[Finallythisnameisnotinuse]

Hey guys,


First, let me point out that this is far the most user friendly forum interface that I found looking around, that was the main reason to join here, and most of the posters here seems experts to me.

Recently I was thinking about upgrade my comp, for two reasons. First, it is too old and noisy. Second (the real reason) is that I am translating different MMO's to my native language and it would be nice to run them smoother; none of them requires a high-end configuration: one of them is flash-based, the other one runs in Java environment. As far as I am right, Flash players are not affected by graphic cards, and mainly rely on CPU speed and memory. However, I have read an article about Adobe Flash Player v10, which actually gains advantage of hardware acceleration.

I was thinking about a decent configuration: I am not a hardcore gamer, but I think it is essential to have a decent computer anyway.
The reason I post here is that I have absolutely no clue what parts of my computer should be ditched and upgraded.

Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
P4P800 (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 WiFi, 4 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
Intel Springdale i865PE
Rev 1.xx
MB-1234567890

CPU
Intel Celeron 4E, 2666 MHz (5 x 533)
Intel® Celeron® D CPU 2.66GHz

Graphics card
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 (256 MB)

Sound
SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio (Asus P4C800/P4P800)


I am planning to buy a new monitor, video card, CPU, memory, PSU and a sound card (not necessary) . Money is not an option, but I do not want to spend on high-end configuration, as I probably will never take any use of it.

I was thinking about a 22" monitor with 1650x1050 resolution, a good Nvidia card, a high-end dual core Intel CPU and 4 GB fast memory. I would really like to have a silent computer.

So here goes my questions:

1. My motherboard seems outdated, is it a must to change it?
2. If a sound device is integrated into the motherboard, am I able to buy a sound card anyway and install it?
3. I have no clue about cooling and PSUs, but I do not want to go cheap on them, because common sense tells me that these are core elements to stable performance. What do you suggest?
4. What overall configuration would you suggest?

I am living in Hungary, and I am into purchase through internet, so should you have any recommendations, feel free to post a link.
If I forgot to post necessary information, please let me know and I add it. Most likely I will have no clue what you are talking about, as the last configuration I remember clearly was my old 386 SX-16MHz computer; please help me in the way to gather the given information as well.

Lastly, I am sorry for the name, but I really could not find any other that was not in use. I will try to choose another in a short time, though.

Thank you very much for your answers in advance.
Cheers,

Marci

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1) i would say this should be a total rebuild rather then an "upgrade" i can't see anything worth salvaging

2) you can

3) decent PSU's can be a bit pricy, check the review on this site of the Corsair TX750W, cooling i'd tend to stick with air cooling over liquid cooling, but stock ccolers are usually good enough unless you're overclocking

4) what do you mean overall configuration?

where do you purchase your parts from?

[sandman01086]

1) i would say this should be a total rebuild rather then an "upgrade" i can't see anything worth salvaging

2) you can

3) decent PSU's can be a bit pricy, check the review on this site of the Corsair TX750W, cooling i'd tend to stick with air cooling over liquid cooling, but stock ccolers are usually good enough unless you're overclocking

4) what do you mean overall configuration?

where do you purchase your parts from?

[Finallythisnameisnotinuse]

Thank you for the rapid answer.

By overall configuration I mean the all system components I should buy. I should ditch the MoBo, so I guess I need to build a whole comp from scratch, and I never ever did that before.

I do not know where should I purchase parts from, as I only bought complete PCs before, did not pay much attention to selecting the parts carefully. But everything has to change over time, and it is the right time for me to build a decent computer.

[Troy]

Hi there,

So you are looking to build a computer that's quiet? I "upgraded" mine not too long ago (the only thing I kept at the time was my mouse, keyboard, and monitor...!).

How specifically "quiet" are you intending this thing to be? If you just have on old "beast" now that's fairly noisy, a new system with some well-chosen parts will be very quiet indeed. My wife could not believe that I built the computer we now have, and she often says to me "is it on? I can't hear it!"

The sandman is right, your parts are all too old to be upgradeable any more. If you were to purchase all new parts now, nothing would connect together with your current system any more.

As you do not want to spend money on a high-end configuration, don't bother with an extra sound card. The onboard audio on new motherboards is now very good, and only if you have a surround-sound speaker setup (or are recording professionally, or are an extreme audiophile) would you bother with an audio card instead.

Judging from your description of the uses of this computer, I would say onboard video would be fine, also. If you choose a motherboard that does have onboard video, then it's easy to upgrade it down the track by adding a discrete video card.

If you would like a high-end dual-core CPU, then an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 would be a really nice choice. These are a fairly recent processor that have excellent performance.

If you would like 4GB of RAM, then make sure it comes in 2x 2GB sticks. You'll be needing a 64-bit operating system (such as Vista x64) to take advantage of all 4GB, otherwise with a 32-bit operating system, you'll be limited to about 3.25GB or so.

Depending on your final configuration, I would think the Corsair 750W overkill for the system I seem to have in mind for your build. If you won't be using this computer for extremely demanding purposes (gaming, multimedia editing), then the overall power use will be lower. A quality 500 or 550W should be plenty, but we'll double check on that when we complete the build for you.

You do mention you aren't a "hardcore gamer", but do you play any 3D games at all? If so, mention their titles and some required specifications, so you'll be able to play them nicely, if you like. If you post outright the most intensive use for the build, then we can ensure that the system can handle it.

Cheers

Troy

[Troy]

Hi again,

I just noticed we posted at the same time (well you were before me!).

We will get into some parts for the overall configuration, you'll see I mentioned some above.

Unfortunately, I can't help you in where to buy your parts, I'm from Australia and do not know of any Hungarian shops or a shop that ships to Hungary. You'll need to find this out yourself, but we can certainly help you with names of components to choose.

And don't worry, there's a first time for everything. It can be very confusing to build your own computer, but just keep your cool, follow the instructions, and you'll be fine. It can be very rewarding when everything is finished and it works nicely.

Cheers

Troy

[Finallythisnameisnotinuse]

Hey again,

I take care about the purchasing part here in Hungary probably, I am interested in the component names only, thank you.
I do not really play 3D games, but games like The Witcher makes me wanna try some 21st century game, lol. So actually I probably will play sometimes, and I really want a computer that makes me able to choose.

So that leaves me with the following components so far:

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
PSU - a quality 550W


By saying silent, I am thinking of something you mentioned

Thank you for your answers, I really appreciate it

[Troy]

Hi there,

No worries about the answers, this is what we enjoy doing!

So a new system that has a little noise will still be a lot nicer than the current jet you have now, eh?

Specifically for a PSU, Corsair have an excellent 550W unit that would be a nice choice. All of the Corsair PSU units are very high-quality supplies.

A motherboard for that E8400 Core 2 Duo, I would suggest the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L - or it has recently been replaced by the GA-EP35-DS3L. These boards are excellent for the price, and have good performance.

2GB of RAM should be a nice choice for this build, like a 2x 1GB set of 800MHz DDR2 RAM. Some good manufacturers of RAM include OCZ, Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, Mushkin, GeIL, G.SKILL, Patriot, and others.

I'm just wondering here, if you want to be able to play some games, the 9600GT by Nvidia is a fairly recent card with excellent performance for the price. It may be overkill for your system, but if you can work it into the budget, it definitely would give you the choice to play quite a few of the newer games out. Something a bit cheaper could be the 8800GS card by Nvidia.

For a DVD Burner, Pioneer make excellent drives (I have one), but other brands (like Samsung) are pretty good too. Whatever you choose, make sure it has a SATA connection.

Same with a hard drive - SATA connection. Seagate make excellent drives, I recommend them over other choices because they offer a 5-year warranty, against the industry standard of 3-years. I have 2 in my computer and find them rather quiet.

Cheers

Troy

[Finallythisnameisnotinuse]

Thank you for your replies, now the only thing I miss is the case. Is there anything I should be aware of upon choosing one?

[Troy]

For the case:

• That it looks good (to you)
• That it fits your budget
• That it is capable of holding all of your intended components
• That it has adequate in-case airflow

And of course, don't go choosing an mATX case if you have an ATX motherboard.

Cheers

Troy

[Finallythisnameisnotinuse]

Gigabyte EP35-DS4 Motherboard
Intel Core2 Duo E8400 3Ghz Boxed
Kingston HyperX 2x2GB kit 800MHz DDR2 KIT (KHX6400D2K2/4G)
Seagate 500GB 32MB cache SATA2 winchester
ASUS DRW-2014L1T DVD
ASUS GeForce 8800GT 512MB
Antec Nine Hundred Case
Corsair PSU-650TX 650W
Logitech Wave Ergonomic Keyboard, Hungarian
Logitech RX300 Optical Mouse

This is what I have ordered, plus a 22" LG screen. I chose the case because it seems nice (though I was a bit stunned when I saw it on their official page that I can actually "show off to my friends on a LAN party").

Thank you very much for all the help.

EDIT:
Removed bleeped out word.

Edited by Finallythisnameisnotinuse, 28 May 2008 - 08:17 AM.

[Troy]

Hi there,

Looks nice!

Let us know how it goes when you get it.

Cheers

Troy

[Finallythisnameisnotinuse]

Thank you Troy, I will report back.

One last question, though it is not a hardware issue. I despise Vista, and would rather stick to a 64-bit XP for OS. The bad thing is as far as I know, MS does not really care about their product, and enforce Vista development- and upgrade-wise.

Should I get used to Vista, I guess I have to sooner or later anyway.

[reconman]

While XP isn't going to be sold any more by the end of June or so, they're still going to be updating it for a while. Personally, I really think choosing between XP and Vista is a compatibility thing. If everything you want to run will run in Vista, I say get Vista.

[Finallythisnameisnotinuse]

This is exactly what worries me, that it will not be sold anymore. A product that does not generate income probably will not be top priority when it comes to upgrades.
Thanks for your advice, I think I will get Vista, or just split my drive and buy both.

[reconman]

This is exactly what worries me, that it will not be sold anymore. A product that does not generate income probably will not be top priority when it comes to upgrades.
Thanks for your advice, I think I will get Vista, or just split my drive and buy both.

Well, seeing as XP is still the most popular microsoft OS and they know that the amount of users who use XP over Vista are far greater, they're kind of "forced" to keep XP updates near, if not, at the top of their list of things to do. In fact, have a look at this artical

I don't see Microsoft slacking on XP updates any time soon. By the time they do, the majority will have all ready switched over to Vista (and possibly the next Microsoft OS) any ways.

Edited by reconman, 29 May 2008 - 03:35 AM.