Posted on 05/18/2008 8:30:30 AM PDT by RebelTex
RECOMMENDATIONS WANTED FOR REBUILDING MY COMPUTER
I built this system 7 years ago and it has performed well until now. The motherboard won't post, so I have decided to upgrade but would like to use as much of the legacy devices that I have as possible. Here's the main specs on the system I want to upgrade:
Motherboard (non-posting now): Soyo SY-KT333 Dragon Ultra Platinum (ATX form factor - Soyo no longer makes motherboards) Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2100 (socket A) Video card: BioStar GeForce 6800 (128mb, AGP) Ram: Corsair DDR 3 1024gb dram sticks HHD: 2 Maxtor 80gb ATA FDD: ? CDRW Plextor4x/12x DVDRW +-
Sony 8x/32x Bayone Smart Card Bay PSU
Antec 450W OS Windows XP SP2 (don't say it - I know, I know) Case
Lian Li aluminum, plexiglass side window (lots of drive bays, 3 case fans)
Let's start with the OS. I'd like to use Linux if there is a flavor that can read both FAT32 and NTFS (I must have access to my old files). It must also run Windows apps, especially Office XP (I have some proprietary business software that only run on Windows).
As for the motherboard, I need an ATX form factor for my case, and would like it to handle at least the 3 GB of memory that I have and the AGP video card. I must have access to my hard drives, so IDE/ATA connectors are needed (I'll probably add a SATA drive or 2). Lots of USB port connectors would also be nice. I'll upgrade the processor as needed for the new board.
I'm not a gamer, so I don't need the latest, greatest video card, but I'd like to use the one I have. Are there any current motherboards with an AGP slot?
A new laptop might be had for $500.
There, that's done.
With
And take all the fun and frustrations out???
The process went something like this:
Lather, rinse and repeat. I would take the advise of the poster who suggested you get a good laptop instead. Personally I recommend the Lenovo T-Series. You can then get a docking station for it and hook it up to your favorite keyboard, display and mouse.
Not into Linux much but I hear that Ubuntu is the easiest distro for switchovers from PC.
That process is exactly why whenever I build a computer, I build it from scratch. If I change anything in an old system, then I find the nearest equivalent “old tech” I can.
I agree with your advice: if you’re not a gamer, then buy a rebuilt laptop.
The only devices you could use in a switchover to new hardware would be the hard disk drive (use it has a backup). AGP is obsolete, there are a couple dual pci-E and agp boards but I wouldn’t recommend them on top of they are very rare. You need a new video card then, possibly you could survive on something with on-board until you get a pci-express vid card. I wouldn’t even recommend using the old power supply has since it will probably be old and of too low wattage for pci-express hardware.
Yes - NeoOffice and OpenOffice are great.
Check out Tigerdirect.com.
They have pretty good prices, allot of package deals, and build-your-own.
I would just replace the mobo and then move towards buying a new unit. Not much use for your other components except drives case, etc on new cpu/mobo combos.
You can still buy a mobo that is fully compatible with everything you have there. By coincidence, the one I am using is what you need. ASUS A7N8X-X I just saw one listed for $100. I saw several others that would work. Just search for AGP & Socket A.
Good luck.
>>>>>>I saw a Dell system listed last week for $400 WITH a 20” LCD monitor.
Dell uses atrocious rock-bottom low performance components (esp. video and audio).
If it’s $600 for a Dell vs. $800 to build your own with top-shelf components, I’ll go with the latter.
You had an Athlon 2100 in the year 2001?
What did that cost, $5000?
Anyway, my advice would be to stick with Windows XP for the foreseeable future - you shouldn't have any problem going with that OS for another five years or more [we're still on Windows 2000 and cruising comfortably for the near future].
It looks to my eye as though most of your stuff would transfer over to a "new" system perfectly well [although more on "new" systems in just a moment].
Your biggest problem in "upgrading" to something more modern would be the power supply - the old 300W/400W power supplies from that era just won't cut it anymore. New systems are up around 750W [single rail] these days, and will have entirely different connectors [EPS12V to the mobo & PCIE to the peripherals].
Once you upgrade the power supply, then you have to upgrade the case, and, for quality parts, you're looking at $300+ right there.
If I were you, I'd look to maybe upgrade to dual Athlon MP's, and hope to keep the same case & power supply.
But whatever I did, I would not purchase new - I would purchase used off of Craig's List and eBay. Purchasing new just means you're eating the depreciation for parts that, on average [your own experience with the Soyo notwithstanding] tend to last approximately forever.
For instance, I just typed "dual athlon tyan" at eBay, and the first hit I got was some guy selling a dual mobo with 2 X 1900 CPU's for $149 [and there are a couple more after that with no bids at $10]:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?satitle=dual+athlon+tyanAnd I've seen 2 X 2800 Athlon MP combos on ebay in the low- to mid- $200s.
Here's a similar search at Craig's List:
http://www.google.com/search?q=athlon+mp+site%3Acraigslist.orgOne final thought - nothing, and I mean NOTHING - will improve your productivity more than getting dual [and preferably triple] monitors.
You can pick up beautiful old 21" CRT monitors on Craig's List for like $30-$50 - monitors which would have cost $750 to $1500 back in 2001, and get some inexpensive PCI graphics cards and string them all together on your desktop for total real estate of like {4800 X 1200} [= {1600, 1200} + {1600, 1200} + {1600, 1200}], on a total budget of no more than about $150 to $200.
Before I did anything else in the way of computer upgrades, I'd get myself triple monitors.
Super Micro Computer P4SPE - ATX, 4GB, 8 USB, 5 PCI, 8X/4X AGP, INTEL 865PE CHIPSET, 3.4 GHZ (PENTIUM 4) OR 2.4 GHZ CELERON, SATA, LINUX
I would buy a pre-built, my preference is Dell, and add the 3 year on-site maintenance, it’s dirt cheap. Get a nice big SATA hard drive (500GB or better), a DVD-ROM drive, a DVD-RW+- or Blue Ray drive (both SATA so they aren’t obsolete next week), and one of those 7-in-1 memory card readers. I would either use the IDE connector on the new PC to temporarily connect the old hard drives and copy their contents to the SATA or buy one of those USB IDE adapters ($14.99 at surpluscomputers.com) to connect and fire up the old drives on an as-needed basis. I would also buy a new monitor, unless the existing is 19” LCD or better.
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