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Thread: Want to upgrade!

  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    Carson City, Nevada
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    Want to upgrade!

    Good Morning,

    This is what I have:

    1. EFA mobo Viking II
    2. Cyrix CPU 300 mhz
    3. Maxtor 20 gig HD
    4. 3D 8mb 64 bit 3D video excelerator
    5. Delta 48x CD Rom
    6. Asound gold sound card
    7. HP CD rw 8100I
    8. Zoom 56 K modem
    9. running Win 98 se
    10. 128 mgs Ram
    11. Mag scanner
    12. Power supply unknown
    13. very old mini tower

    My questions are:
    1. I want to upgrade:
    a. mobo
    b. CPU
    c. Modem
    d. Power supply
    e. mid tower
    2. Is there anything else necessary?
    3. What is necessary to consider when purchasing the above?

    $$ are a real consideration, got to keep it low, but would like to get quality if possible!!!

    Thanks, Gayle
    Gayle

  2. #2
    Mod w/ an attitude Sterling_Aug's Avatar
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    You will probably need new RAM depending on what your MB uses now.

    256MB of PC133 RAM is under $40 shipped now.

  3. #3
    Junior Member
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    Long Beach, CA
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    Get a new mobo and processor, and the RAM that Sterling suggested. That's all you really need with the exception of a bigger HD if you need it, and depending on if the mini-tower will fit the new mobo you may need a new case. The rest of the stuff will work fine in the new system unless you have a lot of money to throw around.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    I'm with sublime. That's quite an old system. The only things worth keeping are the CDRW, HD, and modem. You'd then need to buy a new CPU, mobo, memory, video card, sound card, and ATX case + PS. This will easily run you a couple of hundred dollars, depending on what you buy.

    For a super-cheap upgrade, EFA says you can stick a K6-2 366 in that mobo. If you're feeling adventurous, you can try running a K6-2 or 2+ 450 using 75MHz x 6. However, this isn't guaranteed to work. The mobo may not be able to supply the current required for a K6-2 450 or the BIOS may not support the K6-2+ 450.

    Another cheap upgrade would be to replace the video card. You might be able to find a used voodoo 3 PCI on Ebay. Just don't spend too much money on this system. You're better off saving your cash for a brand-new system.

  5. #5
    Junior Member
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    Thanks to one and all.
    I will take your suggestions to heart!
    Gayle
    Gayle

  6. #6
    Junior Member
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    Long Beach, CA
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    Holy ****, how did I leave out video card?? Definitely a must-upgrade. I bought a 3D Prophet II GTS Pro thinking I'd be good for a long time, now the new cards out have a dozen features mine don't. I hate the vidcard upgrade game!

  7. #7
    Senior Member LostBok's Avatar
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    Gayle - with that spec, I DOUBT you're into gaming much, or what gaming you do isn't too taxing... you'll get away without upgrading the vid card at this stage...

    This is what I'd do:

    1. EFA mobo Viking II - BIN
    2. Cyrix CPU 300 mhz - BIN!!
    3. Maxtor 20 gig HD - keep - slow but it'll be fine for now.
    4. 3D 8mb 64 bit 3D video excelerator - keep in the short term.
    5. Delta 48x CD Rom - keep - DVD later, but this is fine.
    6. Asound gold sound card - keep - if PCI, otherwise get a mobo with onboard sound.
    7. HP CD rw 8100I - keep.
    8. Zoom 56 K modem - keep - 56k is 56k, right?
    9. running Win 98 se - keep or upgrade to win2000.
    10. 128 mgs Ram - probably have to bin - 128meg/256meg min/recommend - both arecheap at the mo.
    11. Mag scanner - keep.
    12. Power supply unknown - BIN.
    13. very old mini tower - BIN.

    Pick up a basic midi tower and 300W PSU, 128 or 256meg DDR, a simple Socket A motherboard (Epox / Abit are the usual favourites, but I've seen good specials on Asus A7M-266 AMD 761) and then an Athlon 1.13-1.4Ghz... there's not much point in going for the lower CPU's - you'll only save yourself a few $'s from the very lowest (800Mhz Duron is the lowest I've seen recently) to the very fastest... if you're keen on gaming, look into upgrading the graphics card to a GF2 MX400 or something similar when you can afford to, but with the step in speed you've go tthere already, I doubt you'll be looking for a new graphics card for any of your old games!

  8. #8
    Senior Member scourge's Avatar
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    What do you want your upgraded computer to do that this one won't? I ask only so that we can better help build you system that will meet your needs. And how much do you want to spend? Less than $50, $100, $200? Give us a range.

    If you want gaming, then you're going to have to put down some big bucks.

    If you want to surf the net faster, then you need to get cable or DSL because all 56k modems run slow in comparison even on a TBird 1.4GHz.

    If you just want faster word processing or photoshop stuff, then you can go with a much cheaper upgrade like better vid and more RAM.

    I suggest you take a look at www.compgeeks.com first. They have several kits and/or upgrade items that you may be interested in.

  9. #9
    Junior Member
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    Thanks Lostbok & Scrouge,

    Thanks for the detailed infor.

    As far as what I want to do is:
    I am a graphics designer.
    I really do not play games except for Freecell once in a while.
    I do get on the internet alot to research, shopping, check out tech info & stuff, etc., no games tho.

    Thanks, Gayle
    Gayle

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