Upgrading Help Please!!!!

Renegade_Smash · Post by **Renegade_Smash** » Sun Mar 11, 2001 6:50 am

Ok right now I have a
Gateway E-4200
P2 350mhz
128MB SDRAM
SB LIVE! X-GAMER
2 Hard Drives for a total of 10gigs (that is crap i kno)
D-Link 10/100 NIC
AIW Rage 128 16mb PCI
13/32X EIDE CD-ROM

Ok I want to upgrade it to a AMD Duron @ 850MHZ or AMD Athlon @ 750MHZ. I want to know if I just need to buy a new Socket A motherboard and just the processor and evrything else in my specs list will be combatible with the motherboard and will work fine???? Will the motherboard fit in the case??? What do i have to make sure about the motherboard before buying?? And do need like 10 fans or something because I see ppl who own a Atlon or Duron have like 10 fans. Will i need them also??? i am not going to overclock.....

thx

[ 03-11-2001: Message edited by: Renegade_Smash ]

[ 03-11-2001: Message edited by: Renegade_Smash ]

onetrueday · Post by **onetrueday** » Sun Mar 11, 2001 7:05 am

First of all, you dont need 10 fans. I personally have three plus my cpu fan and it's more then enough. I have a slot A athlon 950 and it almost never get over 100 degrees F. I have a front fan, power supply fan, and a 5 1/4 inch bay fan. There a couple of things you will have to have. You will need at least a 300 watt power supply. I'm sure that gateway didnt include one. Sometimes gateway makes wierd cases, so you might need a new case. That isnt a bad thing because a case will cost between 50-100 dollars with a powersupply. A 300watt power supply alone will cost you 30 and a 400watt powersupply(I have this) will cost you about 80. They have a deal at tigerdirect.com where you can get a amd750 and a epox mobo for 139 right now. Good luck.

MIS_Jay · Post by **MIS_Jay** » Sun Mar 11, 2001 2:03 pm

ATI video cards have trouble with the VIA chipset. VIA chipsets come with virtually all AMD based mobos. You may need a different video card. I got an ATI Rage Fury Pro to work with the Abit KT7A mobo but it doesnt work to its ability. Lower framerate and such. Check VIA and ATI's websites and look for supported driver updates for your card and chipset. Gateway???? What were you thinking?? Just kidding. I would never buy a Dell, Gateway, or ANY COMPUTER from a retail store. Just my opinion. Its always better to build your own, if you know how. The software bundled with systems is the only good part about them. BUt they also have alot of crap most people will never use. So it just takes up space.

Looking back, I have kinda strayed from the question. Sorry.

Gaming-Module · Post by **Gaming-Module** » Sun Mar 11, 2001 3:33 pm

128MB SDRAM ( if it's pc 66 it's useless, if pc100 then you might be able to keep it around )

SB LIVE! X-GAMER ( useful still )
D-Link 10/100 NIC ( useful still )
13/32X EIDE CD-ROM ( is it CDRW or DVD or just CD?, a plain CDROM doesnt have two speed ratings unless it does something else, and I have never seen a 13x drive, you need to look more into this but if it is a DVD or CDRW then it is a keeper too )

AIW Rage 128 16mb PCI ( sell: $60 )
2 Hard Drives for a total of 10gigs ( sell: $70 for both )
P2 350mhz ( sell: $50-60
( sell these for sure, you should be able to get enough for a mobo and then some for a cpu )

I put this together with no research so keep that in mind.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Sun Mar 11, 2001 5:09 pm

As a 10 fanner myself u dont need 10 lol a real good fan/heatsink and one 80 coming in and 1 92 or 120 going out, ud be set for fans, i just did an overkill, plus i overclocked my chip, and if my HSF went out i would be dead, but it should be able to die and not fry my chip the way it is set.

i agree with onetrue on most stuff, I recomend Antec or enlight cases, both are nice, i prefer antec, if u need a powersupply and a case u can get a full size tower with 300watt power supply for 90 bucks @ buy.com

Good luck.

Renegade_Smash · Post by **Renegade_Smash** » Sun Mar 11, 2001 5:17 pm

ok cool

Renegade_Smash · Post by **Renegade_Smash** » Mon Mar 12, 2001 7:25 am

ok "onetrueday" said that Gateway makes "weird cases" does he mean the layout of the inside of the case out how the case is shaped like????

Gaming-Module · Post by **Gaming-Module** » Mon Mar 12, 2001 11:18 am

She means its a proprietary case, meaning it us custom designed for the gateway computer setup and any board you buy wont properly fit in it.

Renegade_Smash · Post by **Renegade_Smash** » Mon Mar 12, 2001 1:45 pm

well i'll try it anyways if i need a new case i'll just go get one??

FunK · Post by **FunK** » Mon Mar 12, 2001 2:57 pm

i would just build a new one and keep the other around for backup / networking / learning Linux.

Just a thought.
FunK