Hi Elliott,
gold_finger as usual has lots of good info. I wonder what you would like a computer to do? A different build is certainly required for serious gaming vs. surfing on-line. I unfortunately do not have a clue as to your problem - my best guess would have been a video card as gold_finger suggested, sounds like you have another to try out so that should help figure out the cause.
I have never had RAM fail, I know it happens but I don't believe that it is all that common. If you have that much ram failing I expect something else has gone sour. I have heard of power surges killing ram, do you use a surge protector (vs, a power strip)? It also does make me wonder about the power supply; and if so did that possibly also kill your graphics card? http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/pc-com...er-supply/ As gold_finger pointed out, you don't want to spend a lot on components that will not ultimately meet your needs. If you end up building a new pc you could certainly re-use the power supply if you get one that is adequate for a new build. In other words, maybe your current power supply is 250W, but that size is not going to be adequate for most new builds so if you buy a new one I would get a larger one that you can re-use. As you I think mentioned NewEgg (and Tiger Direct, etc.) have a lot of specials going on, and I have seen some decent supplies for $20 or so after rebates. If you decide you want to build a pc either now or in the future I would take a look here to estimate power supply requirements):
http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/too...index.html
and plug in what you want your system to look like, then look at psu in that power range. The other thing to keep in mind is what you need for connections. The power supply you have may have power/data connections for sata or pata drives or both. Do you need a 6pin connector to power a graphics card? Many older cards to not require this, but a lot of the newer ones do (again - what do you want it to do?). Just makes sure the new psu has the connectors you need. In some cases you can use adapters (such as a dual pata to 6 pin adapter for graphics card) but you may find that they cost more than upgrading to a PSU that has all the connectors in the 1st place. I find the product reviews/Q&A very helpful.
XP era computers encompass a lot of different hardware, so take a good look at what you have vs. what you want to do. Slots ... any of the mid-range up graphics cards now use a PCIe X16 slot, some of the older xp motherboards don't have any PCIe slots (just PCI), some do. Maybe you need it, maybe you don't. My old Pentium 4 does almost everything I want but the best card I could put in it was a GeForce FX5200. I found out when I tried to use STEAM it would not allow me on, as it said I needed higher level drivers (I had the latest/greatest drivers for the FX5200, so essentially a better card was required); I am at the of the road for updates on that box.
So, overall I guess I would suggest you think about what you want your pc to do, figure out if your current box would do that if it was fixed. If it would meet your needs, and you decide to fix it I would buy decent components on sale that you could ultimately reuse in a new build.
If it isn't going to meet your needs consider some of the options gold_finger suggested. Craigslist can be great, especially if you are not in a hurry, and local resale shops as well. Good luck, wish I could help more on your youtube video issue (probably not related but did you read through this with Adobe flashplugin-legacy issue?): https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/index...opic=160.0) but I just don't have the knowledge.
EDIT: Sorry Elliott, sort of forgot about your need for usb 3.0. There are these if your pc takes PCIe x1 but I guess I would figure out what your issues are 1st (also not sure if there are any issues w/Linux and these adapters): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6815158388
Once again though, adds to the total cost of keeping the old box.
Chris
gold_finger as usual has lots of good info. I wonder what you would like a computer to do? A different build is certainly required for serious gaming vs. surfing on-line. I unfortunately do not have a clue as to your problem - my best guess would have been a video card as gold_finger suggested, sounds like you have another to try out so that should help figure out the cause.
I have never had RAM fail, I know it happens but I don't believe that it is all that common. If you have that much ram failing I expect something else has gone sour. I have heard of power surges killing ram, do you use a surge protector (vs, a power strip)? It also does make me wonder about the power supply; and if so did that possibly also kill your graphics card? http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/pc-com...er-supply/ As gold_finger pointed out, you don't want to spend a lot on components that will not ultimately meet your needs. If you end up building a new pc you could certainly re-use the power supply if you get one that is adequate for a new build. In other words, maybe your current power supply is 250W, but that size is not going to be adequate for most new builds so if you buy a new one I would get a larger one that you can re-use. As you I think mentioned NewEgg (and Tiger Direct, etc.) have a lot of specials going on, and I have seen some decent supplies for $20 or so after rebates. If you decide you want to build a pc either now or in the future I would take a look here to estimate power supply requirements):
http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/too...index.html
and plug in what you want your system to look like, then look at psu in that power range. The other thing to keep in mind is what you need for connections. The power supply you have may have power/data connections for sata or pata drives or both. Do you need a 6pin connector to power a graphics card? Many older cards to not require this, but a lot of the newer ones do (again - what do you want it to do?). Just makes sure the new psu has the connectors you need. In some cases you can use adapters (such as a dual pata to 6 pin adapter for graphics card) but you may find that they cost more than upgrading to a PSU that has all the connectors in the 1st place. I find the product reviews/Q&A very helpful.
XP era computers encompass a lot of different hardware, so take a good look at what you have vs. what you want to do. Slots ... any of the mid-range up graphics cards now use a PCIe X16 slot, some of the older xp motherboards don't have any PCIe slots (just PCI), some do. Maybe you need it, maybe you don't. My old Pentium 4 does almost everything I want but the best card I could put in it was a GeForce FX5200. I found out when I tried to use STEAM it would not allow me on, as it said I needed higher level drivers (I had the latest/greatest drivers for the FX5200, so essentially a better card was required); I am at the of the road for updates on that box.
So, overall I guess I would suggest you think about what you want your pc to do, figure out if your current box would do that if it was fixed. If it would meet your needs, and you decide to fix it I would buy decent components on sale that you could ultimately reuse in a new build.
If it isn't going to meet your needs consider some of the options gold_finger suggested. Craigslist can be great, especially if you are not in a hurry, and local resale shops as well. Good luck, wish I could help more on your youtube video issue (probably not related but did you read through this with Adobe flashplugin-legacy issue?): https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/index...opic=160.0) but I just don't have the knowledge.
EDIT: Sorry Elliott, sort of forgot about your need for usb 3.0. There are these if your pc takes PCIe x1 but I guess I would figure out what your issues are 1st (also not sure if there are any issues w/Linux and these adapters): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6815158388
Once again though, adds to the total cost of keeping the old box.
Chris