Just asking some info about what I could put on my asus mobo

[ThePhantomPain]

Well I was just wondering what possible upgrades I could put on my asus A7V8X-X MOBO.
It's a rather old version and I tried to find the info needed, but came home from a sad voyage on that one.
All I need to know is, what better parts could I possibly add to it with the given MOBO and the hardware already installed on it.

CPU: AMD athlon XP 2600+, MMX, 3DNow, at 1,7 GHz
GRAPHICS: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with 64 MB VideoRAM
SOUND: AD1980 SoundMax integrated audio
NIC: integrated on MOBO
HARDDISK: WDC WD600JB-00ETA0
RAM: 512MB DDR, on box it says that it canhave DDR266, DDR333 and DDR400
modules.

So could someone advise me what best to do when I want to upgrade the performance without getting a new MOBO installed and with the data given, I gave this data to the best extend I could, cause the MOBO was a bulk version and came with no real manual.

Thanks in advance.

Yours Sincerely,

ThePhantomPain.

 

[JMMD]

http://www.mbreview.com/a7v8xx.php

Asus should have the manual online.

You could get a faster CPU, more ram and a new video card.

 

[ThePhantomPain]

Owww thx a lot for the information, that mobo should last for another year and then I am going to buy a new computer.

 

[KingCody]

Hi PhantomPain,

we really can't advise you on what to do until we know what you want to use the computer for. a hardware upgrade will not give you a performance gain if you're not going to utilize it. if you're not a gamer then your current specs are not bad, a few system tweaks can make your PC run much faster, and won't cost you anything. that being said...

if you still want to upgrade your existing hardware you could:

1. upgrade the CPU. the fastest CPU for socket A is the Athlon-XP 3200+ although I'm not sure if your mobo/chipset is compatible with a 400MHz FSB model. it may be able to with a BIOS update. your 2600+ is not a bad CPU for the socket-A lineup, I don't think you would see any dramatic difference with a faster model.

2. upgrade the video card. the best video cards for AGP (that I know of at least) is the Nvidia 7800GS or the ATI Radeon X850XT. they should handle almost any game out there today. if you're not a gamer then I wouldn't even bother upgrading the video.

3. upgrade (replace or add more) RAM. your mobo is limited to only 1 PC3200 stick, 2 PC2700 sticks, or 3 PC2100 sticks. a BIOS update may allow you more flexibility for RAM configuration.

any CPU, Video, or RAM upgrades will consume more power (especially video). your PSU may not be able to handle an increased power demand, so keep that in mind as well.

You could upgrade those components and have a better performing machine, but you should take into consideration (if you haven't already done so) that Socket-A, AGP8X, and PC2100/PC2700 are already outdated standards and will be completely useless in a new machine purchased in another year from now.

hope that helps. cheers :wave:

 

[ThePhantomPain]

Yeah I need to gain a bit performance on gaming, that's the prime reason I want to do an upgrade now, cause I am at the moment still a little limited on resources (with that in mind cash).
I finally founded the guide that came with it thank god and even with a BIOS-update my mobo doesn't support a FSB of 400, it does but it will decrease the FSB to 333.
But I think the prime concern here is that I have problems even playing a pretty small map in WC3:TFT
The computer just pretty much bites in the dust when it comes to gaming.

I think I should propably get a new Graphics card and replace the RAM.

Can you give me some estimation off how much the graphics card is gonna cost me, the RAM module I can get really cheap from a friend who owns a computershop and owns me a favour.

BTW the guide also sais I can only use +1.5V graphic cards and the max speed on the bus is 533MHz.

Yours Sincerely,

ThePhantomPain.

PS, I know the standards are pretty outdated and utterly useless within a year, but I know people who buy up machines like these to give them a second live in schools and stuff, so that's why I want to upgrade this machine.