 430 chipset (??) to a Radeon 5770. The new card will be future proof. BTW: the onboard graphics are rated 3rd from the bottom, and the new card 5rd from the top, in THG Graphics Card ratings/articles.
But, before I can install a PCI-E x16 graphics card, I need to upgrade from the 250W :lol: PSU in the case. Probably going to get a Corsair 650HX Modular PSU, to be future proof. (And for only a few bucks more, a new Antec 300 case, too.)
The question I have is this: the motherboard has a 24 pin ATX power connection on it, but currently the PSU only has a 20pin connector going to it. Will I fry the mobo if I plug in a "standard" 24 pin ATX power into it? The "extra" 4 pins on the mobo are just exposed, next to the 20 pin that plugs into it.
I know it's a P.o.S., but I don't have all the cash for a full new system right now. So I'm piecing one together.
BVW: I hate pre-built systems! Dell, Gateway, or HP! No customization, or overclocking. And their motherboards are non-standard unit, usually specific to the case the are in. Non-standard mobo connectors (USB, Case, Front Panel, etc.). Well, at least this HP unit looks like the mobo could go into a "after-market" case, and have all the case connectors work with the mobo.
I'm going to use this PC as a second unit for my wife in our office, and as a stepping stone into a new Intel Core i7, or newer LGA1155, next year. I don't want to throw alot of money into this system, but plan on upgrade "things" in it, for use with a new build (i.e. future proof).
Already got an OCZ Agility 2 60GB SSD for OS/Programs, and pulled an Seagate 7200.11 500GB SATA II HDD out of a RAID 0 array in my rig for backups. Will use the original Seagate 7200.10 360GB SATA II HDD for data/media.
Up'd the RAM to 4GB, no problem, only $19.99 a 1GB DDR2-667 (PC-5300) stick, needed 2. I know this is a loss for future build, that's why I didn't up it to 4 or 8GB DDR2-800 (PC-6400) RAM.
Next, I would like to upgrade the video from the onboard NVidia 6150-SE GeForce 430 chipset (??) to a Radeon 5770. The new card will be future proof. BTW: the onboard graphics are rated 3rd from the bottom, and the new card 5rd from the top, in THG Graphics Card ratings/articles.
But, before I can install a PCI-E x16 graphics card, I need to upgrade from the 250W :lol: PSU in the case. Probably going to get a Corsair 650HX Modular PSU, to be future proof. (And for only a few bucks more, a new Antec 300 case, too.)
The question I have is this: the motherboard has a 24 pin ATX power connection on it, but currently the PSU only has a 20pin connector going to it. Will I fry the mobo if I plug in a "standard" 24 pin ATX power into it? The "extra" 4 pins on the mobo are just exposed, next to the 20 pin that plugs into it.
I know it's a P.o.S., but I don't have all the cash for a full new system right now. So I'm piecing one together.
BVW: I hate pre-built systems! Dell, Gateway, or HP! No customization, or overclocking. And their motherboards are non-standard unit, usually specific to the case the are in. Non-standard mobo connectors (USB, Case, Front Panel, etc.). Well, at least this HP unit looks like the mobo could go into a "after-market" case, and have all the case connectors work with the mobo.