Upgrading with $250-$300.

So, I need some help here, basically, my laptop decided to fry itself, and I need to upgrade my old Desktop to working condition before I head off to College, problem is, I only have about $250-$300ish to spare, as everything else is already going to various expenses. ( Namely, College, and paying the last few bills. )

I don't need anything top of the line here, and will probably re-upgrade in the next few months once I get settled in, and find a new job to work, I just need something that can play games, and not end up frying or dying within the first three months of me getting it due to poor quality.

I have a fairly good idea on how to build a PC, and how to set everything, I know how to use Thermal Glue, and I know to use an anti-static bracelet and all that jazz, because I used to help my brother build PCs when I was younger, but I've never been good at figuring out what works well with what, and have barely any idea why certain things work the way they do, and thats why I'm coming here for help.

I basically will end up needing a new PSU ( current is only 350W ), a new Mobo ( Current one only runs DDR1, and according to one of my friends I asked, would not work with a newer Processor ) a new Processor ( Current is 1.2Ghz Single Core, If possible, I would like a 2.4-2.6 Dual Core due to playing DA/ME2 ) and most likely a new Hard Drive, although if this won't be able to fit in due to price, then I can make due with my old 25 gig until I start working again.

I should be getting a new Nvidia 8800 with 512 onboard RAM from my friend as a gift, and another one is possibly willing to give me two 1 gig DDR2 RAM sticks, so that should handle both of those issues, these are the main things I'm still missing though, and I literally have no idea how to find them, after 2-3 hours on Newegg, I found a few things that might have worked, but I had no idea if they'd be compatible.

And sorry I'm pretty much asking you guys to do all the work, I tried using the link in the stickies for stuff, but all of them are no longer being sold, and most would not help me much even if they were, and as I said, I'm not exactly the most brilliant PC builder out there. Oh, and where would I get a new anti-static braclet, and thermal glue? Will the thermal glue come with the mobo? Or will I have to go buy it, and will I need special screwdrivers to set things up or no >_>

*edit* One other thing, when I opened up my case, I noticed the PSU area seems fairly tiny, at least to me, and very enclosed, and I was worried I would not be able to fit in a newer PSU, as this is a fairly old case ( Its a Zalman from either 2004 or 2006ish ), I'll take a picture of the open case once I get a chance ( probably Sunday/Mondayish. ), so someone with a better knowledge of Desktops can tell me if I'll need to upgrade the case as well. -.-

*edit edit* If needbe, and a great deal could be had if I only had oh lets say $311 dollars rather then just $300, I can probably cough up a few extra dollars, but I'd prefer it be under $300 is possible, as I said, everything I don't spend on upgrading this PC will go towards college, which is expensive enough as is >_>

just a quickie (based off of free gfx card and no new HDD[and no need for an OS purchase])
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.316251 <---$126.55 (before rebate, ship inc on mobo)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231208 <---$60.98 (that's shipping included)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182199 <---($55.98 ship inc)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129069 <---($44.98 ship inc)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-007-_-Product <---($7.99 optional)

/edit
or this mobo/cpu/ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315754 <---$146.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-144-_-Product <---$52.99

drop or find a cheaper case/psu and add
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136113 <---$44.99

was also eyeballing this up
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.304389 <---if only the rebate(s) were a definite.

Flubber's is fairly good. I'm not sure about the RAM though as you said you were getting 2 gigs from a friend...if you wanted more then that you'd have to match up the timings and latencies and all that gunk. And that mobo is a nogo with ddr2 ram...so basically you'd have to choose between that mobo and using your freinds ram...or changing the mobo (and cpu) and using it...

I might see what i can throw together later tonight.....

It sounds as if your old desktop may not be standard ATX format, but we'll wait on the picture to see about that. In any case, you are essentially building a new PC, not just upgrading here. Don't worry though, if you are getting a video card and RAM, you will still be able to come in under $300, providing you don't need to buy an OS as well.

I have to rush off to work now, but I'll check some thigns out and post here later this evening.

Yeah, I have the old WinXP 64 Bit discs, so I won't be needing to upgrade that, and yeah this will pretty much be a full PC building time, as the only thing that will not be getting changed is the case. Also, thanks for all the help everyone, I'm still trying to find my camera, but I think I know where it is, and should have a picture up either later tonight, or tomorrow.

mobo + cpu combo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.316097

PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341022

HDD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152096


So $200.61 after rebates gives you a 320 GB HDD (I've been very impressed with the reviews the new Spinpoint series is getting btw), a beefy 550 watt PSU (excellent brand too) that can handle just about any non SLI video card setup, a decent 2.8 ghz dual core CPU and a nice budget motherboard (have that one myself in one of my computers and no troubles with it whatsoever).

The CPU comes with thermal pad already, so you don't need any paste (AMD has good stock coolers, as long as you don't OC it you don't need to worry about changing the cooler or the thermal compound either).

Anti-Static wrist strap to be found here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-001-_-Product

That will do what you need to and then some.

hello

CPU- AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-698-_-Product

Mobo-BIOSTAR A785GE AM2+/AM3 AMD 785G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-156-_-Product

HDD-Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136358

PSU-OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-016-_-Product

http://tech-reviews.co.uk/news/sempr...-athlon-ii-x2/
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=101389
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...t,2381-11.html

It comes to $210.96 and - $20.00 dollar rebate for the PSU and Shipping is free except for the PSU which is $9.65.

The CPU may unlock into an Athlon II X2 440 which is better than the Kuma x2 7750
The Biostar supports the function to unlock the 140 and has a great intergrated graphics + supports ddr2.
The WD HDD is pretty self explanatory.

So

CPU- 140/440 X2
Mobo- Biostar
Ram- 2GB DDR2 Friends
Case- Yours / Could buy new one
PSU- OCZ
Graphics- 8800gt Friends
OS- WinXP 64 bit.

That should last you a while actually and if you need something more powerful you'll only need to change the Graphics or CPU.

I don't know if you have a Optical Drive/DVD drive so

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151175

If you want SATA

Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118030



---------------------------------------------------------------------

You still have some money to buy a new case or something else but this should be fine until you need to upgrade...sorry same point at the end. Hope that helps.

If I may ask, I notice the mobo has "AM3 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI ATX AMD" in its name, as I also kind of want to learn a bit more about computers, what does this mean? Is an Nvidia Mobo, one made for the 8200, does it come with an 8200? Also, I'm still trying to find my Camera, should have a picture by tomorrowish, the main thing I'm still worried about is the PSU won't fit in this case, and I'm also curious as to what one of the cords in it actually is, after checking, I have this long wide black cord in my PC connected to my Mobo and I think my PSU that looks like oldschool film that I have not been able to find in any other PC I have seen.

It is an AMD mobo that has an integrated NVIDIA graphics chip - the 8200, which is ok for word processing, web surfing etc, but not good at all for gaming. You can just put your 8800 in the PCIE x16 slot and install the drivers and that will be the video card that you use. AM3 is the series/generation of AMD processors that are made to go with this type of mobo. ATX is the standard case format of the past several years, so it should fit into your Zalman case, as long as it's not a micro-atx case or something abnormal.

Is the "wide black cord" and IDE cable which goes from either the optical drive or the hard drive (or both) to the mobo? In any case, a new motherboard and a new PSU will come with all the necessary cables to install everything.

There is my Desktop interior.

The main thing I was wondering was, is the PSU space large enough for a newer PSU, and what is that giant Black filmlike thing going up the right side of the PC? Also, as I don't know AMD to well, what does a 2.8GHZ AMD translate into? Is it still a 2.8? o.O

holy schnikes man, buy some canned air and blast the dust out of there, that is abominable.

The black cable is an IDE cable and it is running from the motherboard to the optical drive, pretty standard, although SATA optical drives are more popular and easier to work with, and any more close enough in price to merit buying them, of course as long as your dvd/cd drive still works, don't worry about changing over to SATA just yet. IDE will work in new mobos just like old ones.

That processor I linked to is a 2.8ghz dual core processor, it's sufficient to kick the arse of anything you are likely to throw at it.

Oh, looks like you should have plenty of room for the PSU that I linked too. It might be a little longer than the one in there now, but it will still fit.

It looks like a standard power supply.

The black thing is the data cable for the optical drive (DVD/CDROM).

2.8GHz translates to 2.8GHz. But, clock speed is not the only measure of a cpu's performance. How much happens during each clock cycle is also a factor (among others). So, even though a new cpu may run at the same or less clock speed, it will still outperform it.
Clock speed these days is only a factor when comparing cpus from the same family also. The overall performance of Brand/Model X at 2.8G is not necessarily the same as Brand/Model Y at 2.8G.

What type of OS do you have?... your current mother board will keep it version of windows and take it to the grave. Unless you have the retail edition of it or can convince someone at Microsoft to transfer the key to a new motherboard

Otherwise you need to add 89-104 to the pot

He mentions having copies of win xp hopefully he has a key to go with them

I have the discs, and a key!

If that fails, I also have the Win7 beta client, and its key, so if needbe, I can sustain myself with Win7 for a month or so, then just buy the new version next month.

And that is it dusted! Its been almost six years since I touched it last, so the layers of dust were quite thick >_>

Poor computer... What did it ever do to you to deserve that treatment!?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813138146R
Buying Open Box from Newegg is usually a very safe and effective way of saving money. Great mobo btw!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103652
This CPU will be more than enough performance for you. It's essentially a PhenomII X4 with a core disabled. You might be able to unlock the 4th core, but it's not guaranteed. The mobo above can unlock it, if it is undamaged.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817702010
More than enough power for you, good +12v rail ampere ratings, and well built from a reliable company. Did I mention... CHEAP?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134
Cooler for that unboxed CPU. We are still perfectly in budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100009
Ceramique cools just as well (if not better than) AS5, but it costs less. Also, it's non conductive, so no OOPS I BLOWED UP MY CPUZ OH MAI GAWD NOES!

Grand Total: $284.75 (this includes shipping)


/Win?

You also might want a new HDD. This is a 160GB Seagate Series12, which are great drives. They also happen to be really cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148511

Grand Total: $325.91 (includes shipping)

If you can manage the overbudget, I'd highly recommend it.

If you're going to spend $150 on an OEM x3, plus cooler, plus Arctic Silver, you might just as well get a boxed quad core with cooler for only $141 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103656

I guess you're right. lol