Reposted Question hoping for better response: Old into new

I have a refurbished Dell Dimension 3000.

It has a Intel P4 2.8Ghz

2- 256mb 477mhz ddr ram

The motherboard only supports 2 sticks of Ram, and has no PCI Express or AGP. Just the old run of the mill PCI.

This limits me terribly when it comes to upgrading. Also I am looking into new chassis. Is there a way to purchase a new motherboard and have the P4 processor from the Dell work? Or would it be cheaper to get a new processor with the motherboard and start from scratch?

 

What do you plan on doing with the PC? Gaming, editing, movies?

 

watching/ editing movies, listening/ mixing music, little gaming and some OpenGL programs

 

Ok man, let me start off by saying: in a few years... your computer is going to be so called "dead" to the so called market... or "obsolete" lol...:
Your processor is actually still alright and it can handle a lot.
Your ram... its NOT BAD. If your going to edit movies and play some games.... your definitley going to need an upgrade.
Your graphics... if your going to do little gaming i would STILL go for the PCI-Express since a lot of cheap motherboards come with it anyways.
Dont worry, ill build you one online suited for you:

Motherboards:
Newegg.com - ECS 945P-A (V3.0) LGA 775 Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - ASRock ConRoe1333-D667 R1.0 LGA 775 Intel 945GC A2 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Motherboards that can hold P4
Newegg.com - ASUS P5VD2-VM SE LGA 775 VIA P4M900 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

All these motherboards have 4 RAM slots and can support up to 4GB's! ITs more than enough... Also, they all have HDD connectors if you still use IDE's for your hard drive (i still do). Also comes with SATA's. Also, they all support some of the latest CPU's like Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, Pentium D

RAM - 2x1GB (2GB)
Newegg.com - pqi TURBO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

These are two sticks of RAM. In any of the motherboards above you can Dual Mode them. I highly recommend you get atleast 2GB of RAM or more for your editing... its a B*tch! I use After Effects CS3 and it takes up i believe (when not rendering)... 512MB or about that size!!! INSANE.

Processor (if you don't stick with your P4)
Newegg.com - Intel Pentium D 925 Presler 3.0GHz 2 x 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

Video Card - PCI-Express
Newegg.com - MSI NX8500GT-TD256EH GeForce 8500GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Silent Heatsink Video Card - Retail

This graphics card may look like a to-expensive-and-for-hardcore-gamers-only type of card... but dont worry its not. Its around 70 dollars and its the 8 series! I have this and i can play some of the latest games with no hassle. I understand that youll be doing some little gaming which is why i also chose this for you. I beleive its suitible the present and the future.

CONCLUSION: Basically, your grand total would be - $270/and $170 WITHOUT PROCESSOR.
Now, can you make it cheaper? OFCOURSE YOU CAN. These are just my suggestions since i have about the same demands as you do. I'de say you can down it to around $120 if you dig through some websites.
Keep in mind though: Your power supply might need some more wattage for these new parts
also keep in mind that some of these boards are MicroATX and also ATX. I think the Dimensions are Micro anyways? If you get an ATX motherboard... new cases are as cheap as $20.
So, i've built a computer suited for your needs and also for the sake of the future. Write back with comments :x:

 

First off, you need to let us know which socket your p4 is. Just because it is a p4 doesn't mean it is a 775, especially since it's a 2.8 GHz (old.)

 

yeah i know but i was assuming. could be a 478

 

Thanks scorps65! I was just planning on buying the max amount of ram the dimension would handle which is 2gb, but seeing what you priced I think I'm going to hold off of that and upgrade. If I did get a new processor do you recommend XP pro, media center or vista? I still find XP better then Vista.

 

I would recommend XP Pro anytime over Vista. Vista currently has so many problems right now its crazy (this isn't opinionated... if you check out other forums, lots of people say they have problems with Vista). The reason Vista isnt that great right now is because many drivers arent compatible with it. Plus, a lot of bugs are still being patched for it i believe by Microsoft. If you plan on getting Vista i wouldn't get it anytime soon. I say you install it when a Service Pack comes out for it which isnt soon haha.
XP Pro would be the way to go (sweet... that rhymes)

Anytime, glad i could help man