On the cheap

[Ruel Smith]

Hi, I'm trying to increase performance using secondhand parts and I'd be
grateful for advice. Motherboard is EPOX EP-8KTA+
AMD Duron 700
256 RAM
nVIDIA GeForce 2 MX Graphics card

My question is, can I get a worthwhile performance increase my fitting a
faster processor, more RAM, faster graphics card?
(I am OK slotting in parts but not confident to change mobo)

Yes. XP likes 512MB memory or better. Anything less, and you could be using
virtual memory sometimes, slowing your performance down due to disk access.
Also, the difference in price of an Athlon XP and Duron at similar GHz, is
so minimal that it doesn't justify buying the lesser processor, IMO. As far
as the video card in question, it depends on what you want to do with it.
If you just do some Office apps and surf the web and such, the video card
you mention is fine, since pretty much all cards have neglible differences
in 2D rendering speed. However, if you game much, you'll want a better
graphics card. If you shop well, you'll find a good deal on a better
graphics card. My brother bought an ATi 9600 card for $70 after rebates
right off the shelf from Best Buy. That card is definitely faster than the
GeForce 2 card you mention. Besides, those cards you mention are 64MB cards
and are almost $50. For just a little more, you can get a GeForce FX5200
card, which will perform a bit better. Lastly, if you want future
upgradability, which will save you money in the long run, you might look at
a board with at least a KT600 chipset to run the faster FSB. It supports
the slower bus that the Epox board does, as well as the 333 MHz bus. Even
newer chipsets would be better, but you might be getting into some money...

 

[Jerry and Ce]

Hi, I'm trying to increase performance using secondhand parts and I'd be grateful for advice.
Motherboard is EPOX EP-8KTA+
AMD Duron 700
256 RAM
nVIDIA GeForce 2 MX Graphics card

My question is, can I get a worthwhile performance increase my fitting a faster processor, more RAM,
faster graphics card?
(I am OK slotting in parts but not confident to change mobo)

Thanks for any help.

 

[Dave C.]

Hi, I'm trying to increase performance using secondhand parts and I'd be
grateful for advice.
Motherboard is EPOX EP-8KTA+
AMD Duron 700
256 RAM
nVIDIA GeForce 2 MX Graphics card

My question is, can I get a worthwhile performance increase my fitting a
faster processor, more RAM,
faster graphics card?
(I am OK slotting in parts but not confident to change mobo)

Thanks for any help.

Your board only goes up to 1100MHz. If you replace the CPU, you won't
notice a difference at all. If you are running any OS later than Windows
ME, you will get a performance boost by upgrading to 512MB of RAM. HOWEVER,
it wouldn't be worth it to try, unless your 256MB of RAM that you already
own is ONE STICK. Even then, 256MB of SDRAM would not be a good investment,
as it can NOT be used in your next system. Your motherboard doesn't support
any current video card.

Basically, you can't improve performance without changing the motherboard.

I'd suggest you look into a barebone system for an upgrade. That is, a
system that comes with case, power supply, mainboard and CPU already
assembled. Even if you were comfortable changing the motherboard, it's
practically guaranteed that your current power supply is too weak to survive
any upgrade. OH, you will also need a new video card (your current card
won't work on any decent motherboard) and new RAM (your current RAM won't
work on any decent motherboard) The only components you could recycle from
your current system would be the hard drive and any optical drives. Even
those you might want to upgrade. (larger hard drive, DVD-RW?)

If you are serious about getting better performance, you need to start over,
basically. -Dave

 

[Jerry and Ce]

Dave, thanks very much for your help, looks like I need to save up some money.
Jerry

 

[Dave C.]

Dave, thanks very much for your help, looks like I need to save up some
money.
Jerry

No problem. Just hate to be the bearer of bad news. -Dave

 

[ToolPackinMama]

I'd suggest you look into a barebone system for an upgrade. That is, a
system that comes with case, power supply, mainboard and CPU already
assembled. Even if you were comfortable changing the motherboard, it's
practically guaranteed that your current power supply is too weak to survive
any upgrade. OH, you will also need a new video card (your current card
won't work on any decent motherboard) and new RAM (your current RAM won't
work on any decent motherboard) The only components you could recycle from
your current system would be the hard drive and any optical drives. Even
those you might want to upgrade. (larger hard drive, DVD-RW?)

If you are serious about getting better performance, you need to start over,
basically. -Dave

I agree, but you can do that cheaply. Newegg.com will sell you an
inexpensive case with power supply, and there are many nice all-in-one
motherboards that are very inexpensive. You could get a decent mobo
with onboard vid/sound, and as long as it also has a AGP slot and maybe
a couple of PCI slots you can upgrade to better add-in vid and sound
later.

Installing a motherboard in a new case is not really super complicated.
I like to place the CPU/heatsink and RAM into the motherboard before I
install the motherboard into the case. Sometimes it's a good idea to
put the drives into their bays first, too.

Buying a pre-assembled barebone is a good idea if you really don't want
to bother with such details. Guys who will sell you such a system will
test it before they send it to you.

 

[Al Smith]

I'd suggest you look into a barebone system for an upgrade. That is, a

I agree, but you can do that cheaply. Newegg.com will sell you an
inexpensive case with power supply, and there are many nice all-in-one
motherboards that are very inexpensive. You could get a decent mobo
with onboard vid/sound, and as long as it also has a AGP slot and maybe
a couple of PCI slots you can upgrade to better add-in vid and sound
later.

Tiger Direct has some good deals on bare bones systems if you
don't mind taking second-generation motherboards or slightly odd
configurations.

 

[Mac Cool]

Jerry and Ce:

Motherboard is EPOX EP-8KTA+
AMD Duron 700
256 RAM
nVIDIA GeForce 2 MX Graphics card

My question is, can I get a worthwhile performance increase my
fitting a faster processor, more RAM, faster graphics card?

Yes. I once was in a similiar position and upgraded from a 700Mhz Duron
to a 1.3Ghz Athlon, doubled the RAM from 256 to 512MB and bought a
Geforce3 Ti200 video card; the performance increase was substantial.

If you're not a gamer, keep the video card you have. If you do want a
new card, shop around for a Geforce4 Ti4200 or 4600, you should be able
to find one for around $50. (The Geforce4 Ti cards are faster than the
low end GeforceFX cards) I don't recommend a Geforce3 Ti card unless you
get it cheap (>$25), just because they are typically loud as hell and
are only $15-20 less than a Geforce4.

According to the Epox website, your system only accepts up to a 1Ghz
Athlon, BUT, I had a KT133 based motherboard that would actually accept
up to a 1.4Ghz Athlon. You may have to upgrade the bios, check the Epox
website for instruction.

IMO, when upgrading older systems like yours, you are better off buying
the parts used (check ebay). Just check the seller's feedback carefully.

 

[Jerry and Ce]

Thanks for all advice so far guys, even though there seems to be a difference of opinion as to
whether I can get an improvement by changing CPU, RAM, graphics, or not.
Nothing is ever simple. Sigh.
Jerry.

 

[Same Guy]

Mon, 4 Oct 2004 08:42:30 +0100: written by "Jerry and Ce"

Thanks for all advice so far guys, even though there seems to be a difference of opinion as to
whether I can get an improvement by changing CPU, RAM, graphics, or not.
Nothing is ever simple. Sigh.

It all depends upon what you are doing with your computer. For me, I
d/l GBs of files at a time, so I noticed a far greater increase in
performance when I upped the RAM to 1GB.

 

[Mac Cool]

Jerry and Ce:

there seems to be a difference of opinion as to
whether I can get an improvement by changing CPU, RAM, graphics, or not.

If you double your CPU speed, double your RAM and buy a faster video card,
you will see a significant increase in performance no matter what you are
using the computer for. It's common sense and I've done it.

Yes, you will get an even greater increase in performance if you upgrade
the motherboard, it all depends on your budget.