Is it time to buy a new computer?

Question

I have a HP Pavillion 1120n with 2.5 gb ram with a P4 3.06 GHz. I was planning to buy a graphics card but with directx 10 here and better graphics card coming out for it Directx 9 will become obsolete. plus ddr3 is faster then my ddr2. I am so confused

or should i wait to buy a new computer which should be sometime in 2011

Answer 1

That computer is still pretty decent for many applications. If you have x16 PCIe graphics slot, a DX10 card will work under DX9 in Win XP. You can just run it under DX10 later when you shift to Vista.
Forget ddr3 system RAM for the meantime. DDR3 RAM is very expensive and very few (also expensive) boards support it.

Answer 2

don't judge whether or not you need a new computer by the specifications. judge it by if it does what you need/want it to do.
Can you upgrade just the video card for a fraction of the price of a new machine w/the same or better video card?
Regarding the RAM, likely you would not be able to tell a significant difference between ddr3 and ddr2 IF they could run in the same machine. what makes the most difference for RAM is the amount of it....ie: you have more than enough to run the OS and all programs that you want to run.
my windows machine is still a P3 500mhz w/320MB RAM....definitely obsolete, but it does what i need it to do, which is run Office, a few online things, and games for my kids. someday i will upgrade to a P4, probably about what you have now, but that is still hopefully a year away for me.
My G4 mac will be upgraded 1st, even though it is newer, simply because it is the most used and there are some applications that i will need to run (ie: Final Cut) that will run much better on a new machine than with any upgrades I could do to this one.

Answer 3

Yes you only really need a video card everything else is fine.

Yes DX9 will sooner or later be fazed out but will still be good for probably a year from now. I suggest you either keep you current card if you have an ok one and wait for ATIs second generation DX10 cards because geforce is not the way to go far to many problems with heat issues and so forth ATI is much better.

So I suggest you get a good DX9 card for the next year not a super crazy one because you will waste money unless you do not care. Then pick up a ATI DX10 card in the future. Makes sense?

Answer 4

It actually depends on what you use your computer for. If you
web surf or edit pictures, what you have is fine. It will fit the bill
probally .... 90 percent of the time. But if your strictly into
hardcore gaming or watching a movie and at the same time
downloading music, then I would go out and buy a new computer. IE: Dual core=2.4GHQ/ 2G Ram/ 250 GB HD/
DVD-RW/ .... And find a store like PCClub (Can also order on-line). They build to order. Computer only has the Operating system on it. That way you can decide what extra software
you want on it.

Answer 5

Just wait because directX 10 is still being put into games and won't be used in all games till later. Plus only two graphics cards so far have been made for DX10. Your rig sounds like it can run most of the games out there now....So be patient

Answer 6

Not an HP fan at all .. .processor needs to be dual core or at least centrino. P4 is on the way out. Shop around a bit. If your shopping at Wal Mart, yes they are cheaper, but for a reason there.

Answer 7

no my friend has a similar setup and it runs great, all u have to do is keep it clean of viruses and spyware. also ddr3 is not that popular yet.
If u wanna upgrade a viddeo card u probably have to get a new power supply and maybe a bigger case.
Also u have to make sure ur motherboard has pci express slot agp is outdated

Answer 8

Your machine sounds fine for now.

DirectX9 is software. You can upgrade that to DirectX10. Chances are that video card you have is capable of handling it.

Worst case - upgrade just your video card.

Check www.tomshardware.com for information about components.

Wait for the price to come down on ddr3 too. Chances are you won't see the difference for the money.

Good luck.

Answer 9

You computer is fine.

Forget DDR3. too expensive.

You might want a new processor and new video card, but that's it. Your system is OK.

Answer 10

I would say absolutly not. Your computer is quite fine for current resource demands. You can probably update your direct x to 10 with your current card.