Comments | eapa: Needed: Computer Geeky Advice

eapa

Needed: Computer Geeky Advice

Dec 18, 2008 10:21

I'm lucky enough to have a bit of extra cash this December, thanks to a winter/holiday bonus from The Job. While I know the wisest thing to do would be to throw the entire thing at my debt and/or savings, I really want to do the thing I've been putting off for almost two years now, which is to upgrade my computer. The last time I upgraded was ( Read more... )

geekery

Comments 9

moonfires December 18 2008, 20:23:31 UTC

Your motherboard is past its expiration date. You can't really get a good price/performance AGP video card these days. 2+ GB of RAM is also worth it, but buying DDR these days is also buying "old".

I don't think /any/ motherboard will still be upgradable in 5 years anymore. Intel released the Core 2 Duo series in 2006, and here in the end of 2008, they have just introduced the Core i7 series which needs a whole different motherboard.

Intel is really beating AMD right now in the processor game.

A couple months ago, I completely rebuilt my brother's machine, only re-using the case for around $800 or so. There were rebates in there that would lower the price some, plus, you could go for some lower price options than I chose for him (for him, it was good game performance was the focus).

eapa December 19 2008, 00:47:31 UTC

I had a feeling it would have to be the "buy a new motherboard" option, if I really wanted pizazz. Based on what I mentioned above, as far as how hard I push my little machine (and also taking into consideration the fact that I'm a real amateur when it comes to assembling a PC), any specific recommendations, or were you actually suggesting I look into that new Intel board? Not sure if I'm willing to spend the $250 for it, considering that is just the first cost of many in the process.

moonfires December 19 2008, 06:30:57 UTC

Photoshop loves RAM. The specs for that board says it supports a maximum of 3GB RAM in 3 slots, so go for the max ( 3x 1MB DDR400- these guys: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231036 @ $60). Then it offered me a DVD+-RW for $20 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106228), then you can get the 250GB Seagate hard drive for $60 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148141 , smaller drives would be less) and the total would be $101.

I'd probably stay away from the graphics card. Even though for around $120 you can get probably the "last word" in AGP cards, it will probably require a new power supply as well, so that would probably add about another $70. (Total $190 for graphics, full total $

eapa December 20 2008, 23:29:46 UTC

I like your $101 idea. I think that might be what I end up doing, and I think it will suit my computing needs for another year or so. Plus, it'll let me save more money towards my "long-term" plans - basically, moving across the country in a year or two.

BTW: thanks a lot. :) I appreciate you randomly popping into my journal and helping me out - it really put my ideas for upgrading into perspective.

elka_woof December 18 2008, 21:45:31 UTC

So, I want to write a bit but only have one good arm. Basics: extra RAM would help speed things up, XP really prefers a gig to run smoothly. Beyond that, any upgrade will have to include a motherboard swap - so the question you should ask yourself is how important increasing you machine's horsepower is to you. If it does everything you need right now, tuck the money away for the day when something breaks or you decide your box is just too slow.

eapa December 19 2008, 00:52:07 UTC

I've actually almost never had a problem with XP and my 512MB (except for Windows Media Player ... but I think that's a WMP program problem, not a RAM problem); I mostly want more RAM so that when I'm running Photoshop and browsing the internet, my computer doesn't have a twitching fit.

The main reason I'm considering the complete revamp is that I do need a new hard drive, and do probably need the extra RAM. Also, a functioning burner would be nice. And while I could just buy those things now as a stopgap until the inevitable, I would rather get everything now so it all works together, instead of finding out later on down the road when I do get a new board that everything I bought now is worthless and will have to be replaced.

Take care of your arm, dangit. And I hope they loaded you up with Vicodin.

moonfires December 19 2008, 06:32:59 UTC

A new board would be unable to use any RAM or a graphics card you bought for this board. The newest boards still have a couple of IDE ports for older drives, and there are also adapters that let you plug old drives into the new SATA connections.

chefmongoose December 20 2008, 02:17:54 UTC

I have found that Tom's Hardware http://www.tomshardware.com/us/ is a really good resource for upgrade or building, as regards hardware. Their Monthly guide to Video cards is a must - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2086.html has the most recent one ( ... )

eapa December 20 2008, 23:13:23 UTC

DVD burner is mostly for backup purposes, since I haven't backed up my computer since 2004 (I know, I'm a bad, bad girl) ... in addition to the fact that my current DVD player occasionally refuses to open the tray to eject discs, requiring me to resort to the pinhole.

The $200 for memory and hard drive upgrades you mentioned, before editing the comment, if they can make my system last me another year or so, sounds more than reasonable to me. Or better yet, the $100 options tikaani suggests above. Especially since my current "long-term" plans (as in, 1 to 2 years from now) involve saving up enough to move across the country ... which would probably mean I'd scavenge the drives and monitor from my current system, and dump the rest of the box.