Where to start??

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CRFlugga

My last computer just took a nose dive and I was thinking about
re-building it. I just don't have a clue where to start. Just a
little info about it. It is a Intel 550mhz process. It is in a Micron
Case. And that is pretty much it. I want to go big on this on and
try and save some money. Any help would be appreciated.
 
CRFlugga said:
My last computer just took a nose dive and I was thinking about
re-building it. I just don't have a clue where to start. Just a
little info about it. It is a Intel 550mhz process. It is in a Micron
Case. And that is pretty much it. I want to go big on this on and
try and save some money. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

A 550 mhz P III chip? That puts your rig at about 4 years old. You'd be best
considering to start very fresh, including a new power supply.
You could possibly use the case as long as a standard mb would fit into
it, but even then you give up the option of not using one with front
mounted usb and other type ports. AGP video cards can still be used in new
systems, but PCI Express has become the standard, and probability is that
your video is built into the Micron mb so you most likely need a new video
card as well although you can save money buy getting another mb with built
in video that you could later add a better video card.. If you're lucky you
may have a 30 gig hdd, and you could use it, depending on your needs. If the
hdd is less than simply use it as a second drive. I'd say the best you can
salvage is the floppy drive and perhaps the CD/DVD-ROM drive from the
box,(should it be capable of playing DVDs). Any system you built today
should have a minimum of playing DVDs as well as burning them. You'll need
different RAM as well, as PC 100/133 SDRAM is barely being used on any mb,
and even the newer DDR RAM is out in place of DDR II and newer RAM.
It would be helpful to know what you intend to do with your new built
machine, and if you prefer AMD or Intel and a price range so that folks can
really give you some clear buying possibilites.
 
My last computer just took a nose dive and I was thinking about
re-building it. I just don't have a clue where to start. Just a
little info about it. It is a Intel 550mhz process. It is in a Micron
Case. And that is pretty much it. I want to go big on this on and
try and save some money. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Nothing you have would make it into a decent new build, most likely.
You can't build a low to moderate system for as cheap as you can buy
one.
 
CRFlugga said:
My last computer just took a nose dive and I was thinking about
re-building it. I just don't have a clue where to start. Just a
little info about it. It is a Intel 550mhz process. It is in a Micron
Case. And that is pretty much it. I want to go big on this on and
try and save some money. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

You could likely keep the CD drive and the hard drive. But
CD drives and hard drives are so cheap ($20 & $44), that I'd
just leave them in the old computer case.

I recycled an old computer case, from my first PC, and I regret
doing it. The case is hard to get into, to do maintenance. Newer
cases, with an easy-to-use release handle on the side panel, are
superior.

There are thousands of motherboards, hundreds of processors both
old and new, and to focus the build advice, we like to know what
you plan on doing with the computer. In terms of economics, buying
a prebuilt can be cheaper than DIY. If you buy super-cheap DIY
stuff, sometimes you pay for it, in terms of the amount of
gear that must be returned to the retailer. While on paper, you
can find some cheap deals, the overall cost in terms of time spent,
and shipping fees, can erode the bargain.

A prebuilt machine gives you some working hardware, plus a warranty
for early failures. The only disadvantage for the prebuilt machine,
is the bundled software. If I had to buy a prebuilt machine, I'd
want to install my own OS on it, so I wouldn't be tied to the
"restore" function provided with the prebuilt machine.

If you buy a prebuilt machine, make sure it has a video card slot!
That is the single worst scam in prebuilt machines. You buy a cheap
one, get it home, decide the video is too weak, open the case, and
no video slot... Check to make sure the prebuilt has a video slot,
so you can upgrade it later if needed. If the specs mention that
a video card is installed in it, then you know it has some kind
of video card slot. "PCI Express x16" is the latest type of video
card slot. "AGP 8X" is the previous best type.

Paul
 
Chris Hill said:
Nothing you have would make it into a decent new build, most likely.
You can't build a low to moderate system for as cheap as you can buy one.
Click to expand...

Yes you can if you use the attractive offers on the components.
 
Who wants to build a system that is alaready obselete?
Click to expand...

Those that care about the price with a low to moderate system.

Any system will be obsolete quite soon, and he clearly doesnt upgrade often.
 
Jan Alter said:
A 550 mhz P III chip? That puts your rig at about 4 years old. You'd be
best considering to start very fresh, including a new power supply.
You could possibly use the case as long as a standard mb would fit into
it, but even then you give up the option of not using one with front
mounted usb and other type ports. AGP video cards can still be used in new
systems, but PCI Express has become the standard, and probability is that
your video is built into the Micron mb so you most likely need a new
video card as well although you can save money buy getting another mb with
built in video that you could later add a better video card.. If you're
lucky you may have a 30 gig hdd, and you could use it, depending on your
needs. If the hdd is less than simply use it as a second drive. I'd say
the best you can salvage is the floppy drive and perhaps the CD/DVD-ROM
drive from the box,(should it be capable of playing DVDs). Any system you
built today should have a minimum of playing DVDs as well as burning them.
You'll need different RAM as well, as PC 100/133 SDRAM is barely being
used on any mb, and even the newer DDR RAM is out in place of DDR II and
newer RAM.
It would be helpful to know what you intend to do with your new built
machine, and if you prefer AMD or Intel and a price range so that folks
can really give you some clear buying possibilites.
--
Jan Alter
(e-mail address removed)
or
(e-mail address removed)12.pa.us
Click to expand...

Actually, we have just a system that we use as backup.....and its more then
4 years old, more like 8.

We got a 440 BX2 motherboard with a 550 chip on ebay for 20.00. The mobo was
our issue. We took the 550 CPU that came with the board and put our PIII 600
in its place. We had to change some of the BIOS settings back to the ones
from Micron, but fortunately we had printed those out.

You can't fix a dinosaur of a PC any cheaper then that.

D.
 
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