hi guys, would you see my specs and reccomend me what to do?

[whitebrokenriff]

hello, i have been using this pc for quite a number of years

amd athlon xp 1800+
ecs k7s5a
pc266 kingston 256mb (should be ddr)
hd maxtor 40gb 7200
nvidia geforce mx 400 64mb

yeah what can i do to upgrade it? sorry i am on a tight budget, maybe thinking of changing the graphics and ram but, newer graphic card requires agp 8x or pci e right? i am currently in singapore, so perhaps my budget around 150US dollars.

 

[Nights_L]

A Radeon9800 runs perfectly on an ECS K7S5A, if you want, u may want to add some more RAM, and change to an fastest Axp that you can get ..(2400 or 2600 are nice)

 

[whitebrokenriff]

just a question.. which type of ram can i fit into my motherboard?

 

[Nights_L]

Any 184 pin DDR memory would fit:
PC2100 - DDR266
PC2700 - DDR333
PC3200 - DDR400
PC......(?? I can't remember sry)

since K7S5A supports "only" 266FSB, you can take any of them and they'll work, however, you'll want to take PC3200, cuz the price difference is almost 0, and with faster ram, you have more room for tweaking ur system.

 

[slvr_phoenix]

Well, for 150USD I can find an Athlon XP 2600+ (Thoroughbred) 2133MHz 256K 266MHz FSB. I list all of the specs because there are other chips with the same model number that won't work in your motherboard.

Or, again for 150USD, I can find an ATI RADEON 9800pro AGP card.

Or for only 90USD you can pick up a 1GB low density stick of PC3200 (DDR400).

But obviously, any of these by themselves aren't all that cool. Which one to get would depend on what you do, but if you game, the graphics would be the obvious place to start.

Of course a more rounded upgrade might be something like replacing your MX graphics card with a GeForce4 Ti4200 AGP 128MB for 80USD, and adding a 256MB low density stick of PC3200 (DDR400) for 20USD. Then you might spend some of the remaining money on a good CPU cooler and try to overclock your processor and still end up with a little money left over. It'd be a more rounded improvement for your budget than just aiming at getting one big thing.

But these are only suggestions. Your luck at finding the hardware you want at decent prices may vary.

Plus, any significant new power draw to your PC could end up requiring you to upgrade the power supply as well.

 

[Coyote]

Yeah, a 9800pro and more ram w/b good.

I don't think its worth to upgrade the CPU unless you can find a good used one real cheap.

But you're getting real near the time when you need a complete upgrade.

 

[slvr_phoenix]

But you're getting real near the time when you need a complete upgrade.

I think the requirements of the software in use would more likely dictate how much a complete upgrade is needed. While often desirable, I know people who are perfectly happy on 486s because they only use IE, Outlook Express, Word, Minesweeper, and Solitaire.

 

[Untruest]

Which comes down to, What do u use ur computer for? Because i've seen for 200 u can get a whole new athlon xp system and u'll have 2 computers instead of one. But what's the point buying a new system if it's only another xp. So u can merge parts, add the ram and cpu to a single system for better improvement and u'll have extra HDD space.

Big deal right? Video cards like 9800 aren't too badly priced and it's definetly good. But is that for new games, old millenium games?

 

[whitebrokenriff]

ok thanks guys. i was thinking of playing some games such as hl2 wow, but i dont think its possible, furthermore i gonna serve the military soon and when i get out of it, i most probably gonna get a powerbook for university.

anyhow, may i ask if u already have pc2100 ram is it possible to add a pc3100 like some of you mentioned so that both exist on the same mobo? oh yes i would like to add some fans, but for which component should i? i am not too sure about the fans in my pc though.

 

[slvr_phoenix]

anyhow, may i ask if u already have pc2100 ram is it possible to add a pc3100 like some of you mentioned so that both exist on the same mobo?

Yes it is possible. To do it, it will run the PC3200 RAM at PC2100 speed.

 

[Untruest]

Like he said, it is possible to add 3200 to a 2100 but it will clock down.

Also i played HL2 with a PCI 5200 FX and enjoyed it.

As for the components, a basic 120mm vent is a good place to start and depending on what u finally get, we'll be able to judge some more.

 

[Coyote]

But you're getting real near the time when you need a complete upgrade.

I think the requirements of the software in use would more likely dictate how much a complete upgrade is needed. While often desirable, I know people who are perfectly happy on 486s because they only use IE, Outlook Express, Word, Minesweeper, and Solitaire.

I was thinking gaming, since he mentioned gfx card. Looks like that my have a correct assumption.

BTW: OP, I think with the upgrades mentioned (ram + 9800p) you would have a pretty good gaming experience with HL2.

HL2 is known to scale very well, and apparently is "optimized" for ATI cards (like a 9800p).