I pawned this computer at a pawn shop about a year ago and finally got it out to find that one of the heatsink attachment clips was damaged!! (that part that anchors it to the motherboard so its properly attached to CPU)

When I tested to see how well attached it was, it came off the CPU when I put slight pressure on it!!! Holy crap that must be bad. The computer must of been running like this for a couple days since I only discovered it when upgrading the video card. At the time (before I had it fixed) it would show a temp of 67 celsius-154*F) which was dangerously high so I turned off computer and found the damaged clip.

I took it to a computer repair place for repaires and now it seems fine. (it must of been an act of god that must have prevented the computer from getting damaged since it ran like this for about 2 days lol)

After the repairs the current idle CPU temp is 37*c (100*F) and when playing a high CPU load game (like Battlefield 1942) it maxes at about 54*c (100*F)

The question here is, do I still need to be concerned or is this its normal operating tempuratur for this model (HP A335W)?

The video card I upgraded to is a Geforce MX 4000 PCI. This computer has a vent for a case fan, but as of right now it doesn't have one installed (it didn't come with one).

Will the CPU temp improve once I get a case fan installed or will the fan only made the case temp low and not CPU?

I don't really know the origenal temps when I got this computer since I never checked the CPU temp (which is viewable in BIOS and now in system tray thanks to a program I found) untill recently.

Right now there is no program glitches or system instability so as far as I know the CPU is operating normally.

The P4 has built-in thermal protection circuitry. It's virtually impossible to overheat one to death. 67C is fairly warm, but not warm enough to trigger the circuitry. Your temps since the repair are right where they should be.

The MX4000 PCI wasn't very good video card choice. There are better PCI cards that don't cost all that much more...FX5200 for example. No AGP slot?

It was the only one available at the time, but I found a Nvidia Geforce 6200 PCI for $54 and the one you suggested which has 256mb (but no DVI output).

Yes I am limited to PCI since this motherboard lacks any AGP or PCI-E slots.

The current card will be kept in this computer mainly to play BF1942 and run Vista. I plan to build a computer with a AMD motherboard which will have a 1.8Ghz processer, but this motherboard will have a PCI-E 16x slot and an AGP slot which will widen my upgrade choices. My primery goal here is to play Battlefield 2.

Get the ATI Radeon X1550 PCI Version. That will be the best you can do with normal PCI. Which isn't a bad card BTW considering it's PCI. You can pick this card up for 106 bucks on newegg and get 20 bucks back after mail in rebate.

You will notice a nice diff in games with this card compared to what you have in there now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ OC 2.7ghz
4GB Dual Channel DDR 3200
Nvidia 7900GT
SATA II 2x 300gig 7200rpm 16mb cache RAID-0+1
Gigabyte Nforce 4 SLI

Thanks for the the info on that one. Is there a PCI-E card you can recommend for the computer I plan to build? Right now the total cost of it is around $200 (amazing how cheap it can be if you buy everything seperatly and build it your self)

The motherboard I will get will have PCI-E (PCI Exress 16x) and I will try to get a PCI-E card for similar price. Though the processer for this one will be 1.8GHZ compared to the 2.5GHZ of the current computer, the PCI-E should make up for that. (total cost doesn't yet factor in ram which I will get after everthing else, but I plan to have a 2GB setup) Heck, maybe you can recommend a good motherboard too, one that can have 4GB of ram put in it maybe? (preferrably one that includes a CPU since finding it seperatly could be a pain)

Oh and here is the specs of the HP A335W:

CPU:

Intel Pentium4/2.5 GHz
400 MHz front side bus
Socket mPGA478

Motherboard Chipset:
845GL

Motherboard Maker: ASUS

Origenal Memory installed: 256mb upgradable to 1GB *Please note that it may be possible to upgrade to 2gb since my perticular motherboard specs say it can handle it)

Origenal Video card:
Integrated Intel Extreme graphics with up to 64 MB main system memory allocated for video memory

the $55 price tag on the MX 4000 was a good upgrade compared to how bad Battlefield 1942 ran on the Intel card so even though the MX 4000 isn't the best, it runs really good compared to the crap that was installed before it.

Sound Card: Integrated AC97 audio

(sorry for double post, since I couldn't edit my last post due to a server error I get when I attempt to save it)

Here is the specs of the computer I plan to builds:

Case: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?in...

Motherboard:(CPU and Heatsink included) http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?in...

There were a few other slightly more expensive versions but they both lacked PCI Express for some wierd reason so I chose this one.

Planned Video card for this one: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?in...

Its PCI-E and has 512mb of ram! This is actaully cheaper then the PCI card you suggested.

Total Cost: $194.93
Price does not include shipping, 2GB of ram, keyboard and mouse, LCD monitor, or harddrive cables.

I already have a hard-drive so I don't need to get another.

If there is any recommended changes to this planned build, be more then happy to recommend a better motherboard/video card etc.

I want to build a computer at cheapest price but with best performance possible. (once again, my primery goal is to play Battlefield 2 on this computer)

This computer will be much better then the 66Mhz peice of crap currently setting in my bedroom lol. (also note that the HP isn't actually mine since it's my mother's and she doesn't always let me use it, so this will be the first decent computer I will own myself)

Update: I installed a temporary case fan which is modified to run at 5v since its just too loud at 12 (it can still move alot of air even at 50% capacity)

Now my CPU is idling at 31*C (89*F) I havn't tested the temp for gaming, so I'm sure it will go up a little, but looks like its doing better now. Please note that the fan I used isn't one of the new "smart" fans that can control its RPM, this one is a good old fashaned 12v fan taken out of an old power supply. I modified the wiring to run at 5v since its way too loud. (for my mom anyway she wouldn't want a fan that loud in her computer) But even so, it does seem to be doing a good job.

Since the PSU for this computer blows air out, the I have inserted the fan to blow air into the case. I hope this is the currect setup. (and the fan vent is below the PSU not above like some computers are)

The problem with PCI cards is that *most* of them use 64-bit memory. There are some that use 128-bit, but they're more expensive & there isn't a huge selection. Ideally, you should get a PCI card that has 128-bit memory AND supports DX9.

I see several problems with your new build. One of them being that you're trying to go as cheap as possible.

PCPartner motherboard? I know geeks has been carrying them for a while, but I wouldn't take the chance.

The Sempron 3000+ only has 128k L2 cache. There are other Semprons with 256k that perform better. S754 A64's have 512k.

I have my doubts about the power supply used in a $35 case. A decent 480W PSU sells for over $35 by itself.

Video card is OK, but nothing fantastic. 512MB is unnecessary on such a card & is only used as a marketing trick. There are better cards for $90. I don't know where you were looking at FX5200 PCI cards, but they're a lot cheaper than $90.

Here's a couple of PCI-E cards that are MUCH better than the X700:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

How about this board & CPU, combined with one of the cheaper video cards listed above:

MSI K8N Neo3 H nForce4 Socket 754 $40

AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor 3000+ $50

And just so you know, the description for the CPU at Outpost is incorrect. It's actually this one:

A64 3000+ Venice

Thanks for the recommendations. Due to the limited money I get from my job (most of which goes to bills) I have to settle for something cheap. What you suggested works too by the way. I plan to get everthing one at a time since I can't afford to get it all at once. I plan to get them in this order:

Case and harddrive, motherboard and CPU, video card, systam ram, monitor, keyboard and mouse (I have plenty of keyboards laying around and already have a 52x CR-R/RW drive, not to mention 2 extra floppy drives and one extra 80GB harddrive)

Yes 512mb seems like overkill for a video card so I will use one of the cards you suggested. I will use the Nvidia card simply because I have a preference for them.

I will look for a case that doesn't come with the PSU so I have better options with the wattage.

This case is only $9: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?in...

I can add a decent 450w after that for not much more then what the origenal case would have been.

A decent 400-500W unit sells for at least $50, unless you find one on sale or with a rebate. Don't cut corners on the PSU. I suggest you hold off on the case & the PSU for right now. Outpost regularly has the UltraProducts Wizard mid-tower case for free after rebate, & also the Ultra V 500W PSU for free after rebate (usually shipped free too). They're due to put them back on sale again soon....

Ultra Wizard case

Ultra V 500W

Thanks for all the info, should make my computer build much better now.

This will end up being a little cheaper for the CPU:

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name...

http://www.svc.com/dk8-8id2a-ol.html

Thanks for that, wasn't sure if the last CPU you recommended came with a heatsink and fan, but now you just made my search easier.

The CPU at Outpost.com comes with a HSF, the one at eWIZ.com doesn't. SVC.com has really good prices on HSFs plus they have round IDE cables for just 99 cents. I picked the cheapest S754 HSF they have. It's comparable to the stock AMD unit...probably better because it uses "rifle bearings"

lol Round IDE cables would be much easier to handle.

Also does it come with thermal paste or will I have to get it seperete?

I'm thinking of having my computer repair place install the heatsink since I don't really want to chance it myself when installing it.

Normally whenever you buy a heatsink/fan combo it does come with thermal paste, but just to be on the safe side go pick up some Artic Silver thermal paste for like 6 bucks. Chances are the Artic Silver thermal paste is prob better then the one that comes with that heatsink/fan combo anyhow.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ OC 2.7ghz
4GB Dual Channel DDR 3200
Nvidia 7900GT
SATA II 2x 300gig 7200rpm 16mb cache RAID-0+1
Gigabyte Nforce 4 SLI

Update: I removed the fan guard that the repair man installed (please note that the origenal cpu fan didn't have one), and it improved airflow, so now my Idle CPU temp as dropped a few degrees.

Any one have recommendations for a good PCI TV Tuner card? (one with composite in jacks and ATSC Tuner for HD would be preferred) Right now I have a USB 2.0 TV tuner, which I plan to use in the bedroom, so I need another for my mom's bedroom since they want to watch TV in bed.

Oh and here the specs for the USB tuner I have (its nothing special):

http://www.sinovideo.com.cn/en/p/15/