[ea6b607]

well my budgit is pretty small.... bout $300 i want to upgrade my Hp a1102n computer

currently
--Mother board (dunno company stock one but anyways it has
-4 serial ata ports
-3 pci slots
-4 ddr2 ram slots
-socket 775 cpu slot
- 1 ide slot
-and some other stuff i forgot...

--Hp 640 lightscribe dvd burner
--old 48x cd rom drive found in an old computer decided to stick in
--512mb of ddr 2 ram (2x 256mb)
--Intel pentium 4 2.93ghz 516 processor
--stock 250 watt psu

im thinnkin of gettin the Ultra UV Wizard Black ATX Mid-Tower (with the x connect psu)

and i need some suggestions for some other reasonably priced upgrades

[Advertisements]

first of all, check that ur motherboard isnt in a tray
and isnt connected to a front mounted LED port
believe me, its a [bleep] to remove

anyways

www.newegg.com
your source for cheap parts


Upgrades you should get:

GeForce 6600 $138
or
GeForce 5700 FX LE $93
(5700 will run HL2 and BF2 fine)


Corsair ValueSelect 1GB Dual Channel $87

Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Gamer $121


Links (in order)


http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814121196
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814133106
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145526
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829102171

[The Colonel]

first of all, check that ur motherboard isnt in a tray
and isnt connected to a front mounted LED port
believe me, its a [bleep] to remove

anyways

www.newegg.com
your source for cheap parts


Upgrades you should get:

GeForce 6600 $138
or
GeForce 5700 FX LE $93
(5700 will run HL2 and BF2 fine)


Corsair ValueSelect 1GB Dual Channel $87

Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Gamer $121


Links (in order)


http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814121196
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814133106
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145526
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829102171

[warriorscot]

No stop dont follow that advice, the colonel has kinda jumped the gun there. OK first things first we need to see exactly what you have and what you can support. So get either cpu-z or everest and post up your specs icluding what graphical interface/slot you have either AGP , PCI-E or PCI/none.
No offence colonel we jus tlike to go through the process so people get the best upgrades that suit there needs.

Edited by warriorscot, 17 August 2005 - 04:56 AM.

[ea6b607]

First of all that cpu-z is a awesome program!!!!
Second no my mobo is just screwed in with four screws and is notwired into the led power button.

Anyways i have
--2 sticks of 256mb infineom ddr2 memory
--asus tech goldfish3 mobo
ill copy some of the specs

[ea6b607]

Srry ran out of room heres the other 2.

[ea6b607]

Srry to post three times in a row but i forgot to say 2 things.

First i liked some of the colonels upgrades expecially the geforce 6600, but i was wondering how much of an advantage would a sound card that good give me

Also i got my overtime in so my random spending account is up to bout $600 now. Srry for the low spending limit im 17 and work at a movie theatre not exactly rakin in much green that way...

[Doby]

Hi, well first let me say doing major upgrades to a brand computer can be a challenge, sometimes you are better off saving up and building, you ain't to far off with a $600 buget depending on what the computer will be used for so maybe wait awhile and save some more.

So first tell us what the computer will be used for, this is most important

2nd I can tell you this the 250w psu you have will not run the 6600 video card so there lies the first problem, will a Xconnect psu fit in your case, mount correctly and connect to the mobo, on brand computers this is sometimes a problem. I have a xconnect and it is big. This is assuming you stay with the HP case but leads to the 3rd

3rd will the hp mobo line up with the new case, I mean will the standoffs in the case line up with the holes in the mobo, i duno

4th, if your a gamer you will want a gig of ram, I am unsure if that mobo will support it.

see were I am going here, maybe you would be better off getting a new mobo and ram along with the other parts you have stated and reuse the drives, cpu .

I am sure warriorscot will have some other very good suggestions as will others.

Rick

[The Colonel]

First of all, sorry for that, usually only make upgrades to local people.
You can get a cheap PSU, i personally would get 400 W PSU.
Anyways, back to 2 other matters.
My friend used an older ASUS motherboard, and supported 1.5 gb
Dont know if that applies to you.
And if you are a serious gamer, yes a sound card does matter.
Im assuming you have integrated sound, or a cheap sound card.
Personally, the Sound Audigy gives me a huge upper hand in most games.
Everywhere from camping flags in BF2, to finding enemies in CS.
Its great with surround sound, and nearly perfect with headset (mine at least).

[warriorscot]

Well on the PSU front never ever buy cheap PSUs its the easiest way to fry your new system they are getting better but a quality PSU is the best way to go. So make sure you are getting about 450W with the one you want.

A good sound card will give you a slight advantage mostly depending on how good your onboard is you seem to have a relativeley new motherboard so the sound will be decent enough. That seems a good but rather expensive sound card but they nay just be that price in the US the value oem version of the audigy 2 can be gotten here for about 30 pounds, the difference is its just the card it diesnt come with alot of games you will never play.

Here is where you can help us ut by doing some of your own research using the great google, look up the specs of your mobo hp will probably have them but take the name and model number you found out using cpu z and get the specs you need. But you seem to have a modern motherboard so you might be lucky and not have to replace it.
GFX wise you have alot of options with pci-e, I am partial to the x800s as they are great value for money. The gig of memory is a good idea for any upgrade.

But it would be good to know what you plan on using this computer for.

[ea6b607]

My PCis mostly used for burning dvds (money on the side ) and video edditing i also do play a few games on it, but am not the serious gamer. But the biggest problem is using the autocad software if i have any object with more then bout 1000+ verticies it begins to get incredibly slow.

Anyways though i took warrioscot's advice and did a little research i found all the pecs on the mobo. Also like most people are saying my psu is way to small i used a watt calculator and i am currently running about 10 watts over so im still thinking of gettin the x connect 500watt and the case that comes with it great deal! at least in my opinion.

anyways heres the stats i found for my mobo
* note---it supports up to 4gb of ram no problems there
*second note--- ya my computer is pretty new bout 2 months (one of the reasons my fundings kind of loww...)


--Motherboard manufacturer's name: ASUS PTGD-LA

--CPU/Processor
-----Socket: LGA775
-----Supports processor up to 3.4 GHz
-----Supports Intel Pentium 4 HT processors


--Front-side bus (FSB) 800 MHz


--Chipset
-----Northbridge: Inrel 915GV Graphics Memory and Controller Hub (MCH)
-----Southbridge: Intel ICH6


--BIOS features
-----4Mb FWH EEPROM
-----HP BIOS with enhanced ACPI, DMI, Green, and PnP Features Plus


--Form factor Micro-ATX form factor, 9.6 in x 9.6 in


--Memory
-----Dual-channel memory architecture
-----4 x 240-pin DIMM sockets support unbuffered non-ECC 4 GB 533/400 MHZ ---------DDR2 memory modules
-----Maximum HP/Compaq approved memory is 4 GB*


--Expansion slots
-----Three PCI
-----No AGP slot

--Video graphics
-----Integrated


--Serial ATA
-----4 SATA connectors
-----Each connector supports 1 serial Ultra DMA 150 disk drive
-----Hot Swap function


--Onboard audio or audio card
-----Integrated Intel High Definition™ audio (Azalia)
-----Realtek ALC 880 chipset
-----8-channels for Full Dolby 5.1/6.1/7.1 surround sound support with Dolby Pro Logic IIx


--Onboard LAN
-----Realtek RTL8101L LAN PHY (Physical Layer Protocol)
-----10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet controller


--Back panel I/O
-----One PS/2 mouse port
-----One PS/2 keyboard port
-----One VGA (monitor)
-----One Parallel
-----Four USB (2.0)
-----One IEEE 1394
-----One RJ45 networking port
-----Six audio ports support 8-channel audio configuration
-----One S/PDIF in
-----One S/PDIF out


--Internal connectors
-----One ATX power connector
-----One ATX +12v power connector
-----One IDE connector
-----Four SATA connectors
-----One floppy drive connector
-----One CPU fan connector
-----One System fan connector (also known as duct or chassis fan)
-----One system indicator LEDs / power switch / reset button connector
-----One jumper to clear CMOS
-----One jumper to clear password
-----One optical drive audio input
-----One line level audio input
-----One front panel headphone and microphone connector
-----One front panel power and LED connectors
-----Two USB connectors supporting 4 additional USB 2.0 ports on front panel
-----One IEEE 1394a connector supporting one 1394a port

Back panal
1 - PS/2 mouse port
2 - Parallel port
3 - IEEE 1394 port
4 - RJ-45 port
5 - Side Speaker Out port. This Side Speaker out (gray) port connects to the side speakers in an 8-channel audio configuration
6 - Rear Speaker Out port. This Rear Speaker (black) port connects to the rear speakers on a 4-channel, 6-channel, or 8-channel audio configuration
7 - Center/Subwoofer port. This Center/Subwoofer (yellow orange) port connects to the center/subwoofer speakers
8 - Line In port. This Line In (light blue) port connects a tape player or other audio sources
9 - Line Out port. This Line Out (lime) port connects a headphone or a speaker. In 4-channel, 6-channel, and 8-channel mode, the function of this port becomes Front Speaker Out
10 - Microphone port
11 - USB 2.0 ports 3 and 4
12 - USB 2.0 ports 1 and 2
13 - Video Graphics Adapter port. [This 15-pin port is for a VGA monitor or other VGA-compatible devices.]
14 - S/PDIF Out port
15 - S/PDIF In port
16 - PS/2 keyboard port

Edited by ea6b607, 18 August 2005 - 06:39 PM.

[The Colonel]

I didn't mean cheap as in crappy, i meant cheap as in, on NewEgg, they are inexpensive, and work great.

[warriorscot]

Well, i would say you got done from what i see there you dont have AGP or PCI-E from wha that says. To double check look inside you should have PCI slots 3 to be exact and they should be white, do you have any slots longer or shorter than the PCI slots. If you just have the 3 pci slots then you are limited to some rather crappy pci gfx cards to upgrade to. The extra ram will help alot but if you ever want a better gfx card you are going to have to get a mew motherboard.

[ea6b607]

well im not sure why but cpu-z does says i have a pci-e but i looked and none
i dont know neccisarily if i need a good card the only thing i need is a sometthing that can handle super high resalution Cad drawings. either way i looked for some mobos and i was wondering if this one was decent enough.

http://www.tigerdire...&Tab=2&NoMapp=0

i checked to the best of my knowlege and im pretty sure its compadibal with all my hardware please post any comments in incompatibility or other mobos that u think is better if possible i would really like to stay with ddr2.

Thnx a ton to the people who have been helping through these decisions

[warriorscot]

Looks ok to me but my speciality isnt intel, ask me an AMD question and im your man. Well the newer intel chipsets are all ddr2 not really sure why there doesnt seem to be a performance increase from switching to DDR2 but meh what do i know. Cpu-z is detecting a mythical x63 slot if only that were true, it is probably confused because normal retail versions of that board do have pci-e slots as far as i know and your doesnt because it was designed specifically not to have then for sale to pc builders that dont want you to upgrade your system. Do you have a super high resolution monitor, from when i have used cad it was always using the integrated and it was fine at mid range resolutions. Depends on the kind of drawing of course wire model 3d cads are a real gfx hog at high res especially.

[ea6b607]

I have two Cad classes a engineering and unfortunately i have to do a lot rotation recordings and watching the thing reload every 5 degrees is a little annoying. I dont actually do a lot of wire frame models but lately weve been using a lot of artificial lighting which seems to have a similar effect of constantly slowing it down. Anyways i am willing to switch to amd and back ddr because i can always use the spare parts for upgrading my sisters old computer. The only problem is since im on a slightly constricted funding most of my money would have to be invested in a new mobo and cpu. Currently as far as amd goes im thinking of these.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131517

and

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103537

or a 3200+ or 3500+

o ya i have an hp 1703 monitor at 1024x768 resolution (great monitor by the way but a little pricy bout $400 when i baught it)

Edited by ea6b607, 19 August 2005 - 07:09 PM.