Sammich

Hey there all. I am in the middle of a build and I am stuck. I have a P4 630 with the 2mb L2 and 800 fsb and all that. I have the case and the optical drives, fans and everything but the 3 most important items.

Power supply
Motherboard
Memory

I am not looking for something directly for gaming. I am a computer programming major trying to minor in game design, so something with nice rendering wouldnt hurt. I do need something that is upgradable should I decide to change processors later on down the road. But it does not have to be gaming oriented. I dont have a budget to replace the processor and the board right now. This is why I am using the P4 processor. I am just so lost when it comes to picking out these 3 items. Basically I need something that could handle light gaming on the weekends, but can handle multitasking with ease using the P4. I do need the board to be able to support 4 case fans though.. and I have a budget of 120$. I am not going to be overclocking...

I really appreciate any input you guys can give, my brain has just turned to mush because of all the studying and I really cant think right now to finish this build. Help me OCN! You're my only hope.

euphoricmix

You should consider selling your P4 on eBay and your existing memory, to generate probably another $70 of budget money. With around $200 you could get into something that will far exceed the $120 you will invest in an outdated motherboard. A motherboard that by the time you want to upgrade the processor you will be looking beyond its capabilities. Heck, you could likely unload the HP Motherboard also for $30 to $40 I bet. But if you want to stick to your original plan you could get:

Super Talent DDR2-667 2x1GB $36
Thermaltake 430W $41
BioStar P4M890 $48

Sorry to get 4 3-pin fan connectors you are going to have to get out of the micro-atx budget, so you will have to put around $70 for a motherboard.

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losttsol

Power supply = Thermaltake TR2 ($41)
Motherboard = Gigabyte EP35-DS3L ($90)
Memory = 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 ($35 after rebate)

$166 total. A little more than you wanted to spend, but a good P35 board would be well worth it and you could dramatically upgrade that CPU when you're ready. You will also want a PCI-E video card to go with it because there is no onboard video with that motherboard and you want better rendering. I would spend another $50-$75 on a new lower end video card to really help your build. An Nvidia 8600GT would be a good choice for you. EVGA is a good brand, but there are cheaper ones.

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euphoricmix

That motherboard will not support Pentium 4's. It supports Pentium E series, like the Pentium E2160.

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losttsol

Then I guess he needs to buy one of those too . Welcome to the wonderful world of multiple core processing. Seriously though, saving a little more money and getting $300 worth of parts, including a cheap dual core, would be prudent. Building a new system around a P4 and microATX board with onboard video is a waste of money in my opinion.

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Sammich

Is there a solution that will keep my cost around 600 for those items and possibly a Processor? I kind of need to get this PC back up. Classes have already started and I cant be devoting all my time to this. Plus I really need this computer Up and running. My stimulus check just came in so my budget changed. Quick responses will help greatly. So I need

Processor
Memory
Motherboard
Power supply

all for less than 600$

losttsol

Ya, bigtime.

Get a brand new E7200 for $132, the Gigabyte board above for $90, either of the 2GB memory for around $40, and an Asus 8800GT for $135. All that will really help your cause. I would make sure that your case can fit a regular size motherboard though. Step the Power Supply up to a Corsair VX 450w as well for $60. You'll be light years ahead of that P4 and onboard video, play the newer games, render whatever better, and have a system you can still upgrade in the future. Throw in a new case as well if you're feeling frisky.

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Sammich

Yeah the case is a monster. It accepts both ATX and Micro ATX boards. I just got it in the mail a few days ago. It is a Rosewill R6425-P. The thing is pretty big. I have space so far for 4 or 5 HDD's. Dont know that I will use that many. I appreciate the help very much. I will take some more pictures when I get everything else finished.