Build VS Upgrade

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Tecbim

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Sep 29, 2006
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I've just started getting into computers and have realised that the computer I initially purchased (pre-built) was very under specd to begin with. I've currently got a Compaq Presario SR1300AN with:
- AMD Sempron Socket A 3000+ 2.0ghz
- 40gb 5400rpm Seagate Barracuda HDD
- 2x256mb PC3200 SDRAM DDR
- 64mb Integrated graphics card

I've also got a Macbook for studies as I needed something portable. Now I've recently purchased the 22" Viewsonic thanks to the recommendations in this forum ;) and thought that it would be nice to upgrade my computer as well, however, after much thought I'm unsure is there much point to upgrade or is it better to build up?

If your suggestion is to upgrade, pls let me know which components to upgrade. If your recommendation is to build pls put an example system. I don't want something too expensive as in hopefully >$1000.

Use for the computer include:
- Office apps
- Web browsing
- Basic Photo & Home vid editing
- iTunes Transport
- Burning cd's & dvd's
- DVD viewing
- and hopefully TV viewing in the future when I upgrade with a tv tuner card :confused:
 
Tecbim said:
If your recommendation is to build pls put an example system. I don't want something too expensive as in hopefully >$1000.
Click to expand...
You should definately build a new system. "hopefully >$1000"? Well, if you meant under $1k, this machine would last you quite a while:

$315 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz
$100 - Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express
$210 - G.SKILL 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
$95 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200RPM SATA300 16MB Cache
$65 - BIOSTAR V7302GT21 GeForce 7300GT 256MB ($80 - $15MIR)
$50 - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver w/ Side Window
$50 - XClio GOODPOWER 500W ATX 500W
$35 - LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/ LightScribe Black SHM-165H6S
==========
$920 + tax and shipping (after rebates)

If its too expensive, go for the E6300 CPU:
$182 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz
Putting the system at $790 + tax and shipping (after rebates)

Since you didn't mention gaming or 3d apps, I went with a budget vidcard that's still capable of playing games should you decide to start playing any. Also, any Core2Duo CPU would blow your socket A system away (the E6300 is more than enough juice for your needs, but since you had a 1k budget, I stuck the E6600 in there, lol). You'll need 2GB of ram for photo/video editing. You can check with the HTPC forum as to which capture card to get.

Also, if you needed windows, get MCE edition:
$110 - Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2b w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista
 
You say you "have realized" that your current machine is under-spec'd. How did you come to this realization? Did you find that the machine's performance for the things that you do with it is undesirable, or is it that you told a computer science major friend of yours what you have and he told you that your machine is a POS?

If you are fine with the performance of your computer then honestly I can't see why you need to upgrade. None of the things you mentioned are terribly intensive - I was doing all of those things on a P2-333 Presario back in 1998 without any problem, and I often do them from my cheapo work laptop which is an old Sony Vaio P3-650 with 256MB of RAM and built-in graphics. However I have parts on the way for a total replacement of my desktop because it's not meeting my needs any longer.

Don't upgrade because someone told you to - upgrade because you think you need to.
 
If you wanted to stay low budget, you could probably get by for a couple months with just going to 1/2GB of RAM, like phobos512 says, your setup isn't so bad and you'll see a world of difference with upgrading your RAM.

EDIT: That said, if I were you, I'd build a new computer. :)
 
I heard a $1k budget and a "want" for a new system, so I spec'd one out for you. If you'd rather upgrade, which would be alot cheaper than a rebuild, go for another 512mb of ram and a faster hdd with at least 8mb cache and 7200rpm.

The photo/video editing would be hard on a sempron socket a, but if you can stand the slow performance or if you don't do photo/video editing that much, then you should be fine with a sempron. Also, if you'd rather get a much more affordable system that will still pack a major punch, go for the Dell AMD X2 3800+ system thats always on sale for $460 (no monitor, add dvd burner). Here's the deal:

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/us/segments/bsd/evalue?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
bensbargains.net said:
Enter E-Value code AFFT-bdcw5bz to find the new Dimension E521 with AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ CPU for $569 - $170 "No Monitor" option = $399 with free shipping. Adding the 19" 1907FP Digital LCD is only +$180. Specs include:

# AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ CPU, 1GB DDR2, 160GB SATA Drive
# 16X DVD ROM Drive, GeForce 6150 LE IGP, Ethernet, XP Home, 1-Yr Warranty
Click to expand...
The reason I said to add the DVD Burner is because there are reports that the PSU that comes with the system has no legacy molex connectors, making it hard to add any ide (pata) dvdrw drive afterwards. Though, it can be done with a couple adapters (pata->sata and sata.pwr->molex.pwr) -- see below.

If you need a new monitor, too, these are good:
$270 - BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" 8ms Widescreen LCD
$185 - Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD

If you already own a pata burner/hdd that you'd like to connect to this dell, you'll need some adapters:
$14 - SYBA SD-SATA-IDE Serial-ATA to IDE Adapter
$15 - SABRENT SBT-SCIDE Serial ATA to IDE Ultra ATA-100/133 Mini Converter
$3 - SATA-2-Molex Adapter @ performance-pcs.com
$8 - SATA 15-Pin Power to 4-Pin Molex Adapter @ cooldrives.com

To summarize, you have 3 choices:
1) upgrade to 1GB ram total and a 7200rpm hdd with 8mb cache
2) build the system I spec'd earlier for under $1k
3) get a very capable, dual core dell for under $500
 
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