Upgrade question

Post by **Plan B** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 5:53 pm

Is this...

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 AM2 X2 5200 2,6 Ghz 2MB
MOBO: MB ASUS AMD AM2 M2N4-SLI ATX
VID: ASUS 512M EAX1650Silent/HTD PCI-E
HDD: HITACHI 500GB 16MB SATA II 50KLA360
DVD: RW SAMSUNG SH-S182M Black Lightscribe 18X
MEM: 3 x Dane Elec 1Gb (Cube) (1024Mb) DDR2 PC2 5300 / 667 DIMM

...a good deal for EUR 760 / GBP 510 / USD 1020?

And also:
It doesn't come with an OS.
Can I install my current XP on this?
I remember something about XP install restrictions on different systems.

TIA

Post by **Tormentius** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 6:04 pm

T&T :icon10:

Post by **Nightshade** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 6:13 pm

NO&U :icon10:

Post by **stocktroll** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:04 pm

lol amd

Post by **AmIdYfReAk** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:04 pm

Tormentius wrote:T&T :icon10:

Post by **Denz** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:23 pm

Don't you need a 64 bit OS?

Post by **Foo** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:41 pm

Seems like a reasonable price.

The motherboard supports SATA RAID though so I'd recommend 2 or even 4 smaller drives rather than a single large drive. Slightly more work to install XP but a good performance boost (IMO) and costs often about the same as a single drive.

I'd get 2Gb of RAM if you can stretch to it.

The graphics card seems a bit low performance wise but its a nice price and will probably handle everything up to the present time acceptably...

As for XP. Strictly speaking if you have an OEM copy on your current PC (i.e. you have the product key stuck to the case, it'll say 'OEM' or the name of a PC manufacturer on it), then legally no, you can't move it. In practical terms however you'll have to phone up to re-activate the OS when you get it installed on your new PC, and you can potentially blag them into believing you've just upgraded your existing PC rather than bought a new one. If you admit it's completely new they won't re-activate for you, and depending on the operator you get they might not do it at all. Even if they activate it, legally speaking the software is not licensed for the any PC other than the one you bought it on.

If you have a retail copy of XP, you can move it to whatever PC you want but you're only ever licensed to have it installed on 1 at a time.

And finally, for a 64-bit processor you're better off with a 64-bit OS or you're not using the processor to its full advantage. However, if you're intending to buy a new OS then go for an x64 Vista flavour, and run your old copy of XP as a second partition or in a virtual machine. Best of both worlds that way, or nearabouts.

Post by **obsidian** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:53 pm

No, it doesn't sound like a very good deal. For the same price, I can get a Core2Duo (maybe even a Core2Quad) with a better video card (7800 series, perhaps). I doubt you will need 3 GB of RAM unless you pick up a bleeding edge system. 2GB should do for most applications and games.

I think you can transfer over an OS provided that you don't use it on the old computer. You'll have to phone up MS and tell them that you had to (ahem) swap motherboards or something.

@Denz: 32-bit OS should be able to allocate enough memory addresses for 3GB of RAM. 4GB would be a total waste.

Edit: Okay Foo and I differ in opinion in price. N.A. vs. European computer hardware pricing?

@Foo: Wouldn't a 64-bit Vista have more problems with software compatibility than 32-bit Vista? I'm not sure how "smart" Vista is with 64 to 32 so just asking.

Post by **Silicone_Milk** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:07 pm

Nice motherboard choice. I use that one and I'm quite happy with it =)

I think that's a little expensive though....

AMD Athlon 64 x2 4200+
ASUS M2N4-SLI motherboard
Two ASUS EN7300GT videocards
2 1gb DDR2 sticks of Kingston ram.

cost around $400 USD

Of course, I didnt buy a HDD or an optical drive. (or the newer processor

) so Id say that should only set you at around 900 USD.

Post by **Foo** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:53 pm

obsidian wrote:Edit: Okay Foo and I differ in opinion in price. N.A. vs. European computer hardware pricing?

I think that must be it. It seems pretty good to me for 500 quid, but exchange rates don't usually reflect the market in each country so well for tech stuff.

@Foo: Wouldn't a 64-bit Vista have more problems with software compatibility than 32-bit Vista? I'm not sure how "smart" Vista is with 64 to 32 so just asking.

Yes and no. I *think* I'm right in saying that x64 vista or XP can run 32-bit apps under emulation. And for new hardware, there should be x64 drivers available for everything.

Also apologies, I didn't spot the 3x in front of the RAM, I thought it was a single stick of 1Gb. Silly me!

Post by **Foo** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:57 pm

BTW on the OS side of things I'd advise you to pick up an OEM copy of Vista really. It'll see you right for updates having a legit copy, and it's pretty much the only commercial software you'll need for the system, as everything else can be procured legitimately for free (OpenOffice 7-zip, Picasa, you should get a Nero with your drive, irfanview etc)

Post by **SOAPboy** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 5:12 am

Foo wrote:Seems like a reasonable price.

The motherboard supports SATA RAID though so I'd recommend 2 or even 4 smaller drives rather than a single large drive. Slightly more work to install XP but a good performance boost (IMO) and costs often about the same as a single drive.

I'd get 2Gb of RAM if you can stretch to it.

The graphics card seems a bit low performance wise but its a nice price and will probably handle everything up to the present time acceptably...

As for XP. Strictly speaking if you have an OEM copy on your current PC (i.e. you have the product key stuck to the case, it'll say 'OEM' or the name of a PC manufacturer on it), then legally no, you can't move it. In practical terms however you'll have to phone up to re-activate the OS when you get it installed on your new PC, and you can potentially blag them into believing you've just upgraded your existing PC rather than bought a new one. If you admit it's completely new they won't re-activate for you, and depending on the operator you get they might not do it at all. Even if they activate it, legally speaking the software is not licensed for the any PC other than the one you bought it on.

If you have a retail copy of XP, you can move it to whatever PC you want but you're only ever licensed to have it installed on 1 at a time.

And finally, for a 64-bit processor you're better off with a 64-bit OS or you're not using the processor to its full advantage. However, if you're intending to buy a new OS then go for an x64 Vista flavour, and run your old copy of XP as a second partition or in a virtual machine. Best of both worlds that way, or nearabouts.

Putting it in the same "case" tho, faults that whole bullshit logic.

Post by **Plan B** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:00 am

Thanks for all the replies.
Insightful stuff, for me.

What I gather:

* MOBO's good, rest not so good for the price.
Then again, maybe for Euro-standards, it ís.
(mebbe even consider shipping from US?
I'll have to check shipping costs to see if that's worthwhile.)

* Have both a Vista64bit-install and XP-install on different partitions/drives.

The search goes on.

Post by **Scourge** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:32 am

Foo wrote:
Yes and no. I *think* I'm right in saying that x64 vista or XP can run 32-bit apps under emulation. And for new hardware, there should be x64 drivers available for everything.

I'm running 64 bit Vista and haven't had any problems running 32 bit software and haven't had any problems finding 64 bit drivers yet. So, yeah, that's accurate as far as my experience anyway.

Plan B wrote:
* Have both a Vista64bit-install and XP-install on different partitions/drives.

That's the setup I'm using and it works great.

Post by **Tormentius** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:34 pm

SOAPboy wrote:
Putting it in the same "case" tho, faults that whole bullshit logic.

Actually, it doesn't. Read the MS licensing fine print a little more. If you upgrade your mobo it legally invalidates the OEM license unless its the same mobo and chipset to replace a failed one.