New comp or upgrade my current one?

[Toujin]

My current computer, which I got in '04, has been slowing down as of late, and can't keep up with alot of the current stuff. However, I'm not sure whether to get a new computer or just upgrade speed, graphics, and memory on this one.

The reason I'm contemplating upgrading is my computer-saavy online friends have been telling me that Window's Vista isn't so great, and it's impossible to find a PC that doesn't come without it. And my dad's been tinkering with his own comps for years, so he'll be able to help if I decide to upgrade.

I'm looking for the opinions of others before I decide, though, so let me know what you think.

[Rapscallion]

Tech Help is best section for this. Lots of help proffered here!

Rapscallion

[Toujin]

Okay, sorry about that

[Gravekeeper]

There's utterly no reason to "upgrade" to Vista. Just build yourself a new box and reinstall XP on it with your current key. Cheaper than a prebuilt system 9 times out of 10 too. Especially if Vista is involved since part of the price would be that abomination. ><

If its from 04 upgrading the CPU, vid card and ram might require a new motherboard anyway. So you're really just a new case and HD away from a completely new system anyhow.

[Rapscallion]

Okay, sorry about that

No need to be sorry. It's just that this is where the really helpful parties hang out

Rapscallion

[Evil Queen]

There's utterly no reason to "upgrade" to Vista. Just build yourself a new box and reinstall XP on it with your current key. Cheaper than a prebuilt system 9 times out of 10 too. Especially if Vista is involved since part of the price would be that abomination. ><

If its from 04 upgrading the CPU, vid card and ram might require a new motherboard anyway. So you're really just a new case and HD away from a completely new system anyhow.

This is true. And with the price of HDD (harddrives) falling like a brick, you may want to get another drive for space. (I got my 320 for 60$ early last year, my 500 was $75 and my 750 was $99 on woot, but I use my computer as a media box, so I need the space.)

I think you can actually download XP Corporate Essentials (legal download!) from somewhere. Can't remember where though. If I think of it, I'll PM you. Otherwise you order the CD from somewhere.

I have Unbuntu Linux. It's free. (shameless plug, I know.)

[Toujin]

This is true. And with the price of HDD (harddrives) falling like a brick, you may want to get another drive for space. (I got my 320 for 60$ early last year, my 500 was $75 and my 750 was $99 on woot, but I use my computer as a media box, so I need the space.)

I think you can actually download XP Corporate Essentials (legal download!) from somewhere. Can't remember where though. If I think of it, I'll PM you. Otherwise you order the CD from somewhere.

I have Unbuntu Linux. It's free. (shameless plug, I know.)

I have a 220 GB external HD that I bought at Radio Shack, so I'm covered there. As for Ubuntu, I friend recommended it, but I'm not sure if it will be compatible with the stuff I buy or download.

[Naaman]

The reason I'm contemplating upgrading is my computer-saavy online friends have been telling me that Window's Vista isn't so great, and it's impossible to find a PC that doesn't come without it.

I've had Vista on my PC for 6 months and have yet to encounter any major issues with it (old games and hardware issues notwithstanding). Most of the initial problems stemmed from poor to non existent drivers but that's not a problem any more, presuming you have halfway reputable brands. Most of the remainder of problems concerned anorexically specced PCs being sold with Vista and Service Pack One cleared up most of the rest of the gripes that people were having.

Other than that, I agree with GK - buy bits and put a PC together yourself (or bribe one of your tech savvy mates too, beer often works )

[mattm04]

If you are going to build your own PC and run Vista don't skimp on RAM. Otherwise it will run really slow.

I wouldn't repair it if/when it fails unless it is something like a HD.

[Eric the Grey]

One thing: Knowing the stats of your current rig will help us make a decision on whether or not it's worth rebuilding/upgrading. Unless you have a pressing need for a faster machine. Being more than 4 years old, there is a limited amount of upgrading you'll be able to do though. Mainly in the range of RAM or larger HDD (which it appears you don't need).

You may be able to get by with just a new motherboard, processor and memory.

I'll also say that Vista isn't as bad as most people make out, providing you have a machine that can run it properly. 2GIG of RAM is a MINIMUM, more preferred, and service pack 1 will help a lot as well. Beyond that, it's just a matter of getting used to the slightly different interface and user access control.



Eric the Grey

[draggar]

Late entry - if you upgrade, go with RAM, video card, then hard drive (in that order). I've seen too many people go for a new sound card, optical media (CD-RW, DVD etc..), multi-card readers thinking it will improve - it won't.

Also, clean out your system! Look up a free tool called "CCleaner" - it's great in cleaning out cache (all cache), the registry, temp files, etc..

I'd also recommend skipping on Vista, for now, even if you get a new machine (unless it comes wiht it pre-installed). If you build your own, stick with XP (hopefully you have the lisence key still).

The specs will help, though, even a manufacturer and model# or if you built it yourself, the more information the better (make / model of each component etc.).

[Mara-chan]

I'm tired of people dissing Vista without trying it. I've been running it since the Beta and it's run smoother on Vista than when it had XP in it. My machine used to BSOD a lot in XP, but I've never had my Vista machine do it. Sure it's locked up before, but that's happened on EVERY OS I've ever owned.

Try it out before you condemn it.

HOWEVER...

If you want a new machine because you want NEW... might as wait for Windows 7 to hit. I'm running the beta on that too, but I'm not really liking it much. I've got to get some other apps installed on it to give it a full test. To me, it seems like WIndows 7 is to Vista what Windows 98 was to Windows 95. Some tweaks, but basically the same.


Don't listen to the Linux crowd out there, it is NOT easier and more stable. If you're used to windows and not a hard-core techie it will be a PAIN to switch. I've run Linux and I'd switch to a mac before I'd run it again. At least the mac would be more compatable and easier to get/install apps into. I won't go into the horrors I had trying to find drivers for basic hardware in Linux that were built into the basic install of Windows. If you don't get the right driver for the right version/brand/flavor of Linux, you could end up wiping and reinstalling... like I had to.


Depending on what you have in your machine and what you want to do with it, I'd go one of two ways:

1) Clean up the machine, maybe a fresh install with more memory/bigger HD/video card and wait a while for a new machine with WIndows 7

2) Go ahead and get a new Vista machine. You really won't have the problems people claim to have with it UNLESS you're trying to use ancient programs/hardware.

[Chromatix]

If you want a new computer, are fed up with Windows and are scared of Linux... try a Mac. ;-)

[Evil Queen]

I will admit that Linux isn't really great a system if you're into computer games. Lets face it, it down right reeks. But hey, if you're doing other things, it's awesome. It depends on what you're going to use it for, I guess.

What do you want to use your computer for?

I'm tired of people dissing Vista without trying it.

Mara, the people on CS who advise against Vista have generally used it first. They're just that smart. Even I've used it.

And Mac. I didn't really care for it, but I'm not a Mac person, I guess.

Linux is different, yes. But it's no more difficult to learn then Windows is (for me anyways).

Part of me still misses MsDOS though. It's archaic, but there was some weird since of romanticism in it some how.

Yes, I fully acknowledge the fact that I'm weird.

[DataJager]

Preface: Those of you who are familiar with my previous post on "How to Try Alcohol on a $150 budget" know that I sometimes have very long posts with lots of information and several opinions that may differ from yours. This is one of those.

As a person who does this sort of thing for a living (I often advise my clients about upgrading whenever I'm called out to do a computer repair), I would be happy to help you.

In General:
You're trying to figure out if you need a new computer. Please ask yourself the following questions.

1) "Do I need [Insert New OS here]?"

This is a question companies often ask since upgrading a fleet of 4000 computers can be extremely costly and often does not have a substantial benefit.

2) "Do I play 3D computer games, especially ones that require powerful hardware?"

Current examples of these are Far Cry 2, Crysis, Supreme Commander, World in Conflict, Company of Heroes, Assassin's Creed and many many more. Games such as Tetris, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, Planescape: Torment, Sam and Max, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People and Bejeweled are still computer games, but don't need powerful hardware.

3)"Are there any other benefits that I may be missing out on by not upgrading?"

Most people think that any upgrade will give them a payoff in pure speed -- the computer boots up faster, moves quicker, etc. This is an unfortunate misconception but not wholly untrue. Ever since about the 3.0 GHz mark i.e. around 2003, computers have exceeded the requirements of most programs. When one is doing simple computer work like Word, spreadsheets, etc, the computer isn't really using all of its power. However, booting and running programs may appear to be slow. This is mostly because the computer's hard drives are running much more slowly than the computer itself. If you have SATA hard drives (or a computer made post 2005), you're probably going as fast as a reasonable budget can allow. Yes, you can get a 10000RPM hard drive and put it in RAID...but it doesn't do all that much. The ultimate limitation is that the hard drive just can't move fast enough without breaking the laws of physics.^1

Generally, there are a couple major points in the past where upgrades really did matter, they are as follows:

1) 1994/1995: Dos to Win95. Graphics versus Text, enough said
2) 1997: AGP. The beginning of graphics cards and their use in games.
2) 1999: Win95 to Win98SE. Buggy and crashing and no USB support^2, to semi-stable and USB support.
3)2000: USB2.0 480Mbps versus 14Mbps. This upgrade finally makes MP3 players quick to load. Allows for the iPod to dominate the market.
4)2000. Windows 2000. Finally a stable and NT based OS for the home and buisness
5)Around 2003: DVD Writers around $100. Finally you can pirate movies like a Somalian
6)2003Serial ATA. Faster hard drive transfer speeds. Unlike the rest of this list, this upgrade isn't amazing, but it is now the standard.
7)2004 PCI-E. The Holy Grail of graphics card technology. Makes AGP look like a turtle.
8) DDR and DDR2 Faster RAM == Faster Computers.

I may have missed a few. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts.

Technically, Dual Core Processors are a common upgrade, but Windows does not truly take advantage of having two brains. Could you?

As you can see from my list, if you bought a computer during or after 2004, chances are you have all the important upgrades and room to maneuver. Since 2004 we haven't seen big changes in the STANDARDs of computing. The only probable exception to this is if you bought a single core, you may not be able to put a dual core processor in your computer. Most computers that we have right now, still use stuff that is compatible with stuff from 2004. Those of you who are familiar with cars, this is the same as the fact that a door from a 98 Toyota Avalon will fit on a 95 Camry and vice versa.

I'd like to also point out that we haven't seen a 'Killer App', since Windows 2000. 2000 had big requirements for its time and forced people to upgrade. However we haven't seen any application that EVERYONE needs since that time. Since 2003, computer hardware has far exceeded the needs of most programs. Thus, I often advise against upgrading unless you need it.

More Specifically:

Your 2004 computer may be just fine. I would suggest defragmenting your hard drive, cleaning your registry and removing old programs. There are some other specific tricks you can do to speed things up but I'd really have to know more about your computer.

If your computer is from 2004, you could upgrade some of its parts, but that might be costly as things like DDR SDRAM and Single Core Processors are now hard to come by. But you might be lucky and not need such things. If you have DDR2 Ram or a Dual Core Pentium you can upgrade quite far.

If you need a new motherboard or computer, you should figure out what you want it to do. Many people can get by with the cheapest computers if they're just doing school work. But if you're doing 3D rendering or lots of gaming, you might need something a little more powerful.

Feel free to PM me.

For Reference here are my Computer's Specifications and their cost

$170 Pentium Dual Core E8400 (3.0GHz processors with 6MB L2 Cache)
$40 2GB DDR2
$190 9800GTX+ 1GB Nvidia/Gigabyte Graphics Card
$75 750GB Hard drive
$35 Gigabyte Case (Aluminum)
$20 DVD Drive
$10 Monitor (Thrift Store) or $100 for a cheap LCD one
$15 Keyboard and Mouse.
$10 Headphones
_______________
$565 and plays Far Cry 2 and Bioshock at 1600x1200 with all features on.

So yeah, consider exactly why you need an upgrade, but don't worry. It can be very reasonable.

Linux has its upsides, but I wouldn't reccommend it to anyone who isn't willing to learn a lot of tricks and junk to make it work. If you enjoyed futzing with DOS, Linux is wonderful.

And Finally, Vista (like Fable)^3 is not awful, but it is certainly not what they told us it would be. Vista's main problems are hardware and installation related. If your computer comes with Vista it will probably work acceptably. But for people like me who build their own system Vista wouldn't work properly. If you don't believe me, the go look at the debacle people have had with Creative not making drivers for vista. Life sucks without sound.

Notes (They appear in ^1 form)
1)Yes, SSDs fix this problem but they're expensive and unnecessary for most users.
2) Yes, some versions of Win95 had USB support. But I've only ever seen one.
3) Damn you Peter Molyneaux! You promised us an immersive RPG and all we got was a Zelda Clone!