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| Thread ID: 38335 | 2003-10-04 03:20:00 | Computer upgrade advice needed | Arjay2000 (4682) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 180320 | 2003-10-04 03:20:00 | Hi, I have an AMD K6 II 500 MHz processor on a M5SAA motherboard. It has 64 MB RAM, 8.6 gig HDD, and on-board 8 MB video. I would like to upgrade the computer so that my existing games work better, and I have more space for games and software. I was considering the following upgrade: 256 MB RAM, 80 GB HDD, 32 or 64 MB PCI video card (not sure if TNT2 or GeForce2 MX or whatever would be best - no AGP slot), and a CD writer. (will cost $500-600 all up) I would like some feedback please on whether any of these upgrades would not be worthwhile for the price involved. I am especially unsure about what HDD and video card my system will cope with. Cheers for your help. :-) |
Arjay2000 (4682) | ||
| 180321 | 2003-10-04 03:33:00 | imo....no. Lot of outlay and you will still end up with a dreadfully performing computer. My advice(for what its worth :D) Forget about the harddrive for the time being,and for 500 to 600 dollars you can get- A brand new motherboard an AMD xp2000+ cpu a gforce4mx or ati 9200 256mb of ddr Then sell your old motherboard/ram/cpu in trademe using the profit to buy your nice new harddrive. A new case would probally be in order as well though. |
metla (154) | ||
| 180322 | 2003-10-04 03:57:00 | Hi, Welcome to PressF1 :-) You know what, I'm going to agree with Metla, unless you want to cut it down to a very fine budget, or you're just keen to get your hands dirty with your hardware. To be honest, your processor should be fine though with a 32MB Graphics card, provided you dont plan on running UT2003 or newer, as they will need a newer processor. Take a look at Pricespy.co.nz for some good hardware deals :-) Cheers Chill. |
Chilling_Silently (228) | ||
| 180323 | 2003-10-04 05:59:00 | Buy a new PC and sel lor give away the old one for $600 you can get a decent one off trademe.co.nz | kiwibeat (304) | ||
| 180324 | 2003-10-04 06:05:00 | AMD XP 1600+ 256MB DDR ram Gigabyte motherboard VIA chipset 20G harddrive 52X CDROM Geforce 2 MX400 64MB graphic card 10/100M Lan onboard sound 19" monitor XP pro installed can also provide some popular software buy now at $750 |
kiwibeat (304) | ||
| 180325 | 2003-10-04 06:15:00 | what the others seem to forget is you will need new case/power supply, keyboard, mayby even mouse. firstly what games are you playing? solitare dosn't need much grunt ;-) might be worth upgrading. the hardrive can be used later on in a new pc. ram upgrade will make a big improvement. |
tweak'e (174) | ||
| 180326 | 2003-10-04 06:22:00 | Yes agreed, time to make the big step(over the technology gap that is). Getting a replacement box may be a good solution, if your monitor is OK. |
Rod ger (316) | ||
| 180327 | 2003-10-04 06:26:00 | A very good buy is below current bids in the $800 range "This computer was BRAND NEW in January 2003. The CPU and harddisk have just been replaced and are BRAND NEW. CPU: AMD Athlon XP2200+ with heat sink & fan (New + 3 year warranty) Motherboard: ASUS A7N266-VM nVidia nForce220D AGP slot Ram: 256MB DDR Ram Case: Auriga CS-2168E Mini Tower - 300 watt P4 ready ATX power Supply CD Writer: Asus RW4012A 40XCD-R 12XCD-RW 48XCD-ROM & Nero 5.5 Harddisk: Seagate 40 GB 7200 RPM (New + 1 year warrantee) Modem: Pragmatic I56PSP/F30 PCTEL 56K Software modem V.90 v.92 Ready Floppy Drive: 1.44MB Sony Video: Integrated GeForce 2 graphics processor unit plus AGP 4X slot. Audio: Integrated Audio Processor Unit with built-in Dolby Digital (AC-3) Encoder Network: Integrated RealTek 8201L PHY Case Cooling Fan x 1 Plus all internal cabling for the above" |
kiwibeat (304) | ||
| 180328 | 2003-10-04 07:15:00 | Hi, Thanks heaps to those who have replied so far . I am fairly happy with the computer for most of what I do with it, so my choices are to keep it as it is for now, or do a few upgrades, trying to keep the cost to a mimimum . I am very reluctant to buy a second-hand computer - I don't feel I have the expertise to deal with any problems that may arise . I have repriced the options I was considering, and can get the cost down to about $450 . A new system would be 2-3 times this price . The main concerns I had was that my system wouldn't cope with the upgrades, or that the upgrades wouldn't increase the performance enough to make it worth the cost . I mostly play quite old games (eg Civ II, Crimson Skies, Close combat), most are not very graphics intensive, but I was hoping a new video card might increase the performance, as some of them crash sometimes . Perhaps increasing the system RAM would make more difference? I would really appreciate some suggestions on what is worth upgrading, and what is not! In particular, are PCI graphics cards good enough to make much difference? Cheers . :-) |
Arjay2000 (4682) | ||
| 180329 | 2003-10-04 08:33:00 | If u are spending about $450 why not spend about the same and get a new mobo, cpu, keep the old hdd, with onboard lan, onboard sound and graphics?? Add some ram. U can keep ur mouse, monitor, keyb, and perhaps the case and PSU if it is ATX style. U don't need to go 2ghz, u can get slower ones off www.pricespy.co.nz and it would be sig better than having what u have now. With your plan of a new video card and some more ram, u can get away with $200 or less. No need $450. |
nomad (3693) | ||
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