New bits or new machine?

pickarooney

My PC has a terminal case of droid-rot* so I'm thinking of upgrading, but don't want to spend a lot as I only use the machine for music, videos, surfing/downloading and text editing - no games or video editing etc.

Would I be better off buying parts off the internet and cobble them together or just buy the cheapest system from the local supermarket, knowing that I don't need to repurchase an OS, keyboard, mouse, hard drive or graphics card? The former seems like the best option, but I don't want to be waiting ages and then break the components trying to install them - I've built machines before, but have a clumsy gene and very little patience.

It's really hard to tell what exactly is wrong with my PC, but it's more than likely a motherboard issue. If i replace the mobo, I have to buy a CPU and new RAM...

Is it a good idea to buy upgrade kits from the likes of Komplett? 250 quid seems pretty good value. Has anyone good or bad experiences with this kind of upgrade? Do I need to buy paste or anything to install the fan?
I think I might need a case as well, and I'd like the whole machine to make a bit less noise than the combine-harvester style churning that currently goes on when I boot up.

If anyone has other suggestions for sites to buy upgrade kits or components, I'm all ears.

*A series of strange problems, from the machine shutting down completely and not restarting without an hour's rest to CMOS errors on boot to erratic keyboard behaviour. The latter manifests itself either by the keyboard lights flashing during use and then the leys ceasing to function or by the PC acting as though a key was being permanently depressed (the old Smiths virus?). As of today, the PC refuses to recognise the keyboard at all during bootup. I tried another keyboard but it's also not recognised. Also, the sound card connectors are all loose. And I keep getting bolts of static electricity...

Explosive_Cornflake

TBH, unless you making a low end machine, there's no point in doing home build. Dell have some great deals. It'll cost you about the same, but then you might enjoy doing a self build, and have something a bit different looking. What hardware have you currently? Some new fans and a bit of "tweaking" will quiten an old case down a bit, unless it's really crap.

pickarooney

I currently have a Frankenstein machine with bits varying from one to four years old. A decrepit Chaintech motherboard with an Athlon 1200 takes pride of place, with 768MB of SDRAM and a Geforce 5200 FX riding aboard. Onboard sound and a combodrive plus a further dual-layer DVD burner plus a UK PS/2 keyboard (impossible to find in France, where I currently live) and USB mouse. Ubuntu 5.10 is currently in situ.
I've never really found it to be too slow or low in memory, so wouldn't be looking at a major upgrade if possible. I must go have a look at how much a low-end Dell costs.


BTW, does anyone know if modern mobos (like in the link in my first post) work with AGP gfx cards or only PCI-Express?

Explosive_Cornflake

The modren mobos working with AGP are pretty much gone. You probably have a tiny HSF with a 40mm fan on it. I have a duron 1300 in the attic, with a good few inches of insulation under it, and i can hear the HSF in it.

pickarooney

Ah crap. It's sucky enough to have to change the CPU and RAM when upgrading the motherboard, but to have to buy a new GFX card as well is a total pain

edit: ah no, it might be ok, the cheapest one in the list in the link has an AGP port.

Explosive_Cornflake

Yup, I'm currently in that boat. I want to get a conroe.
If your happy with what you have, you should probably look around for a cheap socket A. Just make sure your mobo supports it. Spend some some money on nice fans and a heatsink.
Actually you might want to see how noisy your PSU is though.

pickarooney

Pretty sure the mobo is the problem though...
PSU is pretty noisy as well, how would one make that quieter?
Is the komplett forum gone, I can't seem to find it.

Cuddlesworth

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=242

pickarooney

cheers

SeanW

pickarooney wrote:

Ah crap. It's sucky enough to have to change the CPU and RAM when upgrading the motherboard, but to have to buy a new GFX card as well is a total pain

edit: ah no, it might be ok, the cheapest one in the list in the link has an AGP port.

No, if you change to a Socket 939 system you will find plenty of AGP boards, you can hang on to your graphics card. And yeah, that mobo sounds like it's borked.

K.O.Kiki

... Aren't parts cheaper in France?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

K.O.Kiki wrote:

... Aren't parts cheaper in France?

I think everythings cheaper outside of ireland