Upgrade advice desperately needed!

[punkcabbage]

Hey there guys, I'm looking to upgrade my current rig - I've realised its rather outdated, and isnt as ship shape as it used to be.

Now im on a small budget, and obviously, i'd like to get the best bang for my buck, so i want to consider every possibility - I.E Just upgrade one component (Memory, CPU, Graphics eg), or a combo (new mobo and CPU) or if its only worthwhile if i go a whole new rig.

My current system is:
Gigabyte K7 Triton 400 mobo (GA-7VA)
AMD Athlon XP +1800
Radeon 9200 SE
768 MB RAM (Tbh, not sure what type, i think its PC 2700)

I guess my aim in updating my compy is for general system competence (planning to install a TV card down the track, do a bit of DVD burning and such, want to be able to handle that easily, as well as my day-to-day doings), and as always, run my games that extra bit faster and prettier :)

If i can spend $300 to get a reasonable increase in performance, so be it, but hey, lets be sensible here - id really love your opinions on what are good buys and how much i should spend to actually get somewhere.

And really, if you think its not worth making such a small upgrade, say so!


I REALLY appreciate your time and thoughts, thanks in advance to all who read and post here,
Chris.

[Kov-Ice]

You'll have to look on your mobo to see if it's Revision 1 or Rev.2 (I don't know if there's any huge difference), and then take a look at the specs page for which one it is. Click HERE (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=1409) for Rev.1 and HERE (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=1638) for Rev.2.

From there, you can check the cpu support list to see how high you can go with your processor. I'm not familiar with Athlon, so maybe someone else can chime in on the benefits of jumping from a Palomino 1800+ to a Barton 3200+.

I'd also recommend at least 1GB of RAM from a solid vendor like Corsair, Crucial, or OCZ. It looks like the Rev.2 board may accept PC3200 memory more readily.

[KCD]

Hi pc,

fwiw go to http://www.cpuid.com/

Under "Software" click on CPU-Z

Scroll down to nearly the bottom & under "version" click on 1.39

which will load to your desk top. Un-zip & follow the installation instructions.

Next click on "CPU-Z Application" & @ 10 seconds later the program will load.

Now click on the "SPD" tab at the top of the page.

Note that it identifies the size, bandwidth, mfgr, part #, serial #, & the date it was made.

Have a good one,

Dave

[punkcabbage]

Thanks KCD, thats a really useful program!

(I checked my board - its Revision 1.)

It would seem that the highest i can go is an Athlon XP 3000+ Barton (cant have the 3200+ coz it has a too fast a bus speed), which takes me from:

Athlon XP 1800+ 1533 MHz and 256 KB cache
to
Athlon XP 3000+ 2167 MHz and 512 KB cache.

With the addition of 256 MB more RAM to make 1GB, would this be a reasonable increase in performance and power?

Or am i better off saving a bit more money and then going all out on a new mobo, memory and CPU? (That might be another thread, later :P)

Once again, thanks in advance for your help and opinions,
Chris

[perkster]

I have the Athlon XP 3000+ 2167mhz and 512kb cache and it is pretty fast and can handle multiple programs and games with no hassel still, its by no means top of range, mine is 3 years old, but it is fine for running XP to high level. You will need the 1gb of ram, its slow with anything less.

you would see a big increase, but it may be more cost effective to get a new mobo and better processor, depends on what you will use your computer for, if you play absic games, websurf and such then this cheaper upgrade would be fine and extend life of your PC for a year or two before upgrade of Mobo would probably be required.

[KCD]

Hi pc,

Glad to help. Here is another link that will give you all the info about your computer without having to go physically inside, except for the brand & model of the psu.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

>download Belarc Advisor<

As for your question:

"Or am i better off saving a bit more money and then going all out on a new mobo, memory and CPU? (That might be another thread, later :P)"

Since I’m a novice such is better answered by those with expertise.
But from what I’ve learned about my AMD processor, which is older than yours, you will do far better to save up for a new system rather than spend good money on upgrading.

Meantime here are some links that you should find educational.

http://www.motherboards.org/moboidtools.html

http://www.cpuscorecard.com/cpu_comp.htm

http://www.cpuscorecard.com/cpuprices/aamp.htm

Good luck with it,

Dave