Cheapest Upgrade

[wizrulz]

Hello,

I am back after long time......and i need an urgent siolution to my problem...

Here is the background

The other day i switched off my PC normally and when i started to swicth it on next morning its gave me disk boot failure....Normally anybody would say that its HDD failure....
but i tried with SATA to USB convertor and SATA to IDE convertor and it detected the HDD normally...so the problem was in mobo...

the other problem is that when i called the PC repiar guy he sid i had faulty power supply so i need to replace it...which i did..he said that bad power supply caused my hdd faiuled to detect and made my mobo go bad....

now i have two options..

OPTION 1=> Upgrade my pc totally...(which i dont want to as i dont want to spend much on my pc as i will be buying alpatop....just need a desktop pc at my place so that my parents can useit when required)

OPTION 2=> keep current proccy(AMD 3000+ 64 bit 939 pin) and buy new mobo with onboard graphics card...can any 1 suggest few good ones...?? if those are avilable
my current was MSI rs480

OPTION 3=> repair the current mobo and use it ...and buy a graphics card as the graphics of mobo has also gone bad.....along with SATA connections(still wondering how my onboard graphics, power supply and sata connection ports all ghone bad at one time)....so need suggestion abt cheap but good graphics card so that i can play games on its whne required...

Now i dont want to spend more than 5K on either of options.....as i ahave already spend on buying new power supply....

Come on members need fast replies....its been 3 days my PC is down...and i am going crazy....( i hate using cyber cafes )

[Jaskanwar Singh]

i think hardly any mobos will be there with socket 939. its even older than am2.
do not buy a new graphic card as your processor and ddr ram will be a huge bottleneck.

option 1 is the best according to me...

can you mention which power supply you got.

[wizrulz]

power supply is 400w TAG company, with 3yr warranty.
now what wil b cheapest and best sol for 1st option?

[Jaskanwar Singh]

1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
3. What is your MAX budget?
4. Planning to overclock?
5. Which OS are you planning to use?
6. How much hard drive space is needed?
7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen?
8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
10. When are you planning to buy the system?
11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary

[wizrulz]

too many q to answer, as i am using net from mobile.
if i have to upgrade i need only procy, mobo and ram if not ddr1.
use is for parents, chatting, for me occassional gaming, onbrd graphics should be fine.
my budget as mentioned 5k and whatever i get selling my amd 3000+ proccy, 1gb ram and half good mobo

[Jaskanwar Singh]

dude this an am2/am2+ mobo but it supports your processor
moreover its got hd 3200 onboard which will play most of the games.

Biostar A780G M2+ SE @ 2.7k
Transcend 2GB DDR2 800MHz @ 2.2K

this is the minimum you will need.

however if you can opt for AMD Athlon II X2 240 @2.8k for better experience.

[wizrulz]

are u sure that mobo supports amd 3000+ 64 bit 939 pin proccy?
it states that the mobo supports Supports AMD Phenom II/Phenom/Athlon 64 X2/64/FX/Sempron Processors

i read somewhere that ddr2 rams need am2 and higher proccy. (WIKIPEDIA::Athlon 64 had been maligned by some critics for some time because of its lack of support for DDR2 SDRAM)

Can anyone tell where can i get MSI RS482 in mumbai??? Checked many shops but they dont now stock 939 pin mobos... everyone have AM2 and hihger mobos....

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Dude check biostar website's tab of cpu support

see this

[Jaskanwar Singh]

any way i recommend that you go for athlon 2 x2 240

[wizrulz]

Originally Posted by Jaskanwar Singh

Dude check biostar website's tab of cpu support

see this

On same page check the left hand side menu for motherboards for diff sockets....

anyways thanks for all the help provided....


BTW any idea how is ASUS M2N68-AM+??

[Jaskanwar Singh]

avoid asus, we have come across many complaints about asus mobos in this forum

[wizrulz]

As i am bit out of touch with comp h/w ..didnt knw anything about biostar....

It is good mobo na???

I ams king this because i called up 3-4 h/w shops for biostar mobo nad they said y are u buying this mobo ..instead go for ASUS (the above mentioned mobo).....

[Jaskanwar Singh]

in my opinion biostar one is good. its got better graphics also.

---------- Post added at 09:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:24 AM ----------

what did you decide about the processor

[wizrulz]

processor => athlon 2 x2 245

[Sam]

@wizrulz, visit newegg, and go to Asus motherboard section. randomly pick 2-3 motherboards and read customer reviews. that should make you understand why Jaskanwar Singh told no to Asus.

[wizrulz]

thanks for that info...anyways i was no great fan of ASUS........just i heard BIOSTAR for first time...might be new entrant....it was always gigabyte, MSI, asus etc

[Jaskanwar Singh]

no problem dude, biostar also makes some good motherboards which are great vfm.
can you tell me what is your budget now? have you increased it?

[wizrulz]

I am forced to increase the budget....initially i was planning to just buy mobo and ram...if it supported my Proc....but then i have also buy compatible proc for that mobo.....

So now its eventually abt 7K now.....i will not be using PC for more than 2 months....i will be buying a laptop soon..so it will be used by my parents..so i want just a robust PC which will not go kaput ..and trouble much....

BTW how is BIOSTAR A780L3 Ver. 6.x?

[Jaskanwar Singh]

ok go with the above mentioned rig and get atleast 2 gb ddr2 800mhz if possible. this would cost around 7.7k.

if you can ddr3 it will be great. but for that budget needs to be atleast 9k. otherwise go with the above one. its also good

---------- Post added at 05:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:41 PM ----------

if you can go with BIOSTAR A780L3 will be good. btw how much does it cost.
get 2 gb ddr3 1333mhz @ 2.5k then.

[wizrulz]

Which onboard graphics is better one...

ATI Radeon™ X1250 Graphics (mobo-TA690G AM2 Ver. 5.x) or ATI Radeon™ HD3200 Graphics(A780G M2+ SE Ver. 6.x) or ATI Radeon™ HD3000 Graphics(A780L3 Ver. 6.x)??

[Jaskanwar Singh]

HD 3000 AND HD 3200 almost equal. they beat the old X1250.
go with bio A780L3. you are getting ddr3 ram support and 125w proccy support whereas in A780G M2+ SE it is recommended 95w.

please tell me the price.

[wizrulz]

I will surely post the price...i was told A780L3 was something 2600 by ABGB in mumbai

[Jaskanwar Singh]

greaaaaaat vfm

[wizrulz]

Got these today from ABGB

BIOSTAR- A780L3-> 2750

AMD ATHLON X2 245 -> 3150

Corsair 2gb DDR3 -> 2800

[Jaskanwar Singh]

congrats, nice purchase

[wizrulz]

Thanks for all the help provided.....

[wizrulz]

Few queries....

My processors runs at diff speeds....784...1.6 and 2.9Ghz....why is it so???

I am unbale to connect through lan with my new mobo....i get the connection icon...but its unbale to get any ip address....i am using hathway cablenet....nad they say its problem with my network card(onboard).....

[Jaskanwar Singh]

processor never runs at full speed all the time...when in idle mode or doing some light work the speed comes down to save the power...

about the lan prob, try reinstalling drivers BIOSTAR :: A780L3 :: Driver

[wizrulz]

i did install all the drivers from the given driver CD....but the problem is in device manager i get two realtek LAN device one as normal one with yellow mark and two audio HD same one normal and one with yellow mark....restarting PC also has not helped....i am now thinking abt reinstalling WIN xp

[Jaskanwar Singh]

1 suggestion-
start a new thread in hardware q&a subforum for others suggestions