computer upgrade recommendations, more help

[tire]

Greg TehStang is giving me his old computer, it is:

"It's a PIII 500Mhz with 256Mb of ram and a 6 or a 10Gb hard drive in it. Video card is (I think) an ATI Rage3D with like 8 or 16Mb of ram on it (not too bad).. It has sound and all that crap too. It's not a bad system at all."

It has three slots for RAM and I have two 256k sticks and it has right now two 128mb sticks. Will I need another motherboard to run 128+256+256 = 640mb ram? Iif not, what is the max it could take before it fries or it is dangerous? I don't want to destroy this computer because I'm memory greedy.

Video cards on newegg.com are cheap, like less than 40 for a 32/64mb one. Is that really recommended on a 500mhz computer though?

I have a 4gb hd and there is a 6 or 10gb one coming with the computer. Can I run a third if I buy it, or is that a bad idea? Which should I put all the important files on, the small hd or the big one?

Could I cut a hole in the case that it is in and put a piece of plexiglass or something I buy at Home Depot to pimp it out? Any suggestions so I don't fugger something up?

Thanks in advance y'all.

[Dom]

Quote: Could I cut a hole in the case that it is in and put a piece of plexiglass or something I buy at Home Depot to pimp it out? Any suggestions so I don't fugger something up?

That I can help you on. Yes you can. StreetGlow even makes neons to throw off in there.

[Thomas91169]

goddamn matt im gonna give you the name of "Mr. Neon" dude you gotta stop looking at all the neon sites. a few neons to light up the dark areas of your car is cool but neons in the computer cars is just straight nerdy/geeky.

[dark]

actually, it would be cheaper to buy compatible parts online and build your own computer than even attempt to keep anything less than a p4 running smoothly. driver support is dwindling and your motherboard can only be upgraded so far. i believe the p3 500mhz motherboard only accepts 512mb of ram. and it's extremely difficult to pull your processor and reprogram your BIOS for a new one. and the graphics card you mentioned is decent, but again, it's support is dwindling. and the newer ones likely won't run well on a p3 500mhz system...

now, i'm actually buying parts i need for a custom system i'm going to build... i'm shopping through www.directron.com ...but for prices, i look at www.pricewatch.com to catch better deals... here's what you'll need for a brand spanking new system with decent balls...

motherboard... i recommend anything Abit... personally i'm getting the Abit IC7-MAX3 motherboard... great motherboard, top of the line... 202$ on directron.com *it's the newest motherboard, only out a month*

processor... the motherboard i mentioned can handle any p4 processor starting at 2.4 ghz w/hyperthreading (which is what i'm getting) ...don't waste money getting a 3 gig processor, cuz most home programs don't use more power than 2 ghz. they take all the ram they can get. so get 2.4 or 2.6 ghz... *you can have directron.com add this onto your motherboard for a small fee. kind of a package deal*

ram... unless you're doing digital video editing, you don't need more than 512mb of ram, though the motherboard i suggested can take up to 4 gigs... but i'd recommend Kingston Tech ram, 512mb - 1 gig *you can also have this added on by directron.com. it brings the price of the motherboard up to 475$ for a p4 2.4ghz with 512mb of ram*

hard drive... the motherboard i suggested runs with encrypted serial ATA connections, not the old school IDE flat cable.. this means you'll need an SATA specific hard drive. i'd recommend a Seagate SATA hard drive. 80 gigs should do nicely if you want a single drive... otherwise get a 40 gig as your system drive and a 100 gig as your storage drive...

cd burner... pretty much pick and choose, i'd say a plextor or an LG brand

sound card... DON'T buy creative soundblaster. they're ass... get yourself a nice Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card... they're so much nicer (though the Abit motherboard does have integrated sound, i haven't heard anything about it in that area

graphics card... if you do a lot of gaming and demand performance. get a 128mb ati radeon... the 9600 or 9800 series are nice... BUT, if you're not a hardcore gamer, then you really don't need all that, get a 9500 or 9600 64mb ati radeon. it's cheaper and just as realiable. don't get a geforce. they have horrible driver support

case... it's pretty much limited to what will fit your motherboard. the MB i suggested will fit in an ATX compatible mid-tower. they run from $50- 200, so take your pic

this is all just suggestions and advice on my part. building your own system can be as cheap as $400 and as expensive as you want to get. the parts i mentioned add up to about $1000. and obviously you'd still need software (if you know someone that has extra licenses, see if they'll give you a few) but considering that the p3 is rapidly loosing support and will demand constant attention to keep up, building your own system is an attractive enterprise

peaces

[dark]

^wow, i typed a novel

[Dom]

Quote: Originally Posted by TbirdMan91169 goddamn matt im gonna give you the name of "Mr. Neon" dude you gotta stop looking at all the neon sites. a few neons to light up the dark areas of your car is cool but neons in the computer cars is just straight nerdy/geeky.

I went to the StreetGlow site ONE time and saw them on there. :oops:

[Fishers Stang]

www.xoxide.com Thats what I use to get things, and on the neon lights... they look cool in the computer. NOT ON CARS.

[Zim]

i like them on cars (done right)

[Dom]

http://www.streetglow.com/products/pc-neon.htm

:twisted:

[SpectorV]

buy a new motherboard, processor, ram, video card, pci sound card, power supply, and a cd rom, and also a bigger hard drive and probably a new tower..... well heck just buy another tower and start from scratch. I spend 500 bucks + 200 for the video card and got a 2.8amd with a nice 128ddr vid card and 1024 ddr ram with it.

[tire]

thanks for the help guys. i got bigger concerns now than a computer though.