Photos. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view, take a look.
My old computer has served me well for many years.  But the old reliable had given up and is in need of a refresh.  I purchased a new cpu, motherboard and power supply.  This will be my second computer build.

The new motherboard is a generation old, it is a socket 939 for AMD Athlon processors.  I select this board because of the low price.

Here is a top view of the new processor, a dual core Athlon 64 3800+ X2.

Turn the unit over and you can see the pins, 939 of them I think.

The processor slips in easily.  You can see the cpu cooler ready to be test fit.

The board is mounted in the case, easy enough.  But all the wire hookups take a little while longer because I need to refer the documentation.

Reusing the old drives and case means that I have to reload the OS.  This seems to go ok.  The new video card, an EVGA 7600gt 256 mb is not recognized and I never get it working.  The old PCI video card has to be reused.  And the power supply goes pop after a couple of hours of running.  I buy a new power supply retail and install it the next day.  I send the video card and the burnt power supply back to Newegg for a refund.  The new computer runs multiple applications fast and cool.  The final total cost was around $360.  I want to build another one with more modern components.  I don't really need the extra speed or power but I think it would be fun.

New parts list:

AMD Athlon 3800+ X2 socket 939 OEM
Foxconn  motherboard, sata and pcie x16 sli
Zalman cpu cooler, green led and quiet
Thermaltake power supply, do not recommend, my bad luck?
Enermax power supply, nice heavy unit with two quiet fans $100 from PCClub
EVGA 7600gt video card, I wish this thing worked, would have been nice

Invoice here

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