Should I upgrade or buy a new PC? 1

[bilebalar]

i have a 4 yr old pc. i have never done any upgrade besides putitng in more memory so i really would like the experience.
i want a faster cpu but don't know what will work with the mb.
and maybe a good graphic card. how much will it cost? any recommendation of website i can visit to get started?

1.2 GHz AMD K7
FIC AZ11EA motherboard
800MB RAM
60 GB HD

thanks.

 

[tjv]

Buy a new PC. Upgrading will be just as much as purchasing a new PC at this point.

Try a major manufacturer like Dell or buy the parts yourself at egghead.com and put it together yourself.

You should be able to put together a descent PC for home use for $500 and for gaming > $1000

 

[TomCologne]

Yes, buy a new one and, if your current PC doesn't already have one, a network card.

I prefer custom built. It may not necessarily be cheaper as Dell but I think you're getting a better value. And you decide which programs will be installed!

I've had good experiences with

http://www.buyxg.com/system/

You configure, they assemble. Start with the system configurator but also look for sale items on their other pages.

More advice here:

http://www.directron.com/howtochoosco.html

TomCologne

 

[paparazi]

I guess that depends on your interpretation of an upgrade.

The Via KT133A is a 266 front side bus motherboard and will almost definately support upto the old Palomino core XP2.1+ and possibly (but less likely upto the rare Thoroughbred Athlon XP2.6+ note* 266fsb)
You will need to see bios upgrade and supported CPU's on the FIC website (I had a look but the CPU chart was out of action at the time)

The graphics card is another issue, we have had incompatibility problems on older Via chipsets with anything newer than the Geforce 4 range.
Although Radeons seem to be OK
So your options could be Radeons upto the 9800XT or
Geforce up to the 4600/4800Ti

You may need a more powerful power supply? 350watt plus

If the above is too restrictive then as others have suggested, sell your base unit as a going concern and get it replaced with a current Athlon64 or P4 unit.
Martin




We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[felixc]

If you want a system and not touch it for the next four years, you can buy a branded PC. But if you want to know and control what's under the hood and be able to make upgrades on a more regular basis, then get a custom built one from a local PC store. Make sure that it is built with sure values, so you can get info, downloads and upgrades easily from the web. ASUS, Antec, these kind of names. The cheapo from the corner shop will be as bad as the cheapo from Dell.

http://www.tomshardware.com

is a good place to see tests and benchmarks.

 

[JDfarmBOY2006]

Dell make quality computers i dont care if its the 499 model or the 2000 doller dell. I have a dell optiplex GX1 that i have had for 3 years i also have a coustom built PC that i bought off of egghead.com i think that my optiplex has had less problems in its 3 year life then my computer from egg head that i have had for 6 months.

 

[orypecos]

I agree that buying new is the best bet in most cases.
What you use the computer for can be a determining factor.
If your current machine isn't giving you any problems, then you want to make sure the upgraded or replacement computer will solve your problems. Some people only use their computer for connecting to the internet, and if they are using dialup, a upgrade of processor in most cases is not going to give an advantage. If reliablity is a big factor, then you might want to go by the library and look at Comsumers Reports magazine. Many persons are going to a laptop to replace their desktop even with heavy gaming.

 

[bilebalar]

My currently computer isn't giving me any problem. The only thing is that when I play games, the graphics isn't that good.
I only use the PC to browswe the internet, watche movies and play game. I am also looking into getting a laptop (I don't really need the portability of a laptop but if I can get a laptop around the same price as a desktop, I will get a laptop to replace my desktop).

Thanks.

 

[paparazi]

bilebalar
It sounds as though you are fairly happy with what you have got apart from graphics performance.
The only part you didn't mention in your specs was the VGA?
As long as you don't intend to play the very latest Half Life2 Doom3 or FarCry etc you may well see reasonable gameplay with a secondhand GF4 Ti4200 or Radeon 9500 series.

As a Technical site it is far too easy just to suggest the latest and greatest hardware all the time, when for the average user something a couple of years old may well do just fine.
Depending on what your graphics card is and what you want it to play, you may find perfectly reasonable gaming performance buying something second hand at just a fraction of a new system build.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[orypecos]

If you don't need anything else new, like a cd writer, or Windows update to play some particular game, or more RAM than what your computer can have installed, then I myself would probably go for just a Video card upgrade. You can almost always just move that Video card to any new computer that you buy later when you have the needs for some particular features.
The reason I ask about 'anything else' you might need is that I would like all of those things listed, and it is cheaper to buy a new computer than adding them to my current computer.

 

[garebo]

Well, like already stated, if all you really would like is better gaming, then upgrade your vid card.
Check your mobo website and maybe a cpu upgrade would be worth while as you can buy a new used cpu and sell your old used cpu on the same forum.
I bet you could upgrade your unit real cheap and save yourself lots of money.
I dont know why people mention Dell so much, what with their proprietary motherboards and proprietary power supplies, if you have to replace one of them you are screwed, i would never buy a Dell.
If you want to get a new motherboard go with a gigabyte or an MSI or even chaintech.
But then again maybe your motherboard will support a decent cpu upgrade, check it out.
No need to throw money away, thats for sure.




Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[unborn]

Id suggest doing an upgrade.

Look for a combo on some of the selling sites of a cpu+mobo make sure you have the right ram for it as well and buy yourself a new mother board.

cpu+mobo combo = $150-$200
DDR400(PC3200) 512MB Mushkin = $67
Gforce Vcard = $130

i use

http://www.newegg.com

for 99% of all my shopping if you go anywhere else dont forget to use

http://www.resellerratings.com

and make sure they are reputable.

in the begining man created code.
in the end code will create man.
clones are coming only matter of time.
examples?

http://planetsourcecode.com

 

[bilebalar]

I already have a cd burner and zip drive on it. I don't think I would even want a dvd burner. I think I will go for the video card upgrade.

Thanks.

 

[orypecos]

Another thing is to look at the box that your game came in and see if your cpu is fast enough for the game.

 

[jgarbuz]

I'm only interested in advanced gaming, mainly Doom 3, Half Life 2, etc., and cannot upgrade my present machine which is adequate for everything else. I thought that MSoft was coming out with an XBox that could run DOOM3, but that apparently
has been set back (again, of course, Microsoft
I don't need a big drive, or DVD writer, modem, or anything else, etc. Just the best MOBO with PCIe, AMD FX-55 processor, 1 gig fast RAM, and the most cinematic-quality Video card
available for not too unreasonable price. And a power supply to handle it all, of course. Any suggestions how to put together the most gaming for the least money possible? Thanks.

 

[unborn]

I made a nice system for 500 i got a mobo a amd athlon xp 3200 gig of ram hd and more and a case to put it all in.. when i get home ill get the specs. but id sugest a asus mobo and that 3200 xp and a gig of ram.. that will let you play doom 3 and half life fine... of course if ya dont have a video card (i already did) FX5200 then id get one of those as well

in the begining man created code.
in the end code will create man.
clones are coming only matter of time.
examples?

http://planetsourcecode.com