Bought a computer for 80 bucks ! help me build it into a..

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Gadzookie

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Aug 2, 2006
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i was at a computer show recently and a man was selling refurbished computers from offices and i got one for 80 bucks 🙂 he are the specs

Compaq EVO D300
Intel Celeron 1.3GHz
256MB DDR Memory
20GB IDE Hard Drive
CD-ROM
10/100 LAN Ethernet
4 USB Ports
Floppy Drive
Windows XP Professional genuine disc ! 🙂

PSU unit seems to be 250 watts.....

now i really want to turn this into a semi decent gaming rig just strong enough to play command and conquer 3 here is what im thinking

i have a spare 1 gig of ram i will throw in and get rid of the 256 megs
and a dvd rom drive

also

i want to upgrade the CPU to this CPU for 38 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116035
Intel Celeron 2.5 Northwood 2.5GHz 128KB L2 Cache Socket 478 Processor - OEM

but i dont know if the motherboard will suport that cpu

and i will buy a 7600 GS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125039

99.00

but i dont know if the PSU is strong enough for this graphics card

if anyone can answer my questions or recomend something please do 🙂 thank you
 
Sorry dude but you would be better of scrapping it and starting again, it looks about 7 years old. Celerons are pretty crap processors. I had a 6 year old Dell( 512Meg, 40gig, P4 2.4Ghz ) and it was crap for gaming and that was even higher spec'd that yours

i would have paid $5 for that rig or taken it for free seeing as it would cost money to get rid of it, lol, at least you got XP out of it :) ( unless its OEM 8O )

The reason i say scrap it is i had the same decision to make with my old dell and it worked out too expensive. It'll be a money pit, youll need an AGP card and thats more expensive than a PCI-E card. You could build a similar system around that that would allow for the latest processors,mem, gpu's for cheap, maybe $200
 
its a real genine version of windows xp pro cd and all it was still sealed when i got it lol

7 years old ???????? ! lol


so no way i should waste my time upgrading it huh :-(
 
yeah, lol, im serious, it is from around 2000( maybe even 1999 ), sorry dude, you may be able to use the case if it takes ATX mobo's, floppy maybe, but theyre being extinguished with USB sticks, and i wouldnt trust a PSU that old with new components( you dont know if its 250W contineous or if it will crap out on anything over 250 and be unstable over 230w )

It is great that you got a genuine copy of XP Pro though, nice one, made a saving there :)

You might stick it in a museum :twisted: i think it would be fine to have it as a second PC for web browsing, throw linux on it and use that XP Pro on a new build/second hand comp( if thats what youre into ). Did you get a screen?
 
lmao, well itll be fine for messing around/surfing on, reminds me o fmy tecra laptop, i tried using it a ew months ago, 64mb ram, 16meg gpu, some form of P3, 8 gig harddrive. Im gonna try installing linux on it sometime as i think it would be cool to control music or control a server for streaming video or something like that( a glorified remote control lol )
 
im using the PC now does everything except play games lol looks like 16 mb of video memory lol
Click to expand...

you could build a rig to play Halflife, Counterstrike, and Quake II.

Great games... although I have only played Halflife and Quake 2.

Quake 2 was the first real video game that I played... I was like 9 :)
Civilization 2 is also SWEET!
 
lol, lesson here, beware refurbished PC's :twisted:

As was said though, if youre ok running older games like CS/HL2 at lower settings you could get a new GPU etc. i personally think it would be a waste of cash that you wont get back, like trying to start converting an old ford into a ferrari, paint it pure white and you could use it as a huge mp3 player 8O youre new ipod mini!!!!!!!
 
what do you think about trying to run Unreal Tournament 2004 on it and i get my hands on a crappy GPU
Click to expand...

it sure as hell doesnt have pci express

does it have AGP? If not, you could get a PCI Video card based on the FX5200. Should run Unreal 04 fine.
 
it says here http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/10948_div/10948_div.HTML#CustomComponents
that it has a 4x AGP 8O
Im still with converting it into a huge mini ipod
I think looks wise its deadly, look away now if you scare easily
10948_OV_div.jpg
[/img]
 
lol, sorry man i shouldnt be making fun of your hot system
You could stick in a semi decent GPU in it but it'll be bottlenecked at 4xAGP, maybe you could replace the mobo with an 865 one that will have 8xagp
 
But that wont run Command and Conquer 3 which is the OP's game of choice, you could play the older Command and Conquer games though
 
But that wont run Command and Conquer 3 which is the OP's game of choice, you could play the older Command and Conquer games though
Click to expand...

no way in hell you are running C&C3 on that relic. Give it up.

The OP HAS to have a faster rig than that..... ??
 
but lets say i get that CPU upgrade to work to 2.5 ghz and then i put a 7600 gs in there and get it to work it should be able to run command and conquer

i think i might have to replace the PSU too ............. i will look around at the next computer show for used junk lol i think my friend might have a ATI 9800 pro somewhere lol
 
But that wont run Command and Conquer 3 which is the OP's game of choice, you could play the older Command and Conquer games though
Click to expand...

no way in hell you are running C&C3 on that relic. Give it up.

The OP HAS to have a faster rig than that..... ??
lol@relic, that PC should be in the next Indiana Jones movie
Seriously though, you could still make an ipod mini out of it and carry it around in a back pack

but lets say i get that CPU upgrade to work to 2.5 ghz and then i put a 7600 gs in there and get it to work it should be able to run command and conquer

i think i might have to replace the PSU too ............. i will look around at the next computer show for used junk lol i think my friend might have a ATI 9800 pro somewhere lol
Click to expand...
Seriously, by the time youve spent all that money you'll have built a new low spec rig with a decent gpu that would probably run C&C on medium to high. Youll get a case & PSU for $100, an intel 4300 Core 2 for under $100, i gig DDR2 for probably $70 and an Asrock 775 mobo for $45, cheap sata 2 harddrive for $40, Thats around $300 to build a new rig without gpu, but yopud have a lot more choice and stick in a 7600 or 7900GT into that and C&C 3 would run super
 
A celeron 1.3 GHz, is a Taulatin, which didn't debut until late 2001 at the very earliest, which makes the D300 you have probably an early 2002 model. In no way, shape, or form can it even be close to 2000 or 1999 model year.

Another point I would like to clarify is that your new desktop does not have an i845 chipset. It has an i815E chipset. It does not use DDR ram, but PC100/PC133 sdram.

Perhaps this webpage will inform you on your new purchase:
http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/10949_div/10949_div.HTML
 
but lets say i get that CPU upgrade to work to 2.5 ghz and then i put a 7600 gs in there and get it to work it should be able to run command and conquer

i think i might have to replace the PSU too ............. i will look around at the next computer show for used junk lol i think my friend might have a ATI 9800 pro somewhere lol
Click to expand...

I say that it wont happen....
 
If you're really hell bent on keeping this thing, then here are some potential processor upgrades.

Processors @ Newegg

If you look up the 845 chipset at the Intel website...you're northbridge will support 400mhz FSB's.

Intel 845 Chipset

You still have a 4X AGP bus too. You might be able to find a better deal, but a two minute search revealed this for a solution...

256MB X1950GT

Granted, these aren't the cheapest parts and you could easily find a better price/performance ratio if you bought a new platform, but I still think you could live with it for a little bit and you're $80 machine seems somewhat salvagable for the occasional Direct X 9 game.
 
but lets say i get that CPU upgrade to work to 2.5 ghz and then i put a 7600 gs in there and get it to work it should be able to run command and conquer

i think i might have to replace the PSU too ............. i will look around at the next computer show for used junk lol i think my friend might have a ATI 9800 pro somewhere lol
Click to expand...

It won't work because it is not even the same CPU socket type. You have socket 370. The P4 in question is socket 478.
 
A celeron 1.3 GHz, is a Taulatin, which didn't debut until late 2001 at the very earliest, which makes the D300 you have probably an early 2002 model. In no way, shape, or form can it even be close to 2000 or 1999 model year.

Another point I would like to clarify is that your new desktop does not have an i845 chipset. It has an i815E chipset. It does not use DDR ram, but PC100/PC133 sdram.

Perhaps this webpage will inform you on your new purchase:
http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/10949_div/10949_div.HTML
Click to expand...

Do you think that this PC, at any level could run Command and Conquer 3?
 
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