What spec to upgrade to.

J

John Cross

I currently have a Duron 700/ECS mobo/384MB RAM, 40GB HDD

Motherboard is old (i.e bits now held together with glue). With a clean
install of Windows XP the system is great, but over time slows down (untill
a new install of windows is made)

I am looking for a CHEAP upgrade to replace the mobo and improve speed. I
only use the system for Internet/Excel/Word

A quick look at Ebuyer suggests.

a) keep case/HDD (I have a 40GB and a second spare 60GB unused
boxed)/Graphics Card Radeon 7500
b) replace Mobo with basic Socket A board (something such as PC Chips 811LU)
c) Processor to somthing such as Athlon XP
d) 512MB DDR RAM
e) New Processor cooler -

Is the AMD the most cost effective way to go? What processor speed would be
recommended?
Any recommendations for a cheap mobo?
Anthing else to think of?



Thanks
 
C

Conor

John said:
I currently have a Duron 700/ECS mobo/384MB RAM, 40GB HDD

Motherboard is old (i.e bits now held together with glue). With a clean
install of Windows XP the system is great, but over time slows down (untill
a new install of windows is made)

I am looking for a CHEAP upgrade to replace the mobo and improve speed. I
only use the system for Internet/Excel/Word

A quick look at Ebuyer suggests.

a) keep case/HDD (I have a 40GB and a second spare 60GB unused
boxed)/Graphics Card Radeon 7500
b) replace Mobo with basic Socket A board (something such as PC Chips 811LU)
c) Processor to somthing such as Athlon XP
d) 512MB DDR RAM
e) New Processor cooler -

Is the AMD the most cost effective way to go? What processor speed would be
recommended?
Any recommendations for a cheap mobo?
Anthing else to think of?
Keep exactly what you have now. The problem isn't the hardware but the
amount of clutter in Windows that you end up with. Stick some more RAM
in but really I wouldn't bother above that.
 
J

John Cross

Keep exactly what you have now. The problem isn't the hardware but the
amount of clutter in Windows that you end up with. Stick some more RAM
in but really I wouldn't bother above that.

I have tried to declutter - but still the system slows, and only a clean
install helps.

The mobo needs replacing anyway and memory is held in by one clip/CPU fan
shot full of dust etc.

May just replace the Mobo, keep the duron 700 and add 512MB of RAM. I can
then always swap the processor easily later.
 
G

Gary Tait

I have tried to declutter - but still the system slows, and only a clean
install helps.

The mobo needs replacing anyway and memory is held in by one clip/CPU fan
shot full of dust etc.

May just replace the Mobo, keep the duron 700 and add 512MB of RAM. I can
then always swap the processor easily later.

Turn off indexing and themes.
 
A

Alex Fraser

John Cross said:
I have tried to declutter - but still the system slows, and only a clean
install helps.

Conor is right. Windows slowing down is a function of what you do with the
system - mostly what software you install and/or have running. It's a
mystery to me why it happens, and a bigger mystery why it doesn't seem to
happen (or at least, not to the same degree) on my home and work systems.
The mobo needs replacing anyway and memory is held in by one clip/CPU fan
shot full of dust etc.

May just replace the Mobo, keep the duron 700 and add 512MB of RAM. I can
then always swap the processor easily later.

That sounds reasonable. I'd go for a "decent" brand motherboard (eg Asus,
Abit) rather than PC Chips.

Alex
 
W

Wes Newell

I have tried to declutter - but still the system slows, and only a clean
install helps.

The mobo needs replacing anyway and memory is held in by one clip/CPU fan
shot full of dust etc.
The clip doesn't matter. Take the fan off the cooler and clean it with a
brush/vacum or then take the HS off and wash it good.
May just replace the Mobo, keep the duron 700 and add 512MB of RAM. I
can then always swap the processor easily later.

If the speed loss is caused by swapping, then add ram, if not, then just
upgrade the cpu to a 2400+ XP. There's no need to replace the MB. You may
want to replace the cooler, and you may need a larger PSU depending on
what you have now.
 
M

Mac Cool

John Cross said:
I am looking for a CHEAP upgrade to replace the mobo and improve
speed. I only use the system for Internet/Excel/Word

You can get an Asus board and XP2000 processor combo from
http://www.tcwo.com/ for around $130; Biostar combo for $112.

If you want dirt cheap, check pricewatch.com for XP2000 combos around $80.
 

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