Desktop Upgrade Help - Please.

Hi- Thanks for the Input - I have not opened up the case yet but I found some information in HP website about the computer - It is a Pavillion 554Y with 2.0Ghz Celeron Processor with 256MB of Ram. The Video adapter is an Intel 82845 with 64MB of video Memory. The motherboard is a Trigem Intel 845GL. The Socket Type is mPGA478 which supports Pentium 4s (Willamette) and Celeron (Northwood). It has a 400Mhz FSB. It supports upto 2GB of Memory. Unfortunatley it states that there is no AGP connector. The case form factor is a uATX.

Here is a picture of the Exact Motherboard -

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=&product=299504&docname=bph07813

With this information - What do you think is my best option to upgrade - I assume an external card is not possible on this mobo and I need to get a Mobo that can support a graphics card and hopefully the same processor or maybe another processor. Again, I am trying to keep this upgrade closest to $150 dollars. Your recommendations would be very helpful. Thanks.

If you trying to keep the costs on the low, and dont want to spend too much, I recommend the memory upgrade to at least 512MB if not 1 GB. If your budget is $150 then hunting down a new motherboard that would work with your processor and a video card along with the memory might blow your budget. If you are willing to do it and can find one, you could always get a PCI Video card. Remember that the AGP Bus has a through put of 64 bit, and the PCI Bus has a through put of 32 bit. You could probably find one on the cheap. I would suggest going to like tigerdirect or pricewatch and finding a Mobo to go with that processor, memory, and vid card and trying to keep it under your budget.

As of now I have one of two options - Please help me decide on which route to go and which combination will give me the most performance for the buck.

Option 1:
1. XFX Geforce FX5200 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Video Card - $63.00
or SAPPHIRE Radeon 9250 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Video Card - $46.99

2. Kingston HyperX 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory - $65
or Kingston ValueRAM 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $54.99

3. Intel Pentium 4 2.8B Northwood 2.8GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket 478 Processor - $70 (I could not find any Willamette P4 Processors - Will the Northwood P4 be compatible?)

Total: Between $172 - $198 depending on exact options.

Option 2.
1. Keep the Existing Processor - Celeron Northwood 2.0Ghz

2. ECS 661GX-M 1.0B Socket 478 SiS 661GX Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - $39.99 (It has an AGP Slot + 400Mhz FSB but says it only supports Intel Pentium 4 Prescott/Celeron) - If this is the wrong mobo for the existing Celeron - Could someone please post a model/make I should look at?

3. Kingston HyperX 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory - $65
or Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $108.00

4. POWERCOLOR Radeon X700 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X 8 Pixels - $95.00
Or eVGA Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X - $96.00
Or SAPPHIRE Radeon 9600XT 256MB 128-bit DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - $53

Total: Between $158 - $243 Depending on options.

Option 3
A combination of the above two and/or your suggestions for a different setup.

Also, With any of these changes will I need a bigger power supply or additional components or whatever is in the HP will Suffice. Again, Trying to keep this as close to the $150 amount as I can but I am flexible with this and all prices are off Newegg so If I browse around I could probably get 10 - 15% cheaper prices. I look forward to your suggestions! Thanks.

What kind of games are you intending to play with this machine? If it is something with a high frame rate it would be worth the time and trouble to bump the processor up to the P4. I recommend a bigger video card and memory based on the type of games your going to be playing. I will try to help you keep the price down as much as I can but in the end it will be worth it.

Okay - This is what I am thinking of doing for now:

1. Ordering a BFG GeForce FX 5500 PCI 256MB card from Compusa for $50.00 (After $50.00 Mfgr Rebate)

2. Upgrading Ram by 512MB to 640MB - $60.00

3. Snapping these two components in - running it and if the games work to where I like them - No more upgrade otherwise time for the P4.

Lastly - Can I see some benchmark results for the FX5500 anywhere or read any reviews or hear your experiences before I pick it up from Compusa? BFG also makes a FX 6200 with 128 MB ram Lastly - Can I see some benchmark results for the FX5500 anywhere or read any reviews or hear your experiences before I pick it up from Compusa? BFG also makes a FX 6200 with 128 MB - But its $100 more than the 5500 - Is it really worth the extra performance:

I downloaded CPU-Z and this is the information I get

Processor: Celeron
Codename: Northwood
Core Speed: 1999Mhz
Brand ID: 10
Package: Socket 478 mPGA
Rated FSB: 400Mhz

Mainboard: Northwood/Brookdale - G Va
Chipset: Intel i845GL

My question is what P4s will be compatible with this socket/mainboard? Do I need to look for a P4 that is Northbridge and supports 400Mhz FSB or can I get something that supports a higher FSB?

As For the Games:
I just went on Amazon and orderd the following games -

1. Call of Duty - Game of the Year Edition
2. NFS: Most Wanted
3. Far Cry
4. HL2: Episode One

I think these and buying COD Expansion, COD 2 and Tiger Woods 2007 will be all my game purchases for the year untill I buy a new machine early next year. Should I cancel my order on any of these because they will not run or run really crappy? I own HL2 now and I have played it on my Dell D600 Centrino with ATI 9000PRO 64MB Card (Till it fried and was replaced by a 32MB card and then it was pointless playing HL2) and 512MB RAM - While I was not happy with the performance; I can say that it wasn't that bad either. In terms of performance increase - what can I expect from the current setup and BFG FX5500 video card? - 25%? 50%? Less or More? Thanks.

P.S. What do you think is the best PCI Video card out there?

Thanks Alot!