ok, hopefully soon a bonus is due at work, meaning its upgrade time!

currently:

1.5 ghtz pro,
geforce 4 ti-4200
40 g HD
512 off fairly cheap and nasty RAM..blah..

it's a packard bell (i think..i'm at work..), and i'm planning to change the mobo to a N2 for a athlon 2600+ or greater, plus to a 9700 pro if i can stretch that far. oh, and a second HD since the current one is getting a tad full.

basically, could someone please let me know how to go about changing the mobo, processor and how to get the other HD in there. (ie, is there a spare power lead for it, or do you have to fit one?)

i can take a picture of the innards if that helps, is it worth doing this or doing the whole thing from scratch or just say bollox and buy a new one.

oh, and i would like another fan in there to keep the damn thing cooler..

if anyone knows about all this or can suggest a book or website than i'd really be grateful, i know shit on the subject.

Id say you need a Processor RAM, something nice but cheap like an AMD.

I am a hardware newb. Sorry.

thats ok, i was mainly trying to ask whether i can cannibalise bits from the old one like the cd-r, floppy, power supply, case etc or is it better to just start fresh. (along with the other questions.. )

CPU's are relatibely easy (i think), just unclip, remove and replace.

Just make sure that the mobo is compatible with the new CPU.

As for HD's, they are also easy (i think) Just remove the old and replace with the new. They all have the same kinda cable anyway.

yeah, i've ear marked a mobo, but i wanted a second HD with the first, not to replace it. i'm not sure what you do about cables in that situation.

and if you change the mobo, do you have to reinstall the os, etc or does it just pick up from where it was? i guess you need a driver or something for the mobo...

wow, you guys yak alot.

Anyway.... you have a packard bell? OEM cases tend to be flaky... ie, low quality and may not be quite standard. IE, a new mobo may not fit in your current case.

Personally, I'll buy a new case. You can get a good case for ~$80. Just take some time picking one. Antec is really good, IMO.

Anyway, yes you can pull out your old components. Sound card (if it isn't integrated into the motherboard), vid card, cd-rom(s), hard drive, floppy, etc. So, you won't really have to buy much other than a case, motherboard and processor.

You're look at an NForce2 board? Good choice. What kind of RAM do you currently have in your computer? NForce2 supports DDR RAM... looking at your current computer's stats, it may just be running single data rate, so you may want to look into getting new RAM. additionally, an nforce2 board has 2 memory controllers... so, buying 2 sticks of RAM will double your theoretical memory throughput, since each stick can be addressed separately and at the same time.

blah....ermm... HD. You will need to format your hard drive. Windows won't run if you just move the HD over. The reason is you'll be running on completely new hardware, and windows'll get stuck on trying to initialize hardware that doesn't exist. There are (sorta) ways around this, but honestly your best bet is to back up everything you want to keep to CDR, then wipe the drive.

alrighty then... anything else?

good stuff satis, thanks.

erm..yeah, looking at an Nforce 2 mobo, an asus a7n8x delux. i've read magazines recommending it for athlon cpu's, and heard of the 2 x identicle banks of RAM, supposed to run faster. the ram i have at the mo is sd, cheap crap really, so gotta change it.

one other question really, i've heard that faster processors need a higher wattage power supply than the slower ones, is this correct? and if it is can you suggest a supply for a athlon 2700+? thanks again.

heh... you want my mobo. I have an Asus A7N8X 2.0 deluxe. XP 2400+ though.

Anyway, in today's world, I wouldn't go with anything less than a 350watt power supply. 400 is better. I don't think you'd need anything more than that. If you can find an Antec one, they're not too expensive (I bought a 350watt for about $80) and they're very reliable. Someone did a review of PS's and Antec came out near the top. Some other vendors are REALLY bad... like, advertise 450watt but only deliver 375 or whatever.

OH, and it's not really the CPU that needs the power. Especially with a Barton core, the CPU doesn't draw too much juice. The main need is for your addon cards, like video (especially video), sound, hard drives, cd-roms, etc. They're what really draw the most juice.

great stuff man, thanks, if you where closer some beer would be on the way.

found this. whaddya think?

http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer/pro ... 28&cat=285

excellent choice. My 1.2ghz machine is housed in an Antec case (performance series, though they look very similar). Actually, reading the specs this is a superior case to what I have.

WTF is VAT? Anyway, if you can cough up the cash, I think you'd be doing pretty well.

VAT stands for Value Added Tax, its a bitch! we pay it on EVERYTHING! its basically 17% (i think) of the price of the goods added on, whch goes to our stinking govement. blah..

holy shit, 17%? Kinda like a sales tax, I take it? Christ, that's ungodly. Sales tax here varies from county to county, but where I am it's about 8.25% I believe. If someone tried to jack it up to 17% I think there'd be some serious, erm, difficulties.

idd, its the problem with this country, we all just role over and let them screw us.

even the damn french kick up all kinds of trouble if their goverment messes with their shit.

ahem..computers, yeah..