How To Upgrade Your PC to a Pentium 4 Screamer For Less Than $750

By Cap Mason, FlightSim.Com Flight Simulator Editor

This article is for all of you flightsimmers who want the screaming performance of a new Pentium 4 PC, but don't want to spend a fortune on a new computer to get it. Working with our special projects contributor, Alan Frerocious, I came up with a great way to painlessly upgrade your existing computer. We started with just the existing computer case and then added new:

• Motherboard

• Processor

• Cooling Fan

• Power Supply

• Memory

• Hard Drive

• Video Card
  

No sound card needed because this motherboard has it fully integrated already. The result was a powerful new system, powered by an Intel Pentium 4 processor running at a blazing 2.4 GHz. Now, you can take to the skies with Flight Simulator 2002 or Combat Flight Simulator 3, crank up all the graphics goodies and fly around the world stutter-free. And, the best part is, you can do it all for less than $750. I have even included direct links to where you can buy the gear you need right now at Tiger Direct and save a bundle.

Start with an Intel Motherboard

This system upgrade assumes that you are going to keep your existing case and CD-ROM or DVD drives. I am also assuming that your case can handle a new Intel motherboard. If you are in doubt, check the size specs or go ahead and get a new case that fits the new motherboard. When we upgraded our PC, the motherboard fit the existing case.

There are lots of motherboard on the market but we chose the best-of-breed in a genuine Intel motherboard. 

Intel 845PEBT2 Socket 478 Motherboard

The new Intel® Desktop Board D845PEBT2 with DDR333 support features premium surround sound audio with analog, coaxial digital and optical digital output. Featuring voice recognition with stereo microphone inputs, this board optimal for building an enthusiast PC. Intel® Precision Cooling Technology gives your powerful system quieter operation

A PC based on the Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology (Hyper-Threading) improves processor performance and responsiveness, giving you the power to do more tasks on your PC at once such as playing a game while encoding digital music or editing digital video while encoding digital music. This groundbreaking technology from Intel enables the processor to execute two threads (a part of a program) in parallel. So your software can run more efficiently and you can multitask more effectively than ever before.

Add An Intel Pentium 4 Processor

The motherboard described above does not include a CPU. We chose the 2.4 gig Pentium 4 because it offered the best performance at the lowest price

Intel Pentium 4 2.40GHz / 512k Cache / 533 FSB / Socket 478 / Processor

The new Pentium® 4 processor is Intel's most powerful processor for the desktop. Based on the new Intel® NetBurst™ micro-architecture, the Pentium 4 processor improves performance on today's high-end applications. Plus you'll have the power to take advantage of tomorrow's emerging Internet demands and digital technologies.

The Intel® Pentium® 4 processor is designed to meet the demanding performance needs of the home PC user. The processor's internal design delivers a higher level of performance for activities that need it most, including Internet audio and streaming video, image processing, video content creation, speech recognition, 3D, CAD, games, multimedia, and multitasking user environments.

The Pentium 4 processor delivers maximum performance for:

• Cutting-edge Internet technologies such as streaming video and MP3 audio
• Quickly creating, editing and sharing professional-quality photos and video
• The ultimate gaming platform for immersive 3D experiences
• Internet technologies such as Java, streaming audio and video, 3D, and Web animation
• Multi-tasking environments
• Background tasks such as real-time virus checking, encryption, compression, and e-mail synchronization
• Reduced compiling and rendering times for multimedia applications
• Longevity and headroom for future technologies and innovations
• Operation of Windows® XP operating system

• Intel® NetBurst™ Micro-architecture
• 533-MHz System Bus
• 512-KB L2 Advanced Transfer Cache
• Hyper-Pipelined Technology
• Streaming SIMD Extensions 2
• Rapid Execution Engine
• 128-Bit Floating Point Port
• SIMD 128-bit Integer
• Execution Trace Cache
• Advanced Dynamic Execution
• Thermal Monitoring
• Built-in Self Test (BIST)
• IEEE 1149.1 Standard Test Access Port and Boundary Scan

• Processor Speed: 2.40 GHz
• Cache Size: 512 KB
• Processor Instruction Set: Intel x86 Compatibility
• Processor Socket: Intel Socket 478
• Bus Speed: 533 MHz
• Processor Class: Intel Pentium 4 Processor

Fan Not Included

Warranty: One Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty

Add A Cooling Fan

These powerful Pentium 4 processors run fast and hot. So, you need to add a cooling fan.

Intel Genuine Socket 478 Cooling Fan up to 2.8 GHz

Genuine Intel CPU Cooling Fan!

Heat is the great killer of PC performance and can damage your processor and other delicate components. A more efficient cooling fan can protect your PCs vital parts and boost performance. This Socket 478 Cooling Fan will keep your Intel® Pentium® 4 processor running smooth and efficient without the worries of overheating your CPU.

• Compatibility: Socket 478
• Speed: Up to 2.8GHz

 Price: $18.99 at Tiger Direct

Upgrade Your Power Supply

Creating this PC dynamo means you'll need more juice from your power supply. So, we cranked our PC up to 330 watts.

Example of your link:


Antec TruePower 330W ATX Power Supply

Replace that older or non-functioning power supply with the Antec TruePower 330W ATX Power Supply. It will fit into any standard ATX case and will provide smooth and uninterruptible work on your PC system.

Features Antec Low Noise Technology!
Antec Low Noise Technology is a new approach that achieves optimum balance between noise reduction and necessary cooling. To this end power supply fans run at the lowest speed appropriate to load and conditions, under an advanced temperature response system that outperforms previous solutions. Further dedicated Fan Only power connectors allow TruePower power supplies to control the speed of case fans, too.

Features:

• ATX Form Factor, ATX12V compliant for Pentium 4 (backward compatible with previous Pentium versions) and AMD systems
• Antec Low Noise Technology( Thermally controlled variable speed fan & case fans )
• True330 is a 330 Watt 6-output, dual fan-cooled ATX (Baby AT or PS/2 Size) power supply designed for personal computer or industrial applications.
• Its ATX 12V compliance allows its use with the latest Pentium 4 processors while its backward compatibility ensures its usability with any system.

Specifications:

• Maximum Power: 330W
• Transient Response: +5V,+12V outputs return to within 5% in less than 1ms for 20% load change.
• P. G. Signal: 100-500ms
• Input Voltage: 115 VAC / 230VAC
• Warranty: 3 years limited

Now, Upgrade Your System Memory

With a faster CPU and a motherboard that supports a far faster frontside bus, you'll also need to upgrade your system memory. We added 512MB of 333MHz DDR SDRAM.

Premium 512MB PC2700 DDR 333MHz Memory

Upgrading the memory in your PC is the smartest, fastest and most affordable way to boost performance-for every computing task. The results are dramatic and immediate. Even the most complex processes, like multimedia, gaming and web design are handled more efficiently when you upgrade your memory. Is it easy? You bet. In fact, it takes just a few minutes to double or even triple your system's memory.

Features

• Engineered for enhanced performance.
• Delivers faster access times for networking.
• Ultra-fast loading for improved performance with multimedia, video playback and game software.
• Designed to handle today's memory-hungry applications
• Enables you to run more applications simultaneously
• Print larger, more complicated pages, faster.

• Memory Size: 512MB
• Speed: 333MHz PC2700
• Memory Type: DDR
• Pins: 184
• Peak Bandwidth: 2.7GBps

Price $79.99 at Tiger Direct

Upgrade Your Hard Drive

If your existing hard drive is a newer model with plenty of speed and room to spare (you should not fill it up so you have less than 20% of the drive's capacity available at all times as storage overhead) keep it. If your existing hard drive is old, small or slow; you'll want to upgrade it. We put an 80GB, high-speed EIDE hard drive in our upgraded PC.

Seagate 80GB EIDE / 7200 RPM / 2MB / 9.5 / ATA-100 / Hard Drive

Premium Seagate 80GB Drive:
Outrageous 7200 RPM Performance For Less!

Our most popular hard drive at a price that is absolutely unheard of in the computer industry! "Build-It-Yourselfers" and PC Upgraders have jumped on this deal, and the Seagate EIDE 80GB 7200 rpm drive has rocketed to the top of our sales charts. Besides delivering a massive 80GB of storage space and 7200 rpm speed, along with ATA/100 interface, this Seagate U Series drive includes Seagate's breakthrough SoftSonic FDB motor for the quietest operation of any 7200 rpm drive made. And Seagate protects your data like no other drive with 350 Gs nonoperating shock and a 3D Defense System that's proven # 1 in reliability testing. A huge 2MB Cache Buffer means fast data rate transfers and the DiscWizard software makes Seagate drives the industry's easiest to install.

Seagate has combined performance, acoustics and data-handling robustness to create a series of drives that are "Best In Class" every year, in every trade publication—and now, we've priced them at the same low price as many "no-name" drives.

Check the specs on this drive! Internal transfer rate is an amazing 555 Mbits per second, with twin discs and 4 heads for reliable data storage. And the Seagate U Series 80GB drive is fully S.M.A.R.T. capable. Why spend the same money for a lesser drive? Nobody has a better track record for performance and reliability than Seagate the drive that stores the world's most important information. Seagate has been honored by PC Computing, PC Magazine, PC World, PC Professional, PC Office, Computer Shopper and scores of other publications, all naming the Seagate U Series (among other Seagate drives) the very best.

At this price, you can afford the best.

• Capacity: 80GB
• Rotational Speed: 7200rpm
• Interface: EIDE Ultra ATA/100  
• Buffer Size: 2MB
• Seek time: 9.5 ms
• Cylinders: 1023
• Sectors: 63

• 7,200-RPM spindle speed and 2-Mbyte buffer combine for superior desktop performance
• High instantaneous (burst) data-transfer rates (up to 100 Mbytes per second) using Ultra DMA mode 5
• Giant magnetoresistive (GMR) recording heads and EPRML technology, which provide the drives with increased areal density
• State-of-the-art cache and on-the-fly error-correction algorithms
• Full-track multiple-sector transfer capability without local processor intervention
• Quiet operation
• 350 Gs nonoperating shock
• The innovative, shock-absorbing SeaShield® cover protects the drive against electrostatic discharge (ESD) and other handling damage. It also includes installation instructions and jumper settings.
• SeaTools diagnostic software performs a drive self-test that eliminates unnecessary drive returns.
• The 3D Defense System™, which includes Drive Defense, Data Defense and Diagnostic Defense, offers the industry’s most comprehensive protection for disc drives.

*Note: This hard drive is in OEM packaging, and does not come with cables, software, or hardware.

Price $99.99 at Tiger Direct

Install A New High-performance Video Card

If your existing video card is at least a GeForce 4 128MB, you should simply re-install it. If not, now would be a good time to upgrade. We put a new eVGA GeForce 4 128MB Ti4200 card in our upgraded PC.

eVGA GeForce4 Ti4200 8X, 128MB, AGP, TV Out, DVI

The NVIDIA® GeForce4™ Ti 4200-8X is a high powered 2D/3D video card for the average user or gamer. The e-GeForce4 Ti 4200-8X features 128MB of high-speed 128Bit DDR SDRAM with a fast clock speed of 500MHz, nView™ display technology and uses the nfiniteFX™ II graphic engine. Users will be able to take advantage of the AGP 8X compatibility with a memory bandwidth of 8GB/sec. Our e-Geforce4 Ti 4200-8X 128MB includes TV Out via an S-Video Connector for display on a TV.

NVIDIA introduces the GeForce4 Ti4200–delivering the most radically immersive graphic environments ever seen on a desktop PC.

Groundbreaking features including the advanced nfiniteFX™ II engine, superior Accuview Antialiasing™ techniques and flexible nView™ multi-display technology, deliver screaming performance and fierce processing power–for truly unmatched ferocious graphics power.

nfiniteFX Engine
The NVIDIA nfiniteFX II Engine incorporates dual programmable Vertex Shaders, faster Pixel Shaders and 3D textures.

AGP 8X
Provides double the bandwidth of AGP 4X—2.1GB/sec. vs. 1.1GB/sec. AGP 8X enables more complex models and detailed textures, creating richer and more lifelike environments.

LMA II
LMA II boosts effective memory bandwidth by up to 300%. Radical new technologies including Z-occlusion culling, fast Z-clear, and auto pre-charge?

Accuview AA 
The Accuview Antialiasing subsystem with advanced multisampling hardware delivers full-scene antialiased quality at performance levels never before seen.

nView Display Technology 
The nView hardware and software technology combination delivers maximum flexibility for multi-display options, and provides unprecedented end-user control of the desktop experience.

Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) 
Guarantees forward and backward compatibility with software drivers.

High-Definition Video Processor (HDVP) 
Turns your PC into a fully functional DVD player, and an HDTV player with the purchase of an additional third-party decoder

Price $169.99 at Tiger Direct

Grand Total For the Cost of Hardware For This Complete Upgrade is Just $748.98

Cost without the Hard Drive and Video Card Upgrades is Just $479.00

Total cost excludes charges for shipping and sales tax.

Installation

Cap Mason
CapMason@flightsim.com