Upgrade Suggestions

[U-238]

Okay, now that I've got my shiney new computer home:D . I've been thinking about actually sticking some money into it. (Yes I got all the parts for free from my work.)

So now I'm at a sort of caveat where I'd like to upgrade somthing but am really stressed for cash. So the list I'm looking at is...

Upgrade the DVD Burner: It runs and reads discs just fine however it doesn't always burn them correctly. (I have to try about twice usually to get one sucessful burn). I've been looking and a decent looking one is about $40.00 from newegg.

Upgrade the Video card: While my card's only 32MB I don't run any high-graphics games on it nor do I plan to. I mainly use the video card for 3D modeling and animation. Should I upgrade? What to? I've been looking and some nice 128 nvidea cards are around $75.00 on newegg

Upgrade the Hardrive(s): Ones a 30g with linux loaded on it. The other's a 40g with Windows XP Pro. While there's enough space now I'm not sure how long it'll take me to fill it up. (I'm mainly concered about the 40g drive as I use windows a little more that I do linux). Is it worth upgrading? And what size would you recomend?

Upgrade the memory: 384MB... Yes it's an odd amount but I couldn't find two 256 chips that were pc133 (it's a slightly older board).I've wanted 512 but I'm not sure if I should get another 256 chip right away. (I'm not how much this board can handle)

I'm not all that knowlegable on High performence computers as I live/work in a small twon where the most people use their computers for is checking email/surfing the web and running farming programs. So any of you highpro people should be able to help...


If it helps any here's my current config:

1.00 Ghz Processor (PIII)
384 MB Ram
32MB video card (best one I found at the time :/)
one 30 GB Harddrive and one 40 GB hard drive. (One has linux the other has XP Pro)
DVD Burner (DVD+R to be exact)
CD Rom Drive

And all the other goodies (floppy ect)

So there you have it. Not the greatest machine i know but I couldn't expect to do any better with entirely free parts.

[pixels]

Probably everything.

[U-238]

Notice I said I was short on cash... What would be the most important thing to upgrade? That's what I want to know. I'm not trying to turn this thing into a supercomputer. I'm just wondering what's worth upgrading?

[bluemicrobyte]

If it helps any here's my current config:

1.00 Ghz Processor (PIII)
384 MB Ram
32MB video card (best one I found at the time :/)
one 30 GB Harddrive and one 40 GB hard drive. (One has linux the other has XP Pro)
DVD Burner (DVD+R to be exact)
CD Rom Drive

Bluemicrobytes suggested minimum specs: (what I have)

1.8 Ghz Processor (AMD or Intel)
512 MB RAM
64 MB video card (if you play 3D games - if not, any video card is fine)
Hard drive based on your usage needs
DVD burner based on your usage needs


Bluemicrobytes suggested higher-end specs:

3.0 GHz Processor (AMD for gaming, Intel for all else)
1.5 GB of RAM (for multi-tasking)
128 MB video card (but video cards arent only based on MB of memory) - I have a GeForce 6600 GT OC and I'm happy with it (it feels like a high end card)
Hard drive based on your needs - typical would be 160+ GB (I have a total of 500 GB storage across 3 hard disks, but thats just me)
DVD burner + CD burner

=================================

You might try lowering the burn speed of your DVD burner, it could simply be a settings problem completely unrelated to the hardware itself. As for what to upgrade, if you don't play 3D games I'd recomend upgrading the RAM since it's pretty much all-purpose system resources and 384 is a bit low for todays standards. 512 MB of RAM is what comes with most computers today, the more expensive ones come with 1 GB+

[U-238]

Okay now that's some help!:D. Thanks for the advice. I'll take it into consideration

[TimP]

It's a bit difficult to upgrade computers like that.

It mostly likely has SDRAM which is relatively expensive compared to DDR RAM. If you want to upgrade the RAM to 1GB, you're going to pay an arm and a leg. If you want to use DDR RAM you'll need a new motherboard, if you get a new motherboard you'll need a new processor, etc., etc.

[xodkrm]

My suggestion

CPU : AMD 3800+ Dual Core
Video : Nvidia 7600
RAM: 1-1.5 gig ( Doesn't really matter DDR1 DDR2)
Hard Drive: 250gig, 7500rpm

If I were you, I would get abit better CPU than my recommendation, because the CPU is the real main shit (Better CPU = lower temp, faster comp, higher FPS...just better)
With a 7600, you can run most of today's games on highest (including WoW, CS:S, BF2)
Im currently using a 1gig - and its good, because i got a really high quality ram
As for harddrives... Im currently using a 250gb, 7000 rpm drive, and its beautiful.

[WeekendLazyness]

My advice: Use this computer until you save up enough money to buy a new one. I'd wait at least six months to a year, or until Windows Vista comes out. ~$1500-2000 should land you a nice Dell.

[bluemicrobyte]

It's a bit difficult to upgrade computers like that.

It mostly likely has SDRAM which is relatively expensive compared to DDR RAM. If you want to upgrade the RAM to 1GB, you're going to pay an arm and a leg. If you want to use DDR RAM you'll need a new motherboard, if you get a new motherboard you'll need a new processor, etc., etc.

Ah, I didn't take that into consideration. In this case, it would cost more than what it's worth to upgrade the RAM.

My advice: Use this computer until you save up enough money to buy a new one. I'd wait at least six months to a year, or until Windows Vista comes out. ~$1500-2000 should land you a nice Dell.

This sounds like the best option right now - wait until Windows Vista comes out and even one of the cheaper computers will be an upgrade from what you have now.

[Neo]

...

Why do people continue to suggest you wait for Windows Vista?

Are you people really interested in an OS that has such high requirements? Or is this all betting on DX10 games (read: halo) for the PC?

I've been assuming that, while microsoft may want to force Vista on everyone, DX10 will eventually come out for XP. If not, games that are DX10 only will suffer in sales. Its just stupid business.

On top of this, am I being stupid here, or am I the only one who understands that you can use Windows XP as a temporary OS until Vista? Or are you suggesting that he also buy top of the line stuff when Vista comes out to? O.o;;

-Neo

[Seal]

Dell computers are not made from quality parts. apart from the highest end. try to avoid them unless you're on really budget. for that they're fine, although i hear that some brands (or non-brands) can make it even cheaper.

i'd start with a recent mobo and proc. amd64, after intel starts selling core 2 procs, because prices will surely fall. make sure the mobo has plenty of RAM slots, liek 4. then you can buy 4 of cheap 512M or 256M sticks of RAM, and not be in a dead end if you need more.
HD space.. that's never enough. go for the 160-200GB models, since they are getting cheaper thanks to 250, 300 and 500GB models being pushed into market.
disk burner: get a cheap one, or what you need from it. depends really.
have a good sized case. if you want expansion space, its cheaper to have it beforehand.

yw.

[xodkrm]

I tried Vista, its not that good.
I'm sticking with XP for a while.

[Seal]

I tried Vista, its not that good.
I'm sticking with XP for a while.
i did too, but i switched to linux some months ago so i dont need to care about vista at all -- except make fun of its constant delays ;)

[U-238]

It's a really good thing a lot of you Bush supporters can't vote, seeing as you don't know what you're talking about.

Yea, vista's just went Ghost on us.

Dell computers are not made from quality parts. apart from the highest end. try to avoid them unless you're on really budget. for that they're fine, although i hear that some brands (or non-brands) can make it even cheaper.


If I get a new one I'll probably build my own instead of going with a brand name. It's funney that you should say that dells arn't good quality. Almost 75% of the computers that we see in the computer shop I work in are dells.

i'd start with a recent mobo and proc. amd64, after intel starts selling core 2 procs, because prices will surely fall. make sure the mobo has plenty of RAM slots, liek 4. then you can buy 4 of cheap 512M or 256M sticks of RAM, and not be in a dead end if you need more.
HD space.. that's never enough. go for the 160-200GB models, since they are getting cheaper thanks to 250, 300 and 500GB models being pushed into market.
disk burner: get a cheap one, or what you need from it. depends really.
have a good sized case. if you want expansion space, its cheaper to have it beforehand.

Yea I've been shoping around an I think my best bet is probably sticking with the case I have (nice and big) and upgrade everything in it. I suppose I'll have to start from scratch with a new mobo and proc. I've been looking at AMDs and a 64 bit dual core is around $300 here's some of what I've found on newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569

It's a bit difficult to upgrade computers like that.

It mostly likely has SDRAM which is relatively expensive compared to DDR RAM. If you want to upgrade the RAM to 1GB, you're going to pay an arm and a leg. If you want to use DDR RAM you'll need a new motherboard, if you get a new motherboard you'll need a new processor, etc., etc.

Yes it's got pc133 which is expensive (for old tech at that :/)

EDIT: Wait, isn't pc133 boards backwards compatible with pc100 chips? I thought I saw that somewhere.

[TimP]

Yes it's got pc133 which is expensive (for old tech at that :/)

EDIT: Wait, isn't pc133 boards backwards compatible with pc100 chips? I thought I saw that somewhere.

Yes it is compatible, but still expensive.

Are you people really interested in an OS that has such high requirements? Or is this all betting on DX10 games (read: halo) for the PC?
By the time Vista comes out, its requirements with respect to the new hardware will be irrelevant. This is not a cheap shot at the Vista schedule, I'm saying that when it comes out in late 2006/early 2007 almost all PCs sold over $300-$400 will have no problem running it.

On top of this, am I being stupid here, or am I the only one who understands that you can use Windows XP as a temporary OS until Vista?
Why pay for an OEM Windows XP license now when you'll have to drop $100 or $200 for Vista in less than a year.

[TheNutCracker]

The only thing is, I would wait for the Intel Conroes to come out, which will be by the end of this month.

[Seal]

The only thing is, I would wait for the Intel Conroes to come out, which will be by the end of this month.
also known as core 2. i'd definitely wait for them to come out, because -- as said -- lower end will get cheaper.

[U-238]

Yes it is compatible, but still expensive.

Soo that means I could have a pc133 chip in one slot and a pc100 chip in the other? Because I'm 100% sure I can get a 256MB pc100 chip from my work for nothing.

Yea I'll probably wait untill the intel core2 procs come out before I even think about splurging.

[TimP]

Soo that means I could have a pc133 chip in one slot and a pc100 chip in the other?

Correct.

[wa123]

upgrade the motherboard before doing anything else

[U-238]

Correct.

Okay, Thanks for the tip.

Okay so I guess my guidline for upgrading will have to go like this.

Upgrade MB and proc first (at the same time no doubt)
Upgrade memory (probably at the same time as the MB and proc)
Upgrade PS
Upgrade HDD
Upgrade Video card

Annnd that should cover it.

I think I found out the problem with my burner. It must be nero related because I can burn CDs/DVDs no prob with the program in linux.

[xodkrm]

I would upgrade Video Card, or Memory first - most change for the $.

[U-238]

If I upgrade either of those first I'd lose money. Since the memory I have now (and would buy if I upgraded the memory first) wouldn't be compatalbe with the board I'd end up buying (which would be DDR ram). The video card would also probably have to be a pcie card since the MBs I'm looking at don't have any AGP slots. So I'd have to get another video card too.

[TheNutCracker]

Get everything at once. You are gonna end up bottlenecking your components if you stick with bas components. You definately will need a new Power supply if you get a new proc, and video card.