Build for a friend.

[tetsuo]

My friend has a Compaq Presario S4020WM.

It has an Athlon 2400+ (2.0Ghz) socket A chip and I believe the FSB is 533Mhz. He is presently running 1Gb RAM which is maxed out. Power supply is ATX.

I'm thinking about buying this for his case:

http://promotions.newegg.com/amd/cpu...ard/index.html

I believe this will pretty much smoke his present setup, and as an added bonus has a higher max RAM (2Gb).

Am I right about it being much faster?

I will use his present HDDs and power supply, etc (I think this mobo fits his case?), but from the looks of it I will need a heatsink/fan for the CPU. Please make suggestions.

My budget for this christmas present is $130.

Edit: Maybe I should mention he makes films, and uses his computer for that (Sony Vegas/DVD Studio, Windows Movie Maker)

[newbuilder14]

Make sure the RAM is DDR 400.

[tetsuo]

The RAM in his present machine that I plan to transfer to the new mobo is DDR 400 PC3200.

Also, I was mistaken. His FSB right now is only 266Mhz. Gracious.

[newbuilder14]

That should be a good upgrade. Good luck. Remember, that CPU doesn't come with a heatsink fan. It is OEM. The motherboard quality is also questionable. Keep looking around for retail products. I'm sure you can find a nice combo.

Try to stretch for the skt. 939: $143

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103537

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569

That combination would be a much better performer.

[Cricket]

There are no guarantees that the motherboard will even fit inside that Compaq case or work with that power supply. And I really doubt if the RAM in the Compaq will work in the BioStar motherboard. Compaq's are the worst when it comes to upgrading them.

Cricket

[tetsuo]

Wow. I was wrong again - the online manual says the RAM is PC3200. His BIOS reports PC2100, doesn't mention 400 or not...



Okay, how about this, same as first but with a cheap case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811153031

The RAM in his case is not the OEM RAM, I dunno where it's from (he told me some time ago he bought the Compaq used)...

This what Biostar site says about my proposed mobo:

Main Memory Supports up to 2 DDR devices.
Supports 200/266/333/400 MHz DDR devices.

Maximum memory size is 2GB.
DIMM Socket Location
DDR Module
Total Memory Size (MB)
DIMM1
128MB/256MB/512MB/1GB *1
DIMM2
128MB/256MB/512MB/1GB *1
Max is 2 GB.

[newbuilder14]

Yeah, I doubt an XP uses DDR400.

[tetsuo]

Yeah, I doubt an XP uses DDR400.

XP?

And maybe I'll find a different case unless I want to take out the PS and use his current one, because the new mobo is only a 20-pin connection.

[newbuilder14]

Athlon XP = XP, Athlon 64 = A64, Core 2 Duo = C2D, etc... pardon my acronyms...

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by tetsuo XP?

Athlon XP.

Cricket

[Alaron]

I'd bump up the case to this unit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811153042 250w is a bit low for my tastes, this one has a 300w. And its very solid, I've got one myself.

[tetsuo]

Here is what I'm thinking now:

newbuilder14's:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103537

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569




and Alaron's:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811153042


BUT - that Asus mobo's specs read DDR400 PC3200, and the RAM I want to use is PC2100.
I went to the Asus site but the info on that mobo was not very forthcoming to me.

Found this page, towards the bottom of the table I think it states 266Mhz pc2100 is supported:

http://www.provantage.com/asus-a8n5x~7ASUS1JL.htm

So do I have a ready parts list?

And would it be the consensus that this would be very noticably faster?

[flanzig1]

What about an OS? Probably won't be able to reuse the preloaded Windows that came with the Compaq. I believe that Compaqs are like Dells, that the OS is licensed only for the Compaq motherboard.

[freakitchen]

My suggestion would be to get this processor: (cheapest of all s939s)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103535

And this motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131570

Socket 939, whilst not being current, is newer than 754 - and has the added bonus of supporting PCI Express for a potential video card upgrade (the board has fully capable on-board video in the meantime). Buying AGP is buying into old technology.

FK

[newbuilder14]

That is a really good motherboard. Is the 3200+ really cheaper than the 3000+?

Edit: Go figure, unbelievable, 3200+ cheaper than the 3000+.

[tetsuo]

Originally Posted by flanzig1 What about an OS? Probably won't be able to reuse the preloaded Windows that came with the Compaq. I believe that Compaqs are like Dells, that the OS is licensed only for the Compaq motherboard.

Well, I was sort of hoping that I can just stick his present HDDs in and his present operating system will magically remain intact...I seem to remember switching HDDs like that before, long long ago...anyway, he bought this system used and he bought an OS seperately. Whether he can actually find the disk is another thing.

Thanks for the find Freakitchen, I think I'll go with that. Which brings me to a total of $187, which is only 44% over budget. Plus S/H of course.

[glc]

You do not want to use PC2100 ram in either a socket 754 or a socket 939 build. You *need* PC3200. You also *need* a new copy of Windows - the Compaq preload will NOT boot on a new motherboard and must be repaired with a generic XP CD at the very least - and will not activate without a new key. He *must* find his disk if he bought the OS separately in order to do the repair.

[tetsuo]

glc, you always seem to show up just BEFORE I make a terrible mistake or just AFTER I've figured something out, or decided against it. In this case, I had just decided to give him a Gb of my PC3200 RAM.

Two reasons for this: the first, I had to use some of it anyway to build his computer with, and second, it gives me a good excuse to go ahead and buy myself replacement sticks in January. I'll just limp along with 1Gb until then.

I've been continuing to look at stuff for this build. Here are some new ideas.

Replacing this CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103535

with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...819103531#spec

or this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103529

Also this board interests me mainly because of the extra PCI slot and a little because of the price. There's also the better ratings overall, but by much fewer usrs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186085

It seems to me a great number of folks had issues with the video on that Asus board.

I've played with some numbers, the new ABSOLUTE MAX for this budget will be $260 including S/H.

[newbuilder14]

If $260 is the maximum budget, I'd consider the Asus A8N5X. Nothing wrong with the Foxconn one, though.

[glc]

The A8N5X does not have onboard video and it's full size ATX.

[tetsuo]

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 If $260 is the maximum budget, I'd consider the Asus A8N5X. Nothing wrong with the Foxconn one, though.

My problem with that board is the lack of onboard video.

[newbuilder14]

Originally Posted by glc The A8N5X does not have onboard video and it's full size ATX.

Right, okay, well if you don't want to pick up a video card I would suggest the A8N-VM CSM. It is a quality board, I had no issues whatsoever setting it up.

[freakitchen]

Foxconn make decent boards, but I'd still recommend the ASUS. I've never had any problems with it, and it packs a LOT of features onto the small real-estate of Micro ATX. Do you really need an extra PCI Slot when the ASUS has so much built in?

Take the reviews with a pinch of salt. People who have problems are more likely to comment than those who don't, and at any rate, it's probably their fault

FK

[tetsuo]

Right, okay, well if you don't want to pick up a video card I would suggest the A8N-VM CSM. It is a quality board, I had no issues whatsoever setting it up.

There are the magick words. And Freakitchen says to use it. So I'm going to get it.

With the 3800+ chip and Foxxcon case.

I'm kind of tired of thinking about it, so unless someone says "Oh my God man what are you thinking" I'm going to call it done. Thank all of you for helping, I learned a good bit, primarily made it a habit to keep certain things in mind automatically instead of bit by bit. And that you really need to use PC3200 RAM with sockets 775 and 939.