Another noob... well sorta

ladrianz · TweakNOOB Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 3

Hi guys, first of all I just joined the forum, I've been reading several posts and they are very useful, you guys rock!
Now let's get down to business Very Happy

; I bought a computer from my school ($20

) and I wanted to upgrade it a little but I am not sure if the parts I wanted to buy for it are gonna "fit". It's an old Compaq Evo D51C Convertible Minitower, Intel® 845G chipset, P2.4, SMART III Ultra/ATA Hard Drives, 5 PCI slots and 1 AGP 4X slot for expansion. The only things I wanted to change are the video card and add some memory, but looking at the video cards I noticed that the actual PSU (with its low 220W) cannot power the new cards, so I have to also look at PSUs, right? Well I have never change those things in any puter before, but since the computer was so cheap I am willing to use it as a lab rat

, I mean I have to learn somehow, right?
I was browsing newegg and found this PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023
or this one from circuitcity:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Antec-Basiq-500-Watt-Power-Supply-23500/sem/rpsm/oid/171018/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
and this video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130076

what do you guys think? I think upgrading the RAM will be the easiest thing to do, I need PC2100 and maybe, just maybe I'll venture myself into the overclocking world...
thanks in advance

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Xal · Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:18 am Post subject:

Hey and welcome to the forums

The PSU from newegg should be more than adiquate for that system and thermaltake is always a good choice of brand.

As for the video card I would suggest going for this or one like it as it has 512MB of RAM and its only about $30 more. As Nathan keeps saying in his GFX card reviews, 256mb just doesn't cut it these days. Get the extra ram, you won't regret it.

And yes, the items you have picked out should work fine in that system. I would also reccomend you get a decent amount of fast RAM, if memory serves the Intel 845 based boards supported up to DDR333 (PC2700). DDR400 (PC3200) will work fine though, it will just run at the lower speed but it will allow tighter memory timings (assuming the BIOS has the option to set it) and I think you may have a hard time finding anything below PC3200 at reasonable prices anyway.

Something like this will do you very well
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231039

though you might want to go with a 1gb from a better known brand like Kingston, Corsair, OCZ or Crucial. Still $100 for 2gb of ram is a pretty good deal.

Nice buy on the system BTW, with the components you listed added to it you will have a pretty decent system capeable of playing almost all current games at decent quality settings

_________________
Phenom II x4 955 @ Stock
Asus M3N78-EM
4gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 667 @ 800
1gb Powercolor Radeon HD 5850 @ Stock
X-fi Extreme Audio PCI E
Nexus 600W Silent PSU
Nexus Fans
Custom case

ladrianz · TweakNOOB Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 3

Thanks for the welcome and the fast reply... so I'm trying to decide the video card, how'bout this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143102
It has the 512mb of ram you recomended and is not crazy expensive, which is good when one is on a budget Confused

This one is a little more expensive but if it is much better I'm willing to pay the extra buck:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133176

Finally I think I'll go with the RAM you suggested, the specs about the computer said that it was PC2100 so I wasn't sure about that, but I'll trust you, that's why you are the expert Very Happy

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

I would seriously take a look at your existing power supply. It might be one of the smaller power supplies used in the mini-towers. They cannot be swapped out with a standard power supply.
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Xal · Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:20 pm Post subject:

Yeah I was going to say that but then I found this
http://www.nicknacks.com/HolidaySpecial/CompaQ%20EVO%20D51C.htm

He should be OK.
_________________
Phenom II x4 955 @ Stock
Asus M3N78-EM
4gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 667 @ 800
1gb Powercolor Radeon HD 5850 @ Stock
X-fi Extreme Audio PCI E
Nexus 600W Silent PSU
Nexus Fans
Custom case

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

wow, that isn't a mini-tower at all.
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ladrianz · TweakNOOB Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 3

Yep, that's the puter allright, I don't know why they call it "convertible minitower", has nothing mini about it Very Happy

So if I buy this power supply I should be able to swap it out?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023
I think it all depends on the PSU, if it can't be changed then I'm doomed, you just worried me Nathan: "They cannot be swapped out with a standard power supply" I hope that's not true.

Xal · Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 2:49 am Post subject:

No, you should be fine. At worst you might have to buy a new case to swap it into but I don't see that size case proving a problem. I also searched quite extensively for compatability issues with that system and found none. I'm sure if someone had a problem swapping out a PSU on that PC it would be referenced on the net somewhere. I'm pretty sure you will be fine with that hardware combo.

The only reason I upgraded my old P4 2.4 was because I needed HT for my 3d modeling work and then went dual core later when it came out. If I didn't need a lot of processing power to render out 3d scenes I would still be using it

Let us know if you have any installation queries when you get to that stage.
_________________
Phenom II x4 955 @ Stock
Asus M3N78-EM
4gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 667 @ 800
1gb Powercolor Radeon HD 5850 @ Stock
X-fi Extreme Audio PCI E
Nexus 600W Silent PSU
Nexus Fans
Custom case