Hi all
Looking to (maybe) upgrade the family desktop
At the minute it has an AMD Sempron 2400+ (socket A), SIS integrated grahics, 512Mb RAM
Any ideas where I could get a more powerful Socket A processor from, reasonably cheap? Unfortunately upgrading the motherboard isn't an option, the guy who built the PC loaded a dodgy COPY of XP Pro and did a runner before we found out so no re-activation (I think)
Recently upgraded to 512Mb RAM from 256Mb, but still 2 mem slots free so would some more RAM be a cheap way to increase performance? I know it helps but was just wondering how much money I was looking at vs performance increase
Also how much difference would buying a cheap graphics card make? Only an old one for about £30 odd, like a Radeon 9250 or something, but would it help? Not looking for games performance, just wondering if it would speed up general use? The integrated graphics use 32Mb of RAM so I know it'd free up that but would it make much difference beyond that?
The PC is used mainly for web browsing, instant messaging and office tasks, but is painfully slow (no malware, defrag regularly)
Any ideas?
ThanksHow far you can go CPU wise depends on the MBoard itself which isn't listed...

More RAM will certainly let that machine run smoother...

An inexpensive but better vid card would also improve things but this is where i would spend the least since it might not be worth it when you do finally get a new Mainboard.

All in all yes your performance will be better but to expect mind-boggling speed changes is unrealistic.
If you plan on keeping that machine around for another 3 or 4 years i say go for it...

Hope this helps.

patio. 8-)

How are you getting XP updates on that machine ? ?
Any recourse at all on the builder of this machine ? ?
If he found out that MS was about to get involved he just might supply you with a shiny new MS XP CD...Motherboard isn't listed because I don't know what it is
At the minute I'm on my laptop and the desktop's off, it takes an age to boot up so I'll find out the motherboard some other time
Also meant to mention it only has an AGP graphics slot
I'm not expecting major speed changes, just to make it a little more responsive
To be honest I don't expect it to last much LONGER, maybe another year or two, then it'll be scrapped and we'll get a brand new one
Although this doesn't really affect me, I have a nice shiny new laptop lol
So probably the best I could do is add some more RAM and perhaps a cheap vid card? Very limited budget by the way which is why it says "cheap" and "reasonably priced" all over my post
I am getting some XP updates through automatic update service, but only the critical ones - it FAILS all validation checks so only critical security updates and the like, MS Update site doesn't WORK
No contact details for the builder, the number he gave us mysteriously stopped working a few months after we bought the machine....
Plus it was bought about 2 years agoAs to the builder don't lose any sleep on it...everything you do in life comes back to you so he'll get his...

You probably will be able to find an AGP card for about the $$ you wanted to spend but spend no more ...AGP is on it's way out.

To find your MBoard and everything else possible you need to know about that machine DLoad and run Everest Home when you get back to the desktop...

As to the RAM you also don't want to spend too much but a stick of 512 should be fine...travel to Crucial.com and enter in the info you get from Everest and it will tell you exactly what type of RAM will match that machine. I would buy it though a mass retailer as crucial's prices are on the high end.

Last but not least maybe shop around for a legit Win2K CD... it's XP without alot of eye-candy.
You will wind up with a stable, faster system with full MS support...

Let us know,
patio. 8-)Im not really computer literte but apparently these are meant to be quite good. If your in the U.K look here
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/



ChrisI am in the UK and I've heard of Overclockers.co.uk
Very nice gear but a little expensive
Looking at http://www.dabs.com for some stuff like the vid card - they have some old ones for about £25 or so, might help a little because game performance isn't really an issue
I was thinking of getting a 512Mb stick, when I get chance I'll use Everest or Sandra (one's already loaded on, can't remember which) and see what memory I need
Only real problem is the CPU, nowhere sells Socket A processors any more
There are a few on ebay but they're either broken, untested, too expensive or even worse than the current one
Anyway thanks for the info, I'll hit the web tomorrow and see what I can find
CheersAfter you find out how high that CPU can go on that board let me know. I'll shop around as well...

patio. 8-)

p.s. i would not buy a CPU or RAM from EBay ...but that's just me.I have a Foxconn K7S741MG-6L / K7S741GXMG-6L motherboard
According to the website it supports AMD Athlon XP/Sempron/Duron
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/upload/Compatibility/200606271024427474K7S741GXMG.htm
This seems to be a table of all the processors it supports
Hopefully this helpsIf you want to make it more responsive, you should look into cleaning or reinstalling Windows.

The hardware will still function the same as the day you bought it on unless you neglected it or it is damaged.I can't reinstall Windows because as I mentioned it's a dodgy copy and the guy did a runner, so we don't have an XP CD
As for cleaning Windows, I use CCleaner, defrag regularly, and have applied pretty much all the tweaks I can find or think of
If there are any cleaning procedures or tweaks etc you think might be useful, please post themYou should buy a legal copy of Windows XP.That computer really should perform fairly well for the purposes you mentioned. Those tasks are not very demanding. Of the hardware upgrades you mentioned, I think the video card makes the most sense. Even a low cost AGP card is going to make a very noticeable difference. However, you might look at the options in your BIOS for setting the amount of video memory; you might be able to increase that to 64MB. Try it and see whether it makes a difference.

However, getting a legitimate copy of Win XP, or maybe Win 2K, formatting the hard drive and doing a fresh installation of Windows may make that computer perform well enough that you no longer feel a need to do any hardware upgrades to do the things it's being used for.Unfortunately I can't afford a legal copy of XP
As it was supposed to come with the computer, it does seem a little harsh that I have to fork out more money to buy something I should already have when it's not our fault that it's not legal
As for setting the video memory higher in the BIOS, wouldn't that just take memory away from Windows and allocate it to the integrated graphics? Forgive me if I'm missing something but wouldn't that therefore lower overall performance except in 3d games, something the computer is hardly EVER used for? Besides, I'm unable to access the BIOS. There is no POST screen or anything, just a black one. I've tried pressing delete, all of the F1, F2 etc keys, escape, enter and many others but I can't get into it.
And about the performance vs tasks it's used for - although it is mainly used for less demanding tasks, it is being increasingly used for more demanding ones (can't think of any off the top of my head at the minute though...)
ThanksQuote

As for setting the video memory higher in the BIOS, wouldn't that just take memory away from Windows and allocate it to the integrated graphics?

Until you figure out to get into the BIOS, you'd better forget the idea of installing an AGP video card because you may need to access the BIOS to disable onboard video.

What maintenance procedures, if any, are being applied to that computer? Any disk cleanup tools used periodically? How long since hard drive was defragged? Is it free of viruses and spyware? How many processes are normally running? Could some of those be disabled? How much free space, percentage-wise, is on the hard drive?