Here is my situation. I have a KT133A chipset motherboard with 512 MB SDRAM with a 1.4 GHz Athlon and a Geforce 4 Ti4200 w/ 64MB RAM. Everything is working great except for the fact that my fan is dying. It used to make clicking noises for the first 2-3 minutes after booting it up. Then it would settle down and be fine. Now it is making the annoying noise much more often. It is to the point where I don't want to use my computer because the noise is so annoying.
So, the reason why I am debating is because I have no money to spend. Actually, we make enough money to spend quite a bit, but the money is supposed to go into savings for my wife's lasic eye surgery... but that is another story. The options I have are:
1. I could just get a new fan. If so, what would be one that you would recommend? It just needs to keep the 1.4 GHz from overheating. Noise is the biggest concern.
2. I could get an AXP 1700+ with a 'B' core. They are cheap, overclockable, and I could keep the cpu when I upgrade the motherboard. The question is, how can I tell that it has a 'B' core and that it isn't a Palomino or a Tbred A core. If I bought from googlegear or newegg, would I just have to cross my fingers?
3. I could stop waiting and use this as an excuse to do a major upgrade now. I would like an nForce 2 motherboard, faster RAM, and a better CPU, but that would also require buying Windows XP (I have been meaning to buy a legitimate copy). I don't think this option is really an option right now. I can do everything I need to with my current setup, and I just can't justify the money.
I guess that the choice I have is only between option 1 and option 2. What do you recommend? I am leaning towards the new CPU, but I don't know if I could really overclock it with my current board. Without overclocking it, it won't run much faster than my current 1.4 GHz. It is an Abit KT7A I believe. I know it is Abit, I am just unsure about the exact number... it is the KT133A chipset though.
I think that I wouldn't feel the need to upgrade so much if I didn't work on building faster computers for friends and family who just happen to have more money than me.
'It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And I guess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money.'
So, the reason why I am debating is because I have no money to spend. Actually, we make enough money to spend quite a bit, but the money is supposed to go into savings for my wife's lasic eye surgery... but that is another story. The options I have are:
1. I could just get a new fan. If so, what would be one that you would recommend? It just needs to keep the 1.4 GHz from overheating. Noise is the biggest concern.
2. I could get an AXP 1700+ with a 'B' core. They are cheap, overclockable, and I could keep the cpu when I upgrade the motherboard. The question is, how can I tell that it has a 'B' core and that it isn't a Palomino or a Tbred A core. If I bought from googlegear or newegg, would I just have to cross my fingers?
3. I could stop waiting and use this as an excuse to do a major upgrade now. I would like an nForce 2 motherboard, faster RAM, and a better CPU, but that would also require buying Windows XP (I have been meaning to buy a legitimate copy). I don't think this option is really an option right now. I can do everything I need to with my current setup, and I just can't justify the money.
I guess that the choice I have is only between option 1 and option 2. What do you recommend? I am leaning towards the new CPU, but I don't know if I could really overclock it with my current board. Without overclocking it, it won't run much faster than my current 1.4 GHz. It is an Abit KT7A I believe. I know it is Abit, I am just unsure about the exact number... it is the KT133A chipset though.
I think that I wouldn't feel the need to upgrade so much if I didn't work on building faster computers for friends and family who just happen to have more money than me.
'It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And I guess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money.'