Rebuilding/upgrading my desktop PC...looking for advice

NYSpeed Automotive NYSpeed Off Topic
1

Currently running an Asus P4S800 motherboard, Pentium 4 2.53, and an MSI video card with unknown specs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131462&cm_re=asus_p4s800--13-131-462--Product

I’m pretty sure I killed my motherboard last night…and looking around at pricing to replace my board it looks like I’d be better off upgrading to a new board with DDR2 memory, and may as well go for a more recent video card. Not sure if I need/should be looking for a new processor.

Looking to keep the price tag reasonable, for if it grows too large I may as well just go for a nice laptop that I’ve been condiering for a while.

Been bumming around on newegg…but I’m not 100% confident in what I’m looking for.

My needs are basic internet, Photoshop, and a program called Sketchbook Pro that involves real time sketching on screen through a tablet. not sure how demanding this program is…but with my current set up it was not running Sketchbook without being choppy and slow.

My Asus board can be found used on ebay for under $50…but I’d also need new/larger RAM and possibly a better graphic card.

Thanks, Mike

2

by my rig for 125, add videocard = profit :slight_smile:

3

What is the motherboard that you have?

4

I think the one I built for $260 would do what you need:

http://www.nyspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81805

Combo I bought is gone but this is close (a little faster for $12 more):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.334870

Add in 4GB of DDR2 and a decent power supply if your current power supply isn’t that great and reuse the rest of your components.

5

All I can tell u is it’s a asus. Where do I find out what it is for sure?

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Printed somewhere on the main board will be the model number. Should be pretty decent sized font, probably near the center.

7

Ok. Wasn’t sure if I could look it up in bios or something. I’ll take a look in a few

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Thanks for the link Jay…I’ll take that into consideration. How do I know if my power supply is up to snuff?

Mine was prinited right on the board itself. If it’s still in the case perhaps its obstructed by something.

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I’d want to go at least 450 watts from a good name brand (thermaltake or antec) on a modern MB, processor, 2 sticks of DDR2 ram, hard drive, dvd-drive with 3+ USB devices.

If you’re going to toss in a monster video card that amounts to pretty much a 2nd processor and motherboard go even bigger.

This site gives you a good idea how quickly it adds up:
http://www.journeysystems.com/?power_calculator

I shudder when I see the shitty 300 watt power supplies Dell/Gateway keep using.

10

Thanks for that link Jay!

My current power supply is only 330w:(

Here’s the video card I currently have: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127181&cm_re=msi_fx5200-_-14-127-181-_-Product

Model
Brand MSI
Model FX5200-TD128LF
Interface
Interface AGP 4X/8X
Chipset
Chipset Manufacturer NVIDIA
GPU GeForce FX 5200
PixelPipelines 4
Memory
Memory Size 128MB
Memory Interface 64-bit
Memory Type DDR
3D API
DirectX DirectX 9
OpenGL OpenGL 1.4
Ports
D-SUB 1 x D-SUB
DVI 1 x DVI
TV-Out S-Video Out
VIVO No
General
Tuner None
RAMDAC 400 MHz
Max Resolution 2048 x 1536@85Hz
Cooler Fanless
Operating Systems Supported Windows 2000/XP

Here’s the system requirements to the program I want to run:
http://www.amazon.com/Autodesk-732B1-05A00B-P101A-SketchBook-Pro-2010/dp/system-requirements/B001W2Y5Q0/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&n=229534&s=software

Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Vista
800 MHz processor
Graphics card capable of 1,024 x 768 display
256 MB of RAM

Am I reading this correctly in that my video car is rated to 128MB…and the Sketchbook program requires 256MB to run???

Thanks, Mike

11

No, those requirements are not all for the video card.

The program requires your video card can run 1024x768 resolution and that your computer has at least 256 meg of ram.

So the requirements for the program are pretty light. But I’m guessing like most apps trying to run it on the minimum will result in it running very poorly. I’m surprised they don’t also list the recommended system specs.

12

Got it Jay. Thanks again…

I’m tempted to just get this:

It seems like so much of what I currently have is too dated to be able to upgrade just one component. New MB with DDR2 and card needs new power supply…may not be able to plug my hard drives in…etc.

For ~$100 I could replace my current board with a used piece, and get 2-3GB of ram. For a little more I could just get a decent new desktop PC…and for a few more just get a decent laptop.

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Yeah, the problem is what components are you really getting in that Acer.

It’s hard to beat the price on bargain name brand desktops when building from components. That said, I don’t think I’ll ever buy another pre-built system. I’d rather spend a little more money and know I’m using good parts. The pricing wars between Dell, Gateway, Acer, HP and all the others, especially on their bargain models, has caused them to cut corners anywhere they can (which is pretty much everything but the name brand/model processor). Fans that fail in a year, power supplies that are borderline for powering the system right out of the box (let alone when you start plugging accessories in), cheap ram, crappy motherboards, slow bus speeds etc etc.

We resell hardware to all our credit union customers and used to move a ton of Dell stuff but not anymore because the failure rates on components were far too high. Now we get custom builds from GLED (http://www.gled.com/). When you move and have to support 1000’s of computers a year like we do here at my work you quickly see patterns of reliability.

14

Good info…makes sense. I think for now I’m going to just band-aid my current set up. I’ve found an equivalent board with a processor and 3GB RAM for a good deal. Ideally I would like to get into a laptop…but don’t want to rush the purchase and cheap out on it.