My AthlonMP system is aging. Actually, it’s aged. It’s down to 512MB RAM (the other 512MB went bad a long time ago). BIOS updates ended 4 years ago, and the thing doesn’t seem to support drives over 137 GB or USB keyboards, two things that have worked for a long time. (Hint: it seems like a good idea at the time, but don’t buy a server-grade motherboard for your desktop. It seems better, but it’s all these little things that will get you.)
I have a decent enough graphics card, a nice HDTV tuner, a DVD burner, 500/200/60/40 GB drives, a nice keyboard, and a monitor. So all I need, really, is a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM.
So here’s a motherboard. Here’s the processor. Here’s the RAM, times two. Net cost? A little under $500. For a quad-core processor, 4 GB RAM, and a motherboard with GigE. Assuming, of course, that all you need is motherboard + processor + RAM. Which is the case for me. Granted, it also assumes that you have $500 to spend on computer upgrades….
Edit: Seems that the RAM might not be the best. Don’t take my word on it being the right thing.
If you don’t mind a rebate, Dealnews has some good listings for 2GBs of PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM.
I totally feel you on the AthlonMP aging out—that definitely brings back some memories! Your advice about not buying a server-grade motherboard for a desktop is absolutely spot on. I learned that the hard way years ago when I realized my “pro” board wouldn’t sleep properly and took five minutes just to pass POST because it was checking for redundant hardware I didn’t even have.
One thing that always gets tricky when moving away from those older server-style setups is the power efficiency. Those old dual-socket rigs were absolute power hogs. For a modern quad-core build like you’re planning, you can be so much more efficient. I recently did a budget refresh for a home lab and was surprised that a high-quality 250-watt server power supply https://serverorbit.com/power-supplies/server-power/250-watt was more than enough for a low-power node, whereas the old machine it replaced had a massive, loud PSU that wasted a ton of energy. It’s impressive how much performance-per-watt has improved.
Since you’re keeping your existing drives and tuner, are you confident your current power supply has the right rails for the new board, or are you worried about old connectors not matching up?