I have had a 95 desktop for a long time. It was upgraded to 98 in teh past with a cd, and it's decent, it's been ok. It crashes on occasion and videos suck, also I got a new webcam that can't work on it, (it's missing a lot of internal files) I can't even get the new yahoo messenger because of it. Although it's not state of the art, it works.
I am looking at a computer on a website to buy, it's about 514 dollars and has about ten times the harddrive space, but I would hate to spend a lot of money for an all new computer, keyboard and all when there are components in my current one that are still ok. I would hate the thought of just junking that current computer, I want to make the best use of the good parts still in my computer and possibly transfer them to a new one so I don't have to buy as much, does anyone know how I go about that? I don't know how to build computers.
2006-08-03 07:52:58 · 9 answers · asked by prasino_4 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
honestly.. probably nothing in that old desktop will be of any use if you havent upgraded it since you got it.
you're better off buying a new computer. computers are very easy to build but if you dont have any experience you can just buy a dell or something. are you planning on using this computer for gaming or just for normal things like browsing the web, ect?
here are some tips:
well for both i suggest the computer have at least one gig of ram. the more ram the better. (i currently have 3 gigs)
stay away from sempron or celeron processors, get an athlon (3200+) or a pentium 4 or better.
hmm lets see.. a dvd-rw drive is a must. those drives can read and write cds and dvds. so you can watch movies on your comp if you wanted to.
dont worry about hard drive space. you can always add more later. (my friends comp has about 7 hard drives).
video cards: if you do not plan on gaming then you can get a computer with integrated video. whats cool is if you ever decide to game you can always buy and install a new video card. if you do decide on a video card off the bat, i suggest an nvidia 6600 or above or an ati radeon x800 XL or above with 256 memory.
stuff you may see:
64 bit processors - they're cool but not necessary. most programs do not properly utilize 64 bit processing anyway.
dual core processors - also cool but not necessary, unless you're a gamer.
SATA hard drives - supposed to be faster than regular hard drives, but regular hard drives still get the job done. sata isnt necessary. (some people dont notice a difference between the two)
pci and expansion slots - the more the better.
power supply - 450 watts or above is good. keep in mind the more stuff you add to the comp (really high end video cards and more hard drives) the higher wattage you'll need.
operating system: see if you can get windows xp professional, or media center edition.. home is just okay.
peripherals and input devices - keyboards, mice, webcam ect, may need to be purchased separately.
keep in mind that many of the advertised PCs do not come with monitors, even though the monitor is pictured with it. It may cost extra.
you can also get a mac. i think it comes with everything. keyboard, mouse, monitor.. everything. runs straight out of the box. they are also safe against many viruses (because the viruses are not compatible with the mac OS lol). You can also dual boot a mac to run windows now (macs with intel processors only). HOWEVER, they lack upgradability. so if one day you decide you want more ram, or another hard drive.. you may run into a lot of snags (thats the only thing that keeps me from buying one). and many games are not compatible with the mac OS, but if you get the one with intel and boot up windows on it you can.. if that is not an issue for you, then a mac might be a good option.
well thats all i can think of for now. i hope it helps!
ps. best buy and circuit city tend to overcharge for PCs. i suggest you look at newegg.com or tigerdirect.
2006-08-03 08:21:04 · answer #1 · answered by NAQ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If your using it just to access internet and download, maybe an additional hard drive would be fine. Everything pretty cheap now, you can easily get a decent computer for a few hundred. I also spent a fortune years ago on my computer, recently built my own computer which is heaps faster but costs heaps less. You can easily get away with upgrading but it can only go so far, and if you want to do more with your computer then what you've described to me so far then buying a new system would be better and keep in mind your current system is old, it will die eventually and upgrading is limited to the scarce items that actually match with your system.
2016-03-26 21:52:48 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
With a little motivation and a screw driver you can build yourself a top of the line PC with far superior components than any manufacturer out there for less than half the cost.
A manufacturer PC costing $1000.00 could be built with better parts for approx $500.00 even less if you reuse some of your existing PC parts.
There are literally hundreds of websites that will guide you through the process, It really is quite simple to do.
2006-08-03 08:23:11 · answer #3 · answered by chubbiguy40 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can, get a Vista ready computer. Go to Microsoft.com and the type Vista in the search window. It will take you to the site where you can get the computer requirements of Vista. It is due for release in Jan 2007.
My friends son has the beta version of Vista. He spent 2 hrs showing me all the features and it is quite impressive.
2006-08-03 08:13:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok, since your pc is that old, i doubt you will be able to use much from it...you're better off buying a new one...
something of note: a new version of windows is coming out next year and is hardware intensive...if you ever plan on upgrading to the newer version of windows, you'll need a decent computer (most likely more than $500)...this link is slanted towards dell's but you'll get the idea of what's needed...
2006-08-03 07:59:36 · answer #5 · answered by thaKing 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ive built almost all of my computers. id build one for you if you lived near here. i dont know where you live, but i wont pry. id say go to a nearby computer store and buy the whole works. that way its all set to rock. try best buy, circuit city, etc. i dont like giving personal info over the net to order stuff. idenity theives all over the place.
drop me a line if you want more of my opions.
hope i helped.
Alan
2006-08-03 08:20:33 · answer #6 · answered by bunghole 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well I have a dell desktop I picked it up for like 600 dollars, 12o gb hd, 1 gb memory and a pentium with a flat screen monitor. if your a student dell gives %s
2006-08-03 07:59:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
An Apple IIc.
2006-08-03 07:57:13 · answer #8 · answered by Jack R 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
build your own compupter. try www.newegg.com or tigerdirect.com
2006-08-03 07:56:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋