POSTED BY
on 2:52 pm
under
Hi all
At the last meeting Howard asked me about an upgrade for his PC and has sent through the following:
---
---
Ok here's my advice
Howard has 2 choices
Even a cheap card, less than $100, would be an upgrade enough
No point going over the top as the CPU and Ram will become the limiting factor
So why no upgrade of CPU and Ram?
Have a look again at his system specs
The CPU is a socket 423
This short-lived processor variant is not sold any more
Even the successor is out of date
So you would be buying 2nd hand
I don't think they were even made passed a 2ghz model so there is not much point in an upgrade
With Win XP an upgrade of Ram to 1gig would usually show some benefit
However again the pace of change in tech catches Howard out
Rambus memory was supposed to be the next big thing
It was faster than the older SD-Ram and super dupper, blah blah
It was also very expensive to make and with the arrival of the new & cheaper DDR-Ram (a sort of souped up evolution of SD-Ram) Rambus never caught on
So Howard wouldn't be able to buy any new ram compatible for an upgrade
Like the CPU if there is any available 2nd hand on eBay then they may be expensive or dodgy
So what to do?
Either live with your limitations or pony up for a big purchase
A budget system without monitor can be had for less than $1,000 and would be a big improvement over the processor speed, video and ram
Note also that modern machines have much higher front side bus so they do more work per clock cycle and the ram reacts faster
A future upgrade of the budget system would also be possible
You should be able to sell current machine on eBay too to reduce the change over cost
So that's the dilemma
Howard's machine probably works fine and for most day to day tasks would be very good
But if we want to play an intense game or use high-end software then the inevitable upgrade siren sings her song to lure out your wallet
I am personally very well acquainted with the problem :)
What do you think?
What else could Howard consider?
Let us know by return email and we'll have a discussion
And if anyone has a suggestion of a new budget system for Howard to buy we could debate that too
Cheers
MATT
Contact Information
This email is brought to you on behalf of the Mulligrubs - Milton Ulladulla Internet & Computers Users Group
http://mulligrubs.shoalhaven.info/
The Mulligrubs meet on the last Thursday of each month at the Ulladulla CRC - 78 St Vincent St, Ulladulla NSW 2539
Send comments, suggestions, or questions about this newsletter to mulligroup@miltonulladulla.com
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At the last meeting Howard asked me about an upgrade for his PC and has sent through the following:
---
Matt,
I asked you at the last meeting what I could do to improve my PC, particularly for running flight simulation software, and recording and editing audio material, you asked me to send you my system spec:
- Pentium4 1.7GHz, socket 423
- Intel D850 socket 423 Pentium4 ATX M/B
- RAMBUS 256MB RD RAM P800, total of 512MB RD-RAM
- Leadtek Geforce 2 Pro 64M DDR
- Ancient Creative sound card not sure of model no.
Purchased in November 2001. The system bus is 400MHz and I understand that the RAM is/was high speed - there are slots to increase it to a Gig.
I would like to upgrade the video card to improve the simulation quality. I am also thinking of getting AutoCAD which is quite processor intensive.
The only other query is what is a good quality sound card for converting analogue recordings to digital, CD format or higher?
Best Regards
Howard Anderson
Ok here's my advice
Howard has 2 choices
- A small upgrade in video card, or
- A full system replacement
Even a cheap card, less than $100, would be an upgrade enough
No point going over the top as the CPU and Ram will become the limiting factor
So why no upgrade of CPU and Ram?
Have a look again at his system specs
The CPU is a socket 423
This short-lived processor variant is not sold any more
Even the successor is out of date
So you would be buying 2nd hand
I don't think they were even made passed a 2ghz model so there is not much point in an upgrade
With Win XP an upgrade of Ram to 1gig would usually show some benefit
However again the pace of change in tech catches Howard out
Rambus memory was supposed to be the next big thing
It was faster than the older SD-Ram and super dupper, blah blah
It was also very expensive to make and with the arrival of the new & cheaper DDR-Ram (a sort of souped up evolution of SD-Ram) Rambus never caught on
So Howard wouldn't be able to buy any new ram compatible for an upgrade
Like the CPU if there is any available 2nd hand on eBay then they may be expensive or dodgy
So what to do?
Either live with your limitations or pony up for a big purchase
A budget system without monitor can be had for less than $1,000 and would be a big improvement over the processor speed, video and ram
Note also that modern machines have much higher front side bus so they do more work per clock cycle and the ram reacts faster
A future upgrade of the budget system would also be possible
You should be able to sell current machine on eBay too to reduce the change over cost
So that's the dilemma
Howard's machine probably works fine and for most day to day tasks would be very good
But if we want to play an intense game or use high-end software then the inevitable upgrade siren sings her song to lure out your wallet
I am personally very well acquainted with the problem :)
What do you think?
What else could Howard consider?
Let us know by return email and we'll have a discussion
And if anyone has a suggestion of a new budget system for Howard to buy we could debate that too
Cheers
MATT
Contact Information
This email is brought to you on behalf of the Mulligrubs - Milton Ulladulla Internet & Computers Users Group
http://mulligrubs.shoalhaven.info/
The Mulligrubs meet on the last Thursday of each month at the Ulladulla CRC - 78 St Vincent St, Ulladulla NSW 2539
Send comments, suggestions, or questions about this newsletter to mulligroup@miltonulladulla.com
You can subscribe or unsubscribe from this discussion group at any time.
Simply send a request to mulligroup@miltonulladulla.com
All names and addresses will be kept confidential and will never be sold or used for any other purpose than forwarding of this newsletter
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