Replacement PC.

[tonysmith1929]

Hi All, and happy Xmas and new year.
Am thinking about upgrading my tiring HP PC, now nearly 6 years old and slowing a bit.
Should I think in terms of replacing most of guts andkeeping the ATX case, which I like, new mobo,power supply, decent AMD processor, HD, and keep existing three DVD drives, (all good) OR go for a mid range base version complete.
Whichever, I dont need gaming power. 1,2,or quad core processor ?? Which mobo etc to AVOID please. Ditto for decent graphics card. All advise welcome. Note. Already have everything I want to keep on external HD, and got a fresh genuine unused XP disc ready. Cheers.

[UncasMS]

i'd rather select the components myself and upgarde the old one

go for a decent mainboard with and onboard-vga like:
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H

the onboard vga is an ati radeon 4250 which is powerful enough for normal games and of course playback of HD/Blu-ray content

go for an Athlon x4 630, a Phenom II x4 955 or a Hexacore like the Phenom II x6 1075

get 4gb ram like:
Kingston ValueRAM DIMM Kit 4GB PC3-10667U CL9

and make sure your PSU is up2date for the job or get a new/modern one with better efficiency like an Enermax Pro82+ II 425W or Cougar SE 400W

[tonysmith1929]

Thanks, thought that may be best. Will look around for those parts here (UK). Luckily I have also a complete duplicate as a spare in case of trouble !! Will be back when I find bits. Thanks, and happy Xmas.

[UncasMS]

when you decide on a particular mainboard, please make sure (visit the mainboard's website and confer to the memory compatibility list) that the ram module(s) you want to buy will work with that very mobo!

if in doubt, let us know what combo you have in mind and maybe someone here will have information at hand.

but since aou said that you dont want to build a gaming platform, do yourself a favour and go for an IGP/onboard vga as your graphic device because you can save money on the one hand and more importantly you will not have the energy consumption and heat+noise production.

[tonysmith1929]

Hi, found most of those bits at reasonable prices, but the PSU seems a bit pricey, and 80% of info on it is in german, so assume its a german unit. Same output can be got for half the price. Is it worth the difference.
The other point is that the mobo is micro ATX, my case fitting is full ATX. ??????? Thanks.

[UncasMS]

which PSU did you choose?

give me the link to the german site if you like (should be able to read it) and i let you know what it's all about

both enermax as well as cougar are not german brands

i personally use enermax only in my machines - they are pricey but worth every cent

in case you found a different psu and want an opinion on it, give us a link

[tonysmith1929]

Hi, The Enermax seems to be more available here so it will probably be the one.
Was not worried about the German language, can manage most of that, but most suppliers of Cougar seem to be there.
Seems I now have enough to think on, so will start collecting after the holiday. In the meanrtime thank you, happy Xmas....

[UncasMS]

a merry xmas to you too and let us know in case you have any further questions

[tonysmith1929]

Now looking fir these parts, but want full ATX board, not micro. Suggestions ????

[tonysmith1929]

My thanks to Uncas for advice. Due to ongoing eye trouble upgrade will not be happening, but thanks anyway....

[UncasMS]

you're more than welcome

get well soon!

[korkzop]

Is upgrading an old PC worth it?

[admin]

Depends on how old, and what you want the upgraded system to do. Feel free to post some specs here, and also what you want to do with the upgraded system (eg. gaming, video ...)