Upgrading PC

[FCW]

Hello

I have to change a defect motherboard in my PC. I'm going for budget
version:

Asus K8N, nForce3 250, Socket-754, ATX
SATA/ATA, LAN, DDR, AGP8x
AMD Sempron 2800+ 1.6GHz Socket 754,
256KB, BOXED


Cost about 1000NOK/ 150$

Original config was: PIII 800Mhz, some Compaq motherboard(?), Nvidia TNT2 32
Mb and 256 SDRAM

New config: I'm installing leftover parts,1Gb DDR Ram and a Nvidia
Geforce5600 256Mb in addition to processor and motherbooard mentioned above.

Will the AMD/Asus combo make a significant improvement in performance
compared to PIII/unknown??

I'm donating this PC to my daughter, will it be suitable for some PC games
(The SIMS 2 etc.)??

Thanx
FCW

 

[philo]

Hello

I have to change a defect motherboard in my PC. I'm going for budget
version:

Asus K8N, nForce3 250, Socket-754, ATX
SATA/ATA, LAN, DDR, AGP8x
AMD Sempron 2800+ 1.6GHz Socket 754,
256KB, BOXED


Cost about 1000NOK/ 150$

Original config was: PIII 800Mhz, some Compaq motherboard(?), Nvidia TNT2 32
Mb and 256 SDRAM

New config: I'm installing leftover parts,1Gb DDR Ram and a Nvidia
Geforce5600 256Mb in addition to processor and motherbooard mentioned above.

Will the AMD/Asus combo make a significant improvement in performance
compared to PIII/unknown??

<snip>

What's your OS?

If using XP or win2k you will need to perform a repair installation if you
plan to use the same HD.
XP will require a re-activation.

If you are using Win98 there will be other problems

 

[kony]

Hello

I have to change a defect motherboard in my PC. I'm going for budget
version:

Asus K8N, nForce3 250, Socket-754, ATX
SATA/ATA, LAN, DDR, AGP8x
AMD Sempron 2800+ 1.6GHz Socket 754,
256KB, BOXED


Cost about 1000NOK/ 150$

Original config was: PIII 800Mhz, some Compaq motherboard(?), Nvidia TNT2 32
Mb and 256 SDRAM

If it's a Compaq case, it may not have sufficient airflow
unless modified. Particularly some might have a reasonable
exhaust fan but nowhere near enough air intake in the front.

New config: I'm installing leftover parts,1Gb DDR Ram and a Nvidia
Geforce5600 256Mb in addition to processor and motherbooard mentioned above.

The original Compaq power supply might be marginal to
unworkable with the new parts.

Will the AMD/Asus combo make a significant improvement in performance
compared to PIII/unknown??

Yes, though today the 5600 video card will bottleneck the
rest of the system.

I'm donating this PC to my daughter, will it be suitable for some PC games
(The SIMS 2 etc.)??

Not having tried to play that game nor even knowing what
others you might try, on a GF5600, it's a bit hard to know
for sure - even moreso without knowing the monitor
resolution you'd use.

It will be a substantial upgrade but ultimately for best
gaming experience a newer video card would be chosen.

The remaining question is how many years you hope to get out
of the system. If more than 2, I'd think about a PCI
Express platform and newer video card now.

 

[jaster]

Hello

I have to change a defect motherboard in my PC. I'm going for budget
version:

Asus K8N, nForce3 250, Socket-754, ATX SATA/ATA, LAN, DDR, AGP8x
AMD Sempron 2800+ 1.6GHz Socket 754,
256KB, BOXED


Cost about 1000NOK/ 150$

Original config was: PIII 800Mhz, some Compaq motherboard(?), Nvidia TNT2
32 Mb and 256 SDRAM

New config: I'm installing leftover parts,1Gb DDR Ram and a Nvidia
Geforce5600 256Mb in addition to processor and motherbooard mentioned
above.

Will the AMD/Asus combo make a significant improvement in performance
compared to PIII/unknown??

I'm donating this PC to my daughter, will it be suitable for some PC games
(The SIMS 2 etc.)??

Thanx
FCW

Yes should work for Sims 2, MySpace, IM, etc.
I think you could do better on the m/b cpu combo look again. I've seen
AMD 64 3800 for 150$ with not ASUS m/b. What about HD, DVD-RW?

Hell they're selling computers for 150$. You can
get a Dell or HP fully loaded for 399$ with warranty etc.
http://shop1.outpost.com/search?cat=-46590&pType=pDisplay