Upgrade Question: Is it possible?

[arcenite]

I have a ~$200usd budget. For the past 3 years I have been upgrading everything in my HP system. Now comes the real test. It is time for me to upgrade cpu/mobo/ram(faster). I also think I may need a case, but would like to avoid buying one, as I am sure there are other mobo's out there with the same specs as mine. I am not sure exactly what it is, but my system is an HP 8760c, and I could not get ANY mobo specs out of HP except for the fact that it's built by ASUS and has some subtitle Pegasus/Asustek. I guess my first question is, is there any motherboard that can handle today's (1.5ghz+) processors that would fit in this case? The mobo has onboard video, 2 usb (in the back), 1 serial, ps2 mouse/kb, and a printer port. The case itself has room for 7 expansion slots. It is an ATX style computer.

My second question is, what is the best deal I can get on a mobo/cpu/ram (pref 512). If I am stuck with a pc133 board, I do not need ram because i have 768mb of it right now. I know this one might be hard, but any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Bill

 

[LaxMan]

My guess is that you should be fine as long as u have an adequate/compatible PSU.

 

[arcenite]

I have an aftermarket 400w PSU in there, it seems fine.

Bill

 

[arcenite]

^

 

[Lord Evermore]

What else more do you want, somebody said yes it will work.

Just look at the mounting holes where the current board is. If they're standard ATX holes, it'll fit. Given that it's an Asus-made board, it's probably standard ATX. Most OEM's stopped using severely proprietary boards for their "mass market" systems a long time ago. At most, the back panel layout might be wrong, but most motherboards come with a replacement panel anyway, as several boards now use non-standard layouts on the back. Just make sure your back panel is removable, and if not, use a cutter to remove it entirely (it doesn't DO anything, at worst you might get a little more dust in the case, or it might help cooling).

Your best deal for motherboards is probably going to be an ECS K7S5A. It will work with DDR memory or your PC133 if you want to wait a little while to upgrade the memory. It's pretty much the cheapest motherboard you can get, but it's still a decent performer. Get it with an AthlonXP 1700+ or 1800+ for processor (there are combo deals where the prices are very good). Mwave bundles the board with a 1700+ for a total of 112 dollars. That's only like 50 cents less than the price for the two items separately though, so check around for your best price. You might want to verify the back panel too, Newegg's listing for the K7S5A says no back panel is included.

512MB of PC2100 is going to set you back 100 bucks at least (whether two 256MB modules or a single 512MB one), which would hamper your ability to stay on a 200 dollar budget. You can get it slightly cheaper by buying the memory with one of the CPU/mobo bundles.

By the way, your rig page link doesn't work; wrong userID.

 

[arcenite]

Thank you very much for your input. The rig link is fixed

Bill