OK Now Its Time To Upgrade PC

[dublish]

Well i bought my PC from TESCO 3 yrs ago and now its old (games)loads of questions so ill start MB...P4VMM2 PGA478

current CPU...celeron....1.8mhz (just wanna take it out and shove the new one in (cpu)like a P4 2.8'

handbook says it can cater for P4(478pins)

supports FSB.....400mhz how high can i go (speed)?do i have to do jumper cables,im really lost,i know how 2 do the video card an all, do i have to get a new mainboard? and i want to keep all the data on my HD do i have to reinstall/reformat windows ohh so many questions????? im in bangers but when i go to a shop i may as well go to the north pole they dont speak english,ahh well,

if anybody can help me (in laymans trems) much objiled.

DUBLISH

Celeron 1.8

ie.6(maxthon)

512 ram

true 1MB not that it is (lol)

HD 40

im sure i left out loads but ill get back as quick as i can

Many thanks

OHHHH

If i just put in the new CPU will the OS thats currently on my HD accept all the(changes) stuff when i boot up (im sorry so many questions, if someone can give a me a 1-10 of things to do???)

[Firefoxx]

Change of CPU/RAM/VGA won't require a new OS install. Change of mainboard might or might not require a reinstall.

You have sufficient ram, but your CPU is pretty poor, and most likely your VGA. A P4 3.0E will cost you around 8,000 baht. A P4 2.4A will cost around 5,000, but it will have slower FSB and no hyperthreading.

A middling VGA card will cost around 5-6k baht, while a middling-low card will be around 3k baht, and not really worth the upgrade from your current card.

Unless you're really into PC games (RTS, FPS, online, etc), you'd get a better deal with a PS2 console.

[dublish]

Change of CPU/RAM/VGA won't require a new OS install.  Change of mainboard might or might not require a reinstall.

You have sufficient ram, but your CPU is pretty poor, and most likely your VGA.  A P4 3.0E will cost you around 8,000 baht.  A P4 2.4A will cost around 5,000, but it will have slower FSB and no hyperthreading.

A middling VGA card will cost around 5-6k baht, while a middling-low card will be around 3k baht, and not really worth the upgrade from your current card.

Unless you're really into PC games (RTS, FPS, online, etc), you'd get a better deal with a PS2 console.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Got 1 Firefox(ps2) u missed the piont do u i think can i just (slap in the new CPU and boot up or do i have to go through a whole rigmarole and install my OS or will the CPU CHANGE be accepted??)

my VGA is GEFORCE MX 440by8 AGP but thats going in the bin

[mamypocopants]

Hi Dublish,

You missed some important information in your post i.e. what do you use your PC for and why do you think this necessitates an upgrade. If you merely use your PC for internet surfing your computer is fine. If you want to play games then you need to upgrade your VGA card and processor, so first tell us what you want to achieve with your upgrade. Don't worry about doing a format, it is not difficult and it's one of the best performance enhancements you can make to a PC, it's free and doesn't take all that long.

If you have had your PC for three years and never formatted then I would start there but not before you have done a hardware upgrade if that's what you decide to do. Also, it's very importnat to have a partition on your hard drive for a few reasons.

First, if you do decide to format you can save all your important 'static' files, i.e. word docs, mp3s, movies, program installation *.exe's to the second partition without having to burn them to CD or finding some other way of safely backing them up somewhere else. Secondly, with the size of hard drives these days, scan disc and defrag will be dramtically reduced in time taken due to the smaller amount of space being worked on. 'static' files don't really need to be defraged anyway so keep them seperate and your OS will be a lot easy to maintain and performance will be maintained.

So, back to your original question, tell us why you want to upgrade and we can go from there....

btw, to everyone out there, ECS make extraordinarily shit motherboards which she be avoided, you can do way way better for a few bucks more on another brand. Motherboards are one of the primary areas 'off the shelf' computer retailers skimp to make more money. This is ironic in the fact it is the most important part of a PC as it connects all the hardware together and is the interface through which your hardware communicates.

Edited June 16, 2005 by mamypocopants

[dr_strangelove]

You dont need to do any jumper settings and all if it supports Socket 478 P4 processor with Max 400MHz. Chk your MB manual and somewhere it will be mentioned the maximum processor capacity it can hold. Like "Supports upto P4 2.4 Ghz"..... Be specific when you buy the new processor. make sure it is 400 Mhz FSB. You will have to be very careful here since 800Mhz FSB is now common. Pick the new processor and go home..

Remove the cabinet, Pull out the Fan, pull the lever and remove the celeron processor, insert the P4 processor, put the lever back and fix the fan (Fixing fan on a MB with agp/pci card is always a pain in our a$$)....plug the power cable for CPU fan and switch on your comp.. BIOS will auto detect your new processor if the bios settings is Auto for clockspeed. Else refer MB manual and make it Auto.

Goodluck

[Firefoxx]

Actually, I didn't miss the point. Let me quote myself:

"Change of CPU/RAM/VGA won't require a new OS install."

[dublish]

Actually, I didn't miss the point.  Let me quote myself:

"Change of CPU/RAM/VGA won't require a new OS install."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry FF my mistake

[dublish]

You dont need to do any jumper settings and all if it supports Socket 478 P4 processor with Max 400MHz. Chk your MB manual and somewhere it will be mentioned the maximum processor capacity it can hold. Like "Supports upto P4 2.4 Ghz"..... Be specific when you buy the new processor. make sure it is 400 Mhz FSB. You will have to be very careful here since 800Mhz FSB is now common. Pick the new processor and go home..

Remove the cabinet, Pull out the Fan, pull the lever and remove the celeron processor, insert the P4 processor, put the lever back and fix the fan (Fixing fan on a MB with agp/pci card is always a pain in our a$$)....plug the power cable for CPU fan and switch on your comp.. BIOS will auto detect your new processor if the bios settings is Auto for clockspeed. Else refer MB manual and make it Auto.

Goodluck

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hello strangelove,

Good info there thank you,ive read through the manual twice and it dosent say Supports upto P4???Ghz it just says that it supports a P4 chip so im not sure how high i can go.Is there another way i can find this out?

thanks again

dublish

[francois]

hi'

as you say your MB support 400mhz fsb, so you're limited to P4a.

check the ram limitation, a 512mb more never hurts.

got VGA just check the bus format AGP 1, 4, 8x?

if 8x, go for a gforce fx5800 ultra ... cheap and nicely performing.

you'll have to put the new cpu in the slot yourself.

1. shutdown windows ... unplug the rig, open it face to you.

2.touch the rig metalic stuff with your hands ...

3.unplug the (heatsink) cpu fan, take it off slowly {better to let run the system for a 10mn or so before to do this} ... very slowly to be sure that the cpu won't come out with the fan.

4.release the cpu lever, and take off the "old" one, carefully.

5.slot in the "new" one, and set the lever back down.

6.apply a very thin layer of a silver compound on the top of the new cpu.

7.insert the HS and fan carefully too.

there you are!

after this just check in the bios that the new cpu is ok.

press del when the pc boots up.

navigate into the menu to see the cpu speed and ratio.

for vga:

if the brand of the card is the same, just go, to control panel and uninstall the "old" one, and shutdown.

change the card and reboot ...

at the prompt, found new harware .. follow the screen instructions.

for memory, you won't get any messsage, it will just go faster

just check one thing! important!!

what is the speed of the ram already inside?

266, 333? ddr I guess ...

just take the same brand and speed

here you are.

hope it helps a bit

francois

[dublish]

hi'

as you say your MB support 400mhz fsb, so you're limited to P4a.

check the ram limitation, a 512mb more never hurts.

got VGA just check the bus format AGP 1, 4, 8x?

if 8x, go for a gforce fx5800 ultra ... cheap and nicely performing.

you'll have to put the new cpu in the slot yourself.

1. shutdown windows ... unplug the rig, open it face to you.

2.touch the rig metalic stuff with your hands ...

3.unplug the (heatsink) cpu fan, take it off slowly {better to let run the system for a 10mn or so before to do this} ... very slowly to be sure that the cpu won't come out with the fan.

4.release the cpu lever, and take off the "old" one, carefully.

5.slot in the "new" one, and set the lever back down.

6.apply a very thin layer of a silver compound on the top of the new cpu.

7.insert the HS and fan carefully too.

there you are!

after this just check in the bios that the new cpu is ok.

press del when the pc boots up.

navigate into the menu to see the cpu speed and ratio.

for vga:

if the brand of the card is the same, just go, to control panel and uninstall the "old" one, and shutdown.

change the card and reboot ...

at the prompt, found new harware .. follow the screen instructions.

for memory, you won't get any messsage, it will just go faster

just check one thing! important!!

what is the speed of the ram already inside?

266, 333?  ddr I guess ...

just take the same brand and speed

here you are.

hope it helps a bit

francois

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thank you francois,

u sound like a gamer, just the ticket, ok so my ram is 512(333)ddr motherboard book says i can go up to 2GB

my motherboard includes a 4xAGP(not x8 is this a big difference when it comes to gameing?) slot in which i have a geforce 4 mx440 (64mb)

i have a celeron 1.8 that has to go,(what cpu would u replace it with?can i go 2.8 A?) i was thinking about a nvidia geforce 6600GT would this be a good option as my M/B only supports 4xagp??if u were in my shoes what would u do ?its only 2500 for a new motherboard so thats not to bad ,i can keep all the stuff on my hdd right?

any thoughts?my case is a nice allu with plenty of fans and space so thats not a prob? so all in all whats on the shoping list 1:cpu what type?

2:vga card what type?

(ONLY IF NEEDED).....a new motherboard

many thanks again for all the info

Dublish

[mamypocopants]

Hi Dublish,

A good buddy of mine where I live has the same ECS P4VMM2 motherboard and ran into problems when he tried to upgrade his AGP video card. The system just wouldn't boot. Check the web when you decide to buy a particular video card and see if there are any compatibilty issues with that motherboard and the VGA card you want to buy....

nb. there are loads of sites with people posting similar problems with this board and upgrading their VGA card. Your motherboard, I believe, is restricted to 4x AGP which can create problems, considering VGA cards now are 8x, although they are meant to be backwards compatible. You can get some fantastic motherboards cheap. Depending on what CPU you want to run, you can get a great motherboard for around 3000 baht or less. I recommend a socket A motherboard with a nForce chipset, for price and performance. Here is an article on Tom's Hardware Guide on building a gaming machine for under $1000US. It has some interesting information. http://www.tomshardware.com/game/20040529/index.html

*tip - at Panthip they will give you great prices on relatively recent 2nd hand hardware. So when you do upgrade take your old stuff down to Panthip and walk around all the little 2nd hand shops at the back, upstairs. You will work out pretty quickly what they are prepared to offer and you'll save yourself some baht on your new hardware.

VGA cards, I personally think a Radeon 9600XT is the best bang for your Bhat at the moment.

Edited June 17, 2005 by mamypocopants

[mamypocopants]

Hi Dublish,

If you need a hand with building a PC or Panthip, email me, I will be more than happy to help.....

apparently there is no benefit between 4x & 8x AGP from some studies done....

Edited June 17, 2005 by mamypocopants

[Thetyim]

This might be useful for you.

CPU specs

http://www.provision.co.th/update/pc2003/pc2003.htm

[The Coder]

apparently there is no benefit between 4x & 8x AGP from some studies done....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, AGP 8x having "no benefit" might be a bit strong but certainly the gains are so small as to be not very significant. The other thing about AGP is you can put an 8x card in a AGP 4x system; you just won't get that tiny extra performance.

By the way the geforce MX440 is crap and that is probably your whole problem, but what do you expect buying a system from Tesco. That card was just a marketing ploy for the gullible; a geforce 4 card that is slower than some of 5 year old geforce 2 cards. Kind of like the new generation of cheap, dog slow 256MB cards people buy based on memory size alone. The best bet on video card is ignore specs and let benchmarks be the judge and go as high as budget allows because the video card makes the most massive difference in gaming. The toms hardware site mentioned earlier has great benchmarks on many games & video cards. The other place not to skimp is the monitor for two reasons: (1) your eyes and (2) it's a component that can transfer to new systems in upcoming years.

[dr_strangelove]

hello strangelove,

Good info there thank you,ive read through the manual twice and it dosent say Supports upto P4???Ghz it just says that it supports a P4 chip so im not sure how high i can go.Is there another way i can find this out?

thanks again

dublish

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

sorry.... i forgot to chk this thread...

If it says it supports P4 chip, it takes in P4 processor... chk the manufacturers website for the more detailed spec of the MB or talk to the vendor to know the max clockspeed support... normally a 810 MB takes P3 370 as well as Celeron 370 and a 478 supports both celeron and P4

[francois]

hi'

as you say your MB support 400mhz fsb, so you're limited to P4a.

check the ram limitation, a 512mb more never hurts.

got VGA just check the bus format AGP 1, 4, 8x?

if 8x, go for a gforce fx5800 ultra ... cheap and nicely performing.

you'll have to put the new cpu in the slot yourself.

1. shutdown windows ... unplug the rig, open it face to you.

2.touch the rig metalic stuff with your hands ...

3.unplug the (heatsink) cpu fan, take it off slowly {better to let run the system for a 10mn or so before to do this} ... very slowly to be sure that the cpu won't come out with the fan.

4.release the cpu lever, and take off the "old" one, carefully.

5.slot in the "new" one, and set the lever back down.

6.apply a very thin layer of a silver compound on the top of the new cpu.

7.insert the HS and fan carefully too.

there you are!

after this just check in the bios that the new cpu is ok.

press del when the pc boots up.

navigate into the menu to see the cpu speed and ratio.

for vga:

if the brand of the card is the same, just go, to control panel and uninstall the "old" one, and shutdown.

change the card and reboot ...

at the prompt, found new harware .. follow the screen instructions.

for memory, you won't get any messsage, it will just go faster

just check one thing! important!!

what is the speed of the ram already inside?

266, 333?  ddr I guess ...

just take the same brand and speed

here you are.

hope it helps a bit

francois

Thank you francois,

u sound like a gamer, just the ticket, ok so my ram is 512(333)ddr motherboard book says i can go up to 2GB

my motherboard includes a 4xAGP(not x8 is this a big difference when it comes to gameing?) slot in which i have a geforce 4 mx440 (64mb)

i have a celeron 1.8 that has to go,(what cpu would u replace it with?can i go 2.8 A?) i was thinking about a nvidia geforce 6600GT would this be a good option as my M/B only supports 4xagp??if u were in my shoes what would u do ?its only 2500 for a new motherboard so thats not to bad ,i can keep all the stuff on my hdd right?

any thoughts?my case is a nice allu with plenty of fans and space so thats not a prob? so all in all whats on the shoping list 1:cpu what type?

2:vga card what type?

(ONLY IF NEEDED).....a new motherboard

many thanks again for all the info

Dublish

hi'

not really a gamer, just a geek, techy by job

I'm afraid that if you want to get performance from display you'd have to jump to new generation ...

bying a new MB just for an AGP 8x is not reasonnable.

looking for new MB ram vga isn't very reasonnable either ...

what would be the best agp4x on the market now? ...

everybody talks about the difference between agp 4x and 8x and blablabla ....

in your case, as you don't want to change it all, let's take an agp8x and get the best of it, as I said the gforce fx 5800 is far enough if it's desktop work.

even a fx5200 would do, but due to your agp4x, getting a slightly better card will display a bit better too.

does your MB booklet tell what cpu frequency you can use at max?

if the socket is a 478 you may set a P4a @400mhz no HT, and surely @2.4ghz

check it out

francois

francois

[dublish]

hi'

as you say your MB support 400mhz fsb, so you're limited to P4a.

check the ram limitation, a 512mb more never hurts.

got VGA just check the bus format AGP 1, 4, 8x?

if 8x, go for a gforce fx5800 ultra ... cheap and nicely performing.

you'll have to put the new cpu in the slot yourself.

1. shutdown windows ... unplug the rig, open it face to you.

2.touch the rig metalic stuff with your hands ...

3.unplug the (heatsink) cpu fan, take it off slowly {better to let run the system for a 10mn or so before to do this} ... very slowly to be sure that the cpu won't come out with the fan.

4.release the cpu lever, and take off the "old" one, carefully.

5.slot in the "new" one, and set the lever back down.

6.apply a very thin layer of a silver compound on the top of the new cpu.

7.insert the HS and fan carefully too.

there you are!

after this just check in the bios that the new cpu is ok.

press del when the pc boots up.

navigate into the menu to see the cpu speed and ratio.

for vga:

if the brand of the card is the same, just go, to control panel and uninstall the "old" one, and shutdown.

change the card and reboot ...

at the prompt, found new harware .. follow the screen instructions.

for memory, you won't get any messsage, it will just go faster

just check one thing! important!!

what is the speed of the ram already inside?

266, 333?  ddr I guess ...

just take the same brand and speed

here you are.

hope it helps a bit

francois

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thank you francois,

u sound like a gamer, just the ticket, ok so my ram is 512(333)ddr motherboard book says i can go up to 2GB

my motherboard includes a 4xAGP(not x8 is this a big difference when it comes to gameing?) slot in which i have a geforce 4 mx440 (64mb)

i have a celeron 1.8 that has to go,(what cpu would u replace it with?can i go 2.8 A?) i was thinking about a nvidia geforce 6600GT would this be a good option as my M/B only supports 4xagp??if u were in my shoes what would u do ?its only 2500 for a new motherboard so thats not to bad ,i can keep all the stuff on my hdd right?

any thoughts?my case is a nice allu with plenty of fans and space so thats not a prob? so all in all whats on the shoping list 1:cpu what type?

2:vga card what type?

(ONLY IF NEEDED).....a new motherboard

many thanks again for all the info

Dublish

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hi'

not really a gamer, just a geek, techy by job

I'm afraid that if you want to get performance from display you'd have to jump to new generation ...

bying a new MB just for an AGP 8x is not reasonnable.

looking for new MB ram vga isn't very reasonnable either ...

what would be the best agp4x on the market now? ...

everybody talks about the difference between agp 4x and 8x and blablabla ....

in your case, as you don't want to change it all, let's take an agp8x and get the best of it, as I said the gforce fx 5800 is far enough if it's desktop work.

even a fx5200 would do, but due to your agp4x, getting a slightly better card will display a bit better too.

does your MB booklet tell what cpu frequency you can use at max?

if the socket is a 478 you may set a P4a @400mhz no HT, and surely @2.4ghz

check it out

francois

francois

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Will do Francois when i get a chance(im up north at the minute)i think ive got it prettywell sussed out, thanks to all,

just one last question the AMD 64 cpu is it any good ive read that it runs a little hot, but its cheap ( i know i know... new mainboard,new install everything) but would it be good??

[purdy]

Well i bought my PC from TESCO 3 yrs ago and now its old (games)loads of questions so ill start  MB...P4VMM2 PGA478

              current CPU...celeron....1.8mhz (just wanna take it out and shove the new one in (cpu)like a P4 2.8'

handbook says it can cater for P4(478pins)

supports FSB.....400mhz how high can i go (speed)?do i have to do jumper cables,im really lost,i know how 2 do the video card an all, do i have to get a new mainboard? and i want to keep all the data on my HD do i have to reinstall/reformat windows ohh so many questions????? im in bangers but when i go to a shop i may as well go to the north pole they dont speak english,ahh well,

if anybody can help me (in laymans trems) much objiled.

DUBLISH

Celeron 1.8

ie.6(maxthon)

512 ram

true 1MB not that it is (lol)

HD 40

im sure i left out loads but ill get back as quick as i can

Many thanks

OHHHH

  If i just put in the new CPU will the OS thats currently on my HD accept all the(changes) stuff when i boot up (im sorry so many questions, if someone can give a me a 1-10 of things to do???)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you just change the CPU you will not have to reactivate your copy of windows xp home or pro.

If you want to know more about ugrading your PC or just about anything to do with computers, including Vitus and trojan removal.

Go to http://www.udon.co.nr

You will see a search engine at the bottom of the page, just type in a keyworg eg.. Beep codes, upgrades, virus ect....

Good Luck

Purdy

[francois]

hi'

just one last question the AMD 64 cpu is it any good ive read that it runs a little hot, but its cheap ( i know i know... new mainboard,new install everything) but would it be good??

hmm hmm ... AMD is running hot, it's fact, but so the latest generation of P4 @ 3.4ghz or more, AMD is best performing in Games than video encoding, P4 is right the opposite

anyway, these days you need a well cooled case, fans out and in, and don't save money on this

also to consider is the change of heatsink/fan for the processor ... just to gain a few degrees(celcius) a 10c less can be expected.

francois

[dublish]

apparently there is no benefit between 4x & 8x AGP from some studies done....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, AGP 8x having "no benefit" might be a bit strong but certainly the gains are so small as to be not very significant. The other thing about AGP is you can put an 8x card in a AGP 4x system; you just won't get that tiny extra performance.

By the way the geforce MX440 is crap and that is probably your whole problem, but what do you expect buying a system from Tesco. That card was just a marketing ploy for the gullible; a geforce 4 card that is slower than some of 5 year old geforce 2 cards. Kind of like the new generation of cheap, dog slow 256MB cards people buy based on memory size alone. The best bet on video card is ignore specs and let benchmarks be the judge and go as high as budget allows because the video card makes the most massive difference in gaming. The toms hardware site mentioned earlier has great benchmarks on many games & video cards. The other place not to skimp is the monitor for two reasons: (1) your eyes and (2) it's a component that can transfer to new systems in upcoming years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here all u know 4000 baht it city 2 yrs ago