Page 1 of Upgrade advice...

At the moment I am running Windows XP Home using an ASRock K7VM2 (3.0) motherboard with 1.4GHz AMD Duron processor, 512MB of RAM and 32MB onboard graphics.

The system generally runs fine despite being outdated. However, it is beginning to struggle with some applications, i.e. QuickTime, iTunes, Adobe Flash, video playback, etc.

I cannot afford a brand new system at the moment but I can afford to make one or two upgrades.

The motherboard can support up to an AMD Athlon XP 2600 processor, 2GB of DDR RAM and AGP x4 graphics.

Recommendations?

Regards,
Adam

a rough budget would be really helpfull. if we`re talking £100-£150 then you can make some big shakes, any less, & your just doing a patch job, which over the long term (6 to 12 months) isn`t economical.

also, play games ? do video conversion etc ? or is a better cpu + newer mobo with onboard graphics enough ?

I have a budget of about £100.

I use the computer for browsing the Internet, word processing and watching the odd video, etc. I don't use it for playing games.

I would simply like to get the best upgrade (or replacement) possible for £100.

Regards,
Adam

Happy new year Adam,

Looking at the spec that you list.
512 MB of memory. I`d seriously think about hikeing that up as high as you can, but stop at 2GB. At the moment you are relying a lot on a huge page or spap file curtousey of the hard drive. Crucial`s web site has a memory analiser to show you what you need.

Jemma

Given your budget Adam there aren`t many options.
From what I can see you can`t easily get a new motherboard to use with your existing CPU.

Memory may help, but may not make that much of a difference.
However, I think I have 512Mb of PC2100 (266Mhz) memory sitting on my desk at home which you are welcome to have (no money needed).

I also think that onboard gfx tend to be rubbish and do impede the system somewhat...so a cheap AGP card might help a little. You may even be able to cadge one from someone on here :D (Can`t remember if I have any spares at home).

You could pick up a better processor for under £20...which would obviously make things a bit faster.
cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-AMD-Athlon-XP-2600-AXDA2600DKV3C-266MHZ_W0QQitemZ270200079743QQihZ017QQcategoryZ44935QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Just be aware that with any CPU or Gfx card upgrade if you`re using Windows XP (OEM version) it will try to re-authenticate. This may/may not be an issue for you.

I`ll check out the memory that`s at home, just let me know if you`re interested in it.

Miles

this CPU, @ £54.86 Inc VAT http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=632503
& this motherboard, @ £35.24 Inc VAT http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=576193
& this memory @ £15.73 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=202604

i picked the 2 sticks of matched 512 meg memory instead of 1 x 1gig stick becuase this way it`ll run dual channel mode.

this is about a fiver over your £100, but it is effevtively a totaly new computer, placed inside your current case & using you existing storage media, & whilst this isn`t what you wouls call "top end"
it`s still quite a few generation ahead of your current system, & for the £105ish pounds, your getting a duall core 64bit cpu, newer faster DDR2 memory, + the ability to upgrade to Pci-E graphics, Sata hard drive, etc.

as it stands, the motherboard i linked to has onboard VGA + sound (newer than your current onboard gfx) & should work fine inside your existing case, your psu would idealy need to be a minimum of 250watts (preff 300 +)

as miles says, onboard vga is not ideal, BUT as your not a gamer, then it`s not really an issue in your case.

hope this helps.