A true challenge.

[Mico]

I don't know if it is even possible but Im going to let some of you experts have a shot at it:
My old PC is thus:
300Meg Petium (I dont know the number )
2.1 Gig Harddrive
An old a** AOpen motherboard
Windows 95

Is there anyway I could get this with a 1+ Gig CPU, a GeForce2 or 3 quality Graphics card, a larger Harddrive, and windows XP for less than $500

 

[Mico]

Or maybe a cheaper operating system?

 

[Bigsexy]

You should ask a moderator to move this thread to "General Hardware" section....

 

[garasaki]

I don't even understand the question! But you could certainly get that computer for less then 500, except the OS....

 

[Mr. Chambers]

I don't know if it is even possible but Im going to let some of you experts have a shot at it:
My old PC is thus:
300Meg Petium (I dont know the number )
2.1 Gig Harddrive
An old a** AOpen motherboard
Windows 95

Is there anyway I could get this with a 1+ Gig CPU, a GeForce2 or 3 quality Graphics card, a larger Harddrive, and windows XP for less than $500

if you mean you want to try and upgrade what you've got there, then forget about it. it would cost way too much, you wouldn't be able to reach the speeds you wanted, and i would imagine you'd get more headache than happieness just save up, and buy a new machine.. you'll be glad you did!

now if you want a NEW system with those specs thats VERY possible, although like someone said alittle close with the OS added in. i'd say around 500-600 for a very decent machine very similar to those specs if not better. heres what i came up with VERY quickly from www.newegg.com

I don't know if it is even possible but Im going to let some of you experts have a shot at it:
My old PC is thus:
300Meg Petium (I dont know the number )
2.1 Gig Harddrive
An old a** AOpen motherboard
Windows 95

Is there anyway I could get this with a 1+ Gig CPU, a GeForce2 or 3 quality Graphics card, a larger Harddrive, and windows XP for less than $500

if you mean you want to try and upgrade what you've got there, then forget about it. it would cost way too much, you wouldn't be able to reach the speeds you wanted, and i would imagine you'd get more headache than happieness

now if you want a NEW system with those specs thats VERY possible, although like someone said alittle close with the OS added in. i'd say around 500-600 for a very decent machine very similar to those specs if not better.

Maxtop ATX Case
350w Power Supply
Sony 52x CD-ROM
Seagate Barracuda IV 40gb Hard Drive
Crucial 256mb 2100 DDR RAM
Shuttle AK 31A Motherboard
AMD Athlon 1600+
ATI Radeon 8500LE
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

now granted this game alittle over your budget at $563.97, but that includes the price of shipping to northern iowa i think that would be a very nice upgrade from what you're using there!

note that the only difference between a radeon 8500 retail and the LE models is clock/mem speeds, which you can USUALLY overclock and achieve retail speeds with the le's no problem. hope that helps you out a bit

[edit]
ah tracert has brought to my attention that i left out a cooler! haha.. i would go with his for the money, or if you plan on ocing it abit, try the thermaltake AX-7 with a nice sunon fan for the best quiet/performance ratio

 

[Tracert]

Here is what I would do in your shoes.

I would use the CDROM, Floppy drive, Case, Monitor, Keyboard, and mouse you currently use. Then if you wanted to start with an AMD system I would get this from newegg,

SOLTEK SL-75DRV5 (Purple Ray) VIA KT333 - $88.00
ATI RADEON 8500LE 64MB DDR CRT/DVI/TV - $87.00
AMD Athlon 1600+/266 FSB XP PROCESSOR CPU - $67.00
Samsung Original DDR333 PC-2700 256MB CAS2.5 - $85.00
MAXTOR Quiet Drive 40GB 7200RPM - $78.00
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition - $90.00
Thermaltake VOLCANO 6Cu. Heatsink - $11.00

Total price is $506.00. This system should Overclock very well and you will be able to upgrade quite a ways before having to change everything out again. Here is a link to the list I put together for you,

http://www.newegg.com/app/WishList.asp?position=HISTORY&submit=VIEW&ID=139246

But if you want an Intel based system then might I suggest the following,

ABIT Model SR7-8X, SIS648 Based socket 478 Pentium® 4 ATX Mainboard, 8X AGP - $108.00
ATI RADEON 8500LE 64MB DDR CRT/DVI/TV - $87.00
Intel Celeron (Pentium 4 based) 1.7GHz 128K 400MHz FSB mPGA 478 Pin Processor Retail Boxed Version - $91.00
Samsung Original DDR333 PC-2700 256MB CAS2.5 - $85.00
SAMSUNG 40GB 7200RPM Model# SP4002H - $72.00
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition - $90.00

Total cost is $533.00 but again the overclocking potential and upgrade path is very good with this setup. You can find the link to this equipment here,

http://www.newegg.com/app/WishList.asp?position=HISTORY&submit=VIEW&ID=139244

Both these systems are slightly over what you wanted but I figured you would be able to sell your old CPU, HDD, Memory, and Motherboard to recover the cost over the $500.00.

That's my suggestion for you, hopefully some others might have some too.

EDIT -> Must have been typing this while you posted Mr. Chambers, Good choices. I guess we think alike.

 

[Cisco Kid]

nice system you slapped together Mr. Chambers

save up and buy that bad boy you will be happy you did

 

[Mico]

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!! I have never Oc'ed before and I think I may start on this system...I will need some help though...any pages on how to OC an AMD?

 

[Bigsexy]

I think you´ll find help in the "AMD CPU" section! Take a look at the "stickied" threads!

e.g.

The 'OFFICIAL' Thread on unlocking AMD CPUs!

or

AMD CPU FAQ

 

[Maxvla]

surprised no-one suggested the durons. you can get 1ghz for like 35 bucks. plus an ak31a for 60. thats less than 100 bucks for the mainboard and chip.

 

[Tracert]

surprised no-one suggested the durons. you can get 1ghz for like 35 bucks. plus an ak31a for 60. thats less than 100 bucks for the mainboard and chip.

I know... but he gave us $500.00!! So being the way we are.. we want him to spend a little more!

 

[Maxvla]

I know... but he gave us $500.00!! So being the way we are.. we want him to spend a little more!

yeah... more is definately good

 

[Penguin4x4]

P3 866s are [email protected]. OCs an average of 1020.

 

[garasaki]

Unless you're an Intel lover, why would you spend 118 on a P3 when you can get an XP1600+ for 65 shipped???

Just don't make any sense...unless you're lookin to build a silent system and find the low heat output of the P3 appealling

 

[Penguin4x4]

Just add

Windows XP Home OEM - 80-95
40GB Seagate Barracuda 60-80
Radeon 8500LE 128 90-150

And he's done,

 

[garasaki]

Ohhhh, I see what you're saying. Just get a new cpu. I forgot this guy was actually starting with something!!

That's not a bad plan then. Negates the need for new ram and mobo. But is not a huge performance gain either (compared with what the new system would be)

 

[Tracert]

I don't know... I would still consider it huge performance gane. Just only half as huge as the previous suggestions. Plus the fact that your really not spending that much more to get Twice the performance gane as compared to the P3 option.

If your saying that $500.00 is too much then you can do a K7S5A and 1600Xp for about the same price as the P3 866 by itself, and no matter how far you OC that p3 you wont come near the performance of the AMD.

You forgot the RAM Penguin, because he is probably running 66Mhz and if your lucky he might have 100Mhz Ram but still too slow to run at 133 FSB so he would have to buy ram for either system, and if I am buying RAM... my money would go to DDR, not SDR.

So in the end you would spend the same on both setups. And the AMD is much better.

 

[funnyperson1]

Just add

Windows XP Home OEM - 80-95
40GB Seagate Barracuda 60-80
Radeon 8500LE 128 90-150

And he's done,

first of all, there may not be an AGP slot on a PII300mhz, and a 40gb hdd would be severely castrated by ATA33...i think he should get the whole new system....

and if you want to save many, theres not much the XP does that Win98SE cant do....you could save lots of money by buying a used copy of SE from someone rather than shell out 100$ for WinXP....

 

[Tracert]

I didn't even think of the used arena... good point funnyperson1.

I should have thought of that since I bought my 1800+ about 6 months ago for $75.00 (used) and traded some work for my video card. In fact the only thing I bought new in my system is my Motherboard, floppy, HDD, mouse, and case.

Everything else came from wheeling and dealing.

 

[attack]

yeah I agree with the XP1600 AK31 and others...I would try to find a copy win2k or 98se that someone isn't using anymore...I know a lot of people who buy the full newest OS that's out, and it's legal too as long as that one CD key is on one computer at a time...that's how I got win2k pro