Rebuild after 5 years

[Jim Lovejoy]

Here I am returning to the scene of the crime with my daughter. We used this forum to help us with her first build, and now we are trying to figure out an upgrade strategy.

The system we have:

-Cooler Master Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Case
-Intel BOXDP965LTCK LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
-HIS HIghtech H165PRQ512N-R Radeon X1650PRO 512 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card
-Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 version 500w power supply
-Intel Core Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8 GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E4300
-CORSAIR XMs2 2GB (2 x 1 GB) 240 Pin DDR2 SdRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual channel kit desktop memory model TWIN2X2048-6400C4
-Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0 GB/s Hard Drive
-Philips 20x DVD+R DVD Burner 2-Tone SATA Model SPD2513BD
The system has been running XP Professional.

The components have been working well together, but we're interested in modernizing. She's beginning to have issues running newer PC games (she's not an intensive gamer, but her Sims 3 collection is becoming hard for the computer to handle). Our main question is whether we need to update the motherboard and CPU or if there are updates available for the memory and video card that would provide us with enough power to run basic PC programming and the games she enjoys. Does it make sense to upgrade to a 64 bit operating system with the current motherboard/CPU to take advantage of additional memory?

[glc]

What kind of budget do you have? I'd be inclined to upgrade everything except the case and DVD burner. After 5 years, it's time.

Considering how cheap a case and DVD burner is, you may just want to take the whole computer and find another use for it. It should still have plenty of life left in it for other purposes.

One option may simply be to upgrade the video card. I have grandkids gaming on machines with similar specs - in fact, one of them did have a 1650 video card. We upgraded that a couple years ago with good results. The only thing you need to do is be mindful of power requirements - that Thermaltake isn't that great of a PSU.

This is the strongest card I think I'd run:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card ( 11202-00-20G)

This is also a pretty decent card - in fact, that's what one of the grandkid's systems has:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (11192-22-20G)

[Jim Lovejoy]

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess the question is how much do we want to spend, and the answer is not a lot.

I think she will be happy if we just upgrade the video. Thanks for the suggestion. What should we be looking at for a new power supply? Something that may be useful in a new build a year or so down the road.

Also does it make sense to add some memory? The memory should not be that expensive. Maybe another gig or two.

Thanks again.

[glc]

I'd hold off on a new PSU for now, the Thermaltake can handle either of those cards. It wouldn't be worth upgrading now unless you can spend at least $75 on a new one.

That exact ram is discontinued. Another pair of 2x1 may or may not play well with what you have. Current price on DDR2-800 2x1 CAS 4 is in the $40 range and 4 modules at 2.1 volts may be hard on the motherboard. For $55 you can pull it and put a 2x2 kit in:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model VS4GBKIT800D2 G

XP will recognize about 3.25gb. Note that any DDR2 ram is dead-end, you won't be able to reuse it with any motherboard upgrade.

My grandkids are all gaming with 2gb and XP.

[Jim Lovejoy]

Thanks again, seems like the way to go for now

Jim and Jamie