re-building a good portion of my HP...

[Leonisknovo]

Hey guys/gals; I'm bout to start saving
up and get parts, slowly but surely,
to buy some stuff and re-build my HP.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=541440&Tab=0&NoMapp=0
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=633531
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=684048
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=494318
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=879307&Sku=C44-5020%20OEM&CatId=107
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=699285&Tab=0&NoMapp=0
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=997093&Sku=P456-6003&CatId=802
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=188581&Sku=U10-3005&CatId=47

Those are basicly what I'd be getting, a new
mobo, case, video, sound, CPU, and a single fan.

Anyways I want to basicly keep all the
HP parts except the case, mobo, and CPU.

HP model is a 533w, so would it work?
Also how hard, relatively, would it be
to build/rebuild a computer??

Also any online tutorials on it?
Possibly stuff that explains it, so
I can see if I'm dead serious??
(I'm a little wishy-washy...LOL)

[Horus_Kol]

all of your parts should come with instructions - especially the Mobo.

One thing to remember is to earth yourself - and earthing strap around the wrist with a wire connecting your to a radiator or tap.


Putting PC's together is pretty straightforward - getting the drivers on is another matter :)

[Ian]

I'll give you a week until you pull that front door off the case due to frustration and annoyance when putting in CD's etc.
A decent power supply is a good move for a fast processor.
Unfortunatly an Intel celeron 2.6 is not that great or as fast as you think, if you are going to go Intel, go for the P4 range of processors. It is worth shopping around as you should be able to pick up a 2.6 P4 for only about 40-50 dollars more.
The motherboard you chose is for a P4 anyway, so if you get a celeron processor it wouldn't fit due to a different pin or socket pattern.
Good entry level 5.1 soundcard- they have very good sound and are compatable with almost anything. Creative have been around for a long time and know their stuff.
Video card looks great, have never installed or used one so cant really comment, they do seem to have a good reputation though. ATI and nVidia are the top chipsets to use these days.
A case fan is always good to draw the heat away from the system - just remember you want it to pull the air out of the case, it is very easy to screw them on the wrong way and they suck instead of blow. :)
10/10 for remembering static electricity, computer parts require between 5 and 12 volts mostly, your body can discharge around 20,000 volts and could blow some components instantly, make sure you ground yourself well before touching any internal parts.

One thing you have left out is RAM or memory, you will need some compatible with your new board - consider 256Mb RAM is minimum, so budget for at least that - recommend 512Mb if running XP operating system.

Not sure what you are meaning by keeping "all the hp parts" as you seem to be buying or need to buy most parts. You could keep your cables (IDE, floppy), Hard drive(s) and CD(CD-RW/DVD) drive(s) and 1.44 flopppy drive, and modem.

What you have doesnt seem to be a bad package anyway and is easily upgradable without having to spend a fortune.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&docname=bph07909

[Horus_Kol]

Ian,

P4 and Celeron can have the same socket configuration...
i know this because I have replaced a Celeron with a P4...

New Celeron's are practically as good as their P4 - the only difference being that Celeron's have a reduced L2 cache (meaning an increase in RAM access).


Personally I would go for AMD - faster for cheaper...

[scoutt]

one thing to look at, if you buy a new mobo. will that mobo fit in the HP case? my guess is it will not so you may need a new case as well. then it wouldn't be upgrading my HP but building your own computer instead.

[mikeyp]

if you are upgrading this many parts, you might as well just buy a whole new computer and keep this one as a second computer.

[Leonisknovo]

:) Okay after shopping a little bit around,
I found an P4 for $117 or so.

In the end, same price-- loads better
sound and video card, and 2.4 P4 CPU,
that was about $117 total.

As for parts from the HP-- it'd be
cables, hard drive, CD-ROM combo, my
56K modem, and ethernet card.

Figure keep the case, the CPU, power,
mobo for my brother and he can just pick
up a new CD-ROM and Ethernet for a $$$,
and let him use my 20GB spare I got right here.

Anybody, btw, got any links for some
sort of tutorial on this? :P

Now just to get some financal backing :D
*runs to fill out job app @ store*

[scoutt]

Originally posted by Leonisknovo

As for parts from the HP-- it'd be
cables, hard drive, CD-ROM combo, my
56K modem, and ethernet card.


I would use the new cables tha tcome with yuor mobo. that is if you get some with it.

[Ian]

Originally posted by Horus_Kol
Ian,

P4 and Celeron can have the same socket configuration...
i know this because I have replaced a Celeron with a P4...

New Celeron's are practically as good as their P4 - the only difference being that Celeron's have a reduced L2 cache (meaning an increase in RAM access).


Personally I would go for AMD - faster for cheaper... You're right, some can. Some have the common Socket 478 pattern and if the motherboard aupports both thats fine.

Have to disagree that celerons are practically as good as a P4 though as their architecture is totally different. The normal celeron uses 130 nm and 180 nm process technology and the P4 uses 90 nm process technology. Additionally they only have a front side bus up to 400Mhz. So without mentioning further differences here is what Intel recommend a celeron for:

Basic Computing Needs
E-mail
Home Finance Software
Educational Software for Your Kids

and Intel's recommendation for a P4:

Digital Photography
Digital Music
Digital Video
Gaming
Digital Home apps
Business Productivity and Solutions

That speaks for itself.

(Arent even going to enter an Intel V AMD debate)


Leon, I would agree with Scoutt, use the new cables etc that come with your new parts. Also the motherboard you have chosen has built in 10/100 network card so you should not need your old ethernet card.

[Horus_Kol]

i stand corrected - i was referring to an article in PC Format that is about a year old now, so I am probably behind the times.

[Leonisknovo]

Okay, I pretty much assembled the final list.

It'll be around Nov. or Dec. b4 I got
enough $$$ to go out and buy all the parts.

Expect this topic to be pulled back
to life sometime in that time frame :P

[Paul]

Here are a couple potential problems with your set up. The power supply you are looking at is extremely cheap, if you can find a 350 Watt PS for the same price go for it as it will probably be better built and won't break down in the near future. For the processor take everyones suggestion, go with a P4 but be sure to get one with 800 MHz Bus, this might not seem important but benchmarks show a 3.06 GHz P4 with a 533 FSB is actually slower than a P4 2.4 GHz 800 FSB, $10-30 is a small price to pay for this. You sound card choice is good, however, you might have to play some games with lower sound settings.

The video card you chose is the big issue here, I know many will disagree with me but the SE series are extremely slow compared to their non-SE cards. I would recommend at least a 9600 Pro which you can find for about the same price as the SE card you posted. The antistatic wrist wrap is ok but you probably will not need it, simply ground your self by touching a metal part of the case before touching any parts. Besides, you will need a place to plug that antiwrist plug into which can become a pain.

You should also keep in mind that if you are looking to buy a computer in Nov or Dec this thread will be useless as the market changes almost daily; especailly in the next couple months since Half life 2 and a number of other high end games being released leading to more powerful hardware being released dropping down the price of everything else.

[Paul]

One more thing I should add; building a computer is pretty easy, I built my first computer long before I knew how one worked. However, with expensive parts it can be risky as you can make a mistake and cause a short (very common) or physically break something. If you have have access to old computers that nobody uses any more try to take those apart and put them together. If you do not have access to this before you build your new computer take appart your HP and try to put it back together. Be absolutely sure you used all the stand-offs for the mother board so no component touches the case as this could fry your mother board and possibly other components in your system.

Also, if you post a budget I might be able to find a very good configuration for you.

[Leonisknovo]

Budge is around $350 or so total,
including the shipping costs.

I do not have access to an old computer,
but I know someone @ church who may have
one I can ticker; not sure on that.

Figure this sunday, she's putting in
my hard drive, as this case-- nothing
like our Compaq, the inside is very diff
and am a little afraid to try moving stuff.

Thats another reason I liked the look
of that case I posted, the inside seems
very spacey, and very "open" like our Compaq.
Not like everything stuffed in where I can't
even see the hard drive in it right now :P

[Paul]

Originally posted by Leonisknovo
Budge is around $350 or so total,
including the shipping costs.

I do not have access to an old computer,
but I know someone @ church who may have
one I can ticker; not sure on that.

Figure this sunday, she's putting in
my hard drive, as this case-- nothing
like our Compaq, the inside is very diff
and am a little afraid to try moving stuff.

Thats another reason I liked the look
of that case I posted, the inside seems
very spacey, and very "open" like our Compaq.
Not like everything stuffed in where I can't
even see the hard drive in it right now :P
If I remember correctly your HP manual should have instuctions on how to access everything in your case and then put it back. HP tried to do their own standards which in the end made everything extremely hard to access but it can be done.

[Leonisknovo]

didn't come with a manuel @all :(
Plus, HP says my comp has a 60GB hdd;
this only has an 15GB hdd, so...

[Paul]

Originally posted by Leonisknovo
didn't come with a manuel @all :(
Plus, HP says my comp has a 60GB hdd;
this only has an 15GB hdd, so...
Where did you buy your computer from? This could mean you were ripped off by your dealer and could very well get your money back.

[scoutt]

Originally posted by Paul
Where did you buy your computer from? This could mean you were ripped off by your dealer and could very well get your money back.
you will be very surprised that most dealers (retail stores) won't give you a manual or a backup cd. you have to special order these from HP. they just want your money.

[Paul]

Originally posted by scoutt
you will be very surprised that most dealers (retail stores) won't give you a manual or a backup cd. you have to special order these from HP. they just want your money.
The problem is not the manual, the problem is the 15GB hard drive which should be a 60GB hard drive as the HP specifications state for that computer.

[scoutt]

well yeah, I can see that too, but can he truly not see it or is it a small drive? is the space unallocated? XP will see the unallocated space.

[Leonisknovo]

Total size is 13.9GB right now, with XP Pro;
it was 15GB or so with XP Home installed.

Also recalling, I'm not even sure if he
ever said it was new; I was just so happy
that it was marked down and I could afford
my own computer finally :P

Either way, $350-- no regrets :)
Works perfectly, just want more for the games :D

BTW I am pretty positive it has no
un-paritioned space, as Linux would've
seen it when I went to install it which
ended up whiping my drive :P

[scoutt]

not neccassarily. if linux messed up and erased your drive then it could be unalocated. go into computer management under administrative console and click on disk management. what is the total size and what does XP see? look down and the disk(0) and see how much it sees.

[Leonisknovo]

13.97 GB and XP see's the same.

[scoutt]

even down in the graphic??

what if you ran fdisk and clicked on # 4 in the menu options. what does it see?

you have to start forma win98 boot disk to do this.

[Leonisknovo]

:confused: No idea what fdisk is...
My bro has the XP Pro CD-ROM so I can't
run it right now, since you said its booted from an Windows disk.

:) As for the total size, really doesn't
matter as I plan on pulling the external
out of its case and installing it.

(its Hot Swappable + 120GBs)

[SpencerJay]

fdisk is your friend...
you can get the win98 bootdisk with the fdisk scoutt is talking about at bootdisk.com

[-iNsOmNiAc-]

by the time you save enough money to buy your components something bigger and better will be out....

PS: where do you work and what's the going rate? just curious.

[Leonisknovo]

:P Don't have a job...yet
My local church does, however, pay me a
few $$ every month to open/close the buildings :)

Hopefully by time I get enough $$,
the prices will be lower for these parts :P