Upgrading existing hardware

Should you upgrade hardware made for XP?

Published on March 27, 2008 By BigDogBigFeet In Personal Computing

Thought I put this up for those interested to kick around.

Last year I began to feel somewhat hardware constrained. My PC is an HP Media Center machine from mid 2005.
I had added a low end graphics card ATI Hypermemory type to HP's standard configuration. So, I had a 2.4Gz
AMD 3800 single core CPU, 200 GB's of HD storage, 1 Gb of Ram, and a starter graphics card.

This was initialy adequate but, recently it was feeling sluggish and performance constrained, especially on some games.
So, I began to wonder do I try and save up alot more for a whole new system or put in some money on upgrading what
is currently obsolete technology?

I went ahead and opted for upgrading my current system. Here's what I added: Removed old RAM and installed 2
GB's of fast OCZ memory(PC 3200), a new power supply (Corsair 450W 80+ Cert.), a new graphics card (Full featured ATI
DirectX 9.0C 512MB card), and 300GB external HD(no spare internal slot).

So, am I happy with this decision? Yes, it's worked out great. The additional memory makes it possible to play
games without windows swapping out to the pagefile. The games I play are more responsive now and with the full
featured graphics card newer games such as EE3 play well and everything can be run at higher graphics quality settings.
Moreover, since XP is still the largest installed base of home PC's, many new software titles will be made XP compatible
for awhile into the future. I am thinking at least through all of next year.

So, I believe I can now wait until sometime next year to relook at a new system where I will get more bang for the
buck options to consider. A super fast duo-core system will be cheaper next year as will entry level quad core
machines.

So, what do think? Are you sticking with your current technology? As you may have noticed the decision for me
switched from an OS centric one, when do I need Vista?, to a hardware centric one, how to have adequate hardware
performance? This was because I realized, for me, Vista isn't required --- yet.

Comments (Page 2)

Bebi Bulma

on Mar 30, 2008

Heck I could build 2 machines that would run Vista just fine with the price you paid for your upgrades.I think you may have got ripped off.

There is a difference between running "just fine" (aka just barely making it) and then having real actual performance. Doesn't sound like he got ripped off to me. I spent more than that on upgrading (ok..total rebuild) my XP machine [specs here]. Must have spent about $800 (not including the $500 on the monitor).

MetalHellssAngel

on Mar 30, 2008

Speaking of computers anyone seen that rig that pcworld is giving away WWW Link? I mean I wouldn't complain if I won it but I think in some cases some of the stuff they bought and put into it was bought just because of how expensive it was and not necessarily because it was good stuff.

kona0197

on Mar 30, 2008

Bebi - running just fine as in running just fine not barely making it.

I've already proven in the past that you do not need to spend alot of money to get great performance.

I stick by my statement. He got ripped off. On top of that I think you either overspent or got ripped off as well.

You didn't use Ebay did you?

Bebi Bulma

on Mar 30, 2008

God no, only Newegg for me. I did my research for months before finally ordering the parts and I am quite happy with my machine. I worked for the money, I got what I wanted, I have no problems with it.

kona0197

on Mar 30, 2008

My point is that a 40 dollar part on Newegg could be had on Ebay for half that. And yes the parts I get on Ebay are new in sealed plastic as well.

You could have saved money...

Bebi Bulma

on Mar 30, 2008

There's no way I'd buy computer parts on ebay. I TRUST newegg, ebay can't give me that kind of assurance and I'm willing to pay more to newegg to get it.

DigitalCHET

on Mar 30, 2008

I've never had any problems buying from eBay... except where I myself have made a mistake purchasing a wrong item or some such.
You've just gotta keep your wits about you and take care who you buy from.

starkers

on Mar 30, 2008

Starkers - Why the heck do you need 4 gigs of RAM?

Cos I don't like empty DIMM slots!

Seriously, 4 gigs of RAM, accompanied by a 3,4ghz dual core powers Vista along more than adequately, so I can multi-task with ease. Can you... with a Vista experience in the low 3's, as I recall?? 3.2, wasn't it?

Bebi - running just fine as in running just fine not barely making it.

Now would that be just fine in XP? Cos I doubt very much that you'd be zipping along in Vista with that low a WEI score....so unless your rig is powered by Speedy Gonzales on an exercise bike, I find it incredible that you can boot Vista in 35 - 40 seconds.

As for being ripped off...FAR from it. I may have overspent a little, being that it wasn't exactly allocated for in our budget, but I'm totally satisfied with my choices/purchases, and I doubt that you'd get the exact same components for much less than US$530.00 brand new.

That's quite inexpensive for a rig with 3.4ghz CPU, 4gigs of RAM, a nVidia 8600GT GPU and twin DVD RAM drives. Sorry, make that AU$1200.00 (US$1100) when you add what was already in it: a Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Fatality Pro with remote and front inputs/output; 5.1 Logitech speaker system; Winfast TV tuner card; memory card reader; Linskys Wi.fi card; 4 HDD's and enough fans to whip up a cyclone.

Oh, and I got $200 for my old 939 socket AMD Athlon x2 4600... the bloke offered that much due to its unavailability, thus saving him a more expensive upgrade... so in effect, my out of pocket cost at the time was $379.00. Nope, don't need to take a Valium over that.

kona0197

on Mar 30, 2008

Starkers: I added up how much your upgrades would cost from Ebay. $467 dollars. Not much of a savings I guess.

I still fail to see why you need that much power.

Oh and by the way the only reason I have a 3.2 score is because of my video. My score would be a high 4 or low 5 should I invest in a good card.

Phoon

on Mar 30, 2008

Starkers,
Are you running x64 version of the OS? If not, then you are not seeing all 4GB of ram.

I use 4GB because I use VMWare quite heavily and need that extra ram to run multiple VM's.

BigDogBigFeet

on Mar 30, 2008

200 MB hard drive? How did you get Windows running?

What do you mean? This is 1994 isn't it?

Bebi Bulma

on Mar 30, 2008

I still fail to see why you need that much power.

To put it simply and bluntly....because we can.

Oh and by the way the only reason I have a 3.2 score is because of my video. My score would be a high 4 or low 5 should I invest in a good card.

Same with my laptop, the lack of a dedicated graphics card is what is bringing the score down.

Are you running x64 version of the OS? If not, then you are not seeing all 4GB of ram.

Actually, any 32bit version of Vista can handle 4gb, it can only handle more than that when using 64bit.

Memory specifications

All editions of Windows Vista 64-bit provide increased memory support beyond the standard 4 gigabytes (GB) available with 32-bit editions. Refer to the specific edition of Windows Vista 64-bit to determine maximum memory capacity. --http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/64bit.mspx

Phoon

on Mar 30, 2008

Actually, any 32bit version of Vista can handle 4gb, it can only handle more than that when using 64bit

Yes, it can handle it, but 32 bit will only see 3 - 3.5 GB, therefore it will not use all 4 GB.

starkers

on Mar 31, 2008

Starkers: I added up how much your upgrades would cost from Ebay. $467 dollars. Not much of a savings I guess.

Yeah, I suppose you could find those items cheaper on E-bay... where hundreds of big-time sellers are cutting each others throats through under cutting, but I purchased my components through a small, 3-man operation with excellent support & after-sales service. Furthermore, their prices are considerably more reasonable than many large retailer.... as much as $40 - $50 less in some cases

Also, I had them install the components for me... they do a more professional job than I... and the labour was free because I Spent over $500.00 and my family and friends are long term loyal customers, thus saving me another $100 or so on what it would have cost elsewhere.

Not only that, I was in the right place at the right time...the bloke who came in for a 939 socket AMD Athlon CPU, only to find they are no longer available, had them test mine and promptly offered 200 hundred smackeroos for mine when it came up AOK. Now that's a scenario you'd never come across on E-bay... on-the-spot testing and a buyer.

I still fail to see why you need that much power.

Well, let's see, I can be writing a letter in MS Word, be editing music or video, browsing WC & other sites, downloading files, moving/copying files and messing around with Stardock toys all at once.... it's called multi-tasking, and I could never have that many things open and fully functional on my old P4 2.8 with 512mb of RAM. Ah!!!... the luxury of having power to burn.

starkers

on Mar 31, 2008

Are you running x64 version of the OS? If not, then you are not seeing all 4GB of ram.

I'm running x86 and see 3.75gb of 4.0gb after editing in BCDEdit, but I'm told that I don't see the full amount due to having a lot of hardware and drivers installed.

For those interested in accessing 4.0gb of RAM in Windows 32bit systems, here's a link to an article containing the details as to how.... WWW Link

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