It's Upgrade Day

[Sonar5 3]

Hi all,Well, in about 4 hours or so, FedeX will be at my door with a box of stuff from NewEgg that I ordered Friday afternoon.Going From:1.2ghz Athlon1gb RamCompaq piece of crap MOBO80gb HD20gb hdToAMD Athlon XP 3000+ Barton 333MHz FSB Socket A Processor Model AXDA3000BOX - RetailASUS A7N8X Socket A (Socket 462) NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 ATX AMD Motherboard - RetailCORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS1GB400C3 - RetailCost $307.95I already have a 450w power Supply and a Radeon 9600XT, so she should pretty much humm with the new stuff.I'm keeping my same HD's, CDRW, Floppy, DVD, and two of my USB Ports in front from my old one, which will give me 6 USB's on the new rig. Still using same case, but with extra fan I've already had installed.So basically I'm building a AsuCompAthlon. :-lolMaybe I can register that as a trademark.I mainly bought these for a business upgrade, since the majority of the rig is used for that, and some of my programs can get a bit intense as to usage. (Especially when I have 6 or 7 of them open, plus about 6 tabs in Firefox.) Isn't multitasking great? :-)Total Cost for this upgrade. $307.95 Should get me through until Longhorn and the next gen for stuff comes through. Maybe 2 Years or so. This Rig lasted me almost 5 years.Regards,JoeGrab My FREEWARE Voice recognition Profiles here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=58334]Cessna 172 Voice Profile[/a][a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=60740]FSD Avanti Voice Profile[/a].You will need the main FREEWARE Flight Assistant program to use it, get it here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=genutils&DLID=39661]Flight Assistant 2.2[/a]

[Guest SoarPics]

Hi Joe,Looks good, but you should have bought the XP 3000 with 40MHz FSB. Same price as the 333, and the 400 would match the speed of the motherboard and memory. Although the speed of the 400MHz CPU is rated slower (2.1GHz vs. 2.167GHz) the 400 FSB CPU would definately perform better with the other hardware you ordered.Cheers,Greg

[Sonar5 3]

Thanks Greg, I didn't want to spend the extra bucks for what I considered a small increase in performance. I could have gotten the OEM I guess, but I didn't feel like messing with a new heatsink fan, thermal grease yet.I don't think I'll be overclocking it just yet, but I will have that option.This was an affordable way to upgrade my system for my business use, and the MSFS and other games will just be a bonus, as I never had any real issues with anything I wanted to run, mainly due to the seperate hardware profiles I use. Grab My FREEWARE Voice recognition Profiles here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=58334]Cessna 172 Voice Profile[/a][a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=60740]FSD Avanti Voice Profile[/a].You will need the main FREEWARE Flight Assistant program to use it, get it here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=genutils&DLID=39661]Flight Assistant 2.2[/a]

[Sonar5 3]

Ok, It's here, see you all in a couple of hours, hopefully. :-)All packaged well, now where did I put my elmers glue. ;-)Grab My FREEWARE Voice recognition Profiles here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=58334]Cessna 172 Voice Profile[/a][a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=60740]FSD Avanti Voice Profile[/a].You will need the main FREEWARE Flight Assistant program to use it, get it here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=genutils&DLID=39661]Flight Assistant 2.2[/a]

[Guest saywhuut]

>Hi all,>>Well, in about 4 hours or so, FedeX will be at my door with a>box of stuff from NewEgg that I ordered Friday afternoon.>>Going From:>1.2ghz Athlon>1gb Ram>Compaq piece of crap MOBO>80gb HD>20gb hd>>>To>>AMD Athlon XP 3000+ Barton 333MHz FSB Socket A Processor Model>AXDA3000BOX - Retail>ASUS A7N8X Socket A (Socket 462) NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 ATX>AMD Motherboard - Retail>CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)>Unbuffered System Memory Model VS1GB400C3 - Retail>>Cost $307.95>>I already have a 450w power Supply and a Radeon 9600XT, so she>should pretty much humm with the new stuff.>>I'm keeping my same HD's, CDRW, Floppy, DVD, and two of my USB>Ports in front from my old one, which will give me 6 USB's on>the new rig. Still using same case, but with extra fan I've>already had installed.>>So basically I'm building a AsuCompAthlon. :-lol>Maybe I can register that as a trademark.>>I mainly bought these for a business upgrade, since the>majority of the rig is used for that, and some of my programs>can get a bit intense as to usage. (Especially when I have 6>or 7 of them open, plus about 6 tabs in Firefox.) Isn't>multitasking great? :-)>>Total Cost for this upgrade. $307.95 Should get me through>until Longhorn and the next gen for stuff comes through. >Maybe 2 Years or so. This Rig lasted me almost 5 years.>>Regards,>Joe>>>>Grab My FREEWARE Voice recognition Profiles here:>[a>href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=58334]Cessna>172 Voice Profile[/a]>[a>href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=60740]FSD>Avanti Voice Profile[/a]>.>You will need the main FREEWARE Flight Assistant program to>use it, get it here:>[a>href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=genutils&DLID=39661]Flight>Assistant 2.2[/a]why not upgrade to AMD 64?? I bought a new DFI mobo and AMD 64 3000+ for under 300 bucks and that 450 wat PSU you would be fine with the AMD 64. i purchased a 450 watt PSU as well my total was just over 300 bucks.on a sidenote..how do you know exactly what a new MOBO requires in regard to PSU??

[clayton4115 56]

cool report back, tell us how FS2004 is.

[Sonar5 3]

Well, I had to rewire the Powers leads in the connector, thanks Compaq, (Never Again)...... Left off the LED Lights, reset, etc. Only need power on and off anyway.I also had to change the bus speed from 100 to 166 so it recognizes my CPU. It's proper now.So now I get BIOS, and am chasing down a NTLDR Error. Fun Stuff.So everything works, just no OS right now, only BIOS, and it recognizes floppy, and both HD. Off to troubleshoot. I'll report back tomorrow.Regards,Joe <--- On The Laptop. :-)

[Guest DNelson]

Are you trying to use the existing OS installation that was already on the HD, or wiping the drive clean and installing from scratch?

[Sonar5 3]

I was trying to use the existing OS on my 20gb HD, and I had my 80gb HD for storage,I have now removed the 20gb and am installing XP on that one. So far so good. No more NTLDR Errors, so it confirms it was something with that HD. Another piece of crap Compaq Part. :-lolI did take a few pictures along the way. I'll post what I had to do to get this going. Pretty funny stuff. Good thing I'm a nice calm cool and collected person. :-)I will probably buy another HD at some time, but I'll be fine for now with this.As I type it is installing, says 37 minutes. :-)If all goes well, I'll post the pics in the AM.Regards,JoeGrab My FREEWARE Voice recognition Profiles here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=58334]Cessna 172 Voice Profile[/a][a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=60740]FSD Avanti Voice Profile[/a].You will need the main FREEWARE Flight Assistant program to use it, get it here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=genutils&DLID=39661]Flight Assistant 2.2[/a]

[Tierborn 188]

>I was trying to use the existing OS on my 20gb HD, and I had>my 80gb HD for storage,>>I have now removed the 20gb and am installing XP on that one. >So far so good. No more NTLDR Errors, so it confirms it was>something with that HD. Another piece of crap Compaq Part. >:-lol>Joe,Likely nothing wrong with the HD .... sometimes a exsisting windows install will have a tough time when you change as many components as you did. My last upgrade, i tried to change as many components on an exsisting install and windows also crapped out on me.A fresh install .. solved the problem :-0

[Guest DNelson]

Yeah, that was my point. I have heard of people successfully using an existing OS installation after a motherboard/processor/memory swap-out, but I've heard of many more that have tried it and caused themselves all kinds of grief. A fresh install on an empty HD is almost always better.

[oqvist 11]

I get that ntldr error message all the time. Always when I happen to disconnect some of my SATA drive and my driver letters get all wrong (according to windows :().It

[Sonar5 3]

Ok, all is great now. :-)Took out old HD 20gb, set jumpers as slave, loaded it up, and then deleted all the windows stuff off that one, defragged, and have about 17.1gb free out of 20. I'll be moving some stuff over from the main drive as well. Backups, business stuff, etc.....Fired up msfs for grins, and maxed everything out, and was getting very good rates and views in my GA planes. That is a bonus.I don't think I'll be hooking up the front panel led's, really no reason after my wiring class. ;-)My old Compaq front panel USB doesn't work, I suspect it has to do with the wiring on the connector as well, so I may redo that one later on. I still have 4 in the back.So all in all, I didn't lose any data, saved a bunch of money by not buying a new system, was able to use my current case, and a whole lot of parts, and I feel like I have a New Computer. I may add my second monitor I have in the Garage, a 21 inch, but I'm on a 19 inch now, so I'm satisfied with the results.Not sure if I plan on overclocking either the Barton or the Radeon, but nice to know I can do so, if I choose.Thanks for the help folks, I'll try and post the pics soon.Regards,JoePS - Read the other post. Funny stuff.. :-) I'll let it simmer for a bit before I post in there. I will bet the hypocrites show up though. :-lolGrab My FREEWARE Voice recognition Profiles here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=58334]Cessna 172 Voice Profile[/a][a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=60740]FSD Avanti Voice Profile[/a].You will need the main FREEWARE Flight Assistant program to use it, get it here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=genutils&DLID=39661]Flight Assistant 2.2[/a]

[Sonar5 3]

Hi all,Here are a few pics of my handiwork for the new AsusCompAthlon I built.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/117196.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/117197.jpgThe wiring in the bottom is what threw me, as when I pressed the button, no power. So I removed the little white inset pin in the bottom right pic, and also took out all the wires. I then compared assignmnets on the old Compaq board to what the Asus had and determined that the Blue and Orange were the only ones I needed, and simply matched up where they go. (Different slots than compaq had assigned to the connector)Oh yea, I also plugged in the CPU fan at first to the wrong Fan power slot on the board. I didn't see the first fan slot near the Ram Slots. (I have three fan slots, so I can add one more if I ever choose to).I am using Asus Probe to monitor CPU and Board Temeratures, and The Omega driver panel to monitor Vid Card temp.After I took a flight in the Baron with just about everything maxed in FS, my temps were the following:CPU = 34 Degrees CelsiusBoard = 30 Degrees Celcius9600xt = 38 Degress celciusHere is the link to the screenshots for the flight. FPS ran in the upper 40's to middle 50's on this flight.Also, My Mad Onion 3D Mark01 SE score came out to 11,053 at first run. Not bad, not the best but pretty good.US Forest Service Patrol Pics:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=200403&page=Thanks Again,JoeGrab My FREEWARE Voice recognition Profiles here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=58334]Cessna 172 Voice Profile[/a][a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=60740]FSD Avanti Voice Profile[/a].You will need the main FREEWARE Flight Assistant program to use it, get it here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=genutils&DLID=39661]Flight Assistant 2.2[/a]

[gregger 0]

For future reference, you can run the repair installation off the Windows CD on an installed OS. That'll reset the various system drivers that are keeping your Windows from starting on your new hardware. Alls you do is tell setup to install (not the recovery console), and when it detects your existing windows installation, hit "R" for repair. http://ca.geocities.com/gmoffatt@rogers.co...20_BigO_new.jpg