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When should I get a new PC?


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I have a REALLY craptastic PC (over 5 years old (500 mHz Celeron and 63 (not even 60 FREAKING 4) MBs of RAM) and I have been looking to buy a new PC.

 

I have a list of parts...

 

1. RAM - 1GB 1024MB PC3500 DDR 433MHZ Dual Channel Series NonECC Non Parity CL2.5 Copper Heatspread - $156

2. DVD-RW - 4x DVD R/RW. 2.4X DVD rewrite 16X CD-record 10X CD-rewrite - $73.46

3. CPU - Athlon XP 2500+ BARTON 512K CACHE W/ QUANTISPEED OPERATING AT 1.83GHZ - $83

4. Motherboard - PC CHIPS M811LU KT266A / VT 8235 Chipset DDR RAM Audio 5xPCI 1xAGP(4x) 2xUSB ATX 266FSB 811LU - $27.72

5. Hard Drive - White Label Magnetic Data Tech 120GB EIDE 5400Rpm 2MB 8.9ms OEM - $74

6. Printer - PrintTrio X1150 Multi-Function Printer/Copier/Scanner - $99.99

7. Sound Card - Diamond DT-688 3D PCI 5.1 Sound Card Live Theater(6 Channel version) - $8

8. Video Card - ATI All In Wonder Radeon 9000 64MB TV/Vivo Video Capture/edit AIW w/all Cables OEM - $139

Total = $661.18 (2/1/2K4)

 

The problem is.... should I buy all this NOW or wait till the summer to get the newest parts THEN? Also, I have only 3 GBs left on my 20 GB HD, and I just barely got into Arcade emulation (KOF98 takes 4 minutes to load and 30 MBs of space).

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Well, you might as well upgrade now... but here's my take on your parts:

 

1. Ram... You don't need pc3500 for the cpu you are getting. And I would recommend getting CL2 instead of CL2.5. Get a gig of Geil PC3200 CL2.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-144-513&depa=1 $182

 

2. DVD-RW... Not sure what brand you have picked out, but here's one that is much faster with CDRs, and it can handle DVD-R/RW and +R/RW for just a little more.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....y=BROWSE&depa=1 $107

 

3. CPU... XP 2500+ Barton... definitely a good choice.

 

4. Motherboard... ew... Get yourself any nForce2 chipset based motherboard and you will be much happier. The motherboard is really the most important part. And the phrase "You get what you pay for" applies to the motherboard more than any other part. Get a solid motherboad from a well respected company. This Asus board would probably fit your needs:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....talog=22&depa=1 $72

or this Shuttle case and motherboard, if you want something really nice and compact:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....y=BROWSE&depa=1 $230

 

5. Hard Drive... I guess that one you have picked out would be fine, but I would see if you can get a 7200rpm 8meg cache drive if you can. Try to get one on sale with rebates and you might be able to get a better deal. I recently got a 250gig Western Digital 7200rpm 8meg cache at CompUSA for $150 after rebates.

 

6. Printer/copier/scanner... Whatever fits your needs and budget. $100 doesn't sound too bad.

 

7. Sound Card... Just use the onboard sound on the motherboard, an $8 sound card isn't going to be any better.

 

8. Video Card... I'd spend a little more and get a 9600pro.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....talog=48&depa=1 $213

 

hmmm... With the CPU, printer, and hard drive you previously picked out, and the other parts I recommend, it's a little more expensive... totalling $831 with the Asus motherboard, or $989 with the Shuttle motherboard and case. But, at least this gives you some other ideas.

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The problem with PCs.

 

#1 The sooner you buy, the more stuff you miss out on.

#2 The longer you wait, the cheaper stuff gets, but the more you miss out on gaming in general.

 

I'm trying to wait until fall before I build a new one for me. I want a BTX mobo and PCI-X in mines.

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Word to that. But some of us are tech junkies and need upgrades, because useally were the first one's owning the latest games. Short answer yes, long answer, wait a while and you'll see great prices. In the end, its your call anyways.

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If you wait to see better prices, something else new will be right around the corner that you will need to wait for... and you'll never end up buying anything.

 

It's better to just buy what is affordable as soon as you feel you need to upgrade.

Edited by Solas
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Juniel whatcha got? And probably, I recently upgraded my computer's RAM to 512... not much, but it does the job.

um....celeron 800MHZ...

 

20 Gigs, no speakers....64 ram...(yes, believe it or not)

 

real, real krusty... 8)

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