Some Help With Upgrade Needed

[nickelodeon 0]

Hi EveryoneCould you please give me some advises in order to upgrade my computer?The system I have now is:Pentium 4 at 2 Ghz with motherboard Columbia GX manufactured by Gigabyte for Packard Bell. Graphic Card PowerColor radeon 9800 Pro 128Mb2 memory Ram of 512MB each at 266First idea was to change the processor but searching on internet I found that the motherboard would allow only to update to a 2.4Gz processsor so I am thinking in change the motherboard but I have some concerns about the new one. Don't know sure if all the components are going to work properly.As I never did this before, my concerns are mainly if the new motherboard will fit in the box, and if hard disc, Cd R/W, and rest of elements, will still work with this new card. Maybe anyone who has some experience could give me some tips.Many thanks in advanceMaikel

[Guest Edwin]

Hi Maikel,In *general*, computer cases conform to standards (e.g. ATX) and so, a new motherboard should fit into your case fine. However, in your case, it's a Packard Bell. When I saw that, I cringed a bit. I don't live in the US anymore and I haven't seen Packard Bell machines recently but OEM machines can sometimes utilize non-standard cases, in which case a new motherboard may not fit. It's hard to say for certain but a decent case doesn't cost much nowadays so perhaps you could just try it out and if it doesn't work, then buy a new case?Your hard drive and CD-RW likely use the EIDE standard and that hasn't changed so it should be fine. (FYI, there's a newer SATA standard but new motherboards will still have EIDE connectors so it wouldn't be a problem.) If you want to keep your graphics card, make sure your new motherboard is AGP (as opposed to the new PCI Express standard). Having said that, if you're buying a new motherboard now, I would suggest you seriously consider getting a new PCI Express graphics card as well.In summary, what you should do all depends on your budget.Hope this helps.Edwin

[nickelodeon 0]

Hi EdwinMany thanks for your reply.I agree with you. Everything depend on the budget. The budget is clear for me: 300 Euros (I live in Holland). Only want to be sure that what I buy it will fit on the computer.I checked again the spec of my computer and the Hard disc, CDR/W and DVD are with IDE connectors. Don't know if that will be different to the new motherboards. By the way, if I change the motherboard could still be possible to use the same software that is already installed on the hard disk?. Would be nice to know.As you can see on my budget, I will be happy to get a motherboard with AGP slot, as I got the 9800Pro not many time ago, and a PCI express card will increase too much my expenses.Thanks againMaikel

[Guest Edwin]

Maikel,Greetings from Hong Kong!IDE will work fine even on new motherboards.Theoretically, changing your motherboard should not affect your software and everything should continue working as previously. All Windows will have to do is to install new drivers for your motherboard. However, I would *strongly* suggest you reformat your hard drive after a motherboard change. Leaving remnants of your old drivers on your hard drive can lead to poor performance and even instability. I realize reformatting and reinstalling Windows is a hassle but I find the results well worth the effort.You'll want to get an AMD Athlon64 socket 939 CPU. Normally, I'd suggest nForce4 but you want to keep your AGP motherboard, in which case you may want to try a motherboard with VIA K8T800Pro chipset? For example, ASUS has an A8V motherboard that's both Socket 939 and AGP. Not sure about stability and performance though (some people avoid VIA).Hope this helps.Edwin

[nickelodeon 0]

Hello EdwinMany thanks again for your help. Is beeing very helpful. Really!Making a quick search on some internet pages I found the AMD Athlon 64 for ~ 155 euros and the MOBO with VIAK8 for ~ 90 euros.Do I need any other thing, like a fan or something else?Sorry for asking so many. I have so many wish to use FS9 in good conditions!!Hope you ( and beloved) did not suffer from the earthquake that happened today in Japan.Many thanks againMaikel

[Guest Edwin]

Hi Maikel,Err... thanks for asking but.... Hong Kong is 1600 nautical miles from Japan. The earthquake would have to be REALLY strong to affect us! Having said that, I do hope all the best for everyone in Japan.If you buy a retail CPU, it will come with a standard heatsink and fan. It is only if you buy an OEM CPU that you would need a separate heatsink and fan.I'd strongly advise getting a new power supply. It is unlikely your Packard Bell would have a strong and stable power supply and it is one of those things that you really shouldn't skimp on! Try getting a reputable name brand, such as Antec, PC Power & Cooling, Enermax etc.Hope this helps.Edwin

[nickelodeon 0]

Hello EdwinSo 1600nm so far away from Japan no?, jeje. Well glad you are ok anyway :-))As you can see I am not so good in Geography, neither in computer. It is faster an AMD 64 3000+ socket 939 at 1,8GHz than a Pentium 4 at 2Ghz socket 478?What is best: Buy the motherboard and the CPU by separate or all together in one piece?Any nice link that you can recommend to check?Many thanks again and all the best for youRegardsMaikel

[Guest Edwin]

Maikel,Yes, the AMD Athlon64 3000+ will outperform the Pentium 4 2.4GHz. Both AMD and Intel are realizing that clock speed alone is not a reliable indicator of CPU speed and that's why you're seeing both companies moving to an "index".Perhaps an analogy to cars would better illustrate (caveat: I know practically nothing about cars). A 4-liter engine may seem to be more powerful than a 2-liter engine. However, the 4-liter engine would more fuel-hungry than a 2-liter engine. Besides, if you have a very efficient 2-liter engine, it could be more powerful than your 4-liter engine. Same thing with CPUs. The clock speed is like the displacement of an engine. It would seem higher clock speed leads to faster CPUs but that alone isn't the best method of measuring the power of a computer and higher clock speeds mean higher power consumption and more heat (an increasingly serious problem, especially with Intel CPUs).I don't quite understand your second question. Whether you buy the motherboard or CPU separately will depend on where you can get the best deal!Hope this helps.Edwin

[nickelodeon 0]

Ok,I think I understand now. Thanks a lot. Now I also know a bit more about geography, cars, and computers!! ;-)Seriously, thanks a lot for your advises and help.All the bestMaikel