I'm planning to upgrade my computer but not sure if it's worth the $$. My computer's +- 5yrs old.?

Question

PC's very slow & now I need to install some GIS & modelling programs. I wonder if it's enough 2 format my pc? Or shd I upgrade either motherboard, RAM, processor or all? My current pc specs:

CPU type: Intel Pentium 4A, 2000 MHz (5 x 400),
Motherboard name: ECS P4VMM2(2 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 CNR, 2 SDR DIMM, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video),
Chipset: VIA VT8751(A) ProSavageDDR P4M266(A),
Memory: 224 MB (PC2100 DDR SDRAM)
Harddisk: Maxtor 2F040J0 (40 GB, 5400RPM,Ultra-ATA/133)
Video adapter: S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR(32 MB)
3D Accelerator: S3 SuperSavageDDR
Audio adapter: VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller

I've been to a local PC store to ask about this,& this is their suggestion:
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core E2140, 1.6GHz
RAM: 1 GB DDR II 667 Kingston
Motherboard: MSI P4M900M (Via P4M900, DDR II 533, Onboard VGA AGP Slot, Sound, LAN)

Will the 3 upgrades affect video/audio quality? Shd I buy a new harddisk & other parts as well? If that's so,am I better off w/ a new CPU? thx in advance

Answer 1

Tight budget upgrade:
1. Increase RAM to at least 512Mb
2. Install a good graphics card like an ATI 9550 (could be used later if you upgrade motherboard and processor later).
3. Install an extra HDD (80Gb which you can use on a later upgrade)

Better upgrade:
1. Go w/ the E2140 or the cheaper Celeron 430 (to save).
2. Consider a motherboard that has onboard video as well as a x16 PCIe slot so that you can initially run using onboard video then buy a PCIe graphics card later. Current onboard graphics that share as much as 224Mb video ram is a big improvement over your old 32Mb S3 ProSavage.
3. Install 2x512mb ram so that they run in dual channel mode.
4. Install an 80Gb HDD and make your old 40Gb as slave drive.

OPTIONAL:
Overclock that E 2140 or Celeron 430 and you will be amazed with your upgraded PC.

Answer 2

Hi, their suggestions seem pretty good but I notcie that they only tell u to put 533 mb ram where as thes days u should have at least 1gb of ram and plus ur intel petium dual core they recommended is 1.6ghz where as Vista works best or best for today is 2.0ghz or some people have a speed of 3.4ghz atleast so I think u shouldchange that as well. You will probably want to buy a 256mb VGA card and a DVD-RW to.

The upgrades they suggested will not have a major impact on audio and video quality. To tell you the truth ur going to have to upgrade a hell lot of stuff so I say why not just buy and new computer and I will give you a few suggestion of parts that will be cheap and good.

Intel Pentium 4 mother board 3.4ghz with agp or pci slot for vga card.
80gb hard disk and floppy drive controller(obviously).
LG DVD-RW Its the best according to me.
1GB of ram is excellent but if u want 2gb.
Ati Radeon 9550 or above as they r cheap and vista capable with 256mb memory and play games pretty well.
Sound card is upto you but the built in one is good enough. There will be a built in lan card for dsl or networking. You can also buy an internal dial up modem lets say US robotic or motorola. They are pretty good.

The decision is upto u, contact me if u want more info. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Hi!

I understand you plan to keep the new computer for another 5 years. well, I'd go for Intel Quad Core 64-bit. 2GB RAM. For advanced graphics, if you need, chose a VGA card (video) with at least 256 MB RAM. If you need it for 3D design, rendering and so on, use one that's 512MB. Also, make sure your motherboard has:

- PCIExpress slot (for easy VGA upgrade, AGP is obsolete nowadays).
- DDR2 or DDR3 memory slots + Dual Channel
- SATA2 or SATA3 Hard Disk Interface (also works wit opticals)

Cons about what you've been proposed:

- usually motherboards with onboard VGAs are low-end and I do not recommend.

Cons about what I've proposed:

- $$$ (however, this is a mid term investment)

Answer 4

You have no doubt impressed us all with your detail in as much as you know the internal working parts of the computers in question.
From the information you have supplied my quess is you are into gaming.
Why would you spend the money on upgrading when in fact you can jump light years ahead with the purchase of a new DELL.
Just so you know Kingston Ram is not and has never been one that I would consider. Crucial is considered top of the line, were-as Kingston is considered to be mid grade Ram.
Just one other tid bit for you.
Yes you can purchase components and computers from a computer store usually cheaper. This tell me the markup in components. and It also tells me you are dealing with a middle man.
If you are wanting to build your own at a savings then do so with the top of the line innards, stay clear of mid grade and bargain basement components.
Where I personally prefer to deal direct with the manufacture who uses top of the line components in there machines and you do not have to deal with the middle man. Computers right now are cheap to buy. You can get the absolute top of the line now for under $1,000 where 2 years ago this same computer would cost over $3,000
Let them build and test and warrant a new one, over upgrading old stuff.

Answer 5

... you're unlikely to be waiting to enhance it, basically in view that's outfitted on an historic motherboard. i will assure you that although lots funds you spend identifying to purchase out-of-manufacturing aspects which fit will particularly build a clean device which will outperform it fairly. we are speaking like $4 hundred, according to risk much less. to place it into perspective: you have a single-middle processor with 750MHz. industry standards are for twin-middle processors each and each with over 2000MHz clock speeds. you have 64MB of RAM. present day industry standards are for ~2000MB of RAM, minimum. you have a 30 gigabyte not easychronic. the common workstation not easychronic is definitely over 100GB in length. you have a CD-ROMchronic. maximum computers have DVD-ROM time-honored, if not great-Multi (DVD burners). you have a video card with 8MB of VRAM. standards for committed enjoying cards are around 512MB in recent times. and finally... modems are actually not to any extent further, fairly. in case you're nonetheless utilising this, I congratulate you on your persistence, although that's time to bypass on. If it is in straight forward terms a working laptop or computer you present day in a nook someplace (and it hasn't had any utilization), i'm afraid that's woefully previous.

Answer 6

Upgrade the graphics and add more space?

Answer 7

go for something up -to- date.