In need of opinions......

kilkenny21m

Hey guys, I recently decided to update my computer so I'm basically just looking for opinions on this one. I have a Dell 9150, 1gb ram, Pen D 2.8ghz, 160 gb X2,
GF 7300 512MB and basically all I want to do is take all that out of that ugly dell case and put it into a beauty of an alien case.
So I hear there are compatibility issues.
So basically for this to work I have to buy a new motherboard, maybe a new processor and heatsink and new ram.

Here are my ideas: (All from Galaxy.ie)
Case&PSU- 480w comes with case -€80
Mobo- ASUS P5PE-VM s775 -€80
RAM- Kingston DDR 1GB x2 (€120 ea) -€240
Processor- Intel Pen. D 3.4ghz s775 -€200
HeatSink- Startech Intel s775 heatsink w/fan -€35
Might throw in Vista???! (+€135) TOTAL €635

And keep my graphics card, hard drives etc.

So I am just looking for suggestions and opinions of what to do before I order everything. (Case and PSU already ordered!)

Thanks in advance- J:D

8T8

You do know the mATX ASUS P5PE-VM is an AGP motherboard right, the Dell 9150 uses PCI-Express which replaced AGP so your actually taking a step back and your current graphics card will not work.

The RAM according to the specs on Dell's is is DDR-2 not DDR.

So with all that info in mind here are some alterations;
MSI Intel 945 chipset mATX if you need that form factor.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 or E6400 - much better CPU

Scythe Ninja - very good CPU cooler

With that motherboard you can retain your RAM & graphics card from the Dell.

DirkVoodoo

My Two cents:

Don't bother with Vista, its not really worth it at the moment.

I agree with 8T8's choices, don't buy a pentium D.

Can you stretch a bit on the case/PSU, and more importantly, what make is the PSU? Don't skimp on what is arguably the beating heart of a PC.

EDIT: Arghh! Just read you've ordered case/PSU, can you cancel? It may be fine, but I'm a stickler for a decent PSU.

kilkenny21m

Okay they are all good suggestions which I will take on board,
no real budget but I wont do ridiculous prices!
I will only shop on galaxy.ie as it uses buyfornow.ie and in turn that uses my laser card!
So could someone please suggest a few things I could get on galaxy.ie?
Even if I have to go to Athlon as not much Intel choice in mobo's.

Okay say I have a budget (for arguements sake) of 700 and combining what I buy and my old build and galaxy.ie into a computer with the alien case+psu (http://www.buy4now.ie/galaxy-computer/aspx/productdetail.aspx?pid=3824&loc=P&catid=134.0)I should be laughing?? Correct? Feel free to suggest..
All help appreciated.

8T8

All right here is the essentially the same stuff but from Galaxy though they are much more expensive.

Core 2 Duo E6300

Motherboard

Even if you don't go with the Core 2 CPU that's the type of motherboard you require to retain your graphics & RAM.

For AMD get this motherboard & this CPU but you are better off with the Core 2 IMO.

kilkenny21m

Yeah the motherboard looks great but wary 'bout the processor, what's it like performance wise???
How bout this one, considerably more expensive at €360 but http://www.buy4now.ie/galaxy-computer/aspx/productdetail.aspx?pid=3456&loc=P&catid=134.2
it looks good??
Is there much difference between Core Duo 1.6 and Dual Core 3.4?? or Core Duo 2.4??
Perhaps if I got the motherboard you suggested(8T8) and Dual core 3.4 everything should be shiny and perfect yeah??
And hold off on Vista for a while?
Appreciate all the help lads.

kilkenny21m

Oh and to add onto past enquiries-
Will a 480w PSU be stable enough if I stuck in a third hard drive? Maybe 300 gigs?

8T8

All Core 2 Duo's starting from the E6300 are faster than your current Pentium D 2.8Ghz CPU so go with whichever fits into your budget accordingly.

Pentium D's are based on a older architecture and although they are dual core like the "Core Duo's" they are not in the same performance league. You have to forget the Mhz myth stuff that more Mhz = faster.

The motherboard I picked out supports all Core 2 Duo class CPU's.

There is no particular reason to hold off on Vista unless you don't want it for some reason or budget wise. I've been using it for a while now and it works fine & is an improvement over XP at least in my opinion (that's the 32-bit version don't go 64-bit that's another kettle of fish).

As for the power supply the 480W is sufficient no need to worry about that at all.

kilkenny21m

8t8 You are an absolute gent. Thanks for all help.

kilkenny21m

Right sorry to bring all this up again! But one or two more issues
and my head's over-worrying I think!
Am spending a lot of money so just want to be sure??

When swapping across the hard drives will I have to re-install windows?? Would it be much of a hassle? Or if I get Vista, just erase the xp partition?

Right here is what seems to be the finished product-

Mobo- As Rock s775 €130
Pro- Core Duo 2.13ghz €270
Cooler- Startech s775 Heatsink
w/ fan €35
Hard Drives- From Dell Pc ---
Graphics Card- From Dell Pc ---
DvdRW drive - From Dell Pc ---
Case- Alien black €80
PSU- 480W comes w/ case ---
Ram- 1gb ddr2 from Dell PC ---
+ 1gb ddr2 667mhz €140
Vista (Wont know till last minute!) €135
Sound (onboard mobo I think?)

---

Ethernet (Onboard mobo I think??)

---

TOTAL €790
= Decent future-upgradeable system?

Here's a few questions floating around in my head right now..

Is it worth it?
Any hardware incompatibilities I don't know?
Any better ideas?
Will it be a waste with what's left over on Dell PC?
Any potential disasters?
Vista compatibility with games, programs, hardware?
Is the Ram on my pc 667mhz?? Is it 1x1gb or 2x512mb? No way to tell without opening comp?
My Graphics card- a 512mb Geforce 7300LE, is it for an AGP connection
or PCI express? (Again no way to tell without opening comp)

Forgive my naive nature and for being a complete noob (and for writing long life-story-like essays) but you gotta start somewhere eh?
I am doing this for the future, as so I can upgrade when it's called for, I wanted to change my case, I want to know the intimate knowledge of a computer (Read plenty of online manuals regarding my plans but not many are very detailed) and I wanted to part ways from Dell.

Thank you all in advance, very much so appreciated. -J.

8T8

Swapping Windows XP over motherboards (because thats what your doing) is not a trivial matter you must clean out the system drivers and change the IDE controller drivers to Standard PCI IDE controller drivers in order to swap the mobo. It is generally easier to clean install XP.

When installing Vista you will be given the option to erase the HD under the disk management section so if you want to you can do that. Or you can install Vista to another partition or HD to setup a dual boot XP/Vista setup though bear in mind the two are linked after that and removing one or the other requires a little work. Again a clean install of Vista is the easier route.

Is it worth it?

Well only you can answer that in terms of value because Galaxy are more expensive you are paying more than you normally should for that kind of hardware.

Any hardware incompatibilities I don't know?

None that I can see.

Any better ideas?

Nope.

Will it be a waste with what's left over on Dell PC?

Well seeing as it's missing the HD, DVD, GPU, RAM to get it functional again all those would need to be replaced you could try selling the parts like the motherboard & CPU.

Any potential disasters?

Not really as long as you take your time don't rush anything and read the manuals.

Vista compatibility with games, programs, hardware?

High level of compatibility in general all your hardware is supported.

Is the Ram on my pc 667mhz?? Is it 1x1gb or 2x512mb? No way to tell without opening comp?

Use CPU-Z to verify the DDR-2 RAM speed, go to the SPD tab.

My Graphics card- a 512mb Geforce 7300LE, is it for an AGP connection
or PCI express? (Again no way to tell without opening comp)

Go to the mainboard tab in CPU-Z it will say at the bottom the interface type it should say PCI-Express.

kilkenny21m

Thanks for all your help 8t8