Just thought I should follow up on the computer upgrade progress, for those who seemed to be interested in what I was doing with it last year. As I mentioned in my MySpace blog a couple of months ago, I had to replace the motherboard in my computer. I replaced it with an ASUS P4P800 SE from NewEgg.com, which works excellently! I had gone to Fry’s to get a new mobo because I considered it an emergency, only to find out when I got home that the one I picked wasn’t even compatible with my CPU, so I had to return it. This one’s a perfect replacement, although you would need a larger ATX case like mine to hold it (for those of you trying to upgrade your Dell Dimension 2350). The mobo has an AGP video slot, so I also got a new video card with dual monitor & DVI capability. I also replaced the power supply with a new one from Antec. Replace the mobo also meant I had to buy a new copy of Windows to replace the OEM version. Last winter I also added on a 120 GB hard drive to hold all my music. So now there’s nothing Dell about it (except for my Dell LCD monitor, which I purchased separately because it was a great bargain).
Update: I replaced my 17″ Dell flat-panel LCD monitor with a 19″ ViewSocic WIDESCREEN, so all traces of the Dell corporation are now gone!
Well, okay, I have to admit that the CD-RW drive, the boot hard drive, and the actual CPU are original. But they're all that's left from the Dell Dimension I started with.
Another update: Last week I replaced my OEM processor with a 3.0 GHz P4 with an 800 MHz front-side bus. I also added a gig of ram via dual-channel 512 MB modules, and now my computer is so fast it's obscene! I don't have the problems with iTunes that I used to have, and my e-mail and browser windows open instantaneously. I would have liked to have upgraded to an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, but the only socket-478s they have are for laptops, and I have seen no documentation that indicates those chips would work with an ASUS P4P800 SE mobo. The new CPU runs a lot hotter, so I've had to turn my adjustable Zalman CPU fan all the way up. It's made to be quiet, though, so it's not that bad.