Need some comp advice, please?

[r2cagle]

Really could use an opinion or two...

My desktop is pretty old (about 7 yrs), but it serves my family well. Lately, this past year, it's been bogging down especially while browsing the internet. Certain social networking games (on facebook especially), I cannot/will not play because it seems to totally freeze all resources, eventually it'll continue on, but it's a huge pita.

I thought at first that I just needed more RAM, but I was advised by an uncle (who works with government computers) that it would be my video card that's the problem. Unfortunately, while I was IMing with him, my system froze and I couldn't get system details to him.

So I thought, I'd run it by you guys, and see if there is anything else I should consider upgrading before I get totally peeved off and buy a new tower. So here's what I've got: Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.00Ghz, 2.99Ghz, 512 MB of RAM. ACPI multiprocessor PC, Display adapters are RADEON 9800 Series. Opsys is Windows XP.

Considering that at this time, the only thing we use this desktop for is internet browsing and playing games, I'm not really wanting to spend the almost $2K I did originally. I try to stay away from games that are video and memory hogs, and defrag, disc cleanup on a regular basis. Of course we do have a firewall, subscription antivirus and registry protection program. So considering what we use it for, and it still has 37.2 GB out of 74.4 GB of free space (I'm going to be freeing some of that up shortly) do you think I just need the video card, or should I get more RAM? What about the harddrive? I've replaced audio cards and added RAM before, so I assume that a new video card shouldn't be too different. More than likely, I won't want to hassle with it and I'll be taking it to the little computer shop and letting them do the install. I figure if I can fix/upgrade for under $700, and it gets me along for another 3-4 yrs, it's worth it.

What do you think, is it worth trying to do this , or should I just start looking for a new tower? It'll take me several months to convince hubby of the move we need to make, so I really just wanted to know what you thought. Thanks for your advice.

[Skrae]

Probably should have posted in Tech Talk...

But I'll still give whatever input I can. Personally, I'd just get a new tower. There are several decent ones for under $700. Decent RAM for your capabilities would probably be $50 at the most, and a decent video card would be around $100, but for a computer that old there's no such thing as a silver bullet. I think for something that old, it'd be better to junk it and replace it for around $700 than perform a bunch of little upgrades that won't really get you the performance you want in today's marketplace.

[Der Cute]

You could upgrade the ram and HD, and limp along for another year or so.

Personally, I'd go for a new box, with Windows 7. It's really good, IMO, and I'm finding more and more cool things about it. Even $400 can get you a decent box.

Cutenoob

[r2cagle]

Probably should have posted in Tech Talk...

D'oh Did I mention before I was an idiot?

Thanks guys. I appreciate your advice. With technology and everything changing so rapidly, I know there is no way to keep ahead of it. But most of our computer needs are basic, so I didn't know if it was even worth trying to hold out for another year or two. I have been putting off getting a new tower, and since our monitor is even older, we'll probably get that upgraded too. I'm sure we'll be happy with Windows 7, I was just trying to hold out past Vista being all the rage, which is why it's been at least 7 years since updates. Guess it's time to start researching. Thanks.

[MrTim]

I just worked on a Gateway computer that was a 2003 build. The specs were very similar - 2.8Ghz P4, 512Mb PC3200 RAM, with a Radeon 9600 video card. I installed an additional 2Gb of RAM and that made a world of difference. Of course they didn't use the computer for games at all, mostly email and web browsing, etc.
The total cost for the RAM, a USB 2.0 expansion card and a new case fan was roughly $100.00 and they were happy as could be.

Now, that brings my first question: What do you plan on using your PC for? If you want to use it like my other clients did, a small upgrade would be the most beneficial. As for upgrading the Video Card, is it a PCI, AGP, or PCI-E? If I had more details I could advise more; can you provide the make and model number of the existing computer?

[technical.angel]

Guess it's time to start researching. Thanks.

If you need computer suggestions, please PM me!

[r2cagle]

MrTim:
We use comp for just games(purchased and some downloads from well established trusted sites) and internet browsing... and to manage finances... but no online banking. For the most part everything runs fine, except when I put multiple windows up for different things. Facebook on one, webmail on another, maybe a third one with customerssuck.com... then everything seems to bog down, and it takes forever to pull up. It gets really bad if for instance, I'm in the middle of a fb game and a friend tries to fb chat with me. I know, I know, facebook can be a resource hog, but it only started within the last year, and really I don't see our computer usage changing for at least another year. We'll see once the kiddo hits school. I just really want to improve the lagging on pulling up programs or web browser (we have dsl), it can take 40+ seconds just to pull up onscreen. Or switching from one window to another, it lags badly on that. As for the computer details, I can get you that later tonite after I get off work. I'd be grateful if a couple hundred $ fix limped us along for a little while longer.

TechAngel:
Thank you.

[earl colby pottinger]

Clean the system first

Before you spend money that you may not need to do, try the following.

First, BACKUP YOUR DATA AND BOOKMARKS! Write down your window`s licence serial number too.

Second, reformat your drive. If possible format from a bootable CD so you know it is safe. And do a full format, not a quick format. Wipe that drive clean.

If you still have your windows system disk, install it.

Get the the LATEST version of FireFox or Chrome and give them a try.

Don`t be surprise if your machine turns out to be more than fast enough after-all.

[Der Cute]

XP should be run on a box with at least 1 gig of ram. Period.
As I said before, you could upgrade the ram, and purchase a new hd.

This would mean:
put NEW drive in as c:
reinstall xp
put ram in
put old drive in as slave
Move crud from old drive to new drive as part of user configuration setup
wait a month and make sure there's no old data on the old drive that needs to be kept (people forget, then nuke it, then say OH SHIT I FORGOT... Wait the month.)
Then nuke old disk/reformat it and use as storage...or toss it.

I'd say toss, tbh, because 4 years is the average age a HD fails. And new drives are so cheap nowadays..

But if you dont want this effort, get a new box, windows 7, and use Windows Easy Transfer to pull stuff from xp to 7.

Cutenoob

[Eric the Grey]

The biggest concern I see here is that a video card may not help with the lag issues you're experiencing, especially with facebook games. High-end graphic cards are designed to handle a lot of video output, 3d games and such. With FB, you're not really seeing that much of it (at least what I've seen of FB games).

Another consideration will be the slot type on motherboard. I would expect it to be and AGP type of slot. Finding a video card to work with it may be difficult. Most cards are coming out today for PCI Express slots.

So upgrading your graphics card may not help your current computer.

earl colby pottinger's idea has merit. A clean format and re-install may well help, but then, your processor just may not be capable of handling the amount of number crunching it has to do with today's apps and games (and it's all number crunching).

However, like others have said, you can get a decent surfing machine for around $400 if you watch the prices. If you DO get a new machine, make sure you can upgrade it to some extent, so you're not stuck with a stone after a few years. Being able to upgrade the memory and video card (most pre-built machines only have the on-board video) and make sure the expansion slot is PCI-Express so you have options for upgrading.

Other things to think about when planning to buy a new computer is the additional cost of replacement software. Some companies will allow you to install on another computer, but some like Microsoft will not, and will require you to purchase new copies. There ARE free versions of almost everything out there, but you've got to learn the differences.

I think I've rambled enough on this. Between the way my jumbled mind, and HD calls coming in every few minutes tonight, I hope you understand this.



Eric the Grey

[Andara Bledin]

Facebook games use Flash, and are quite often poorly-written.

I only play a few, but the ones I play inclue one of the Zynga ones, and that one runs like crap on my machine, which is a fairly zippy machine.

If the games are all that's running slowly, check the forum for the games in question. I'm positive you've find lots of incoherent raging about how "awful" it is that the game doesn't load fast enough for all the precious snowflake entitlement losers who tend to whine so loud.

^-.-^

[MrTim]

As for the computer details, I can get you that later tonite after I get off work.

Once I get the details I can make recommendations on new parts vs. new machine.

[r2cagle]

As for upgrading the Video Card, is it a PCI, AGP, or PCI-E?

ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP... I'm embarrassed I had to google it to find out which device info I should be looking for.

[Ironclad Alibi]

What do you think, is it worth trying to do this , or should I just start looking for a new tower? It'll take me several months to convince hubby of the move we need to make, so I really just wanted to know what you thought. Thanks for your advice.

One thing to keep in mind if you buy a new tower, you will probably have to upgrade a lot of your software so it will word with the new OS. I bought a new tower 2½ years ago, and have replaced most of the software programs I use on a regular basis. However, I am still using my 12 year old monitor.

[Andara Bledin]

This may or may not have anything to do with your speed problems, but I hate ATI cards. I've had a few over the years and after the last one had game-breaking issues with every one of the 4 games I was playing at the time (plus the updated drivers every single week), I swore off them forever.

I've had a few GeForce's since then and never looked back. All of my games look great, I often forget to update the drivers for years (not joking), and they seem to be more stable, somehow.

^-.-^