Upgrading everything but HD need help!

[whr2206]

Hey all...

Well, its Christmas time and I decided to treat myself to some new hardware for my computer. I want to know what do I need to do to my computer before I take it apart to add new hardware. I want to keep my hard drive with all of its data... and I vaguely remember some HKEY local machine enum trick that lets you erase all of your hardware profiles so installing new hardware won't make conflicts. I tried searching the forums but I couldn't find the thread. I'm adding a new mobo, cpu, and memory to my computer. I'm keeping everything else though. What do I need to do before I take apart the computer to make sure that no conflicts arise when I add this new hardware.

Here are my specs
Asus a7v8x-x mobo **Replacing this**
ATI 9800pro AIW
AMD 2500+ w/ thermaltake copper hs/f **Replacing with AMD 64**
1gb DDR Crucial ram **Replacing with DDR 400 dual channel**
80gb WD 8mb cahce 7200rpm IDE HD
Hercules Gaming Theater XP
Floppy
Lite On 32x12x40 CD Burner
Generic case w/ 350watt PSU
Windows XP sp 2

I know everything is getting old, but I'm keeping my 9800pro AIW simply because I believe my CPU and my slow ram is what is bottlenecking my system the most. I know some people who run games with an AMD 64 and a 9800pro quite nicely... So I'm going to keep that for a while. So is all I need to do is that Hkey local machine trick? thanks a lot!

[blue60007]

You'll have to do a Repair install from your XP CD. As long as you do a Repair only (not a reformat) it won't touch your files.

I'd suggest replacing that power supply if it's a generic one with a quality one. It might have been OK with the older system, but it's likely to poop out on the newer system.

An XClio 450W (about $50) would be a good replacement, or an ATX 2.0 unit from FSP (Forton Source) or Sparkle would be another good replacement.

Also, make sure the motherboard has an AGP slot of course.

[whr2206]

hmm well its a 350watt antec...

I've got a couple windows xp cds... My windows cp cd has a huge crack in it.... and when I tried to get it replaced I don't think the foreign tech support guy understood me. Because at the time... I believe i payed around $200 for Windows XP home... then he claims it needs to be a retail copy... which it is... I've got a Windows XP Upgrade cd.... can I repair with that? BTW I'm most likely getting a board with agp and pci-e... So will my 350watt still work or would the 64bit cpu chew up more power than I think?

[blue60007]

You might be able to use the upgrade CD, not sure though.

Oh, if it's Antec it should be OK...Is it a ATX 2.0 unit (24 pin motherboard power connector)?

Could you be more specific as to what CPU you are putting in?

[whr2206]

Nah its not a 2.0... Its only got 20 pins...


I'm probably putting in an AMD 64 3500+ although I'm still researching all of the different cores...

If I really need to I can get an ATX 2.0 psu though... (more money I don't have lol)

[whr2206]

Ok well I just picked up a 500watt xclio psu off newegg since I decided to go with a pci-e board instead of agp..

I bought an Abit mobo and an AMD 3500+ off of bestbuys website. (My dad gets free points from best buy so I might as well use them lol)

Now after installing all of this hardware... THEN do i repair the installation? I found the Enum key trick and discovered it wasn't for windows xp sooo. The recovery/repair console has always been confusing to me though... I never know what commands to type in order to repair windows xp.

[whr2206]

Ok so the specs are

- Abit kn8 mobo *new
- AMD 64 3500+ *new
- Generic Case w/ xclio 500wat atx2.0 psu *new
- 1gb Geil DDR 400 DC ram *new
- 80gb 7200rpm WD 8mb cache IDE HD (old)
- Guillmont Hercules Gaming Theater XP Sound Card (old)
- Linksys Nic (old)
- 16x Plextor Dual Layer DVD RW *new
- Floppy (old)
- Lite on 32x12x40 CD Burner (old)

*oh yeah and now im basically broke (tuition, books, car, insurance, will all do that to ya! lol) but I've got $250 left in bestbuy points from motorola. So what video card would you guys suggest for a mild gamer/ multitasker? I was thinking about the ATI x800 XL... I would buy a 6800gt because I like my friends so much, but best buy seems to overprice these more than ATI cards

Does this look ok for my budget upgrade?

[blue60007]

The X800XL is a great card. It pretty well plays any game out there at max settings.

[whr2206]

sweet. Yeah I mostly play Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike Source, CoD series, Rome Total War etc etc. My 9800pro I feel could do better if it wasn't bottlnecked by my older parts... but its not going to waste since it will be put in my dads pc

[nicolaus corelius]

so how much where u able to "save" with best buy points. im curious cuz i may wanna sign up for it myself

[whr2206]

Well technically I didn't save anything. Bestbuy really overprices their stuff...(i prefer newegg as mostly everyone on these boards do) but hey... if I can get computer parts for literally FREE... why not? I'll be "saving" around $500 (video card, AMD 3500+) because I'm not using real money. These best buy points are part of some comission program motorola has I believe. My dad just gave me a few since he got so much commission due to public safety buying so much crap due to homeland security grants... lol

[jayb1234]

You don't want to use the recovery console. When you get to that screen choose setup. On the setup screen choose repair install. Here is a guide to repair install.

[RazorDX]

I have an X800Pro and a slower CPU, and it handles anything you can throw at it. Therefor an X800XL (the next step up) would be pretty sufficient. If you wanted to get Pixelshader 3.0 (theres an article about it on Tomshardware you could check out), then you should go with nVidia. The 6800GT is a great card and has Pixelshader 3.0 technology.

[whr2206]

ok thanks jayb.

So what is the nvidia equiv. to the x800 = 6800? and the x700 = 6600gt?? I could just throw in a few more dollars and get the 6800gt.. I'll check out that article

[THEoBZ]

You cant really compare cards like that. x800 is more or less compared to a 6600gt... in my opinion a 6800gt is in its own class maybe with x800xt or xl.
x700 would prolly be compared with a 6600 not a gt because they dont have very high memory or core ratings.... Just my humble opinions.