Worth upgrading 5 yr-old comp? 3

[mrf0979]

I have an A7V8X with an Athlon XP 2200+ and 1GB of RAM PC 2700 (2x512). My graphics card is a GeForce4 128Mb (not sure what bit).

I can install up to 2 Gb of RAM on the mobo (Asus says only 2 of the 3 DIMMs is supported when using PC 2700/3200) and get a graphics card that is 512MB, all for pretty cheap.

Upgrading the processor is pretty much out, as socket A stuff is harder to find now. I'd rather not mess with the CPU anyway.

I use Autodesk Maya, Adobe AfterEffects and Photoshop a lot. I'm not a PC gamer.

Would upgrading the RAM and Graphics card alone make enough difference to be worth it?

 

[ASG0856]

Personally, I'd say its not worth it. You can probably obtain a 'dual core' bare bones system at a reasonable price, transfer your hard drive, and that will give you a far better performance increase. Also, at that age, the system is approaching the end of its life. You may buy more RAM and the Graphics card, and then the whole thing goes down the pan. I have just had to replace my six year computer (originally a AMD 2100+, 512Mb RAM and 64MB Graphics Card, upgraded over time to a 2600+, 1Gb and 128Mb). I now have a AMD 64+ Dual Core 3GHz with VISTA Ultimate and 512Mb GForce 8600, and the difference is phenomenal.

 

[wolluf]

Is there anything wrong with the actual performance now? That spec should run XP well. If its not, I'd either look at a complete replacement or just backup and do a new clean install. Upgrading RAM - 1GB should be ample for XP - and graphics - as you're not a gamer, can't see what improvement you'd get - wouldn't give you much of a boost I don't think. It might be worth looking on ebay for a 3000+ or higher socket A cpu - assuming your mobo can run with it (though people often seem to bid what seems to me silly amounts for those sort of items).

btw - AFG0856 may be happy with his dual core machine running Vista - but I'm NOT with mine! I have also built a few dual cores for clients, and so far can't see what all the fuss is about (have gone back to using new single core low energy AMD range - which for normal use seem at least as good if not better! XP definitely preferable to Vista for performance). I have a test machine I built for Vista beta testing - 2+ years old now, socket 754 2800+ processor, 1.5GB RAM, 128MB graphics, which is definitely quicker than my main machine - specially running XP 64 bit

 

[wahnula]

I use Autodesk Maya, Adobe AfterEffects and Photoshop a lot.

If I'm not mistaken, these are all CPU-intensive apps, with Maya being a 3D application. You will notice an appreciable difference with even an entry-level Core 2 Duo and a mid-range Nvidia 8800GT. There will be no comparison to your existing rig, its performance will be measured in multiples from your SocketA PC.

You are fortunate in that the first wave of these parts has come and gone, so the price has come down for everything. Couple the above with a solid DDR2 board with 2GB RAM, name-brand PSU, SATA optical drive and enjoy the ride!

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[mrf0979]

My system is OK and gets the job done, but I saw that components half as old as mine were so cheap now, I wondered if it would be a nice refresher. Thanks for the knowledgable advice everyone!

 

[ceh4702]

Once computers get 5 years old they are not worth upgrading. That is my personal opinion.

You could upgrade and then the processor could die or the hard drive fail and next thing you know you need a new power supply. It is all just hit and miss. If that processor dies it could be hard to find a replacement.

You may want to consider looking for a good deal. Probably around Christmas they had a lot of good deals and now the market is kind of hit and miss. Most businesses made their big Christmas profit and they dont need to make any really good deals. I would look for some deals on holidays like maybe a President's Day Sale or a Pre-Tax Sale or Father's Day. Computer deals are hard to figure out.

A mid-range gaming rig is probably about best for what you want to do.

core 2 Duo E8400
MB ?
Video Card EVGA 8600GT
Lite-On 20X DVD +/- RW All formats
500 Gig Hard Drive
500 watt power supply
2 gigs of ram

Suggested Cost ? $650.00-$1000.00
Depends what processor you get and the Oper System etc.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.