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[A_Fey_Dwarf]

So just recently a friend of mine upgraded his PC motherboard, CPU and RAM. In doing so he had his old stuff left over so is going to give it to me.

He is giving me:
1GB of DDR2 RAM (2x 512)
An old AMD motherboard with PCI-e slot and four DDR2 RAM slots and AM2 socket (not AM2+).
An AMD athlon 64 3500+


With these leftovers and a really low budget (250NZ$~ 100US$) I need to upgrade my current PC:
250W PSU + Shitty case with no USB2 support
AGP Radeon 9600 pro GPU
Older AMD motherboard, Socket A, 2 SDRAM slots (Model= A7N266VM)
AMD Athlon 2000+
768MB of SDRAM
Two hard drives equating to 400MBs.
Keyboard, mouse, speakers and CRT 17" screen.

All I really need to spend my money on is a new graphics card and power supply, but it would be nice to get a case and more RAM while I am at it.

The current options I am looking at in NZ prices for generic brand products (add an extra $12 for P&P).
=GPU=
8600 GT 512MB for $110
9500 GT 512MB for $115
HD 4650 512MB for $130
HD 4670 512MB for $150
9600 GT 512MB for $170
=RAM(800Mhz)=
1GB stick $18
2GB stick $32
=PSU=
Generic 450W - $35
Thermaltake 430W- $62
Generic 550W - $65
Gigabyte 550W - $110
=Case PSU combo=
Coolermaster Elite 330 w/420w PSU - $125
Coolermaster CM690 w/460w PSU $220
=Case=
Cases range from $40 -> $100 in my buying range.

In a fortnight will have $300 saved up which should be enough for me to take my pick. I am not building this PC for the long run, it is a temporarily upgrade before I start saving for a laptop for university. On that note, would you recommend a laptop over a desktop for university if it is used mostly for study and a bit of gaming on the side?

My current idea is the HD 4670 with the Elite 330 costing me a total of exactly $300 including shipping. But then I fear the RAM and CPU will bottle neck the system reducing the benifit of a more expensive graphics card. Upgrading the CPU is pretty pointless as then I will need to pay for a new motherboard as well.

[Ampersand]

My advice is to order whatever you can from online sellers if possible. Usually, it's cheaper. Second of all, you'll definitely want to kick that 1 gig of ram up to 2 at least. As it stands, a huge chunk of what you've got is just going to be taken up by windows alone.

The first thing you should do though, is ensure that the power supply you purchase will be completely compatible with all the parts you will be using after the full upgrade. You might have to do a few things separately.

[A_Fey_Dwarf]

I have just bought a 9600 GT (512mb)for $130 second hand(A 5 months old gigabyte with Zalman cooler), which I think is quite a good price. In the requirements it talks about a 400W power requirement (which I understand) and 28A across 12V rails (which I don't understand). Can anyone decipher this for me? As for power supply, the person I bought it off recommends a Thermaltake TR2 RX 450W which is slightly out of my price range(it costs $90NZ, range about $60-$70NZ), is there anything as good for a cheaper price?

[KaelGotDwarves]

You can get 2 gig sticks of DDR2 800 mhz PC6400 which I suspect is what matches your motherboard for $20 a pop on newegg.

[A_Fey_Dwarf]

RAM is important but currently not essential, I will install it later when I get more money. For now 1GB is enough.

Is it better to get a 2GB stick and use it with the 512MB stick or get two 1GB sticks? I don't think I will need much more than 2GB, I am only running XP.

[Muz]

IMHO, better to get a 2 GB stick. It's probably cheaper, and lets you upgrade to 4GB in the future. Knowing MS, they will force you to update to their latest O/S 5 years after it comes out.

The "you should get two RAM sticks of the same manufacturer" rule was designed back in the old days before they started having better standards and motherboards. Besides, having it all in the same stick means that's all in one place and thus smoother.

[Mephisto]

This is a confirmation that the "rule" that ram should be the same speed and by the same manufacturer is false. My current PC has 2.5GB. It came with two 256MB sticks of differing manufacturer and speed. When I bought the two 1GB sticks from Newegg, they were a different manufacturer than the previous two. The system runs fine.

[Yanlin]

Sure it runs fine. But it runs WORSE THAN ABSOLUTELY PERFECTOMUNDO! SO IT'S A CATASTROPHE!

[woose1]

Sure it runs fine. But it runs WORSE THAN ABSOLUTELY PERFECTOMUNDO! SO IT'S A CATASTROPHE!

Exactly.

[A_Fey_Dwarf]

I think I have the internal hardware sorted out. Can anyone suggest me a case and power supply. I think I need something is the low-mid range preferably less than 500W.

I have the problem sorted, another friend is going to sell me his 430W Sirtec Highpower PSU for $40. He used it for half a year before upgrading to accommodate his 3870 and it's 450W requirement.
Has anyone else heard of Sirtec Highpower on whether it is a reliable brand. Any horror stories or success stories?