Well.....for what it's worth.

A new DVD burner will likely cost more to ship than to purchase.  A new processor will likely mean new motherboard, new RAM, hell......new everything anyway. 

My opinonated opinon?   If using a computer truly is your "main way to communicate with the things that are important" I would suggest saving for a few months etc. and coming up with the few hundred bucks for a newer system.  There comes a point when every 'upgrade-path' becomes blocked.  I'd say you've been lucky to have extended yours as far as you have already.  If there is nothing really 'wrong' with the system (other than a dying DVD drive which as I've pointed out would cost more to ship to you than to purchase) and the system is just becoming 'too slow' well then it might finally be time to retire that 'oldie'. 

I have a perfectly good CRT I could send you, but shipping would be outrageous.

I have several CPU's I could spare, but likely, you'd need a MOBO to match.

As the_Monk said, you really are just gonna have to retire the old nag and get something newer in order to do any better.

As for the

I have been out of work since 2002 with no disability, etc.

My wife works but we have bills.

I am able to make a few bucks here and there working on computers (virus removal, clean up/reinstalls) and an odd job here and there in order to get PC parts, etc.

Everyone has their own set of circumstances, I understand. I wish you luck in finding what you want/need, sorry I can't help any further.

You could add all kinds of good parts to that old rig and it ain't gonna do any better.

Yeah this is about my machine. Yes my daughter has a tablet and the girlfriend has a year old notebook. Those belong to them and we do not share except in rare circumstances. So what is your point Moshi?

Forgive a fellow for asking for some help. Sorry.

Well the PSU is still good. I figure all I needed was a old mobo that will take this old DDR2 RAM and a low end CPU. Don't really care about the DVD Burner. Monitor has some life left, but not much.

I don't mind doing a fresh install of the OS. No worries there. Trust me if I went from this P4 to a dual core anything I would see a huge improvement. As for watching DVDs I don't use the computer for that.

Well a 'dual core' (I'm assuming a Core 2 here?) CPU and a newer motherboard almost certainly require a newer PSU (since the connectors aren't even the same) and newer video card (if you're currently using onboard and the new motherboard doesn't come with onboard).  Also, while a C2D proc would on it's own be a "huge improvement" over a Pentium 4 proc some things with rgard to 'performance gain' do remain relative since if you're planning to us the old drive (I'm assuming it might still be an IDE drive?) it could limit said performance gain somewhat.

Not to once again mention......

Well here is the info about the CPU:

Motherboard:

Window 8 is pretty cheap. I might get lucky and get that for a gift from someone. There is always Linux.

All of my hard drives are SATA. Only thing that is IDE on this old setup is the DVD burner. I am using onboard video. Pretty sure there is a mobo out there that can support a better CPU than the one I have yet use the RAM I have and have onboard video.

Still requires money that I don't have. Sorry.

Kona, go to the site of the maker of your MOBO, and bring up specs. It will list the CPUs compatible with your MOBO.

I said do research, not run a program.

What you have now will run that, or so you said. If Windows is too much for the old thing.........

God helps those who help themselves! Things are tough all over, be happy you even have a computer. You cannot expect something for nothing.

If you have a PC that'll run the latest OS, your ok.

Then why are you asking for help?  You're contradicting yourself again. 

I'm done here. Good luck, Kona.

Gosh. Wish I could help. I'm blessed in that I make my living on the PC, albeit in a 3d world (Second Life). I definitely know the old PC feeling, though the one I use now is, admittedly, a bit of a gaming monster, but it took some wrestling to get it. Sucks that systems are designed thus: So when one gets outdated, you can't just replace, that, oh no. Got to replace this, then that, to support the new item. But wait! That's an old motherboard; won't handle it, best get a new one, but then the Power Supply is outdated, so change that, and then this and then that and then.. Whole new PC. >.<

I hear ya. ♥

Okay people, let's change the tone of this thread to something that's friendlier and with a bit of understanding.  We have a member with a number of issues calling out for help here, so how about we see what we can do rather than pick fault/condemn, orright?

First off, it is not just the CPU that's the bottleneck.  The mobo is also old and would not be ideal to run a more powerful processor.

So, I have an AMD Athlon x2 5600 2.9ghz that I can send from Australia without too much expense.  All that kona would need to get him out of immediate trouble then is an AM2 socket Mobo and a stock CPU cooler. Now if somebody in the US has these items laying around with no particular use in mind, they would be of great help to kona to get his machine running somewhat better than it currently does. He already has the compatible RAM, and it's just those 2 items he needs to run his machine at a reasonable speed, so how about it people, can anyone help out a fellow member who's doing it tough... in more ways than one? 

Yeah, apart from PC issues and a lack of cash, kona has a number of health issues impacting on his life, and these present him with difficulties in areas of his life that most of us take for granted, so before anyone decides to heap anymore ridicule and pain upon him, try walking a mile or two in his shoes to see how it feels.  Now I'm not at liberty to discuss these health issues in any detail because they were related to me in confidence, but believe me when I say that kona isn't at all well, and a little bit of help would go a long way to lifting his spirits.

Now if I had both parts and could afford to post them I would, but I haven't and can't, so please, let's pull together as a community and make this happen.  I have the CPU, it needs a matching mobo and cooler to complete the deal.  And if somebody has an old DVD ROM laying around, that wouldn't go astray, either.