System Upgrading Help Needed

[sagar3339]

:) Hello,

I am a new user of this forum. I just happend to come across and find that this is the forum where I need to be and found you at the right time when I need help.

I am currently using an assembled model built in 2004 and has the following specification:

ATX cabinet: Mercury KOB 132 with a PSU SMPS of 300W.
Motherboard and Processor: Pentium 4 processor 2.40GHz with 8I845GVM-RZ
Hard disks: 160 GB Seagate ST3160215A and 40 GB Samsung SP0411N (Both connected to Motherboard through IDE cables)
Drives: Sony DVD RW DRU 820A
1 GB RAM ( I guess DDR2?)
One floppy disk drive.
Keyboard and Mouse connected through PS/2
6 USB Ports.
3 PCI cards - 1 D-Link Lan card, 1 soundblaster Audigy, and one Dialup modem.
Samsung SyncMaster 793s VGA monitor.
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Currently, I am facing a number of issues with this set up and I think it is time for an upgrade for the following reasons:
1) Recently tried installing vista, but no adequate support with system getting unstable and had to revert back to xp.
2) To support Vista, I tried to use a graphics card, but today's graphics cards do not support the PCI system,but needs PCI express slots. So, again a drawback.
3) The processor fan frame that holds it was broken and i managed to run it till now by changing and cleaning it three times till date, but still the noise and sudden hangup and switching off of the system does happen occasionally.

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Considering these, I have planned the process of upgrading my system in the following style, please suggest me if I am going in the right direction and order, any changes in the components I chose or the order of replacement that you may suggest would be helpful to me. I want to upgrade them gradually while I continue using the system and also helping myself by not making a sudden investment.

1)FIrstly I want to change the motherboard and pc processor to either of the following combination:

-Intel DP45SG with intel P45 chipset and Intel core 2 extreme processor QX9650 3 GHz 1333FSB, or
-Intel DX48BT2 with intel X48 Express chipset and Intel core 2 extreme processor QX97770 3.2 GHz 12 MB cache 1600 FSB.

To make the present components adjust to this change, I would change the RAM, if required, and may get a IDE to SATA convertor to connect the drives and a USB-PS/2 convertor for keyboard and mouse.

2)Second time after a period of a month, I would like to change the PSU SMPS to Antec EA650W or NeoPower650W. (here i have a question selecting the model of PSU as these two models have the fan on the top side. Obviously if i place it in my cpu it sure will be just below the top covering of the cpu cabinet; therefore, will the fan serve its purpose? or is it advisable to use a fan that is present on the rearside of the PSU like the one i already have?)

3) In the third stage, I would upgrade the RAM (if not upgraded earlier) and add a Graphics card of about 512MB to 1GB (gaming is not my concern but just for use of certain graphics and animation softwares only that too occasionally).

4) Fourthly, I would get the hard disks compatible to the SATA variety to suit the new motherboard. and any other minor final finishing that may be required to complete the system build.

5) Finally, I plan to protect the monitor, cpu, and the printer using one voltage stablizer. I already have an invertor connected to the home circuit for backup, but for protection from surges, fluctuations, and other electrical disturbances, I felt a volage stablizer for the three would be helpful.

Basically, this is the plan I have at present. I do not wish to go for an upgrade again in a span of at least 2-3 years. Therefore, I felt this would be the best option for me. However, before I proceed, I want to invite your opinions on this with your experience and knowledge. I might even accept a suggestion of waiting for a coming-soon product as well if its worth waiting for, but not more than 3-6 months from now please.

Also, this is the first time I would be making the change of motherboard, any tips doing it or just install it in it its place and do the required connections and power on the system and install vista/xp. Anything in additon would need to be done?


Thanks in advance. Sorry that the post is lengthy, but had to explain it for your clear understanding of my situation.

[saphalline]

I'm afraid that your current upgrade plan that you've laid out will not work for two reasons. Firstly, without the PSU upgrade from stage 2, a modern mobo will not even power up, much less POST or load an OS. This is because of the major changes that have happened within the last 2 years to PSU design, related to power outputs on the different rails (voltages) and power connectors themselves. Secondly, the mobo you picked out does not have onboard video, so without the vid card upgrade in stage 3, you won't be able to use the new mobo and CPU.

Overall, without more knowledge on the hardware side of things, your upgrade plan will utterly fail. And as you've seen with your Vista test, it's not fun to waste time and money! ;) (By the way, Vista with 1GB of RAM works about as well as WinXP with 128MB of RAM! :eek: So that was at least part of the problem there.) From the perspective of hardware upgrades, your current system is well beyond the limits. In short, you can no longer upgrade what you have to a current system. You have to start over completely. The PSU you have won't power a modern system, as I've mentioned. Your mobo and CPU obviously would need to be replaced. Your RAM is most likely DDR or possibly even SDRAM! :eek: In which case, since we're now in transition between DDR2 and DDR3, your 1GB can be tossed into the trash! Your hard drives can be replaced with higher capacity SATA 300 versions (the latest & greatest) for mere pocket change (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145129). The case (http://www.mercury-pc.com/p-casing-list.php?link=p-casing&subtitle=Casing&categoryid=135)... will need to go. The LAN card can go since a modern mobo will have gigabit Ethernet onboard. The modem... if you need it for dial-up internet access, then keep it. Otherwise...

When all is said and done, you can carry over very little from your current system. The keyboard and mouse can technically stay, although nursing along PS/2 components isn't the best idea when you can replace them both with USB versions for under $50 USD. The floppy drive can stay if only because they haven't changed in 15 years! The monitor can stay if your budget doesn't allow you to upgrade to an LCD monitor, but that should be on your list of peripherals to buy eventually. The Audigy sound card and DVD burner are honestly the most useful components in your current build and are the only two that I would advise you to NOT upgrade in all of this mess!

Either way, you'll need to save up a bit more money at once because of the sheer volume of components that will need to be replaced. Fortunately, it won't take much to trump that ancient P4! :D For instance, if you stick to the first Intel mobo with the P45 chipset, you can drop the CPU down to a Q9550 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041), which gives you 6% less CPU performance in exchange for 42% less money spent! That's a terrific increase in performance vs price! With that extra $230 USD, you could buy a decent non-gaming PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010), 2GB of DDR2 RAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134117), a more than adequate vid card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121286), and a 320GB SATA 300 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145129) hard drive all in one fell swoop!! You would still need to pay extra to replace your case (cabinet) but it's a much better use of your initial investment. Going even further, do you really even need a quad-core CPU considering you've currently got an old single-core CPU?? By dropping down to an E8400 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037), you get an excellent dual-core CPU for a mere $165 USD, which is 70% less money than a Q9650, saving you a whopping $385 USD! :eek: That's $155 USD more (vs the Q9550) that could easily buy you a decent case and maybe even a slightly larger hard drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136149). All within the budget of just stage 1 of your "upgrade" plan!!

There are more ways than one to shuffle the numbers. And anything new you buy now will leave your current hardware in the dust! You don't have to make yourself poor just to upgrade your ancient system. With a little more money and planning, you could even leave your current system alone and have two computers at once! Maybe you use your old one to play around with Linux. Or maybe you take away the Audigy, set it to use onboard audio, buy a new DVD burner for your new system, and sell the old one as-is! Whatever you want to do, the possibilities are there.

[sagar3339]

Hi, Thanks a lot for your reply. However, I am left out with few more questions. Actually I liked the idea of utilizing the same cpu that i have now as a backup and use the other new one for regular use. Right now, I wish to know two things:
1) Why do I need to change the cabinet. Will it not support the new motherboard and configuration?
2) Can you suggest me a motherboard that is of the latest variety but with no onboard soundcard but rather a video card. supporting the proceessor of higher range such as dual core or quad core preferrably.

THanks in advance

[saphalline]

1) Why do I need to change the cabinet. Will it not support the new motherboard and configuration?Well... :rolleyes:

At the risk of sounding caustic, your current case is a pile of dung! It would act like an oven for modern components - not nearly enough airflow potential for cooling. And since the purpose of a case is first and foremost to be functional, it fails outright in its primary duty! Modern cases need much better cooling potential to be functional at all, and a lot more room and size to be desireable at all for housing modern components. Take a look at the Cooler Master HAF (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160) for an idea of what constitutes a "good" case for modern hardware. See the disparity? ;)


2) Can you suggest me a motherboard that is of the latest variety but with no onboard soundcard but rather a video card. supporting the proceessor of higher range such as dual core or quad core preferrably.Onboard sound has been a staple of PC design for the better part of 8 years now! There's no going back! :p

Modern mobo's have onboard audio built into their chipsets. It's free sound and it automatically disables itself in the presence of a dedicated sound card, so you may as well take it.

As for supporting quad-core CPU's, there's no reason NOT to pick a mobo like that! The latest chipsets that support the latest CPU's do not cost any more than the "last model", so there's no excuse for buying out-dated hardware. The CPU's cost more, not the mobo's. You can pay more for a mobo, but a C2Q Q9550 will work just as well with a $100 mobo as it will with a $350 mobo. You just have to pick which "tier" of chipset you want. ;)

[sagar3339]

thanks a lot saphaline for your suggestion and guidance. Based on it, I have decided not to go for the upgrade at this stage. When I checked with the cabinet here, I noticed that the rear fan was missing. I fixed that and got two additional fans, one in the side and the other in the front of the cabinet in space provided for the drives. Doing that, the system seems to have become stable and no annoying noise as such except it being on. And about vista, its not a necessity while xp is no bad with respect to the function though vista is advanced with graphics. As of now, will not upgrade neither do any additions to this system setup but will rather go for a new system itself in the near future...Thanks a lot..bye

[saphalline]

Huh... More fans fixed some things, eh? Haha! That's funny! :p Now that it's fixed, we can all look back on this and laugh! Hahahahaaa!

Heh heh.

Anyway...

Well good! Save up for a new system and enjoy your now-adequately-cooled current system in the mean time! Best not to throw money around these days, anyway. Good luck and have fun!