(Foreword: This is a work-in-progress build, and probably not be finished until early 2008. This page will be updated periodically to reflect changes in the design.)
(UPDATE: Jan. 2008: Due to me laundering all my money on a new guitar and upgrades for my current rig, PSE2 is delayed... for a bit longer than 2 months. Expect a summer update with a few parts, and the thing might be ready to go for winter of this year.)
Alright, welcome to the second edition of Pimpin' Systems! Today's project is a little unorthodox: I'm going to take a very low-end computer (a Hewlett-Packard a1116x, to be exact) and turn it into a real gaming machine... while keeping a reasonable budget.
The first thing I noticed about the HP was that its' internal components were very outdated. Don't let it's snazzy external appearance and big, shiny OS (it came with Vista Home Premium) fool you, 'cause this thing is weak. Let's go take a look at some quick stats for the a1116x:
- RAM: 504 MB (they just couldn't add another 8 MB to make it work, couldn't they?)
- CPU: Intel Pentium 4@ 3.06 gHz (not that bad, actually)
- Graphics Card: NONE! THE HORROR!!!
- Motherboard: PCI compatible (not PCI Express, just 1993 PCI)
- Windows Vista Performance Index: 1.0. (ouch)
- HD: 200 GB (good enough for now)
Now, here's a quick look at the projected final stats of the system. Due to the cost factor, I will not be upgrading small necessities such as the sound card and the hard drive, and due to the fact that I want the computer to retain it's original form I won't be upgrading the case. This is going to change periodically as new technologies come out, so stay tuned! (Text in green symoblizes parts that are already bought/installed.)
- RocketFish 700W Power Supply
- Linksys Broadband/LAN Ethernet Modem
- Intel Core 2 Duo (possibly the "Wolfdale" spec CPU, when it's released)
- 2-4 GB of RAM
- PCI-Express 2.0 compatible motherboard (Intel X38???)
- Nvidia PCI-Express 2.0 compatible graphics card (there's a possibility that I might upgrade from a single v.card to an SLi setup in fall 2008, so stay tuned!)
- Upgraded cooling fan, if necessary
- 1 TB hard drive (I doubt I'm going to get this one until waaaay down the road)
That's it for now, folks! Come back in late '08 , when I attempt to start the fun part of the build. See you then!