[Day_late]

I've got an older Windows XP machine that I'd like to use with Linux. My uses are primarily web browsing, e-mail and office applications. I installed Linux 14.04 a few days ago, and I'm disappointed that it's running very slowly (screen refresh is sort of jerky and takes longer than seems reasonable. Don't know if the Linux performance is hampered by my elderly hardware. I'd like to reuse as much of what I have as I can for an upgrade, but I'm open to changing as much as it takes - and cheaper is better.

 

Here's what I've got:

• Antec mid-tower case with an Antec SU-380 power supply.
• AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Socket 939 CPU
• DDR400 PC3200 CL3 1G/64x8 RAM times 4
• Seagate Barracuda 1000GB hard drive
• e-GeForce 7200GS PCI-E board for DVI output
• DVD reader/writer
• Floppy drive (Wow!)

So how do you think I should proceed?

 

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Hello Day_late,

 

A better video card and more Ram if possible would be my initial suggestion.

 

Can you tell us the brand and model name or number of the MB, this to see what if any Ram upgrade path you may have.

[phillpower2]

Hello Day_late,

 

A better video card and more Ram if possible would be my initial suggestion.

 

Can you tell us the brand and model name or number of the MB, this to see what if any Ram upgrade path you may have.

[Day_late]

Sorry, I meant to include that info: the motherboard is an Asus A8N-VM.

 

Thanks,

Warren

[phillpower2]

The Ram is maxed out so the best option without needing to replace the PSU is the GTX 750Ti video card, specs here please note that Linux does not provide the video drivers that Windows does so gaming etc cannot be compared between the two

[Day_late]

It feels like we're going around the basic problem: Ubuntu 14.04 isn't running on this computer, at least not in any way that's satisfying to use. I don't think it's specifically a video/graphics problem. How about a budget build for a Linux-based machine using whatever can be salvaged from the machine I've got? Got a case, got a hard drive, got an optical drive, got monitor/mouse/keyboard, power supply and memory may be usable in a follow-on system. What would be a good moboard/cpu upgrade? 

[phillpower2]

It feels like we're going around the basic problem: Ubuntu 14.04 isn't running on this computer, at least not in any way that's satisfying to use.

 

 

Not at all as with the exception of an old video card that possibly only has 256MB of VRam your other specs would handle Ubuntu with ease, also keep in mind what you said in your OP "I'm open to changing as much as it takes - and cheaper is better." you need a better video card in any event and it would be far less expensive than replacing the MB, CPU and Ram, the latter of which you would not be able to use with any board other than the same dated DDR2 memory type as the present Asus A8N-VM board.

 

What would be a good moboard/cpu upgrade? 

 

 

What would be your maximum budget.

[Day_late]

My budget for motherboard/cpu/RAM upgrade is $200 to $300.

 

While we've been talking, I've been trying to figure out what's going on with the box. Based on what I can see, one of my four 1x1GB RAM sticks is bad (system info showed 2.7GB RAM when I could see it) but I've been unable to isolate the bad stick. I've forced power down a number of times and may have corrupted the installed OS; video is degraded from what it was earlier in the process. I tried using onboard VGA video to isolate the video card issue and got no improvement. For whatever reason, I can't seem to force a boot from the optical drive. I have not been able to modify the boot priority in BIOS, but that may just be me. Bottom line is I'm frustrated to the point that a motherboard/cpu upgrade and a clean install looks pretty attractive.

 

 

[phillpower2]

For your intended use check out the example list only here to see if we are heading in the right direction.

 

Off back to work now but will check back later.

[Day_late]

Thanks, phillpower2. The example list does look like a move in the right direction. Is there a reason for choosing a micro-ATX moboard over standard ATX? I think I'd prefer the larger form factor - there's room in the case and it's easier for my fumble-fingers to get around.

[terry1966]

until you do get newer hardware you might want to try a different "lighter" linux distro than the ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS i think you've tried.

 

Modern Linux distros are designed to appeal to a large number of users. As a result, they have become too bloated for older machines or systems with limited resources. If you don't have several gig of RAM to spare and an extra core or two, these distros may not deliver the best performance for you. Thankfully, there are many lightweight distros that you can use to breathe new life into older hardware.

http://www.techradar...distros-1295034
 
i'd suggest trying
lxle :- http://www.lxle.net/
puppy linux :- http://puppylinux.or...ing Started.htm
Lubuntu :- http://lubuntu.net/
 

[phillpower2]

Thanks, phillpower2. The example list does look like a move in the right direction. Is there a reason for choosing a micro-ATX moboard over standard ATX? I think I'd prefer the larger form factor - there's room in the case and it's easier for my fumble-fingers to get around.

 

Having checked out the present MBs specs I noticed that it is the smaller 9.6" X 9.6" uATX type + as it was only an example list you could amend the selection at any time 

 

Revised list here

 

Checked the board for out of the box compatibility with the CPU and it is all good, you can confirm this for yourself by checking here

[Day_late]

terry1966, thanks for the suggestion. It's something to think about, but I'm so new to Linux (and generally inept learning new OSes) that an upgrade to let me run ubuntu seems my best course for now.

[Day_late]

phillpower2, thanks for the motherboard info. I've only done one build to date and didn't realize what was in the box we're talking about. The micro-ATX board ought to work for this upgrade.

 

I noticed that onboard video seems to have fallen by the wayside so a video card is needed. As mentioned, I'm not into gaming but I'd use the machine for streaming video at least occasionally. Would a "budget" class video card give adequate performance for that sort of use, or should I look a bit further upscale? It looks like your earlier GeForce GTX 750 Ti recommendation would work with the power available but it seems designed for game graphics . Can you recommend a less expensive card for my intended use?

 

 

 

[phillpower2]

The 750Ti would be my first suggestion but to help with reducing costs the EVGA GeForce GT 730 01G-P3-2730-KR 1GB 128-Bit  would be next, 64 bit cards are ok for basic office type work but for watching videos etc 128-bit should be the minimum.

 

Checked the original board and that is also out of the box compatible with the CPU, see here

 

Before ordering any video card can I ask that you check the PSU to see if it has a sticker on it as in the attachment below, this to make sure that there are enough amps on the +12V rail.

 

 

[Day_late]

The table on the power supply label says +12V1 max load is 16A and +12V2 max load is 16A, The summary line beneath the table says +12V max load is 336W.

 

It looks like we're bumping the upper limit on the power supply, doesn't it?

Edited by Day_late, 06 September 2015 - 02:30 PM.