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| Thread ID: 43079 | 2004-03-02 19:49:00 | PC Upgrade options - priorities | tbacon_nz (865) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 219670 | 2004-03-02 19:49:00 | I have a friend with a 800mhz/256mb PC running Windows ME. He has been muttering about upgrading the processor and/or memory. I told him that the best single thing he could do with that config was to change from ME to XP - then think about memory if he has cash left over. Comments? - and please avoid the "he should change to Linux" posts! :D Tony Bacon |
tbacon_nz (865) | ||
| 219671 | 2004-03-02 20:17:00 | No the best upgrade would not be from ME to XP, as XP is more hungry for resources, and this is exactly what he is lacking. another 256Mb of RAM, should bode well for faster performance, along with some configuring of his windows settings to make best of the new RAM he would install. the other question is, what does he use his computer for? |
roofus (483) | ||
| 219672 | 2004-03-02 20:31:00 | Despite ME being universally condemned as a total dog? One of our home PCs is a 450mhz/384mb machine, and that runs XP Home quite satisfactorily. One of his complaints is unreliability - frequent BSOD. The machine is used for word processing, email, surfing, some use of an Access database and some light page layout/graphics. No heavy gaming (or it shouldn't be - it is supposed to be an office machine!) I still tend to think he will get the most bang for his buck out of a OS upgrade, although if he has the money, some more memory certainly would help. |
tbacon_nz (865) | ||
| 219673 | 2004-03-02 21:10:00 | If your friend is considering updating to Win XP it might pay for him to check that his current hardware will run on it . Not sure about printers but scanners in particular are not all compatible . If he does upgrade ensure that a fresh install is done for best results, ie format and install . Either way get more RAM . :-) |
Susan B (19) | ||
| 219674 | 2004-03-02 22:06:00 | Why does he want to upgrade? if for more speed, what apps does he use that need the speed? if going for speed then keep the software and upgrade to faster hardware. >No the best upgrade would not be from ME to XP, as XP is more hungry for resources, and this is exactly what he is lacking. explain please roofus. hardware has nothing to do with resources and XP dosn't have the limited resources problem that 9x/me has. upgradeing to XP may make it more stable but may not make it any faster and may have problems getting drivers for his hardware. |
tweak'e (174) | ||
| 219675 | 2004-03-02 22:36:00 | The upgrade urge has come from a wish for more stability rather than speed - although he does complain a bit about slowness when doing graphics stuff, which he doesn't do all that often . We haven't got as far as checking for h/w compatibility - I'm just trying to get him to consider other options than a h/w upgrade to improve his "computing experience" :p when he is on a limited budget . |
tbacon_nz (865) | ||
| 219676 | 2004-03-02 23:13:00 | I run XP on a P111 800 with 512 megs of ram and it hums along quite happily. If stability is what he is after then my 2cents is definitely on getting XP. At the moment he should be able to pick up an OEM copy quite cheaply eg $150 which should leave some money left over for some more ram. He'll just need to buy a small cable or something like that with the software. Some places don't even require that you do that. I agree with the drivers comment though, especially for scanners. All imho of course :-) B. |
Barnabas (4562) | ||
| 219677 | 2004-03-02 23:41:00 | tweake: "resources" sorry i wasn't refering to the 16bit GDI's or USERS etc, i was more refering to resources such as the hardware that runs his computer ie, CPU, RAM, HD, Videocard. The problem is there is just to many acronyms and meaning in the IT world :-) Given that stability is the goal here, then i would recommend an upgrade to XP, IMHO its considerably more stable than win9x |
roofus (483) | ||
| 219678 | 2004-03-02 23:49:00 | When im low on resources i simply instruct my villagers to mine some more gold and chop down more timber..... | metla (154) | ||
| 219679 | 2004-03-03 00:23:00 | Why bother with villagers? I have a wife to do that... ;\ | tbacon_nz (865) | ||
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