Is an upgrade right for me?

[Anaxogoras]

I've read lots of threads in here about building new systems because of the economics and the bloat of retail computers, but then I've also read advice that there's no point in spending >$500 just to play a game like AH (less than $500 won't be a great system anyway).   Fwiw, I don't do anything graphically intensive on my computer except play this game and stream movies from netflix.  I'm fairly content with my system as it is now: lots of usb ports, slots for digital camera cards, etc.  So here is the low down on this compaq presario bought way back at the end of 2004:

1.8ghz AMD sempron
1.5 gb ram (I added a gig last year).
80 gb hard drive (small but I only use half of it).
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 (pci) 256mb vram (hand me down, originally had integrated fx)
250W PSU (barely adequate, I know)
XP sp2

I've read that you can replace a mobo and cpu without reinstalling XP (this is my biggest desire); it will only ask for the registration key.

I run AH at 1024x768 res, usually with range and detail turned all the way down (I can load 1024 textures with no difference in peformance).  This yields about 30-60fps offline, but in big furballs with smoke and fire fps can drop to ~20fps or a little worse.  I have also turned off anti-aliasing and any other graphics card feature that degrades performance, so things look a little chunky and shimmery in the game.  Still, this performance is good for the system I have, mostly because it is in good condition and never infected with spy/adware or viruses or any other kind of bloat.

I would like to run AH in 1280x1024 res with detail and range turned up a bit (if not all the way), and stay at >30fps in big furballs with smoke and fire.  My cpu is my biggest limiting factor at the moment, so what kind of improvement could I expect if I....

replaced mobo and cpu
replaced psu (400W? 600W?)
is it worth it performance-wise to have a sound card?

Looking at various prices, this would come to around $300-400.  If these upgrades would do the trick (they would certainly extend the life of the machine), then I would research specific products.  Thank you.

[sethipus]

I don't know if it's worth it in AHII to have an onboard sound card, but I actually saw a 5-10 fps increase in performance playing Vanguard when I went from onboard sound to a good Soundblaster audigy card a couple of years ago.  I don't think you'd see the same benefit with Aces High.

You could get a machine that would really smoke with Aces High for a few hundred bucks.  I just paid $517 for a Dell computer for my wife with 3gb of RAM and a 2.53ghz Core 2 Duo cpu, and for a hundred bucks for a new video card I could get that machine playing Aces High like a champ on her 22" widescreen monitor.

Your computer is too old now to really be worth putting money into for an upgrade, but luckily Aces High isn't overly demanding on today's hardware.  The trouble is you're playing on 5 or 6 year old hardware.  With a new cheap system your AHII experience would be revolutionized.

[Anaxogoras]

ok, I thought the point of replacing the CPU and mobo was that it would be the same thing as a new system, but thanx for saving my time and $.  If buy a new machine it will have vista and I'm not going to go there.

[Anodizer]

In my experience, I wouldn't advise using the same Windows installation after replacing a motherboard..  I've been semi successful in this after doing a repair install, but things usually start to screw up after a short while..  It's better just to re-format and re-install (after saving what ever data you need).

Also, if you do upgrade to something else, chances are you will need to replace several other pieces of hardware as well..
Most likely your memory, your PSU, your video card, and possibly more..  I'm not sure how much of an upgrade you want to do..
No offense, but you're stuff is beyond ancient there..  If you'd like to stick with the same motherboard, you could just upgrade your processor to an AthlonXP (your board should support just about any AthlonXP processor, but I'd check with the manufacturer how high of a clockspeed it'll support.  you may need a bios upgrade)..  As for your videocard, I'm pretty sure you have AGP..  There are some decent AGP cards still around and you could pick one up off of eBay or Amazon.com for pretty cheap..  A Geforce 6800 GT/GS would probably work pretty good..  Anything else and you'd run into bottlenecking issues.. 

ok, I thought the point of replacing the CPU and mobo was that it would be the same thing as a new system, but thanx for saving my time and $.  If buy a new machine it will have vista and I'm not going to go there.

[Fulmar]

#1 Every time I've replaced a motherboard, I've always done a clean install of Windows.  This is to avoid driver conflicts.  Plus your Compaq may have a proprietary version of Windows that only lets it work the the registered motherboard that came with.

#2 You can still buy XP discs, pro runs about $135 and Home runs about $85.  But I'd hurry.

#3 You can scavenge parts from your current compaq computer.  You can reuse the hard drive and CD drive/floppy.  You also may be able to reuse the computer case because I know some compaq's came with standardized ATX case.  Other than that, you'll have to scrap the rest.

#4  If you are interested in building a new machine, a lot of us forum members can price out parts for you dependent on your budget.

#5 Upgrading your current computer wouldn't really be cost effective, especially for performance.  I'd start from scratch with resuing the parts you can.

[Fulmar]

  As for your videocard, I'm pretty sure you have AGP..  There are some decent AGP cards still around and you could pick one up off of eBay or Amazon.com for pretty cheap..  A Geforce 6800 GT/GS would probably work pretty good..  Anything else and you'd run into bottlenecking issues.. 

He had onboard and replaced it with a PCI card, probably doesn't have AGP.  Good luck finding a 6800 anymore.  AGP cards run more than their PCI-E brother for supply/demand reasons.

[Getback]

#1 Every time I've replaced a motherboard, I've always done a clean install of Windows.  This is to avoid driver conflicts.  Plus your Compaq may have a proprietary version of Windows that only lets it work the the registered motherboard that came with.

#2 You can still buy XP discs, pro runs about $135 and Home runs about $85.  But I'd hurry.

#3 You can scavenge parts from your current compaq computer.  You can reuse the hard drive and CD drive/floppy.  You also may be able to reuse the computer case because I know some compaq's came with standardized ATX case.  Other than that, you'll have to scrap the rest.

#4  If you are interested in building a new machine, a lot of us forum members can price out parts for you dependent on your budget.

#5 Upgrading your current computer wouldn't really be cost effective, especially for performance.  I'd start from scratch with resuing the parts you can.

Fulmar nailed it. I re-used my compaq case for one of my builds. Some Compaq's have really good cases. That will save you $50 to $100 bucks.

[Anaxogoras]

yup, it's an ancient system that does everything I need except AH.

I'm certain it's a PCI card btw, as the instruction manual had sections for both PCI and agp.

I like the idea of keeping some of the old parts but building new.  If I took a picture of the case could you identify whether it's atx?

Never mind I opened the box it's atx.

[Fulmar]

yup, it's an ancient system that does everything I need except AH.

I'm certain it's a PCI card btw, as the instruction manual had sections for both PCI and agp.

I like the idea of keeping some of the old parts but building new.  If I took a picture of the case could you identify whether it's atx?

Yes, take a picture of the back panel for the connections and if possible, take a picture with the case off looking at the motherboard.

[Anaxogoras]

You can't see it in the picture, but my fan is filthy.   Going to power down and clean it right now.

[Fulmar]

That is an ATX case.  The only think I can't see is if the HD/Power light and the power/reset switch cables.  They don't look proprietary from the cabling I see from it.  If you could take a photo of where the red/black, green/black, yellow/black small thing wires run to the motherboard, I can tell for sure.  But my guess is that they are the standard plug/connection type and not something custom.  So it looks like you'll be able to reuse that case with one expection.

That exception is, it's a Mirco-ATX case.  Which is easily replaceable, just that Mirco-ATX aren't usually performance motherboards and sometimes limit options for models/brands of motherboards.  But this is minor.  Mirco-ATX motherboards are cheaper amyways.  The performance offered by Micro-ATX boards is PLENTY adequate and fast for anything out there, they're just not top of the line performance.

And that brown slot on your motherobard (below the processor), thats an AGP slot.

[Anaxogoras]

This is what you're looking for, right?

[BaldEagl]

Personally, I'd build a new machine and keep yours as a second computer.  Having another one around is handy sometimes (I live alone and have 3 now).

If you re-cycle parts you'll save something like:

$50 Case
$20 Optical Drive
$16 Keyboard and Mouse
$40 Hard Drive

$126 Total

On the other hand, if you keep the old one you'll also need another monitor and speakers or headphones.

[Fulmar]

He said he's on a budget of $300-400.  So $126 can be quite the chunk of that.  You also didn't include a PSU BaldEagl, so tack on at least $40-$50.

[Fulmar]

And as for those plugs Anaxogoras, they all all molded together into one plug, which may or may not fit on a new motherboard.  Aftermarket cases have that 'molded' plug separated into their own little plugs (two wires each).  Some motherboards layout their pins to where those plugs fit onto differently.  But you may be able to dremel/cut that may plug up into its own parts, but not sure how handy you are.

Worse case scenario, you wouldn't be able to plug those plugs onto your new motherboard, and thus use the power switch to turn it on.  In that case, you'd need a new case (no pun intended).  It's tough for me to say if it would work or not without actually seeing it in person.